General Power of Competence (GPoC)

The conditions for eligibility are set out in the Statutory Instrument, Parish Councils (General Power of Competence) (Prescribed Conditions) Order 20123 .

They are:

1. Resolution.

The council must resolve at a meeting that it meets the criteria for eligibility relating to the electoral mandate and relevant training of the clerk. The resolution can be passed at any meeting of the council but a further resolution must be passed at every subsequent “relevant annual meeting” for the council to be able to continue to exercise the power. A “relevant annual meeting” is the annual meeting that takes place in a year of ordinary elections, once every four years.

2. Electoral Mandate

At the time the resolution is passed, at least two thirds of the members of the council must hold office as a result of being declared elected. This means they should have stood for election, whether at an ordinary or by election, even if unopposed, rather than co-opted or appointed. If two thirds is not a whole number then it must be rounded up. For example, if the total number of councillors is 8, then two thirds is approximately 5.3, then the number of councillors that must be elected is 6.

3. Qualified clerk
At the time the resolution is passed the clerk must hold the certificate in local Council Administration, the Certificate of Higher Education in Local Policy, the Certificate of Higher Education in Local Council Administration or the first level of the foundation degree in Community Engagement and Governance (or successor qualifications) awarded by the University of Gloucestershire. The clerk must also have completed training in the exercise of this power as part of one of these qualifications or as separate exercise.

If the council loses its qualified clerk or has insufficient elected councillors then it must record its ineligibility at the next ‘relevant’ annual meeting of the council (after the ordinary election). If it has already started an activity it can finish that but not start anything new.

The powers available that are allowed to be carried out by a local authority are covered in Legal Topic Note 31.