The Fulbeck Parish Council is made up of seven elected members - comprising the Chair, Vice-Chair and five members - all unpaid volunteers who work for the benefit of the community and all local residents.
The Clerk to the Parish Council is a paid, part-time employee.
The Parish Council is fully accountable and subject to detailed audit.
There are six Parish Council meetings held each year including the Annual General Meeting and Annual Parish Meeting. Parish Council meetings are normally held on a Monday evening every two months in the Village Hall. Residents may attend full council meetings and can speak briefly on village matters at the commencement of the meeting in Parishioners Items.
Subject to the Chairman’s permission, minutes of Council meetings are published on this website.
All enquiries about this website or content, please contact the Parish Clerk.
What is a Parish Council?
A parish council is a local authority that makes decisions on behalf of residents in the parish, and has an overall responsibility for the wellbeing of its local community. It is the level of government closest to the community, with the district council (South Kesteven District Council) above it. Above that is Lincolnshire County Council and then, at the top, central government in Westminster. As the parish council is the authority closest to residents, it is invariably the first place residents will go with questions, concerns and ideas. For this reason it is a vital part of any community.
Parish councillors, who are all volunteers, have a dual role:
• They represent the views and concerns of the residents of the parish to the parish council itself and, through it, to the district or county authorities
• They report back to residents on issues affecting the parish
The formal part of these roles, especially the first, is carried out by attending meetings and corresponding with the parish clerk. The parish council might where appropriate have committees and even subcommittees, especially in larger councils. Individual councillors, including the chair, do not have, and cannot be given, powers to make decisions on behalf of the parish council, although the Chair has personal responsibilities re the running of parish council meetings.
If you’ve never been to a parish council meeting before, you may think that parish councillors are a group of people who meet some five or six times a year in the local village hall. If, however, you live in a community where something important has happened, you’ll know that, when residents need support and guidance, it is more often than not the parish council they turn to.
To view the composition of the Parish Council for 2023-24, please click on THIS LINK.
Parish councils make decisions on issues that affect the local community. Among the most common topics that parish councils get involved with are planning matters (they are statutory consultees), crime prevention, helping local groups, managing open spaces and campaigning for and ensuring the delivery of better services and facilities.
It’s true to say that, on their own, parish councils have limited powers to make decisions. But they do have the ability to negotiate with, and the power to influence, the other organisations that do make final decisions, such as the district and county councils, healthcare services, police and others.
And so parish councils can be very influential. The organisations making the final decisions know that a parish council gives the best reflection of how a community feels about something, and that the community’s views will be taken seriously.