Parish Council - Who's Who

Rufford & Holmeswood Parish Councillors

Click on the photos to find out more about each councillor


Parish Council Clerk is
Mr J Forshaw
36 Newington Drive, Bury, BL8 2NE
Tel: 0161 7975287

email:
jforshaw31@googlemail.com

imageKaren Ashcroft
(Rufford)
imageSteve Bycroft
(Rufford)
imageBarry Clarke
(Holmeswood)


ORGANISATION/ROLES

Parish Clerk: John Forshaw

Councillors from Rufford ward: Karen Ashcroft, Stephen Bycroft, John Gordon, Peter Grace, David Lawrenson
Councillors from Holmeswood ward: Barry Clarke, Kath Cummings

Chairman: Peter Grace
Vice Chairman: John Gordon

Finance Committee (with powers to co-opt): Cllrs; Ashcroft, Cummings, Gordon

Cheque Signing: Clerk plus any two of three councillors - Cllrs; Gordon, Grace, Lawrenson

Internal Audit: Mr Gerry Rawsthorne

Lancashire Association of Parish and Town Councils, West Lancashire Area Committee
RPC Representatives: Clerk J Forshaw and Cllrs; Gordon, Grace, Lawrenson

Planning Committees (with powers to co-opt)
Rufford: Cllr Grace plus one Cllr from Rufford Ward and one Cllr from Holmeswood Ward
Holmeswood: Cllrs; Clarke, Cummings, Grace
Recommendations are then put before full council and voted on

Councillors on Village Hall Committees
Rufford:Cllr Ashcroft
Holmeswood:Cllr Cummings

Recreation Grounds and Grass Cutting: Cllrs; Cummings, Gordon; Mrs Rose Lee (Rufford Village Hall), Mr Charles Parker (Holmeswood Village Hall)

Play Equipment, Notice Boards and Seats (checked monthly)
Rufford: Cllr Grace
Holmeswood: Cllr Clarke

Parish Council Representative for Footpaths:Cllr Ashcroft

Leyfield Trust

  • representative elected by the Parish Council for a four year term
  • does not need to be a councillor
  • no jurisdiction by Parish Council on how money is spent
  • Clerk to co-sign cheques with our representative
  • annual re-confirmation of representative
    • Representative: Mr Gerry Rawsthorne

    Peter Lathom's Charity

  • representative elected by the Parish Council for a four year term
  • does not need to be a councillor
  • no jurisdiction by Parish Council on how money is spent
  • notified by Charity at the end of each four year term
    • Representatives: Cllrs; Grace, Lawrenson

    Rufford and Holmeswood PACT Committee
    Parish Council Representatives: Cllrs; Bycroft, Gordon, Lawrenson

    Northern Parishes Police Focus Group
    Parish Council Representatives: Cllrs; Bycroft, Gordon, Grace

    About the Parish Council

    In accordance with the Freedom of Information Act; Data Transparency Code, Localism Bill; Standards in Public Life; Accountability frameworks, Nolan Principles etc. and the request from the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government that doors be opened to the public, parish councils are being encouraged to not only publish as much as possible, especially online but also to develop a culture of interactivity with their parishioners.
    Rufford & Holmeswood Parish Council intend to comply with this and have begun to supply information for online publication as listed below. As the data is made available for this site, links to it will be added.

    Parish Council information being provided for this website
    Organisation and Contacts
  • Organisational information and structures
  • Full contact details, including addresses, telephone numbers and email addresses
  • Photographs and biographical details of each councillor

    • Expenditure (financial information relating to projected and actual income and expenditure, procurement, contracts and financial audit)
  • Current and previous financial year as a minimum
  • Annual return form and report by auditor
  • Finalised budget
  • Precept
  • Borrowing Approval letter
  • Financial Standing Orders and Regulations
  • Grants given and received
  • List of current contracts awarded and value of contract
  • Members' allowances and expenses

