Letter: In praise of local councils

In response to the letter from N Evans of Bishop's Castle, headlined "The parish councils are out of touch now" I feel I must respond on behalf of the hard-working parish and town councils all over the country and in particular in Shropshire.

The Shropshire Association represents the views of member councils.

I agree that communications with council officers is improving, due to e-mail and other technological advanc- es. The rest of your letter is misinformed so I would like to point out that in general:

a) Parish councils have been around since the 1894 Local Government Act, having statutory responsibilities as a corporate body.

b) In general parish councillors are unpaid volunteers claiming expenses for meetings outside of the parish boundary as approved by the council only.

c) Councillors are publicly accountable, being democratically elected.

d) Shropshire has 165 parish councils.

e) Any meeting of a parish or town council must be open to the public and press unless it has confidential business relating to tenders or contracts or employee issues.

f) Parish councils have to adhere to strict guidelines for the proper administration of public funds.

g) A good parish council will support its community groups financially.

h) The Welsh equivalent are called community councils but adhere to the same constitutions, rules and laws with possibly some minor local variations.

i) Parish councils are seen as the most cost-effective level of service provision.

Karen Roper

Chief executive officer for the Shropshire Association of Local Councils