About Malvern Town Council

Malvern Town Council was created in 1996 as an autonomous local authority within the meaning of the Local Government Act 1972 and other Acts of Parliament.  There are 20 elected members representing the residents of Malvern Town Parish.

Malvern Town Council may do only that which the law permits it to do.  The Council can hold property, enter into contracts, sue and be sued.  Whatever action the Council takes, that action must be traceable to an Act of Parliament.  All actions taken by the Council must be traceable to an approved resolution.  These are contained within the minutes of the Council and its committees.

The Council has very wide powers to undertake a range of functions.  The exercise of these powers is entirely at the discretion of the Council – the only practical limit is resources. 

Town and parish councils are “creatures of statute”.  This means that they are legally constituted.  They are independent local councils and not subservient in any way to district or county councils.  They are entirely responsible for their own actions, district and county councils have no jurisdiction over a parish council.  Although local government legislation applies to all councils, in some key respects the law relating to town/parish councils is significantly different to that governing district and county councils.

The Town Council must comply with Category 3 of the Audit and Accountancy Regulations 1996: this requires the Town Council to apply the same accounting standards, as any Principal Council.  Consequently, the council is also required to comply with the CIPFA code of accounting practice.