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General Power of Competence

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General Power of Competence

The Town Council resolved from 20 May 2019, until the next relevant Annual Meeting of the Council, that having met the conditions of eligibility as defined in the Localism Act 2011 and SI 965 The Parish Councils (General Power of Competence)(Prescribed Conditions) Order 2012, to adopt the which means that Councils, once adopting the power, no longer need to ask whether they have a specific power to act.

The Town Council reaffirmed and resolved the continued adoption of the General Power of Competence at its Annual Meeting held on Monday 15 May 2023 having met the conditions of eligibility as defined in the Localism Act 2011 and SI 965 The Parish Councils (General Power of Competence)(Prescribed Conditions) Order 2012.

Use this link to open the legislation for the General Power of Competence

The General Power of Competence Localism Act 2011 S1 (1) gives Local Authorities including … local councils “the power to do anything that individuals generally may do as long as they do not break any other laws”. It is a power of first resort. This means that when searching for a power to act, the first question to ask is whether you can use the General Power of Competence. To find the answer, you ask whether an individual is normally permitted to act in the same way.

Sometimes a Council can do things that an individual can’t do such as creating bylaws, raising a precept or issuing fixed penalty notices but it must do so using the specific original legislation.

The General Power of Competence does not mean the Council can delegate decisions to individual Councillors. This is a procedural matter that remains enshrined in law.

Please use the list below on the links to read more about the General Power of Competence:

Use this link to open the PDF booklet about the general power of competence – empowering councils to make a difference

Use this link to open the PDF booklet about Empowering-councils

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