Hatley Parish Council’s protocol

At its meeting on 17th January 2023, Micky Astor, chairman of the council at the time, explained the council’s protocol:

Parish councils are created by an Act of Parliament and can only do those things which the law gives them the power to do.

As a tier of the UK government, albeit the lowest tier, it is governed by the rules of government.

Its role is to make decisions on behalf of the people in the parish; it also has an overall responsibility for the well-being of its local community.

It fulfils its role by having at least one meeting a year, whose agenda and notice must be published a minimum of three clear days before.

  • Such meetings are not public meetings. However, the public is encouraged to attend to observe the council deciding on issues on the agenda, although they have no right to speak without the chair’s permission. Nor should they have any direct involvement in that decision making process.
  • A special item is usually included on the agenda for the public to speak about agenda items, for a limited amount of time.
  • If you would like to add an item(s) for discussion, please contact the clerk to include it for the next meeting – email clerk@hatley-pc.gov.uk to let her know.

In addition…

  • Parish councils have powers (which they may use) and duties (things they must do).
  • Powers are discretionary but duties are mandatory.
  • As the Parish Council’s powers are laid down in legislation they can be changed or added to from time to time.
  • The Parish Council must ensure there is a statutory provision for all items resolved upon and for all expenditure.
  • Its statutory powers are limited; please refer to the Statutory documents page on this website for further details.

Accessibility statement for www.hatley.info

This website is run by Hatley Parish Council. We want as many people as possible to be able to use it, even if, for instance, you can’t see colours very well.

With this website – and, if necessary (because of your disability) specialist software and/or screen adaptor – you should be able to:

  • Change colours, contrast levels and fonts.
  • Zoom in up to 300% without the text spilling off the screen.
  • Navigate most of the website using just a keyboard.
  • Navigate most of the website using speech recognition software.
  • Listen to most of the website using a screen reader (including the most recent versions of JAWS, NVDA and VoiceOver).

We’ve also made the website text as simple as possible to understand.

Reporting accessibility problems with this website
We’re always looking to improve the accessibility of this website. If you find any problems not listed on this page or think we’re not meeting accessibility requirements, please contact Kim Wilde, the Parish Clerk:

  • E-mail clerk@hatley-pc.gov.uk
  • Phone 07591 346 835
  • By post
    Kim Wilde
    Hatley Parish Clerk
    36 Fairfield
    Gamlingay
    Cambridgeshire
    SG19 3LG

Enforcement procedure
Hatley Parish Council is committed to making its website accessible, in accordance with the Public Sector Bodies (Websites and Mobile Applications) (No. 2) Accessibility Regulations 2018 (the ‘accessibility regulations’).

The Equality and Human Rights Commission (EHRC) is responsible for enforcing those regulations – if you’re not happy with how we respond to your complaint, please contact the Equality Advisory and Support Service (EASS).

Page created 25th March 2024 (from elements on the old ‘About the council’ page); mini-update 26th July 2024.