A Bolton Council cabinet member has argued that parish councils should be scrapped.

Cllr Andy Morgan, Bolton's adult social care portfolio holder, has described the devolved layers of local government as “completely dysfunctional” and says that the money used to fund them could be used more effectively.

His opinion has been with opposition by one of the borough's town council mayors.

Cllr Morgan said: “Parish councils are set up for rural type communities that are detached from the main municipal councils generally but I think in Bolton they’re completely dysfunctional and it’s a layer of bureaucracy that’s not needed and costs quite a lot of money.

“At a time when taxpayers are struggling it’s even more relevant.

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“That money that’s been pushed down to parish and the precept that people are paying in Horwich and Westhoughton and Blackrod, etcetera, could be better used, I think."

People living in an area with a parish council pay a precept on top of their council tax.

Cllr Morgan added: “They’ve got three councillors in each ward on the borough council and then you have another layer of parish councillors that don’t really carry any weight and if anything needs doing it has to come back up to Bolton Council.

“If you’re an effective councillor you’re an effective councillor and you do what you need to do for your area."

Cllr Morgan, who also sits on Westhoughton Town Council, wished to make it clear that these are his personal beliefs, and may not be shared by his colleagues.

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He added: “We’ve got Conservatives that sit on town councils and will have a completely separate view but that’s my view that I’ve held for about 10 years ever since my first time round on Westhoughton Town Council and I was re-elected onto Westhoughton Town Council with people knowing that I thought that town councils were ineffective.

“I personally think we should have referendums and let the people decide whether we should parish councils or not."

Mayor of Horwich Cllr Steven Chadwick wholeheartedly disagrees with Cllr Morgan, but would also welcome letting the public have their say on town councils.

“In Horwich, our town council is quite visionary,” he said.

“We’re doing lots of projects which are very community based.

“We certainly see the value the town council gives to our town and I’m sure that’s replicated in Westhoughton and Blackrod.”

Cllr Chadwick says that the answer is to give parish councils more powers and services, rather an abolish them.

He added: “I think if you were to ask people in Horwich ‘should the council be abolished’, I’m pretty the answer you’d get would be that Bolton would be their preference.

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“The civic pride that it gives a town like Horwich is quite important and it acts as a sounding board and give a platform.

“Because we are the first tier of local government, we are closest to our community.”

Cllr Chadwick, who given the choice says he’d “parish the entire borough”, added: “The council should be working together a lot more with town councils that they are doing and that’s part of the problem.”

If you have a story or something you would like to highlight in the community, please email me at lewis.finney@newsquest.co.uk or DM me on Twitter @lewisfinney18.