Community councils service standards

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We will:

• hold elections to community councils every four years
• hold an interim election to increase membership of individual community councils, if you ask us
• provide an annual grant to cover administration and operation costs on submission of annual audited accounts that have been signed by two auditors (who are not active members of the community council) and by the treasurer
• provide a copy of advertisements showing applications before Licensing Board meetings which appear in the press
• provide regular information on planning applications to be considered by the council
• provide administrative support and pay for four Community Council Forum meetings each year
• assist the smooth running of community councils by providing training to improve the skills and knowledge of community council office-bearers and members
• reply to written enquiries concerning Finance & Corporate Services within 10 working days or tell you how long it will take us to deal with your enquiry if it is complicated and we need to investigate, or pass your enquiry on to another council service if necessary and advise you we have done this within four working days of receiving your enquiry.

Finance & Corporate Services is committed to providing excellent services to its customers . To help with this we have drawn up a number of written statements, or 'pledges' which set our specific standards our internal and external customers can expect from us and these are set out separately in the related content. However, generally, when you contact us, we will:

• be polite and helpful and treat you fairly at all times
• respect your confidentiality and dignity
• deal with your enquiry promptly
• answer the phone within five rings
• identify ourselves and our section when we answer the phone
• deal with your enquiry personally if we can. If we can't deal with it personally we'll transfer you to someone who can
• reply to written enquiries within 10 working days
• tell you how long it will take to deal with your enquiry if it is complicated and we need to investigate
• make sure that all our written enquiries to you are clear and include a contact name and phone number
• reply to your email, fax or phone if you have asked us to
• arrange a personal visit when appropriate instead of writing to you
• if you have a particular need, send you written information in a variety of languages or formats.

If you need any more details about Community Councils or if you are not clear about any of the points in this service standard, please contact the Community Council Liaison Officer:

• phone: 0141 840 3147
• email: community-council.cs@renfrewshire.gov.uk