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Answer:

A parish council can provide additional services to those provided by the principal council such as the provision of car parking or street cleaning with the consent of the principal council.

Parish councils can express an interest in running a local authority service. Principal councils, like Tower Hamlets Council, must consider an expression of interest submitted by a parish council but there is no guarantee that this would be successful. Parish councils can also bid to purchase assets of community value such as pubs or community halls.

Answer:

A parish council is a democratically elected and legally independent tier of local government with its own councillors elected every four years by local people. It can be sub-divided into wards, with ward councillors representing their neighbourhoods.

Answer:

A parish council requires the election of parish councillors. Parish councillors may be volunteers or may be paid an allowance determined by the parish council. These councillors would be in addition to the councillors already elected to Tower Hamlets Council for the wards of Spitalfields & Banglatown and Weavers. A parish council must meet at least four times a year, hold elections every four years, and comply with standing orders and financial regulations and auditing requirements as set out in legislation.

They must have a responsible finance officer and a parish clerk would need to be appointed to oversee the administration of a parish council.

Answer:

Parish councils are funded principally through an annual precept – an additional council tax levied on local taxpayers. Parish councils mainly use this to fund the administration of the council and to provide additional local services to enhance those already provided by the principal council. They have no power to raise money from business rates.

Funding can also be raised through income, for example from car parks or markets or rental of property owned by the parish council. Parish councils may also apply for grant funding and are eligible to receive a proportion of the Community Infrastructure Levy (CIL) collected in their area, secured from planning permissions granted after the date the parish council is established. This amount ranges from 15% up to 25% of CIL where there is an adopted neighbourhood plan in place.

Answer:

It is important that residents understand the potential costs of a parish council and the likely cost to council tax payers within a parish. Parish councils are funded principally through an annual precept, an additional council tax levied on eligible individuals. The parish precept is added onto the council tax bill and collected by the principal council.

For illustrative purposes only, the table below shows the national average precept for all council tax bands. Nationally, the average Band D precept charged by a parish for 2018-19 is £64.05, an increase of £3.02, or 4.9%, from 2017-18.

Costs
Council tax band National average parish precept 2018/19 
 Band A  £42.70 
 Band B  £49.81
 Band C £56.93 
 Band D £64.05 
 Band E £78.28 
 Band F £93.16 
 Band G £106.75 
 Band H £128.10 

 The precept is set by the principal council in the first year and then by the parish council itself once elected. This sum is levied on top of the standard council tax that you are eligible to pay. If you are exempt from paying council tax you will not have to pay the precept either.

Answer:

In considering the proposal to create a parish council for Spitalfields & Banglatown, you will need to weigh up the benefits of other models of community engagement and involvement and the benefits of having a parish council either alongside, or instead of, those arrangements. These could include, but are not restricted to, neighbourhood planning forums, residents or community associations, neighbourhood management or civic forums. The approach to community governance in the area could include a greater role for the two existing neighbourhood planning forums in Spitalfields and East Shoreditch. Neighbourhood forums are community groups that are designated to take forward neighbourhood planning in areas without parishes.

What sets parish councils apart from these other kinds of governance is the fact they are an elected tier of local government and possess specific powers. You will need to consider whether a parish council is something you feel would most benefit the area or whether other options could provide greater benefits.

Answer:

When the council started this review we wanted to find out what people thought of the ideas in the petition. We ran an initial phase of consultation in the autumn of 2018. Although most people told us that they do not support the creation of a parish, there was stronger support for the idea from people living in the area. Some people said that they wanted more information before they made up their minds.

Even if you responded to the first phase of consultation, we would still like to hear from you. You may want to reconsider or reaffirm your views after reviewing the information we have provided here. The council is committed to a two stage consultation. We said we would provide more information at the second stage about the role and powers of a parish council. We also want your views on the area and the naming of a parish if one were to be created.

Answer:

It is difficult to give a clear estimate of the cost of running a parish council. The cost depends on the overheads (e.g. staff costs and premises) and the range of services that a parish council chooses to provide.

