Rebecca Evans MS, Minister for Finance and Local Government
On 3 March 2021, the then Minister for Housing and Local Government made the first Commencement Order in respect of the Local Government and Elections (Wales) Act 2021 (“the Act”). This Commencement Order included provision to bring the general power competence into force for eligible community councils on 5 May 2022.
The conditions a community council must satisfy in order to resolve itself an ‘eligible community council’ are:
- At least two-thirds of the total number of members of the council have been declared to be elected, whether at an ordinary election or at a by-election.
- The clerk to the council holds such qualification or description of qualification as may be specified by the Welsh Ministers by regulations.
- The council has received unqualified auditor’s opinions from the Auditor General for Wales, for two consecutive financial years. The latest unqualified auditor’s opinion must have been received during the 12 months preceding the day on which the council’s resolution is passed.
Prior to the commencement of these provisions, certain Regulations need to be consulted upon and made.
As set out above, the Act includes a provision which enables the Welsh Ministers to specify, in regulations, the qualifications or description of qualifications that the clerk to a community council must hold in order for the community council to meet the second of the three eligibility conditions to become an ‘eligible community council’.
Today, I am launching a consultation on the draft Eligible Community Councils (General Power of Competence) (Qualifications of Clerks) (Wales) Regulations 2021 which set out the qualifications that a clerk must hold for a community council to satisfy the second eligibility condition.
View the consultation document and draft Regulations.
The consultation runs until 24 September 2021.