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Public Accountability

A local council is a public authority under the Freedom of Information Act 2000.  All town councils must have a publication scheme which details how it makes the information it holds available to the public.   The town council should also have a procedure for handling complaints.

If you feel any Town Councillor is or has not acted to an acceptable standard you are entitled to make a complaint. The link to make a complaint is below.

http://forms.thanet.gov.uk/standards-complaint-form

The Local Government Transparency Code was issued meet the desire to place more power into citizens’ hands to increase democratic accountability and make it easier for local people to contribute to the local decision making process and help shape public services.

Transparency is the foundation of local accountability and the key that gives people the tools and information they need to enable them to play a bigger role in society. The availability of data can also open new markets for local business, the voluntary and community sectors and social enterprises to run services or manage public assets.

Westgate-on-Sea Town Council is committed to published more than the minimum requirements of the code and below you will find links to this information.

Powers & Policies

Town councils have various statutory powers which originate from legislation made from before 1894 to present day.  The council can choose which power it exercises and adopts a policy to show how it will perform this function.

The one statutory duty a town council has is to provide allotments.  The Small Holdings and Allotments Act 1908- deals with the Provision of Allotments, Powers of Councils and Acquisition of Land.

The  Allotments Act 1925- specifies that land purchased or appropriated by local authorities for use as allotments must not be disposed of without Ministerial consent. The Secretary of State must be satisfied that 'adequate provision will be made for allotment holders displaced by the action of the local authority, or that such provision is unnecessary or not reasonably practicable'. (Section 8)

Below is a list of the powers available to Westgate-on-Sea Town Council and the policies it has adopted to discharge its functions.

Policies, powers, regulations and orders

Parish Council Orders Feb 2015 File Uploaded: 31 January 2019 5.2 MB Statutory Powers File Uploaded: 22 February 2019 164.5 KB Standing Orders 2022 File Uploaded: 7 July 2022 558.7 KB Committee TORs and Scheme of Delegations 2023 File Uploaded: 30 May 2023 282.2 KB Community Safety Steering Group TOR File Uploaded: 18 November 2022 121.8 KB Code of Conduct - 2022 File Uploaded: 6 September 2022 508 KB Publication Scheme 2022 File Uploaded: 12 September 2022 182.7 KB Complaints Procedure 2022 File Uploaded: 12 September 2022 155.3 KB Bullying and Harassment Statement 2022 File Uploaded: 31 October 2022 76.8 KB Community Engagement & Communication Policy File Uploaded: 12 September 2022 233.3 KB Councillors Email Policy 2022 File Uploaded: 14 June 2022 159.2 KB Cyber Policy 2022 File Uploaded: 14 June 2022 139.6 KB Data Protection Policy 2022 File Uploaded: 14 June 2022 226.9 KB Dignity at Work Policy File Uploaded: 13 September 2022 393.2 KB Disciplinary Policy 2021 File Uploaded: 17 January 2022 271 KB Environment Policy 2022 File Uploaded: 14 June 2022 197.7 KB Equality & Diversity Policy 2022 File Uploaded: 14 June 2022 209.9 KB Expenses Policy 2022 File Uploaded: 14 June 2022 180.4 KB Grievance Policy 2021 File Uploaded: 17 January 2022 210.6 KB Health & Safety Policy 2022 File Uploaded: 14 June 2022 449 KB Lone Working Policy 2022 File Uploaded: 14 June 2022 285.7 KB Press & Media Policy 2022 File Uploaded: 14 June 2022 202.9 KB Privacy Policy 2022 File Uploaded: 14 June 2022 471.4 KB Procurement Policy 2022 File Uploaded: 14 June 2022 217.4 KB Record Management & Retention Policy File Uploaded: 7 April 2021 235.9 KB Recruitment Policy 2022 File Uploaded: 14 June 2022 156.1 KB Request for Information Policy 2022 File Uploaded: 14 June 2022 146.3 KB Safeguarding Policy 2022 File Uploaded: 14 June 2022 205.9 KB Smoking Policy 2022 File Uploaded: 12 September 2022 154.9 KB Social Media Policy 2022 File Uploaded: 7 July 2022 237.7 KB Staff Email & Communication Policy 2022 File Uploaded: 14 June 2022 225.7 KB Training & Development Policy 2022 File Uploaded: 14 June 2022 292.4 KB Vexatious Policy 2022 File Uploaded: 14 June 2022 259.6 KB Virtual Meetings Policy File Uploaded: 5 February 2021 151.4 KB Volunteer Policy 2022 File Uploaded: 12 September 2022 423.5 KB Website Policy 2022 File Uploaded: 14 June 2022 189.7 KB