01.06.18
NALC urges simplification of council creation
The government should make it easier for communities to create new local councils, the National Association of Local Councils (NALC) has said.
This comes following NALC’s response to the recent ministry of housing, communities and local government (MHCLG) consultation on updating the statutory guidance around Community Governance Reviews.
The organisation is calling on the government for a right of appeal direct to the housing, communities and local government secretary where a principal authority has unfairly rejected a campaign for a new parish or town council.
It argues that principal authorities should be required to enforce strict internal reviews of their processes during a community governance review.
NALC is also calling for community referenda results where residents vote in favour of a new council to be binding on principal authorities and for local councils to be created across principal local authority boundaries.
Cllr Sue Baxter, chair of NALC, explained that the organisation wants to work with the government in order to make the process of creating new parish and town councils easier for communities.
She said: “NALC welcomes the chance to comment on the MHCLG long-awaited update of the statutory guidance.
“The guidance urgently needs to reflect the regulatory changes from 2015, which were introduced to make it easier to set up new councils.
“NALC look forward to working with the government and the Local Government Boundary Commission for England during 2018 to promote the new guidance.”
Top image: georgeclerk
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