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Responsibilities
The job of Chaceley Parish Council is to represent the interests of the
whole
of the community in order to protect and improve the quality of life
and the
local environment. In order to ensure value for money for
ratepayers, the
council influences decision makers in the principal authorities that
are
responsible for delivering services.
*A hard copy of the
information given below is
available from the clerk.
The Publication Scheme
The Freedom of Information Act 2009 requires all public authorities to
whom the
FOIA applies to “adopt and maintain” a Publication
Scheme, which
must be approved by the Information Commissioner. The purpose
of the
Publication Scheme is to provide a guide to the information the Council
publishes or intends to publish in the future. The
Publication Scheme
must set out the classes of information, the manner in which it
publishes each
class of information and whether the information is freely available or
whether
it is subject to a fee.
The information is separated into seven classes as follows:
What we spend and how we spend it
The precept for the parish is agreed by the council at its November
meeting. A copy of *the budget can be obtained by
writing to the
clerk. The council is in receipt of an annual grant
from GCC
Highways for the mowing of verges and occasionally, as appropriate,
from TBC.
The accounts are audited each year by an internal auditor
appointed by the
council and by an external auditor appointed by Government.
The accounts
are made available for public
inspection
by appointment with the clerk and notice of this inspection
period appears
on the village noticeboard.
What our priorities are and how we are doing
Our priorities are to maintain the environment and character of
Chaceley for
the safety and enjoyment of residents and visitors.
Our main safety concerns are the reduction of the impact of flooding
and
the maintenance of our highways. To achieve these
aims we are in
close and constant contact with various departments of Gloucestershire
County
Council, Tewkesbury Borough Council and with the
Lower Severn
Internal Drainage Board as well as our MP.
With regard to the environment, in 2008 the council succeeded in having
two areas adopted as village greens to allow it to carry out
the
maintenance of these areas, one of which is designated as a safe play
area for
village children.
The council carries out biennial surveys of residents to gauge
priorities
and canvass their requirements.
The Chairman of the parish council makes an annual report to the
Annual Parish Meeting charting each year’s
progress. The
Annual Report is included in the minutes of the March meeting
published
on this website.
How we make decisions
Decisions are made by majority vote of councillors after discussion at
council meetings. The public is invited to attend
these meetings and
the agenda includes an opportunity for contributions from the
public.
Our policies and procedures
The council adheres to the requirements of the Local Government Act of
1972 in the procedure of its business and it has adopted the
NALC model of
Standing Orders and Chairmanship. The council has adopted the
*Model Code
of Conduct (2007) a copy of which is available from
the clerk and
all its councillors are signatory to that code. As a
requirement of
the code,
all
councillors have
provided a *Register of Interests which is available from the clerk.
Lists and Registers
The parish council does not hold lists and registers (other than the
Register
of Interests specified above).
Services provided by the Council
The parish council provides a verge maintenance service on behalf
of GCC
Highways.
Provision of Information
The agendas and minutes of council meetings are routinely published on
the
village noticeboard and on this website. An asterisk in this text
highlights
that the information is available in hard copy from the clerk.
There
will be a charge for staff time of £25 per hour, or part
thereof, for supplying information requested.