    • Priorities and Current Status(strategies and plans, performance indicators, audits, inspections and reviews)
  • Parish Plan (current and previous year as a minimum)
  • Annual Report to Parish or Community Meeting (current and previous year as a minimum)
  • Quality status
  • Local charters drawn up in accordance with DCLG guidelines

    • Decision-Making (decision making processes and records of decisions)
  • Current and previous council year as a minimum
  • Timetable of meetings (PC plus any committee/sub-committee meetings etc.)
  • Agendas of meetings (as above)
  • Minutes of meetings (as above) - NB this will naturally exclude information that is properly regarded as private to the meeting
  • Reports presented to council meetings - NB this will naturally exclude information that is properly regarded as private to the meeting
  • Responses to consultation papers
  • Responses to planning applications
  • Bye-laws

    • Policies and Procedures (current written protocols, policies and procedures for delivering our services and responsibilities)
  • Policies and procedures for the conduct of council business
  • Procedural standing orders
  • Committee and sub-committee terms of reference
  • Delegated authority in respect of officers
  • Code of Conduct
  • Policy statements
  • Policies and procedures for the provision of services and about the employment of staff
  • Internal policies relating to the delivery of services
  • Equality and diversity policy
  • Health and safety policy
  • Recruitment policies (including current vacancies)
  • Policies and procedures for handling requests for information
  • Complaints procedures (including those covering requests for information and operating the publication scheme)
  • Information security policy
  • Records management policies (records retention, destruction and archive)
  • Data protection policies
  • Schedule of charges (for the publication of information)

    • Lists and Registers
  • Any publicly available register or list
  • Assets Register
  • Disclosure log (indicating the information that has been provided in response to requests; recommended as good practice, but may not be held by parish council)
  • Register of members’ interests
  • Register of gifts and hospitality

    • Services Offered(information about the services offered by R & H PC, including leaflets, guidance and newsletters produced for the public and businesses)
  • Allotments
  • Burial grounds and closed churchyards
  • Community centres and village halls
  • Parks, playing fields and recreational facilities
  • Seating, litter bins, clocks, memorials and lighting
  • Bus shelters
  • Markets
  • Public conveniences
  • Agency agreements
  • A summary of services for which the parish council is entitled to recover a fee, together with those fees (e.g. burial fees)

    • Any Additional Information
  • This is an opportunity to publish information that is not itemised in the lists above

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    PUB
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    Details


    Parish Champion

    County Councillor Mike Otter is the Lancashire County Council Parish Champion. His role is to provide an important link with parish and town councils and let them know about funding opportunities. He also assists the Leader of the County Council and appropriate portfolio holders by advising on ways to sustain and improve effective working relationships between the county council and parish and town councils in Lancashire. He can be contacted by telephone on 01772 423623 or by email to mike.otter@lancashire.gov.uk and has a website which you can reach by clicking here

    Borough Councillor

    The Borough Councillor for Rufford is Jane Houlgrave (Conservative), elected from 5 May 2011 to 3 May 2012. For more details, please click here.

    2011 Rufford Borough Council Elections

    Candidate

    HOULGRAVE Jane
    GORDON John Ian
    WATKINSON Robert Bruce

    Party

    Conservative
    Independent
    Labour

    Votes

    372
    261
    236

    Share (%)

    42.8
    30.0
    27.2

    Voters: 1669
    Turnout: 876
    Percentage: 52.5
    Spoiled Papers: 7

    Community Pages

    Image Galleries


    Videos

    • Under Construction

    New Downloads

    Latest News


    PLEASE NOTE:

  • The next Parish Council meeting is now due to be held at Rufford Village Hall on: Monday 19th March at 7.15pm

  • The next PACT meeting is due to be held at Rufford Village Hall on: Wednesday 4th April at 6.45pm

    • Site Updates

  • Parish Council News
  • Parish Council Newsletter Feb 2012
    •

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    © Copyright 2011 ~ SMBetts
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