§ Jeff EnnisTo ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs how many(a) parish and (b) town councils have been awarded quality status in (i) Barnsley, (ii) Doncaster and (iii) South Yorkshire. [184110]
§ Alun MichaelThere are a number of challenging criteria that town and parish councils have to pass in order to gain Quality Status. One criteria is that the clerk needs to be qualified in the Certificate in Local Council Administration. In addition there are other criteria such as democratic accountability, communications and audited accounts.
To date nationally there are 55 town and parish councils that have gained Quality Status and there are 500 clerks registered for the Certificate in Local Council Administration.
The Yorkshire and Humber Training Partnership has held 12 training events with 400 delegates attending. In addition the Countryside Agency has sponsored an event which was attended by a further 160 delegates.
The Yorkshire and Humber Training Partnership have received 40 registrations from clerks that are working towards the Certificate in Local Council Administration. An additional 40 are also working towards the qualification but have not yet registered. We anticipate that there will be 80 town and parish councils in this region applying for Quality Status in the coming 12 months
No applications for Quality status have yet been received from parish councils or town councils in Barnsley, Doncaster or South Yorkshire.