The move is part of a package of measures aimed at enabling more people to run local services and take decisions that affect their area. It follows a consultation launched by the DCLG in November last year on proposals to make it easier to set up a new town and parish council.
Under the current process campaigners must obtain support from 10% of the local electorate to trigger a 'community governance review', which is required to set up a new parish council.
The DCLG said in its response (14-page / 77KB PDF) to the consultation that it will introduce a number of its proposed options, including limiting the time for a community governance review to 12 months from the receipt of a valid petition. It said it felt that this reduction achieved the "right balance between pace and thoroughness".
The number of signatures needed on a petition for a community governance review will be reduced to 7.5% of the local area population, with a higher proportion to be set for local areas with smaller electorates. The DCLG said this approach ensured that new parishes will only be created in those areas where there is "clear and evident support" from the electorate.
Neighbourhood forums which have produced a neighbourhood plan passed by a referendum will be able to make an application for community governance review, rather than having to submit a petition with the required number of signatories.
The DCLG said some respondents to the consultation had raised concerns that such forums are not sufficiently representative of local communities. However, it said that the neighbourhood forum can test support for having a parish council with the local community and that the governance review itself would test public support, with the local authority making the decision on the review.
Amendments will be made to current statutory guidance, including recommending that local authorities set out how the process can fit with the electoral cycle; addressing the interpretation of the concepts of 'effectiveness' and 'convenience' in a community governance review and recommending that local authorities have an appropriate internal review process on request. A right of appeal for campaigners will not be introduced, the DCLG said.
"Parish councils are a fundamental part of our local democracy, giving the people who live within a community, direct powers to run their local services," said Communities Minister Don Foster in a statement. "For too long the power of the parishioner has only been exercised by people who live in the countryside."
"Many of our bustling towns and cities would benefit from the neighbourliness and local insight of the parish perspective so today I’m making it easier for people, wherever they live, to close up the democratic gap in their own community by creating their own parish council."
"The process for creating parishes will continue to be robust, with the local authority retaining the power to decide whether a new parish should be set up. The difference for campaigners and local councils will be a far easier, quicker and more democratic process," Foster added.
The DCLG said that it would commence the legislative reform order process "shortly" with the intention of implementing the proposed changes to the current system within the next 12 months.
