HIGH BICKINGTON PARISH COUNCIL
Clerk: Mrs Di Carter, 20 Springfield, Four Seasons Village, Winkleigh, Devon EX19 8DP
E-mail: cartergrth@aol.com

FREEDOM OF INFORMATION ACT

MODEL PUBLICATION SCHEME

Adopted by the Parish Council on:

Date:       10 DECEMBER 2008
Signed:   Myc Riggulsford - Chairman

Under the terms of the Freedom of Information Act public authorities are required to adopt a model publication scheme making information available to the public as part of its normal business activities.

Who we are and what we do:

High Bickington is a Parish Council comprising of 8 Councillors. The main point of contact is the Clerk (contact details on letterhead). Meetings are held on the second Wednesday of each month, apart from August, in the Meeting Point, High Bickington at 7.30pm. Members of the public are welcome to attend and a period for matters raised by the public is put aside before the formal meeting is convened.

The Parish Council has appointed the High Bickington Community Property Trust as its agents to take forward the Parish Plan and an elected Councillor representative sits on the Community Property Trust Board. The Parish Council is responsible for setting an annual budget to cover administration expenses, repairs and maintenance, footpath management, and annually awards grants to local organisations. This budget forms the basis for the Parish Precept part of the Council Tax levied by Devon County Council. The Parish Council is also consulted by Torridge District Council on planning applications within the Parish.

What we spend and how we spend it:

The budget is finalised in December each year and itemises anticipated expenses. The audited accounts to 31 March each year are displayed on noticeboards in September/October.

What our priorities are and how we are doing:

1. The Parish Council is keen to promote a good community relationship and take forward any matters on behalf of the public.
2. To continually improve the quality of life of parishioners by improving community facilities. To achieve this by the on-going involvement of all parishioners so that community aspirations are identified and met where possible.

How we make decisions:

All decisions are made by the Full Council at their monthly meetings and fully reported in the Minutes. Urgent matters can be responded to by delegated authority of Chairman, Vice-Chairman or a nominated officer and ratified at the following full Council meeting.>

Our policies and procedures:

A written Code of Conduct is in place together with a Financial Regulations policy both of which are updated as and when required.

Lists and registers:

A list of Councillors and their business interests is recorded and kept by Torridge District Council to comply with the new Model Code of Conduct.

Services we offer:

The website – http://www.highbickington.org - contains information on the Parish Council and all minutes of meetings. These cover financial issues, planning applications and decision making, and as well as being displayed on the website are put on village noticeboards, and in Ramblings magazine.

Paper copies of minutes, budgets, accounts, and policies are available from the Clerk at a nominal charge of 10p per sheet. Copies of the Parish Plan are available for inspection.