Definition and powers of a parish meeting:
A parish meeting, in England, is a meeting to which all the electors in a civial parish are entitled to attend. In some cases, where a parish or group of parishes has fewer than 200 electors, the parish meeting can take on the role of the parish council itself, with statutory powers, and electing a chairman and clerk to act on the meeting's behalf.
In England, the annual parish meeting of a parish with a parish council must take place between 1 March and 1 June, both dates inclusive, and must take place no earlier than 6pm.
Parish meetings are a form of direct democracy, which is uncommon in the United Kingdom, which primarily uses representative democracy.
Section 39(2) of the Local Government Finance Act 1972 provides that a parish meeting is a precepting authority. This means that where there is no parish council the parish meeting must meets its own expenses, usually by precepting on the district council.
A parish meeting may only precept for expenditure relating to specific functions, powers and rights which have been conferred on it by legislation.
