Our Parish Councils exists to represent the interests of the whole St Veep & St Winnow communities. The Councils are non-party political and are made up of Parish Councillors who are local residents.
Parish Councillors serve a four year term. People on the electoral role can be co-opted on to the Parish Councils if there are insufficient candidates at an election for all the seats to be filled or if a vacancy occurs during a four-year term.
A Parish Council’s main role is to ensure that the delivery of services to meet local needs is maintained (and ideally enhanced) and that the quality of life in the community and the environment of the Parish are improved. While a Parish Council performs a limited range of tasks at its own hand, these two main roles are exercised principally through advocacy with a number of local and regional organisations. To operate effectively, a Parish Council requires a small annual income and this is obtainable through an annual levy on each household known as the ‘Precept’¹. Details of other Parish Council powers and duties can be found here.
Listening to everyone’s concerns, needs and aspirations and having effective communication, within and beyond our Parishes, goes to the heart of the work of our Parish Councils. By doing this we will be well placed to represent St Veep & St Winnow effectively in discussions and negotiations with other organisations, for example our MP, other service providers and neighbouring Parish Councils. Our Parish Councils, therefore, very much welcome questions, opinions or concerns from parishioners and values their presence at the monthly Parish Council meetings.
Both Parish Councils employ a Parish Clerk. The Clerk provides professional advice and administrative support to ensure that the Council adheres to its legal requirements and implements decisions correctly. The Clerk is also the Council’s Responsible Financial Officer, administering its financial affairs in accordance with prescribed procedures.
¹ The annual precept is agreed each year by the Parish Councils and is the amount which is considered needed to serve the needs of the Parishes, including meeting its budgeted expenditure. The precept is the Parish Council’s share of the Council Tax collected and is separately itemised on Council Tax bills.