General Power of Competence

Published: 20 May 2026

General Power of Competence GPOC

The GPOC enables eligible Community Councils to act in their communities’ best interests, generate efficiencies and secure value for money outcomes. The general power of competence gives eligible community councils the same powers to act that an individual generally has, thus enabling them to do similar sorts of things. It is a power of first resort for Community Councils.

The freedom of GPOC is available to Community Councils that meet three criteria for eligibility set out in the Local Government & Elections (Wales) Act 2021 (Part 2, Section 30). The criteria being:

1)    1. At least two-thirds of the total number of members of the Council have been declared to be elected (including unopposed), whether at an ordinary election or at a by-election (section 30(2)).

2)    2. The Clerk to the council holds such named qualification or certification as may be specified by the Welsh Ministers by regulations (section 30(3)).

3)    3. The two most recent Auditor General for Wales (AGW) opinions on the Council’s accounts are unqualified. The most recent must have been received in the previous 12 months (section 30(4)).

Providing a Community Council meets the three eligibility criteria, the Council can pass a formal resolution declaring that is has the General Power of Competence at it’s Annual Council meeting. It must also publish the decision on the Council’s website within 7 working days of the resolution being passed.

Once a Community Council has resolved itself to be an eligible Community Council, it will need to reaffirm on an annual basis that it continues to meet the eligibility criteria. A Council can do this by passing a resolution to this effect at its Annual Meeting.

The Clerk confirmed to members that Isycoed Community Council meets all 3 criteria. It was therefore RESOLVED for the following declaration to be made:

 “The Community Council hereby confirms we meet the eligibility criteria for adoption of a General Power of Competence as defined in the Local Government & Elections (Wales) Act 2021 (Part 2, Chapters 1 & 2) We further resolve to adopt the General Power of Competence.