Formal Statements

The Parish Council has made the following formal statements as required by legislation.

WELFORD PARISH COUNCIL

FREEDOM OF INFORMATION ACT 2000

THE PARISH COUNCIL FULLY COMPLIES WITH THE ABOVE ACT

Records can be viewed:

By prior arrangement with the Clerk to the Parish Council
By way of inspection and/or hardcopy
A charge will be levied to cover out-of-pocket expenses

Pauline Vann
Manor Farm
Newlands Naseby
Northamptonshire
NN6 6DE 

01604 740774    

pvann@tiscali.co.uk
    

FREEDOM OF INFORMATION ACT

At the Parish Council Meeting held on January 3rd 2003 the Clerk advised the Council of the basic provisions of the FoI Act which requires Parish Councils to:

Produce and maintain a publication scheme (i.e. a list of the classes of information which the council is prepared to make available to the public.)
State the manner in which the information is to be published
State if a charge is to be levied for supplying the information

All schemes have to be approved by the Information Commissioner's Office by 31st December 2002 and Schemes have to be in place by February 2003.

Three Schemes are available:

1: Model Publication (core classes only)
2: Model Publication (core classes plus Optional Documents)
3: Bespoke Scheme

The Clerk informed the Parish Council of the recommended action to be taken, which includes:

Adopt a scheme and pass a resolution (e.g. WPC acknowledges the duty placed upon it by the FoI Act 2000 to adopt (state which scheme)
Decide how the scheme is to published - e.g.
Local newspaper
WPC notice board
via newspaper circulation
Advise where information can be obtained
Format produced:
Hard copy
Inspection at suitable premises by prior appointment
Website
Decide if a charge is to be made: if 'yes' - at what level (e.g. photocopy, postage, clerk's time)
Review scheme every three years (suggest formal agenda item for Annual Parish Council Meeting)

It was agreed that the points in bold type above would form the basis of Welford Parish Council's scheme and that the Clerk would place a formal notice on the Parish Council's notice board informing the public of the Council's adoption of the requirements of the FoI Act 2002. In addition further information will be displayed on the Welford website.

After some further discussion it was proposed by Mr I.Wardleworth and seconded by Mr J.Frommont that, "Welford parish Council formally acknowledges the duty placed on it by the Freedom of Information Act 2002 and has agreed to adopt the Model Publication - Core Classes Only." This was approved unanimously.

The Clerk will advise the Information Commissioners of the Parish Council's actions.

THE DUTY TO PROMOTE RACE RELATIONS

At the Parish Council Meeting held on January 3rd 2003 the Clerk advised Councillors of the basic provisions of recent Race Equality legislation, the main points of which are listed below:

The Race Relations Act places a general duty on Parish Councils to promote race equality. This duty (the aim of which is to make the promotion of race equality central to the work of a public authority) means that councils must have due regard to the need to:
Eliminate unlawful racial discrimination
Promote equality of opportunity
Promote good relations between people of different racial groups

The general duty does not tell authorities how to do their work but expects them to assess whether race equality is relevant to their functions. If it is, the authority should do everything it can to meet the general duty.

A fully compliant and, thereby, successful authority will be able to show that it has:

Identified functions and policies that are relevant to the duty
Arranged to assess the impact its policy proposals are likely to have on the duty
Arranged to monitor the effects of its policies on different groups
Arranged to publish reports on its assessments and monitoring every year
Arranged for the Freedom of Information about its work
Published a race equality scheme
Set race equality objectives for all work undertaken/sub-contracted

The Parish Council has a specific file relating to this important subject where the background information is held, including the main publications issued by the Commission for Racial Equality:
Code of Practice on the Duty to Promote Racial Equality
Ethnic Monitoring - A Guide for Public Authorities

In addition it is recommended that the Council should:
Consider items I, II and III above at all Council Meetings
Monitor the effects of its policies at each Annual Meeting of the Parish Council and to record this in the Minutes
Advise all new Councillors, on appointment, of the Parish Council's stance on the Race Equality

After a short discussion Mrs P.Draper proposed, and Mr C.Garrood seconded that, "Welford Parish Council acknowledges, and accepts its responsibilities, as laid down under the Race Relations Act, to fulfil a General Duty to promote race equality." This was approved unanimously.

The Clerk advised Councillors that acceptance of the above guidance notes together with the approved resolution will be sufficient to form the Parish Council's Scheme.