General Power of Competence

Question

Our new parish clerk states that the General Power Of Competence can be used by our council even though he has no Cilca but is studying it, when asked to see his certificate . I do not believe this is true unless a new law has emerged. Can anyone help please.

Answer 1

The Cllrs must resolve to exercise the General Power of competence and if they have worries they are not entitled to, they can hold back from doing that. The Parish Councils (General Power of Competence) (Prescribed Conditions) Order 2012 says that the clerk has to have completed one of a specified range of training courses.  It also adds

2.—(1) At the time a resolution under paragraph 1 is passed —
(a)the number of members of the council that have been declared to be elected(1), whether at ordinary elections or at a by-election, is equal to or greater than two-thirds of the total number of members of the council;
On training the Act specifies
(b)the clerk to the parish council holds—
(i)the Certificate in Local Council Administration;
(ii)the Certificate of Higher Education in Local Policy;
(iii)the Certificate of Higher Education in Local Council Administration; or
(iv)the first level of the foundation degree in Community Engagement and Governance awarded by the University of Gloucestershire or its successor qualifications; and

(c)the clerk to the parish council has completed the relevant training, unless such training was required for the purpose of obtaining a qualification of a description mentioned in paragraph (b).

(2) For the purposes of this paragraph “relevant training” means training—
(a)in the exercise of the general power;
(b)provided in accordance with the national training strategy for parish councils adopted by the National Association of Local Councils, as revised from time to time.

So I don't think being part way through b(1) is enough to count.

Comments

Thank you very much for speedy reply.
He stated at the Annual meeting this year that he held the certificate. Only two councillors did not believe him. The remaining councillors are angry at us asking for proof by showing us his certificate. He also states that we are not entitled to see the monthly bank statements. The other councillors believe a clerk and chair are in charge of the council and can make their own decisions despite being shown laws to the contrary. Many thanks again.

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Ettaariane the situation your Parish is unfortunately all too common
A Council run by the Clerk and Chair
Councillors not doing their job
A Clerk refusing access to information
A Clerk misleading Councillors which in the real world would result in immediate action against them by their employee
A Council in breach of the Law and possibly spending public money improperly
Of course the $64,000 question is what next?
I think you should approach your internal auditor
Has anyone got anymore ideas ?

Answer 2

If your Clerk has lied to the Council in a public meeting regarding his qualifications, perhaps you should look at the misconduct paragraphs in your disciplinary procedure. You describe him as a new Clerk. Was the determination of his starting salary based upon inaccurate information regarding his qualifications? Who is paying for his CiLCA?

It may be necessary for you to remind him that the Clerk is the servant of the Council and must follow all lawful instructions.

Comments

Thank you for answers.
It is almost the whole of the Parish Council that are close friends and also work together at a local charity and community hall. The new clerk is a friend of them all and the clerk and chair worked together at one time for a local Town Council.
They would not invest savings of almost 300,000 to assist the poor and disabled during the lock down. . Despite being told reserves of that amount are far too high. The yearly precept is an average 90, 000. Then earlier this year they replaced items in the children's park for 165,000 without asking the opinion of most of residents or village children. Just some at the local school which they work closely with. They did not put out a contract and inform our prime council that they had a contract over 25000. I could write a book of similar actions over the years. A Councillor and myself discovered they had never held a Parish Meeting as they did not like the idea. We forced them into it via the law. We then forced them into allowing a poll for a Parish plan. The village won the vote but the council will not have anything to do with the plan. The previous clerk took our allotment money home for a year covering 5 yrs then at the end of each year banked the allotment money but started again to take fresh payments home. We reported to the external auditor and he was warned to stop that procedure. We wish the government would return the standards board for genuine concerns from councillors. Sorry for such a long reply. I must ask, as we are so disliked for bringing these facts of breaking law to the council that I am beginning to wonder if we are doing too much. Thank you again for your replies.

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We are in a similar position there is really only one solution form an action group and stand for every seat at the next election
For further advice and inspiration buy the two Flatpack Democracy books which are available on Amazon

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I suggest that you write to the internal auditor regarding the children's play contract, expressing your concerns that the procurement process used was in breach of your own financial regulations and the legal requirement to use the Contracts Finder website. You could also write to the external auditor expressing your concerns. The best time to do this would be during the audit season next year.

As a matter of interest, roughly how many people live in your parish?

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Great idea Jules. Meeting people today to follow that route Thank you

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Thank you for help. Not sure whether to laugh or cry. New clerk called a training meeting without discussing with councillors first. He said he would keep expenses down but by training the councillors himself then they would save thousands of pounds. The vice chairman got very angry when we asked to see bank statements and said we see them anyway We do not. We see expenses sheet made up by the clerk and also the previous clerk stated every month the bank was late sending the bank statement. From the information I have collected there are many parish councils being run in the same manner. We have 5 vacancies and the other councillors do not want them filling. It is not the clerk on his own making all  these decisions as the other councillors, apart from myself and another councillor are best of friends and act as if they are members of a club and not a statutory body. I think it is time the government looked into these councils  and insisted they take training. Only myself and two other councillors have attended training  over the last 7years. Thank you again.

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Welcome to my world??  I resigned when the Chair backed our clerk for refusing to allow Cllrs access to NALCs LTNs

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https://www.theguardian.com/society/2019/jun/12/how-to-take-over-your-town-the-inside-story-of-a-local-revolution