Do parish council normal have the policy s137 and general power of competent

Question

Just wondering if parish councils normally have both the policy s137  and general
Powers of competence

Answer 1

If your Council has obtained the General Power of Competence, you don't really need to pay under S.137.

Comments

Hi thank you for the reply.   The pc clerk has put them both on the agenda for the next meeting we qualify for GPC , on reading up on both of them I also do not see  why we need to have the s137 policy

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s137 is useful for those councils without GPOC as it provides a resource (used to be referred to as the "free" resource) to make payment which are not otherwise allowed for within existing powers but is limited to a set amount per head of population.  For 2022-23 the limit is something like £8.82.  There is also a requirement that expenditure under s137 is "proportionate" which in effect means that total expenditure on something that only benefits a proportion of those living in the area is limited to that proportion of the total 137 "allowance".
S137(3) (as amended) states that s137 cannot be used by a parish council in England that is eligible to exercise the General Power of Competence except to donate money to certain charities and appeals so unless this is the intention, using both is not allowable.
Finally it is worth remembering that you cannot rely on GPOC unless you have actually passed a resolution confirming eligibility and intention to use it.  Councils who have just had a full election now need to resolve to do so even if the election was an uncontested one and/or has returned the same councillors as previously elected.

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Hi have look up section 137 (3) amended. Is stated it permits the council to contribute to uk charities, public sector,funds , and public appeals remain in place if you use GPC is this correct? Would this mean the clerk can not use it to pay for item for the pc

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Our council reaffirms the GPC every annual meeting, as the Clerk suggests it is 'good practice' to do so.

Answer 2

As I understand it, GPC allows a Council to undertake anything legal that an individual can do unless it is specifically excluded by legislation (or other powers) while s137 limits what might be done financially both as to who can benefit and by how much. So s137 adds nothing to GPC and, arguably, cannot be used if you have GPC.

Comments

Thank you for all you reply’s