What your Council does
A guide to what Hatfield Town Council can and can't do as a local council:
What
Your Council Does Do
The main activities of your Town Council are outlined below, though this
list is by no means exhaustive:
Holds monthly Full Council meetings, plus
regular meetings of internal committees
Represents the Council and the interests of
the residents in the Town Council’s area at external meetings and events and
sits on other relevant local bodies
Makes representations on planning matters, the
Local Development Framework, and any other matters related to the development
and upkeep of the Town Council area on your behalf to Doncaster Council
Employs a trained and experienced Town Clerk
and Responsible Financial Officer to oversee the council's administration with
the help of the Deputy Town Clerk
Employs staff to ensure the upkeep of
public areas and assets owned by the Town Council, such as the Cemetery,
and the 9 recreation grounds
Employs a Cemetery Supervisor to arrange
burials and ensure the efficient running of the Cemetery
Raises money from the precept to enable
effective delivery of these services to residents and make further improvements
to facilities within the local community
Listens to residents’ concerns and assists
when able
Keeps residents up to date with regular
newsletter the Hatfield Herald (now incorporated in the Thorne Times) and with
information supplied on the Town Council’s noticeboards, website and Facebook
page.
Makes representations on consultation papers
from Central Government and other bodies
Lobbies Doncaster Council and other
organisations on matters of concern to residents
Acts as Trustee in running of the Town Council
Charities and of the Hatfield and Dunscroft Miners Welfare
Provides litter and dog bins and benches on recreation
grounds.
Provides funding to local groups and projects
funding
Manages and maintains recreation spaces,
floral displays and play equipment
What
Your Council Must Do
There are actually very few duties of the council (what the council must do) set out in law. The most
important duties are as follows:
The council MUST hold at least three meetings
a year in addition to the Annual Town Council meeting
The council MUST elect a Chair (or Mayor) but
there is no duty to elect a Deputy Chair/ Mayor
The council has a legal duty to keep a record
of its meetings in the form of minutes
There are certain other procedures which the
council has a duty to follow in relation to meeting procedures, such as
advertising meetings to the public
The council has a duty to consider providing
allotments if at least six members of the electorate requests that it does so
The council MUST appoint a ‘Proper Officer’/
Responsible Financial Officer
What
Your Council Can Do
Whilst the council has only a few duties, Acts of Parliament provide the
council with a wide range of powers (what the council can do but does not have to do). Councils are under no obligation
to use all of their powers, and many do not, often for practical or financial
reasons. Some of the main powers available to the council are summarised below:
Power to raise money through the precept to
provide services to the town. The amount raised is uncapped, but councils do
try to keep spending within a reasonable level. (The precept is a proportion of
residents’ DMBC Council Tax which is used to fund the Town Council)
Power to provide grants to community projects
and organisations through Section 137 of their precept budget, though the
amount the Town Council can allocate is limited by law.
Power to provide and maintain bus shelters,
allotments, CCTV, places of entertainment, recreational facilities, War
Memorials, mortuaries and burial grounds, bins and street furniture and
buildings for public use
Power to repair and maintain a footpath
Power to buy and manage land
Power to provide parking places and cycle
racks
Eligible councils can now use the 'General
Power of Competence' which enables a local authority to 'do anything it considers likely to achieve the promotion or improvement
of the economic, social or environmental well-being of the area' and is anything which an individual can do
What Your Council Can’t Do
Town Councils cannot do anything that is not
outlined in the Local Government Act 1972, or any other relevant Act of
Parliament. If the council attempts to act outside of the remit of these acts
it is acting 'ultra vires', that is 'outside its powers'.
Much of the responsibility for the area, such
as highways, planning, street cleansing and street lighting lies with the
principal authority, in our case Doncaster Metropolitan Borough Council. The
Town Council can lobby the principal authority to carry out works or provide
facilities, but has no power to force them to do so.