Statutory Documents

There are strict rules which govern how the Council is managed. Statutory documents relating to these rules are listed below (please click the link to view the document):

• Code of Conduct
• Media Policy
• CCTV Policy
• HSE Policy
• Standing Orders
• Financial Regulations
• Biodiversity Policy
• IT Policy
• Equal Opportunities Statement
• Sheffield City Council – Complaint Procedure

Freedom of Information Act

Publication Scheme under the Freedom of Information Act

The purpose of this publication scheme is to be a means by which the Council can make a significant amount of information available routinely. The scheme will ensure that the council will publish more information proactively, and help it to develop a greater culture of openness and transparency.

This authority’s key responsibilities are to represent the electorate of its area, to take action within the legal framework and to provide a leadership focus for the community. The Freedom of Information Act 2000 received Royal Assent on 30th November 2000. It gives a general right of access to all types of recorded information held by public authorities, sets out exemptions from that right and places a number of obligations on public authorities. A ‘public authority’ is defined in the Act, and includes but is not restricted to central and local government, non-departmental public bodies, the police, the National Health Service, and schools, college and universities. Any person who makes a request to a public authority for information must be informed whether the public authority holds that information and, subject to exemptions, supplied with that information.

Individuals already have the right of access to information about themselves under the Data Protection Act 1998. As far as public authorities are concerned, the Freedom of Information Act will extend this right to allow public access to all types of information held.

New legislation came into force in 2008 requiring that Town/Parish Councils adopt a mandatory publication scheme to be operational from 1st January 2009.

Further details are available from the Information Commissioner’s Office.

Stocksbridge Town Council’s Publication Scheme can be viewed by clicking the link below:

• Publication Scheme

Powers and Duties

The Town Council does not have major powers to carry out policies but it is able to advise and put pressure on the larger authorities in respect to the present and future development and condition of the Town Council area. The Council is also able to organise, within the confines of its budget, schemes to improve the social life of the area.

Sheffield City Council has the statutory duty to deal with housing, education, social services, recreation, cleansing, planning, libraries, highways and the environment. Any work/schemes carried out by the Parish Council cannot impinge on the statutory duties of the City Council as this is classed as double rating.

Click the link below for the Powers and Duties of a Town/Parish Council:

• Powers and Duties

Code of Conduct

The new ethical framework for Local Authorities which became fully operational on 5^th May 2002 is an integral part of the Government’s modernisation agenda and is intended to help ensure high standards of conduct in local government.

All authorities have a responsibility for their own standards of conduct. All except Parish/Town Councils are required to establish their own Standards Committee. In the case of Stocksbridge Town Council the Standards Committee of Sheffield City Council act on their behalf. The 3 Parish/Town Councils in the Sheffield area, namely, Stocksbridge, Ecclesfield and Bradfield, have a Parish/Town Councillor representative on this Committee.

All authorities were required to adopt a Members’ Code of Conduct, consistent with a model approved by Parliament. Following their election, all Councillors are required to give a written declaration that they will duly and faithfully fulfil the requirements of the role of Councillor according to the best of their judgement and ability.

All Members of Stocksbridge Town Council subscribe to this Code as adopted at the meeting held on 8th April 2021.

• Code of Conduct

For complaints regarding Town Councillors, the following Councillor Complaints Procedure is in place:

• Sheffield City Council – Councillor Complaints Procedure

Accessibility Statement

We are committed to making our site accessible to all, and are are working towards improving this website to ensure it meets the Web Content Accessibility Guidelines issued by the Web Accessibility Initiative (WAI). The WAI website content accessibility guidelines (WCAG 2.1) published in 2018 by the World Wide Web Consortium (W3C), are the globally used and accepted standard for website accessibility, by both the corporate and public sector.

Accessibility Help

You can control the look and functionality of this website, depending on your computer settings. Most computers have accessibility settings you can change including; the way the screen looks (e.g. changing fonts, sizes, colours etc), the way the keyboard or mouse works and possibly speaking and listening to commands as well as a range of other features. As several organisations have already produced lots of very good content about how to make computers and websites more accessible we have linked to these sites rather than duplicate their content. My web, My way produced by the BBC is a comprehensive site with loads of useful information and a wealth of accessibility links. If you are a regular computer user in windows, click on the start button, then programs, then accessories, then accessibility. Your browser will usually have controls which you can use to enlarge the text on your screen.

Feedback

If you experience any problems with our pages, please contact us and we will try to provide you with the information you need. Please let us know which page you experienced problems with and if you have any suggestions for how we could improve this page. The Equality and Human Rights Commission (EHRC) is responsible for enforcing the accessibility regulations. If you re not happy with how we respond to your complaint contact Equality Advisory and Support Service (EASS)