Chair
David Haigh
Chair of Staffing Committee
Public Rights of Way (PRoW) WG
Penwith Community Area Partnership (CAP) Funding Rep
Communications & Outreach WG
Police Liaison
Vice-Chair
Kate Goodman
Sancreed Noticeboard
Village Hall Committee Rep
Outreach & Communications WG
Playground WG
SPNAG
Parish Councillor
Paul Nicholson
PRoW WG
Drift Car Park
CAP rep (deputy)
Abbreviations for above roles:
Action Group: AG
Working Group: WG
Community Area Partnership CAP
Representative: Rep
Public Rights of Way: PRoW
Parish Nature Action Group: SPNAG
Grant applications Working Group Grants WG
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The Good Councillor Guide 2024
Responsibilities and Organisation
Sancreed Parish Council represents the interests of the whole of the community in the Parish of Sancreed.
Meetings
Meetings are held on the third Tuesday of each month starting at 7 pm. Meetings are open to the public to attend, and there is a public participation section near the beginning of each meeting.
Councillors
Sancreed Parish Council consists of 10 councillor seats. Parish councillors attend the monthly council meetings. When councillors vote at the meetings, council decisions are made, with these decisions recorded in the minutes of the meeting. Councillors need to be aware of a range of matters affecting life and work in the parish, in order to be able to make effective decisions. Training is available to all councillors. Parish councillors are unpaid representatives.
Parish Councillor posts come up for election every 4 years (or for co-option when a Councillor leaves the Council). Councillors may be elected to the Council at these elections, or at a by-election if a vacancy arises during the 4-year term. Electors in the Parish can nominate someone to be a Councillor. Electors are encouraged to vote for individuals who represent their interests and will work for the good of the Parish. Persons standing for office must meet the criteria detailed below.
Vacancies may also be filled by co-option of Councillors when a vacancy arises during the period between elections or by-elections. A Councillor resigns in writing to the Chair and the Chair resigns in writing to the Council. A verbal resignation is not legal. The vacancy is formally declared and starts when the resignation is received. If it is over 6 months before the next election, the vacancy must be filled. The Council must give the electorate an opportunity to nominate Councillors. If ten electors notify the returning officer within fourteen days that they want an election, there must be an election. If there is no request for an election, then (and only then) a new Councillor can be co-opted. If there are fewer candidates than vacant positions, either at election time or after a casual vacancy, then the Council must notify Cornwall Council and advertise to co-opt someone to fill the remaining vacancies. The Clerk advertises the intention to co-opt and the decision to co-opt is made at a Council meeting. Councillors must make a formal declaration accepting the Office of Councillor at (or before) the first meeting after an election (normally the Annual Meeting) or at a Councillors first meeting. The Chair makes a separate declaration to accept the office of Chairman every year – but a declaration is not required from the Vice-Chair. The Councillors declarations must also be countersigned by the Clerk.
Councillors must make a written undertaking to observe the Council’s Code of Conduct. This accompanies the Declaration of Acceptance of Office (a person only becomes a Councillor when signing this document). Co-opted Councillors may not act as Councillors until they have made the written undertaking. The declaration and agreement should be an item on the appropriate agenda. If Councillors fail to declare their acceptance of office or to sign up to the Code within the time limit, in law, they are not Councillors.
Councillors are disqualified from office if they do not attend at least one meeting of the council during a period of six consecutive months – all meetings count, including sub-committees, working groups, site meetings and meetings where that Councillor represents the Council. If there are extenuating circumstances (eg. long term illness) then the Council can make a resolution to prevent disqualification after six months, and this resolution must be made before the six month disqualification time period has been breached. Councillors are also disqualified if they are declared bankrupt if they have been convicted in the last five years or if they have engaged in corrupt or illegal activity. In these instances the Clerk would seek advice from the Monitoring Officer.
Any person wishing to be considered for election or co-option must:
- Be at least 18 years of age on the day you are co-opted
- Be a British citizen, a qualifying citizen of a Commonwealth country, a citizen of the Irish Republic or a citizen of another member state of the European Union
You must also meet at least one of the four following qualifications on the day you are co-opted:
- Be registered as a local government elector for Sancreed Parish
- Have occupied as owner or tenant any land or premises in Sancreed Parish during the whole of the 12 months before the day you are co-opted
- Have had your main or only place of work during the last 12 months in the Parish in which you are applying for co-option
- Have lived in the parish of Sancreed Parish or within three miles (4.8 kilometres) of the parish during the whole of the last 12 months.
You may not be able to become a Councillor if you:
- Hold a paid office, or other place of profit, of the Council
- If you have been declared bankrupt within 12 months
- If you have been imprisoned for 3 months or more within the last 5 years
- If you have been convicted of any offences involving corrupt or illegal practices
- If you have been convicted for failure to register or declare disclosable interests
Chair of the Parish Council
In law the Council must appoint a Chairman – this is the first business of the Annual Council Meeting.
The Chair is responsible for involving all Councillors in discussion and ensuring that Councillors keep to the point. The Chair summarises the debate and facilitates the resolving of clear decisions. It is the Chair’s responsibility to keep discussions moving so that the meeting is not too long. The Chair has a casting vote. Their first vote is a vote made as an ordinary Councillor. If there is a tied vote, the Chair of the meeting can have a second, or casting, vote. The Chair is often the public face of the Council.
Parish Clerk
The Parish Council employs a Parish Clerk and they are the Proper Officer and Responsible Finance Officer (RFO) of the Council (unless the Council has a separately employed RFO). As such the Clerk is under a statutory duty to carry out all the functions, and in particular to serve or issue all the notifications required by law of a local authority’s Proper Officer. The Clerk is responsible for ensuring that the instructions of the Council are carried out. The Clerk advises the Council on, and assists in the formation of, overall policies to be followed in respect of the Council’s activities, and produces information required for making effective decisions. The Clerk is accountable to the Council as a whole for the effective management of all its resources and will report to it as and when required, and is responsible for all financial records of the Council and the administration of its finances. The Clerk sets the Agenda for Meetings, and makes sure that the Council is properly informed for making lawful decisions during meetings.
The Clerk is employed by the Council to provide administrative support and professional advice for the Council’s activities. The Clerk is not answerable to any individual Councillor. The role of the Clerk is to take instructions from the Council as a corporate body. The Clerk must be objective in responding to the interaction between Councillors and should not favour one Councillor or group of Councillors over another.
As Responsible Finance Officer, the Clerk makes sure that the Council complies with the Account and Audit Regulations and is responsible for preparing the Council’s accounts for audit. The RFO sets up and enforces proper financial controls designed to prevent and detect fraud and to tackle bad debts.