Gnosall Parish Council – A Quality Accredited Council
Since 2007, Gnosall Parish Council has been recognised as a Quality Accredited Council with a successful submission for reaccreditation in 2012. In 2014, Parish Councils were informed of proposals for a revised scheme that was being considered by the Improvement and Development Board. Instead of a single Quality award, the new scheme had three levels; Foundation being the first level, Quality the second, and Quality Gold the top level. This gave councils the chance to show that they meet certain standards of excellence set by the sector and also gave opportunities for continued improvements working towards the higher levels.
The new Local Council Award Scheme was designed to celebrate the successes of the very best local councils and to provide a framework to support all local councils to improve and develop to meet their full potential.
Gnosall Parish Council, after reviewing the criteria for each of the levels and already being a Quality accredited council, decided to apply for Quality Gold, the highest level. To be in a position to submit an application, the Parish Council had to ensure it met all the criteria for the two lower levels and then make improvements to ensure the more difficult criteria were met. This involved writing several new policies including a Community Engagement Policy, tightening up on procedures, having an approved Action Plan relating to a budget, having a Business Plan and much more.
The Quality Gold Award demonstrates that a council is at the forefront of best practice and achieves excellence in governance, community leadership and council development. Quality Gold councils provide leadership for their communities, bring people together, and have excellent business planning processes, ensuring value for money as well as constantly seeking new innovations and opportunities to improve.
Work steadily progressed over the last two years, led by a small group of parish councillors and the Clerk. The Parish Council is now in a position to apply for Gold status and looks forward to receiving the outcome of more than two years of hard work and dedication. During that time the Council has received several awards, details of which have been published in previous GMK’s, and hopefully the outcome of this submission will recognise all that the Parish Council has achieved, its day to day operations and its plans for the future.