Parish Meetings

Parish Meetings are quite distinct from meetings of the Parish Council, although the two are often confused.

The confusion arises for several reasons:

• if present, the Chairman of the Parish Council must chair the Parish Meeting;
• the Clerk to the Parish Council organises and takes the minutes of the Parish Meeting;
• the Annual Parish Meeting often takes place on the same evening as the Annual Meeting of the Parish Council.

Some of the differences are as follows.

• Any person on the Electoral Register of the Parish is entitled to speak at a Parish Meeting, at a meeting of the Parish Council members of the public may speak only at the Chairman’s discretion.
• With the exception of the Chairman, councillors rank the same as other members of the electorate.
• Only councillors may request items to be placed on the agenda of a Parish Council Meeting whereas any member of the electorate may do so at a Parish Meeting.
• Any matter pertinent to the Parish may be discussed at a Parish Meeting, whereas at a Parish Council meeting subjects for discussion should be limited to those matters on which the Council has the power to act (conferred by various Acts of Parliament).
• The press and general public have a right to attend Parish Meetings, but anyone not on the Electoral Register of the Parish is a “stranger” and does not have the right to vote.

In a summary:

A Parish Meeting is a meeting of the people of the parish.

A Parish Council Meeting is a meeting of the parish councillors.

Annual Parish Meetings