The Danish government and various political parties have reached an agreement aimed at streamlining the operations of parish councils, making it easier for individuals to participate and contribute. This initiative, detailed in a press release from the Ministry of Housing, Urban and Rural Affairs, seeks to alleviate administrative burdens and reduce membership requirements.

Minister for Ecclesiastical Affairs Morten Dahlin (V) emphasized the significance of these changes, calling them the most substantial reforms to parish council work in three decades. The goal is to foster easier cooperation between parish councils, enabling them to tackle shared responsibilities with less bureaucratic entanglement.

A key aspect of the simplification involves reducing the number of council members. Parishes with up to 2,000 members of the Church of Denmark will now only require five council members. This represents a considerable reduction, as the previous structure mandated five members for the first 1,000 church members in a parish, with an additional member for each subsequent thousand.

This reform aims to empower parish councils with greater autonomy in their organizational structure. According to Morten Dahlin, councils will have the freedom to adapt their operations to best suit their local needs. The need for these changes became apparent after the parish council elections in September of the previous year, where one in three councils remained unfilled, leaving nearly 2,000 positions vacant nationwide.

While acknowledging that challenges remain, the government is committed to eliminating unnecessary administrative hurdles. Future provisions will allow parish councils to establish sub-committees comprising individuals who are not necessarily members of the parish council itself. This will enable active community members to contribute their expertise without committing to a full four-year term on the council, the Minister for Ecclesiastical Affairs stated.

Last year’s parish council elections, in which approximately 44,000 of 3.5 million eligible Danish Church members over 18 participated, saw a voter turnout of 1.3 percent. The parish council plays a crucial role in managing the church’s finances, overseeing its properties, prioritizing resource allocation, and employing church staff (excluding the priest).