Research by the Daily Telegraph is suggesting thousands of parish councils will be avoiding the local elections next month because not enough people have come forward to contest the seats.
The report is based upon evidence from Dorset where it says 130 out of 163 parishes have not attracted enough candidates to hold elections – 20 have no candidates at all so will no longer be functioning.
If enough candidates cannot be found, district councils have a responsibility to use their own councillors to take over their responsibilities.