Smaller Councils Committee highlights climate action, community ownership and support for remote meetings

Our Smaller Councils Committee met on 7 July 2026 to discuss key issues affecting smaller and micro parish and town councils, including climate action, standards, civility and respect, and new guidance to help councils prepare for Martyn's Law.

We provided the committee with an update on how we are strengthening the involvement of smaller parish and town councils in our work to support tackling climate change, ensuring their voices help shape the sector's response. We also shared the new Civility and Respect Pledge video, encouraging the committee to promote it across their networks to help smaller and micro councils understand the benefits of signing the pledge and fostering positive cultures.

Horwich Town Council joined the meeting to give a presentation on the council's landmark purchase of the Horwich RMI Recreational Land and Cricket Pavilion. By securing loans to purchase the site outright, the council has protected one of Horwich's last remaining green spaces from development, safeguarding a much-valued community asset for future generations.

There was an update on preparations for the implementation of the Terrorism (Protection of Premises) Act. The sector's Martyn's Law Steering Group will publish practical guidance in due course, including risk assessment and terrorism plan templates, alongside a new online decision tree to help parish and town councils determine whether their premises or events fall within the scope of the legislation.

The committee also agreed we should continue to press the government to introduce secondary legislation, such as a statutory instrument, to implement changes that would enable remote meetings and reform the standards regime.