A working law and procedure manual for local councils is unlikely to excite the creative juices of Andrew Lloyd Webber for swift transition to the West End stage, but this “power-full” two- acter is no less valuable for that.
Although national media does tend to refer to all local authorities as “local councils”, for these purposes the term refers to town and parish councils in England and community councils in Wales. These are the “grassroots” units of local government. Lacking the substantial powers and budgets of principal local authorities, local councils still can make a considerable difference at micro level since in their nature they can often reach much closer to their public than their more substantial principal counterparts. However, one of the problems with being small is that there is less legal and administrative support.
This can be a problem, since local councils as statutory democratic entities are publicly funded and accountable. They are subject to the broad sweep of local government law and procedure, with adaptations appropriate to their nature, but many local councillors, while well-meaning and public spirited will often be fairly hazy about important legal and procedural matters. So this publication from NALC will be extremely valuable, particularly to local council clerks and legal officers as well as local councillors, and in particular those with chairmanship and other such responsibilities.
A model process
After clearly and accessibly setting out key relevant law and procedure, Part Two contains a set of model standing orders which regulate all council processes. These also usefully demarcate statutory requirements in bold type and signal which provisions are mandatory for different types of meeting, ie full council, committee or sub-committee.
However, a few details might be considered for a future edition. Providing statutory references for the bold type standing orders (perhaps by way of footnote) might well be useful for clerks. A section on some of the key operational local council powers would also add value as would a general index and glossary of key terms.
Nevertheless, the book is an extremely valuable addition to the local government library of all who deal with this sector and should be a trusted guide for all within local councils who find themselves lost in a swirling fog of arcane law and process.
Nicholas Dobson is a lawyer specialising in local and public law.
E-mail: nicholas.dobson@tiscali.co.uk
