Issue - decisions

Date of Decision:

17 April 2026

Title:

Community Governance Review: Form of consultation

Decision Maker:

(Including Job Title)

Phillip Horsfield

Service Director Legal, Elections and Registration Services

Details of Specific Committee Delegation

or Delegation contained in the relevant Sub-Scheme of Delegation.

Delegation through Cabinet decision to approve the recommendations set out in the Community Governance Review Report at the Cabinet Meeting held on Monday 13 April 2026

Decision:

To conduct public consultation on the governance arrangements for parish councils as part of a Community Governance Review.

Two rounds of public consultation will be conducted.

The first will gather the views of residents, Parish Councils, Elected Members and any other interested parties on the current parish governance arrangements.

The questions to be asked will allow residents to comment and make proposals for changes to the current arrangements, including:

·        The current parish boundaries

·        Current parish warding arrangements.

·        The number of seats on parish councils

·        The names of parish councils

·        Respondents will also be able put forward proposals for the creation, merger and abolishment of parish councils.

Following the first round of consultation, draft recommendations will be put to Cabinet for approval.

The approved draft recommendations will then be subject to further public consultation. The questions will focus on gathering views on the draft recommendations.

The consultation will be available online and in paper format.

Reasons for the Decision:

To implement the recommendations within the Community Governance Review Report approved by Cabinet (13 April 2026).

Where the decision is made under specific delegation from a decision making body, the names of any member of the relevant body who has declared a conflict of interest in relation to the decision and name of the body granting the specific delegation and the date when it did so:

Report author not made aware of any conflicts.

Reports or parts of reports considered

Mike Thomas, Electoral Services Manager – Community Governance Review Cabinet Report & Appendix 1: Terms of Reference