COMMUNICATIONS POLICY

AIMS

§ To establish clear, easy to use channels of communication between the Parish Council and the Parishioners, and vice versa.

§ To provide information on important matters in an appropriate manner so as to facilitate and encourage informed comment from interested individuals and groups.

INTRODUCTION

Each Parish Councillor has a duty to represent, without bias, the interest of the whole community. They will endeavour to do their best and are available to help parishioners with regard to matters relating to the parish of Frampton-on-Severn. They may be contacted by telephone and a contact list is displayed on the Parish Council noticeboard at The Post Office. If the matter is important, then a letter to the Parish Clerk will ensure that this will be brought before the Parish Council and dealt with in a suitable and professional manner.

It is the Parish Council’s intention to comply with the schedule as below.

PARISH COUNCIL MEETINGS

§ The Parish Council will meet at 7.30pm on the first Wednesday of the month.

§ The Annual Meeting of the Parish Council will be the May meeting when Councillors will elect the Chair and appoint the Vice Chair for the forthcoming year.

§ The Annual Parish Meeting will take place on the third Wednesday in March in each year.

§ The October Parish Council Meeting will be preceded at 7.00pm by the presentation of the awards for the Village Garden Competition.

§ There will be no Parish Council meeting in August.

§ The Parish Council will meet in The Rowles Room at the Village Hall, unless otherwise notified.

§ A 15-minute discussion period for parishioners will be held at the beginning of the Parish Council Meeting.

NOTICEBOARDS

§ The following items will be displayed permanently:

Parish Councillors with contact telephone numbers

Parish Council meetings dates for the year

Parish Council Ward areas.

§ Notice of the annual audited accounts will be displayed when appropriate.

§ The Parish Council meeting notice will be displayed one week in advance of the meeting.

§ Notices for Parishioners will be displayed as and when appropriate.

COMMUNITY ASSOCIATION NEWSLETTER

§ A summary of the Parish Council Minutes will be published in the bi-monthly Newsletter.

§ The Chairman’s Report to the Annual Parish Meeting will be published annually.

§ Appropriate notices will be published as and when required.

PARISH WEBSITE

§ The following items will be permanently available:

Parish Councillors with contact telephone numbers

Parish Council meeting dates for the year

Parish Council Ward areas

The last set of approved Parish Council Minutes

The Chairman’s Annual Report

§ The Parish Clerk will ensure that all Parish Council information included on the Website is regularly updated by passing relevant papers to the team involved in creating the site.

CORRESPONDENCE

§ All correspondence relating to the parish should be addressed to the Parish Clerk in the first instance. This will ensure that the matter is recorded and passed to the relevant person or organisation as soon as practicably possible.

§ All correspondence to the Parish Clerk will be acknowledged within one week of receipt.

§ If a parishioner wishes a matter to be formally discussed at a Parish Council meeting, then the Parish Clerk must be notified at least 10 days prior to the meeting to enable the item to be placed on the Agenda.

ANNUAL PARISH MEETING

The Annual Parish Meeting is held so that parishioners can have the opportunity to listen to the progress of the Parish Council over the last year and have the opportunity to debate local issues and celebrate local events and activities.

REVIEW

This document will be reviewed annually.

COMMENTS

Any comments or queries regarding this document should be made to the Parish Clerk.

Clerk to the Parish Council

Frampton-on-Severn Parish Council

Trillium

The Green

Frampton-on-Severn

Gloucester

GL2 7DY

Tel: 01452 740186

Email: parishclerk@framptononsevern.org