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Community councils (CCs) are the most local statutory representative bodies in Great Britain. A statute is a formal written enactment of a Legislative authority that governs a Country, State, City, or County. See also Kingdom of Great Britain Great Britain (Breatainn Mhòr Prydain Fawr Breten Veur Graet Breetain is the larger of the two main islands

Community councils in Scotland and Wales are somewhat similar to parish councils in England (which can also have the style "Community council"). A civil parish in the United Kingdom is a unit of local government. England is a Country which is part of the United Kingdom. Its inhabitants account for more than 83% of the total UK population whilst its mainland In Scotland, their only statutory role is to communicate local opinion to larger bodies of local and central government.

Members are chosen every three or four years. They are elected to represent the entire community council area. If there are no more candidates than seats, no election needs to be held. A walkover is the awarding of a victory to a contestant because there are no other contestants or because the other contestants have been disqualified or have Forfeited The If there are less than half as many candidates as seats, the community council shall not function until there are enough candidates.

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Community councils in Scotland

Further information: List of community council areas in Scotland

In Scotland community councils have fewer powers than their English or Welsh counterparts. This is a list of community council areas established in each of the council areas of Scotland. There are around 1,200 CCs in Scotland, some of which represent several communities within their boundary.

Community councils were introduced in 1975 under the Local Government (Scotland) Act 1973. Year 1975 ( MCMLXXV) was a Common year starting on Wednesday (link will display full calendar of the Gregorian calendar. The Local Government (Scotland Act 1973 (1973 c 65 is an Act of the Parliament of the United Kingdom, that reformed local government in Scotland The duty was placed on the newly established district councils to prepare an establishment scheme to divide their district into community council areas. In 1996 this duty passed to the present area councils. For local government purposes Scotland is divided into 32 areas designated as "council areas" which are all governed by unitary authorities designated as All of Scotland has had community council areas delineated, the numbers and boundaries of which can be altered by the area council. However not all communities have community councils, which in Scotland are statutory and only exist if local people are willing to stand for election. They are officially stated to be "non-party-political and non-sectarian" in their discussions and decision making. Community councils must adopt a constitution stating the name of the community council and dealing with such matters as the frequency of meetings, office bearers, method of election, finance and standing orders.

The two Acts of Parliament governing Community Councils allow for them to "take any action" they deem appropriate to improve their community. They set out the requirements of each local authorities "scheme for the establishment of Community Councils".

The Macintosh Report on Local Government and the Scottish Parliament said this about Community Councils:

“Community Councils

158. Any discussion of this subject has to pay special attention to the institution of community councils, whose purpose specifically is to represent local communities. Community councils are unique. They are statutory, but they are not another tier of local government; they are not creatures of the council, as area forums or citizens' panels are; nor are they purely voluntary bodies, as residents' associations and tenants' associations are. A community can choose not to have a community council; but if a community council exists the council can neither dissolve it, as it could dissolve or reorganise its own forums and panels, nor may it choose to ignore it, as it might ignore a voluntary association.

159. All our consultations drew a great deal of interest from community councils themselves, and a vigorous and considered response from many of them. These responses demonstrated the essential diversity of these bodies; the range of coverage and variety in activity; and a spirited independence, which was a marked and welcome feature. We also found a feeling of dissatisfaction with various aspects of the way the system is working in practice. Many community councils themselves were in some degree unhappy with their treatment by the council, often that they were inadequately resourced, but also with the response, or lack of it, by the council to their representations. Councils themselves had complaints, typically that community councils were not truly representative or were a focus for political opposition to the council. We noted that community councils tend to thrive more in rural areas, where they tend to correspond more accurately to discrete communities and as such meet a felt need.

160. All this has led us to the view that the system of community councils should continue, but that it stands in need of some renewal. We consider that the responsibility for initiating renewal lies to some extent with the community councils themselves, but in the first instance with councils. There are two aspects which, we believe, councils should concentrate on: assisting and encouraging community councils to become more democratic; and seeing that they have adequate resources to do what they have to do.

161. There is much complaint about elections to community councils, mainly that they are very poorly supported, so much so that places often have to be filled by co-option afterwards. It is understandable that councils are reluctant to give much credence to the representations of bodies which are patently not representative; but the remedy lies largely in councils' own hands, by taking steps and allocating resources to publicise and facilitate community council elections. There have been some encouraging experiments with postal voting and electronic voting, which suggest that it is possible at reasonable cost to increase the turnout at community council elections significantly and even dramatically. We note too that, since community council elections are not governed by the Representation of the People Act, it is possible to lower the age of voting in them: this opens up an important opportunity to engage younger people in civic affairs.

162. At the national level we note the work done by the Association of Scottish Community Councils. There is strength in numbers, and we would hope to see this body develop further, to become a shared resource and common forum for all community councils. To the extent that it can do that it will gain credibility as a representative body itself, and be able to carry on an increasingly fruitful dialogue with COSLA and with central government.

163. While our work was in progress The Scottish Office commissioned research into the current state of the system of community councils. We trust that the report of this research will be given a depth of consideration which could not have been achieved by this Commission within its allotted time frame. . .

165. On the basis of our study of these matters we recommend - That the system of community councils should be retained and should be regarded as a valuable asset to the democratic life of Scotland. That their role should be seen within the wider context of the area approach being adopted by many councils, as a means of obtaining the fullest possible consultation at local level. Local authorities should also address - The general resourcing of community councils, including not only levels of financial support but also the provision of and access to accommodation, equipment and office facilities. Improvements in electoral arrangements, taking into account examples of good practice already evident, and including use of postal ballots and electronic voting. The development of civic education.

