About the Parish Council

Rufford & Holmeswood Parish Council represents the residents of Rufford and Holmeswood and operates independently of any political organisation or party.

Parish councils were formed in England under the Local Government Act 1894. The 1894 Act reformed local government in England and Wales and followed the reforms carried out at county level under the Local Government Act 1888.
The 1894 legislation introduced elected councils at district and parish level. One of the principal effects of the act was the establishment of elected parish councils in rural areas.

Rufford was a chapelry in the parish of Croston from which it was separated by act of parliament and became a parish in 1793.
Rufford is part of the South Ribble ward of West Lancashire Borough Council and has a Parish Council that meets in the village hall nine times per year.

The Parish Council is responsible for the area known as the civil parish as distinguished from the ecclesiastical parish.

Not every civil parish has a Parish Council. Smaller parishes typically with an electorate under 200 instead have Parish Meetings. There are 20 Parish Councils within the West Lancashire Borough Council area and one Parish Meeting.

Parish Councils are the first tier of local government closest to the people and have a vital role to play in improving local quality of life. They can influence decisions that affect local people, help bring life to local communities and offer a way of making sure services meet the needs of residents.

The Parish Council is non-political. It is solely involved in issues, items and developments for the benefit of Rufford and Holmeswood.

The Parish Council is comprised of councillors who serve for a four year term of office. The timing of the election cycle is usually linked to that of the election of a Borough Councillor for the ward containing the parish.
Legislation provides that the number of elected members of a Parish Council shall not be less than five.

For more information about Parish Elections and Membership, please click here.

Parish Councils cater for the local needs of their residents and generally employ a part time Clerk to implement decisions. The Clerk is not a Councillor and does not make decisions for the Parish Council but does advise of developments, law, requirements etc.
The Clerk manages the Parish Council business such as the financial matters, employee supervision, minutes, meeting arrangements, paperwork, agendas, noticeboards, continuous projects, council assets, emergency repairs etc.

The Parish Council is financed by raising a small levy (known as the precept) on all residential properties within a parish.

The powers of Parish Councils include the provision and maintenance of parks, and they play an important role in ensuring that the views of residents are heard on issues such as planning and public transport.

A major responsibility of the Parish Council is to comment upon local planning applications.

A Parish Council is a corporate body with a legal existence of its own, quite separate from that of its members. Its decisions are the responsibility of the whole body. The Council has been granted powers by Parliament, including the authority to raise money through taxation (the Precept) and a range of powers to spend public money.
All decisions are decided by vote. Each Councillor has one vote with the Chairman of the Council having one vote, but also an additional casting vote, if it is required.

Simply put, the Parish Council must do what Parliament requires it to do, may do only what Parliament says it may do and must not do anything unless it has a legal power to act, granted by Parliament.

The Parish Council has a duty to ensure that all the rules for the administration of the council are followed. It must:

Councillors have to follow a Code of Conduct detailed by Parliament. The Standards for England body provides advice and guidance to authorities on the Code of Conduct.
Every authority is required to adopt the Code, which sets out rules governing the behaviour of an authority's members.
Each authority's Code must include the provisions of the Model Code of Conduct approved by Parliament.
Authorities can choose to add their own local rules to the Model Code if they wish, although most adopt the Model Code as it is.
The Code covers all elected, co-opted and independent members of local authorities, including Parish Councils, fire, police and national park authorities.
The Model Code of Conduct can be downloaded by clicking here.

Parish Councils play a key role in the wellbeing of local communities and West Lancashire Borough Council in this respect has, in consultation with the Parish Councils, drawn up a 'Charter' applying to dealings between the two tiers of authority.

The West Lancashire Parish Charter sets out a number of ways that the Borough Council and Parish Councils can work in partnership with each other for the benefit of local people, while recognising the respective responsibilities of each organisation.

The Charter has produced several significant benefits, including:

The Charter has also led to greater day to day contact, enabling swifter resolution of service requests/concerns and has brought benefits to Councils in both tiers and also to residents.

The West Lancashire Borough Councillor for Rufford & Holmeswood is Jane Houlgrave (Conservative).

Councillor Houlgrave was elected on 5th May 2011 with 372 votes (42.8%) The turnout was 52.5%. The next Borough Council elections will be held on 3 May 2012

For more details about the Borough Council and Councillor Houlgrave, please click here.

The County Councillor for West Lancashire West division which includes Rufford & Holmeswood is William Cropper (Conservative).
Address: Wharton's Barn, Gorsuch Lane, Scarisbrick L40 9RP
Phone: 01704 840207Fax: 01704 840892
Mobile: 07917 627335email: william.cropper@lancashire.gov.uk
website:

Councillor Cropper was elected on 4th June 2009 with 2226 votes (51%) The turnout was 36.34%. The next County Council elections will be held on 2 May 2013

Rufford and Holmeswood are in the parliamentary constituency of South Ribble and the MP is Lorraine Fullbrook
House of Commons, London SW1A 0AA
Tel: 020 7219 3000
Constituency address: 6 Enterprise House, Whitestake, Preston PR4 4BA
Tel: 01772 740952
website: www.lorrainefullbrook.com

Lorraine Fulbrook was elected on 6th May 2010 with 23,396 votes (45.5%) The turnout was 68.31%. The next parliamentary elections will be held on 7th May 2015

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