No referendum principles for parishes

The government is not proposing to extend referendum principles to parish and town councils.

This is a move welcomed by the National Association of Local Councils (NALC).

The Department for Communities and Local Government (DCLG) today published its consultation on ‘The provisional Local Government Finance Settlement 2016/17 and an offer to councils for future years’ which made no mention of bringing parish and town councils in line with principal councils and requiring them to hold a referendum if they plan to increase their part of council tax above a certain amount. The limit for principal councils is currently 2%, with an additional 2% announced in the Spending Review to generate new income for social care costs.

Cllr Ken Browse, chairman of NALC said: “I am pleased the secretary of state has listened to the sector and is not proposing to extend referendum principles to parish and town councils. This is a welcome move given the important and growing role of local councils in delivering neighbourhood level services. Our councils have demonstrated fiscal responsibility over the last few years, with overall increases in precepts going down. It is vital that parish and town councils continue to have the freedom and flexibility to raise the resources they need to invest in local services, especially at time when they are taking on services and assets from principal councils.”