Rebecca Evans MS, Minister for Finance and Local Government
The Local Government and Elections Act (Wales) 2021 (“The Act”) was passed on 20 January 2021. In December 2021, I consulted on draft statutory guidance for the community and town council sector on those aspects on the Act which affects them.
The consultation closed on 17 March and I am grateful for all responses received. Overall, there was strong support for the guidance, with some additional detail requested on specific issues. Further case studies were also requested. The full analysis and response to the consultation has been published: Consultation – summary of response
Following this formal consultation, I am pleased to be publishing the statutory guidance today.
The statutory guidance supports community and town councils to consider the requirements should they wish to become eligible community councils. The guidance also provides information to help all community councils discharge their new duties including:
- Accessing meetings from multiple locations;
- Providing opportunity for public participation at public council meetings;
- Preparing and publishing an annual report; and
- Preparing and publishing a training plan to support training for councillors and council staff.
The guidance can be accessed at the following link: The Local Government and Elections (Wales) Act 2021: Statutory Guidance for Community and Town Councils