BIRLINGHAM

VILLAGE SURVEY 2015

PARISH COUNCIL

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Parish councils are statutory bodies and their responsibilities are strictly governed by law. Birlingham Parish Council has seven members, who are elected for a term of four years, so the councillors elected last May will be due for re-election in 2019. Councillors are unpaid and volunteer their time.

The Parish Council meets every two months and council meetings are open to the public.


43.  Are you interested in Parish Council matters?

Dates and times of Parish Council meeting are shown on the Events page. The village website also contains the agendas for meetings and their minutes. Contact details for the Clerk, councillors and various representatives are listed on the Contacts page.


44.  Are you aware that the Parish Council's funds are raised from the precept?

The precept is the part of your Council Tax allocated to the Parish. The Parish Council sets the precept for the coming financial year in January each year. For the last two years the Parish Council has been limited by the Government to an increase of no more than 2% in its precept.


45.  Are you happy with the way the Parish Council spends the precept?

The Parish Council’s income is mainly from a part of the Council Tax called the precept. In 2015/16 Birlingham’s precept is £5061, equivalent to an average of £30.18 per household based on a Band D property. For the last two years the Council has been limited to a 2% increase each year (about £100 on the precept).

The following is a summary of the Parish Council's accounts for 2014/15:

RECEIPTS
Precept


5000.00

PAYMENTS
Salaries (clerk, contractors)
Birlingham Village Hall
Insurance (public liability, assets)
CALC (County Association of Local Councils)
Minor Payments (less than £100 each)
Plane Tree Provision
Transfer to General Reserves
TOTAL


2620.80
500.00
243.80
151.54
314.72
500.00
669.14
5000.00

The Parish Council maintains a number of provisions (amounts set aside for a liability of uncertain timing and amount). These include:

Tree Provision. This money is used by the Tree Warden for the maintenance of trees planted by the Parish Council.

Litter Pick Bursary. This money originally came from Wychavon District Council as a grant following the annual litter picks. The District Council no longer pay this grant. The remaining money is used to top up the Tree Provision, as required.

Plane Tree Provision. This provision is being built up to allow for future work on the plane tree on the village green.

Election Provision. Following this year's election, it was decided to build up a new provision over the next four years to cover the cost of any future elections.

Year-on-year surplus of income over expenditure is a General Reserve. The Parish Council are currently rebuilding this to be equal to our annual costs of £4,000 (as recommended by the Association of Local Councils). The General Reserve is used for unexpected expenditure, such as this year’s contested election (believed to be approximately £700).



46.  Are there any activities for which the Parish Council is responsible that need improving?

The Parish Council has limited powers but has responsibilities to maintain or improve the environment and look after the interests of the local community. The Council is consulted by Wychavon District Council and Worcestershire County Council in certain areas and can influence those bodies for the benefit of the parish.

The Parish Council can also promote new ideas that benefit the community. For example, over the last three years the Council has initiated the Queen’s Jubilee Celebrations, set up the village website and launched the village email.


47.  Do any of these services need to be improved?


59.  Would you be prepared to see an increase in your Council Tax to fund any improvements mentioned
      in this questionnaire?

Inevitably, there is a cost to most improvements in the village and this will have an effect on your Council Tax. Currently, the Parish Council is limited to a 2% rise per year, so any major increases in expenditure would have to come from cuts in other part of the budget.


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Updated 31/10/2015 20:15.    © Copyright Birlingham Parish Council, 2015. All rights reserved.