Town and Community Councils in Wales

20 May 2022

Dear

ATISN 16319 Town and Community Councils in Wales

Thank you for your request which I received on 16 May.  You asked for information following the recent May 2022 Elections on:

1. The Number of Community and Town Councils in Wales.

2. In how many of these Councils do Co-Opted members hold the majority of seats.

3. The number of Community and Town Council seats currently on record as still being vacant after the elections of May 2022.

According to data obtainable via the StatsWales website, prior to 5 May there were 740 Community Councils in Wales.  However, since this date there has been a review of communities in Monmouthshire, and the number of Community Councils has been reduced and there are now 732 Community Councils in Wales. More information about the review (Monmouthshire.GOV.UK).

With regards to requests ‘2’ and ‘3’, I can confirm that the Welsh Government does not hold this information. Should you wish to proceed with your request for this data, it is recommended you contact each Local Authority direct. View a list of all local authorities, and their websites.

If you have any queries about this request, please do not hesitate to contact me at the address below.  Please remember to quote the reference number above in any future correspondence. 

Please note: the Welsh Government is facing unprecedented challenges during the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic. As a result resources, both finances and people, are being diverted away from many of our usual activities to deal with the pandemic. This will undoubtedly impact on our ability to comply with the normal requirements for information rights work and as a result you may experience delays when making information rights requests during the pandemic. We thank you for your understanding during this time.

The following is a link to the blog page of the Information Commissioner’s web site where you can find an article entitled “FOI and the coronavirus: a measured approach”

ICO's blog on its information rights work

The request you sent me contains personal information about you - for example, your name and address. The Welsh Government will be the data processor for this information and, in accordance with the General Data Protection Regulation, it will be processed in order to fulfil our public task and meet our legal obligations under the Act to provide you with a response. We will only use this personal information to deal with your request and any matters which arise as a result of it. We will keep your personal information and all other information relating to your request for three years from the date on which your request is finally closed.  Your personal information will then be disposed of securely.

Under data protection legislation, you have the right:  

• to be informed of the personal data we hold about you and to access it
• to require us to rectify inaccuracies in that data
• to (in certain circumstances) object to or restrict processing
• for (in certain circumstances) your data to be ‘erased’
• to (in certain circumstances) data portability
• to lodge a complaint with the Information Commissioner’s Office (ICO) who is our independent regulator for data protection

For further information about the information which the Welsh Government holds and its use, or if you wish to exercise your rights under the GDPR, please see contact details below:

Data Protection Officer
Welsh Government
Cathays Park    
CARDIFF
CF10 3NQ
Email: DataProtectionOfficer@gov.waless

The contact details for the Information Commissioner’s Office are:

Wycliffe House
Water Lane
Wilmslow
Cheshire
SK9 5AF

Telephone: 0303 123 1113
Website: www.ico.gov.uk

Any information released under the Freedom of Information Act 2000 or Environmental Information Regulations 2004 will be listed in the Welsh Government’s Disclosure Log (at Publication of freedom of information (FOI) responses).

Yours sincerely