Scotland's 1,341 community councils have virtually no power, and most have budgets of just a few hundred pounds each year for administrative expenses. By contrast, England's 10,480 parish councils have a wide range of optional powers with budgets to match*.
England's parish councils can use any of these optional powers:
- Providing allotments, bus shelters, parking spaces, footpaths, public lighting
- Providing premises for athletic, social or educational objectives
- Providing premises for offices and for public meetings and assemblies
- Taking measures to prevent crime
- Tackling environmental issues
- Participating in schemes of collective investment
- Acquiring land for recreation grounds and public walks
- Anything that benefits local inhabitants ('General power of competence' under sections 1-8 of the Localism Act 2011)
*Parish councils are funded by raising a local tax called a 'precept', which is added to council tax. On average this amounts to £91 per year for a band-D home. However, it is generally recognised that small councils spend money more efficiently. Jackie Weaver of the Cheshire Association of Local Councils said in 2023: “One of the things that surprises me over and over again is how much can be achieved in the local community with very little money, but when you look at a principal authority getting involved in it, the costs just grow exponentially." Therefore if services are delivered locally, might council tax actually fall?