For a variety of reasons but mainly a general movement towards greater democracy, and after a very difficult course through Parliament and many amendments, a bill was introduced to promote and create Parish Councils, which then became The Local Government Act of 1894.

It produced by statute the first tier of Local Government the Parish Council, even after an immense reorganisation of local government in 1974 (The Local Government Act 1972); it has remained the only purely democratic statutory body for the representation of the people.

The 1972 Act, Section 9, puts the matter in perspective: “for every Parish there shall be a Parish meeting for the purpose of discussing Parish affairs…for every Parish or group of Parishes having a Parish Council before the 1 st of April 1974 there shall continue to be a Parish Council”.

Powers and the Functions of Parish Councils.

Parish Councils are local authorities comprised of Councillors who are elected (since implementation of the Local Government Act of 1972) for four years at a time. For the record there are currently 11 Parish Councils within the Unitary Authority of Medway.

Parish Councils have the power to provide and maintain certain amenities within their Parish. Those statutory powers can extend to many, of which may possibly include providing recreation grounds, village greens, village halls, public shelters, public seating, bus shelters, public toilets and allotments, although Parish Councils can only spend money on projects or actions for which they have that statutory power. There are many other Acts and Statutes, which govern the activities of Parish Councils and these, are added on a regular basis.

The Role of a Parish Councillor.

Parish Councillors have three main areas of work.

•  Decision-making.

•  Monitoring.

The day-to-day work of a Councillor may include: •  Going to meetings of local organisations such as tenants' associations •  Going to meetings of bodies that affect the wider community, such as the police, the Highways Authority, schools and colleges •  Taking up issues on behalf of members of the public, such as making representations to the District Council •  Running a surgery for residents to bring up issues •  Meeting with individual residents in their own homes

Code of Conduct.

The Role of the Parish Clerk

A Parish Council appoints a Clerk who in effect has an important role and duty to give clear advice and forthright guidance if required, to all members of the Council including the Chairman before decisions are reached. By liasing with the Monitoring Officer at District Council level, the Clerk has a key role in advising the Council and its members on governance, ethical matters and their Register of Interests.

The Clerk is not only the Parish Council's Financial Officer dealing with specific duties in relation to its budget, annual accounts and audit, ensuring the proper financial management of the Council but he/she is also the Parish Council's Administrative Officer being responsible for correspondence, reports, minutes and records and advising its members of their legal obligations.

Parish Precept

A Parish Council is empowered to raise money for their activities through a tax, the ‘Parish Precept', but they may only spend public money on schemes or activities for which they have a ‘statutory power'. The Parish Council decides how much money it will spend in the forthcoming fiscal year and therefore what funds it will require to raise. To raise that money, Parish Council submits the ‘Precept', of which is added to the Council Tax bills of residents within its Parish.

Parish Wards

To obtain appropriate representation, the Parish of Hoo St Werburgh is divided into 3 Wards consisting of,

Hoo East – 5 Councillors.

Hoo West (Chattenden) – 3 Councillors.

Hoo Central – 7 Councillors.

Councillor Vacancies

If any individual Councillor does not complete the period of 4 years, one of two methods of replacement is adopted. A poll may be called, if demanded by any ten of the Parish electorate, in which then an election is arranged by the returning officer of the district. If no poll is called for within fourteen days, the Parish Council can if it so wishes fill the vacancy at the earliest opportunity by co-option.

District Council Wards

District Council representation for the Parish of Hoo St Werburgh is split over two Medway Council Wards – Peninsula and Strood Rural (Chattenden). Each of these Wards has three Council Members apiece.

Parish Council Meetings

Hoo St Werburgh Parish Council holds its meetings regularly, usually on the 1 st Thursday of each month, barring August, unless otherwise publicly stated and are open to the public, however there may be occasions when certain confidential matters have to be discussed and of such items the press and any public present are requested to leave.