167. Community councils, for their part, should undertake a process of renewal, specifically addressing - Their own representative nature and how effectively they establish public opinion within their own area. How they involve and establish links with other communities of interest. How they involve young people in their work and in their organisation. The possibility of extending the vote in community council elections to 16 year olds should be given particular consideration. "


Membership of community councils consists of:

Some Community Councils currently allow:

Co-opted and ex officio members have no votes on the councils and may not be office bearers.

The establishment scheme will set out the exact procedure for establishing a council where one does not exist: a stated number of local government electors in the designated area must petition the area council, who will then schedule elections. In the case of all community council elections, if nominations are received for less than fifty percent of the seats, the election is postponed and the council not formed or dissolved. Community councils can only be dissolved if the number of elected members falls below the set minimum. Community councils can also choose to amalgamate themselves with an adjoining Community Council by a similar process.

Like in England and Wales, the main role of the CCs is to act as a channel of the opinions of the local community, and have the right to be notified of and respond to any planning applications. They are also sometimes involved in local projects mostly related to local infrastructure such as footpaths, parks, playgrounds etc, and local events.


Unlike in England and Wales, Scottish CCs do not have the right to raise funds by setting a precept on local taxes, and are instead dependent upon local authority funding, which is usually received for running costs only.

In some of Scotland CCs are often disregarded and are not usually viewed as a tier of government, even though they can legally have that role. Although in places such as Orkney and Shetland, CCs are viewed as an important part of local government, and receive larger budgets. Orkney (also known as the Orkney Islands or incorrectly the Orkneys) is an Archipelago in northern Scotland, situated 10 miles (16 km north Shetland (formerly spelled Zetland, from etland; Old Norse non Hjaltland; Sealtainn is an Archipelago off the northeast coast of

Scotland's network of parishes was abolished for administrative purposes in 1930, when larger district councils were formed. This is a list of the 871 civil parishes in Scotland. From 1845 to 1930 parishes formed part of the Local government system of Scotland having Year 1930 ( MCMXXX) was a Common year starting on Wednesday (link will display 1930 calendar of the Gregorian calendar. Unlike Wales, the new CCs created in 1975 were not necessarily based on old parish areas, which no longer fit any modern administrative areas. Several of them are based on former burghs, and have rematriculated the burgh coat of arms and use the title "provost" for their chairman. A Burgh (ˈbʌʀə is an autonomous corporate entity in Scotland, usually a Town. A coat of arms or armorial bearings (often just arms for short in European tradition is a design belonging to a particular person (or group of people

Community councils in Wales

Further information: List of communities in Wales

Until 1974 Wales was divided into civil parishes. This is a list of communities in Wales sorted by principal area. These were abolished by section 20(6) of the Local Government Act 1972, and replaced by communities by section 27 of the same Act. The Local Government Act 1972 (1972 c 70 is an Act of Parliament in the United Kingdom, that reformed local government in England and Wales A community ( Welsh: cymuned) is the lowest level of local government structure in Wales, corresponding to a Civil parish in England The Principal areas of Wales are divided entirely into communities. For Local government purposes Wales is divided into 22 Unitary authorities, which are responsible for the provision of all local government services including education Unlike in England, where unparished areas exist, no part of Wales is outside a community, even in urban areas. Not every community has a council however, so such areas are usually without them.

Community councils in Wales are identical to English parish councils in terms of their powers and the way they operate. Welsh community councils may call themselves town councils unilaterally and may have city status granted by the Crown. This is a list of cities in the United Kingdom, as of 2008 Cities which have held such status since Time immemorial are indicated with TI in the column headed Throughout the Commonwealth realms The Crown is an abstract metonymic concept which represents the legal authority for the existence of any government In Wales, all town councils are community councils. There are currently two community councils with city status: Bangor and St David's. Bangor, in Gwynedd, North Wales, is one of the smallest cities in the United Kingdom. St David's ( Welsh: Tyddewi) is the smallest city in the United Kingdom, with a population of under 2000 people The community of Caernarfon has the status of a royal town. Caernarfon (the original Welsh spelling is now almost always used in preference to the anglicised forms "Caernarvon" or "Carnarvon" is a The Chair of a town council or city council will usually have the title Mayor.

In communities with populations too small to justify a full community council, community meetings will be established. A parish meeting, in England, or a community meeting, in Wales, is a meeting to which all the electors in a Civil parish or a Welsh community

Community Councils in England

In England there are parish councils not community councils. A civil parish in the United Kingdom is a unit of local government. However, at least one English local government area (the Metropolitan Borough of Oldham[1]) has established non-statutory consultation bodies it calls "community councils ". The Metropolitan Borough of Oldham is a Metropolitan borough of Greater Manchester, in North West England.

There are also a number of non-statutory charitable Rural Community Councils with a rural development function. The Rural Community Councils ("RCCs" were established in rural England during the twentieth century to promote Rural community life They are linked by the charity Action with Communities in Rural England.

Under the Local Government and Public Involvement in Health Act 2007, a civil parish may now call itself by an "alternative style", including community, neighbourhood or village, so an English parish council might in future call itself a "community council". The Local Government and Public Involvement in Health Act 2007 is an Act of the Parliament of the United Kingdom.

External links

Notes and references

  1. ^ Community Councils, Oldham Council website, accessed 5 March 2008
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