Cries of elitism as Barnard Castle Town Council creates high-spec ‘job’ criteria for unpaid councillors

A DOCUMENT which looks favourably on would-be councillors with degrees has been derided as “laughable”, “disrespectful” and “appalling”.
A report by Barnard Castle Town Council, which is classed as a parish council, has outlined criteria for how suitable a person would be to be taken on, or “co-opted”, as a council member.
Desirable qualities for suitability included “A-Levels/degree level and/or specific vocational training”, “knowledge of contract management” and “experience of delivering presentations”.
Functions of the town council include allotments, flower beds, play areas, grass cutting and public events.
A dale parish clerk, who did not wish to be named, was incredulous at the criteria.
He said: “I am absolutely appalled. To me, you are preventing people standing.
“Who says you should have A-levels and a degree to be a councillor?
“You just want common sense and a local voice. I find that absolutely appalling. I have never come across anything like that.”
The criteria also lists an “ability and willingness to work with the council’s partners” as essential alongside good reading and analytical skills. Experience of delivering presentations, financial control and staff management were also listed as desirable.
Long serving parish councillors did not think much of the document either.
Staindrop parish stalwart David Reed has been a councillor for 25 years and said the only degree he had was a degree in life. He said: “It’s hard to get people to join parish councils. It’s a voluntary position, you don't get paid.
“Half of the councillors on Durham County Council don’t have these qualifications. I think it’s all over the top – it’s laughable really. What do they expect?”
Other “desirables” included a “knowledge of HR, procurement, contract management, financial control or risk management” and “experience of working with the media”.
The irate parish clerk branded the criteria “disrespectful” adding that if he put this out in his catchments he would get nobody to join his councils. He said: “Say 18-year-old ‘Johnny’ turns up with no qualifications, but wants to get involved in the community, are you going to stop him because it’s desirable?
“It is so wrong. If they can read, understand things and have a viewpoint that’s enough – you do not restrict it so you have a certain class of people on your council.”
Former shop owner and Cockfield parish councillor Carole West thought the criteria were set too high.
She said: “I think it’s ridiculous. It’s voluntary. Nobody goes into a voluntary situation without thinking about it.”
She added: “If that applied to all parish councils, I don’t think they would have anybody there. I think it’s a joke.
“If you are going for a paid position I’d appreciate that but for goodness sake it’s voluntary.”
Barnard Castle Town Council’s clerk, Michael King, said the criteria were based on guidelines set by the National Association of Local Councils (NALC) adding they were “idealised and aspirational”.
He said: “It’s like being on the board of a small or medium size company – it’s those decisions of spending money, getting value and working with organisations that consult with the town council.”
Mr King added: “It will give councillors things to pick out. I think it would be highly unlikely someone would drop in a CV saying they are an ideal match for the template.”
There is currently one vacancy on the Barnard Castle East ward of the town council, requiring one person to be
officially invited onto the panel. Town councillors will have the final say on who is picked to join them. Cllr Reed said Staindrop Parish Council had managed using common sense.
“It’s a parish council – you need a bit of common sense and local knowledge,” he added. “You can interview people and they can come to the meetings and say what they can do for the parish and go from there. It’s worked all these years.”
As of Monday (May 15), four people have applied for the position. The deadline for applications is June 12.