Little Houghton parish is centred around the villages of Little Houghton and Middlecliffe to the north-east of Barnsley. It has a population of 600.
The Parish council is central to local activity in the community. They give people the opportunity to get involved in local affairs, events and campaigns, and encourage them to make their views known, particularly on issues about maintaining the character of the local area. People can also seek election to the parish council.
An important role of the parish council is to make other public bodies, like Barnsley Council, aware of the views of their communities.
The parish council provides varying facilities, but mostly looks after recreational facilities and are involved in organising local events in the area. They have the power to raise money for these activities through a precept, which is an extra amount of council tax paid by people who live in the parish.