In accordance with the provisions of the Local Government and Elections (Wales) Act 2021, the council at its meeting held on 13 February 2024, formally resolved that it is an ‘Eligible Community Council’ for the purpose of using the General Power of Competence.
Prior to confirming the council’s eligibility status, three eligibility conditions needed to be satisfied namely:
- At least two thirds of the listed number of members of the council have been declared to be elected (including unopposed), whether at an ordinary election or at a by-election.
The council satisfies this condition because all 21 council seats across its seven electoral wards were contested at the ordinary local government elections held on 5 May 2022.
- The Clerk to the Council holds such named qualifications or certification as may be specified by Welsh Ministers by regulation.
The council satisfies the condition in that the Clerk to the Council holds the certificate of Higher Education in Local Policy (with distinction) and has also successfully completed the Society of Local Council Clerks standalone training module – ‘GPoC’ (General Power of Competence).
- The two most recent Auditor General for Wales’ opinions on the council’s accounts are unqualified. The most recent must have been received in the previous 12 months.
The council satisfies this condition in that the Auditor General for Wales has issued an unqualified audit opinion for the two most recent audits of its accounts; the latest opinion relating to the financial year ending 31 March 2023.
The three conditions, collectively, serve as indicators that the council represents the views of its electorate; it has a recent record of sound governance; and the clerk has the core knowledge, skills and understanding to support the council in the exercise of the general power.
Mark Galbraith
Clerk to the Council
