Community and Town Councils in Wales to be more open and transparent

Access to information on Community and Town councils is set to improve as some of the provisions in the Local Government (Democracy) (Wales) Act come into force today (1 May).

From today, Community and Town Councils must publish information about their clerk and members, minutes of meetings and their audited statement of accounts on their website, as well as public notices and information on their meetings.

There will also be a duty on Community and Town Councils, County and County Borough Councils, Fire and Rescue Authorities and National Park Authorities to publish their register of members’ interests on their websites.

Further provisions coming into force today will help local authorities work together to prepare for mergers by removing legal barriers to the establishment of joint standards committees where collaboration offers practical or financial benefits.

Public Services Minister Leighton Andrews said:

“These provisions mean that Community and Town Councils must be more open about their proceedings and publish information they hold.

“Some of the best Community and Town Councils are already meeting high standards of openness and transparency, and from now we will require all councils to meet the same standards.

“This will help communities hold Community and Town Councils to account by providing information on councils’ finances and registers of members’ interests.”