The tax base for a parish council in the area shown on the map at Appendix 1 as Boundary Option 1 is estimated at 3,277 Band D equivalent properties. At the national average of a £64.05 precept, the estimated income from the precept for a parish council in this area would be in the region of £209,892.[1]

Parish councils vary enormously in size, activities and circumstances, representing populations ranging from less than 100 in small rural hamlets to almost 100,000 (Sutton Coldfield Town Council). We have provided some benchmarking examples obtained from other parish councils at Appendix 3 for comparison. This includes Queens Park Community Council, the only parish council in London. The examples have been selected because they serve populations of a similar size to the area of Tower Hamlets under consideration. They show the different kinds of services provided by different parish councils, staff costs and income raised through the parish precept.

[1] If a council tax collection rate of 97.25% is assumed then the figure would be 3,177 Band D equivalent properties with an estimated total precept of £203,487

Answer:

Data controller and purpose

The information you provide will be used by the London Borough of Tower Hamlets’ Intelligence & Performance Service to monitor residents’ perceptions of the council, it’s services and the area. Your personal data will be processed as part of this. The Residents’ Survey is provided jointly with Westco Trading Ltd. and Infocorp who manage and conduct the fieldwork of the survey. The London Borough of Tower Hamlets is the Controller of the data.

We process your data in accordance with the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) and the Data Protection Act 2018. If you have any concerns the Council’s Data Protection Officer can be contacted on DPO@towerhamlets.gov.uk.  

Condition for processing personal data

It is necessary for us to process your personal and equalities data (gender, age, ethnicity, sexual orientation, language, religion, health, personal and household circumstances) as a task carried out in the public interest and a substantial task in the public interest for the equalities data.

How long do we keep your information?

We will only hold your information for as long as is required by law and to provide you with the necessary services. This is likely to be for five years after the survey is complete. For further details you can view our retention schedule.

We may also anonymise some personal data you provide to us to ensure that you cannot be identified and use this for statistical analysis of data to allow the council to effectively target and plan the provision of services.

Information sharing

Your personal information may be shared with internal departments or with external partners and agencies involved in delivering services on our behalf. As stated above this will include some personal information such as names and contact details. The council has a duty to protect public funds and may use personal information and data-matching techniques to detect and prevent fraud, and ensure public money is targeted and spent in the most appropriate and cost effective way. Information may be shared with internal services and external bodies like the Audit Commission, Department for Work and Pensions, other local authorities, HM Revenue and Customs, and the Police. This activity is carried out under social protection law.

We have a duty to improve the health of the population we serve. To help with this, we use data and information from a range of sources including hospitals to understand more about the nature and causes of disease and ill-health in the area. This data would normally be anonymised and never used to make decisions on a specific individual or family.

Your rights

You can find out more about your rights on our data protection page and how to complain to the Information Commissioner.

Answer:

Data controller and purpose

The information you provide will be used by the London Borough of Tower Hamlets’ Community Equipment Service, to process your equipment and minor adaptations. The service is provided jointly with the NHS and the participants are joint controllers of the data you provide.

We process your data in accordance with the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) and if you have any concerns the council’s Data Protection Officer can be contacted on DPO@towerhamlets.gov.uk.

Condition for processing personal data

It is necessary for us to process your personal data (name, address, contact details), under the GDPR as a task carried out in the public interest and more personal data (health, personal and household circumstances) as necessary for substantial public interest reasons.

A delay in you providing the information requested may result in a delay in providing appropriate services.

How long do we keep your information?

We will only hold your information for as long as is required by law and to provide you with the necessary services. This is likely to be for 20 years after the case is closed. For further details, you can view our retention schedule.

We may also anonymise some personal data you provide to us to ensure that you cannot be identified and use this for statistical analysis of data to allow the council to effectively target and plan the provision of services.

Information sharing

Your personal information may be shared with internal departments or with external partners and agencies involved in delivering services on our behalf. As stated above this will include Medequip Assistive Technology Ltd.

The council has a duty to protect public funds and may use personal information and data-matching techniques to detect and prevent fraud, and ensure public money is targeted and spent in the most appropriate and cost-effective way. Information may be shared with internal services and external bodies like the Audit Commission, Department for Work and Pensions, other local authorities, HM Revenue and Customs, and the Police. This activity is carried out under social protection law.

We have a duty to improve the health of the population we serve. To help with this, we use data and information from a range of sources including hospitals to understand more about the nature and causes of disease and ill-health in the area. This data would normally be anonymised and never used to make decisions on a specific individual or family.

Your rights

You can find out more about your rights on our data protection page and this includes details of your rights about automated decisions, such as the ranking of Housing Applications, and how to complain to the Information Commissioner. 

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