NALC's Westminster Forum secures amendments on parish and town councils in landmark devolution bill
Our Westminster Forum played a pivotal role in securing a significant new role for parish and town councils in England's democratic landscape, after the government offered concessions during the final stages of the English Devolution and Community Empowerment Bill.
Parish and town councils were once again at the heart of proceedings during parliamentary ping pong between the House of Commons and House of Lords on 27 April 2026. Miatta Fahnbulleh MP acknowledged "the strength of feeling about the role of town and parish councils in neighbourhood governance", stressing that they "have an important part to play in neighbourhood governance", but said the government could not accept amendments that would "undermine the principles of autonomy and localism", arguing that the creation of new parish and town councils should remain a matter for local authorities to decide based on community need.
Instead, she offered a further amendment requiring local authorities to engage with parish and town councils regarding parish representation under neighbourhood governance arrangements, and confirmed that regulations under Clause 60 would allow parish and town councils to be represented on neighbourhood governance structures, "locking in" their importance within the new framework.
Further concessions included a pledge to review community governance guidance before the Summer Recess and to publish a neighbourhood governance framework. The government also accepted an amendment we backed, which adds rural affairs and coastal communities to the list of competences for strategic authorities, ensuring devolution frameworks must explicitly account for the distinct needs of non-urban areas.
David Simmonds MP highlighted that parish and town councils "are a significant feature of civic life across the country", running important local facilities, and that it was "clearly important to ensure that their role is enshrined." Polly Billington MP, while welcoming the direction of travel, said it was "a shame that parish and town councils are designated only to be important local partners, rather than there being a legal requirement for them to be consulted." Drawing on her own constituency, she pointed to a visible difference between Ramsgate and Broadstairs, which have town councils, and Margate, which does not, though she welcomed the news that Margate is set to secure its own town council "thanks to fantastic, strong community campaigning." She pressed Miatta Fahnbulleh MP to reassure colleagues that both existing and future parish and town councils would be fully incorporated into the new settlement. Andrew George MP added that in Cornwall, where communities are fully parished, parish and town councils serve as "an important vehicle for communication up from the community".
However, Vikki Slade MP sounded a note of caution, warning that the government's amendment to consult parish and town councils where they exist "is not good enough, because if they do not exist, they do not exist." She expressed disappointment that without something stronger, there was nothing sufficiently recognising "the critical place of our town and parish councils, whose strength forms part of our communities", and welcomed cross-party recognition that expanding parish governance into currently unparished areas "really does matter".
Lords Minister for Housing and Local Government, Baroness Taylor of Stevenage, set out the significance of the concession during the House of Lords debate, explaining that the amendment places "beyond doubt the expectation that local authorities should engage with parish councils about parish representation." She also confirmed the government would work with NALC, described as "the key body to work with, alongside the LGA", to shape how that engagement works in practice. Our vice-president, Baroness Scott of Bybrook, has spearheaded the promotion of the sector during the bill, welcomed the step as "constructive" but it must be "meaningful and timely" and translate into "genuine involvement in practice".
We will now engage with the government on the next steps, including the development of regulations and guidance. We will continue working with county associations to press for and support the creation of new parish and town councils, particularly through local government reorganisation.
