Training courses are available to book via the portal (login required)
The Training Bulletin is issued monthly, and courses are available to book via the portal. If there is any specific training which you feel would be valuable, and we don’t currently offer it, please let us know and we will investigate. The Training Bulletin can be found on the LALC website www.lalc.co.uk/training-2-1.
Clerks – when booking training for your councillors, please ensure that their email address is correct. If not, they will not receive the booking confirmation or any joining instructions.
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|
Position |
Closing date |
|
|
Clerk/RFO |
No closing date |
|
|
Clerk/RFO |
No closing date |
|
|
Clerk/RFO |
30th July |
|
|
Clerk/RFO |
31st July |
|
|
Senior Engagement Officer |
3rd September |
|
|
Clerk/RFO |
15th September |
|
|
Clerk/RFO |
12th September |
|
|
Clerk/RFO |
11th September |
|
|
Clerk/RFO |
15th September |
|
|
Clerk/RFO |
No closing date |
|
|
Clerk/RFO |
30th September |
If we are advertising your vacancy in the eNews and on our website, please let us know when the vacancy has been filled, so that we can remove it. If your vacancy has not yet been filled and you are continuing to advertise, please let us know of any revised closing date. If you no longer specify a closing date, please let us know so that we can update the vacancy adverts.
If you need your vacancy advertising and do not have a pre-prepared advert to send us, please complete our Vacancy Template, which can be found in the Members Portal under Document Templates. All adverts will be placed on the LALC website.
If you wish to advertise using our paid advert service including Lincolnshire County Council, Indeed and LinkedIn which costs £60 please email us at enquiries@lalc.co.uk with your completed Vacancy Template – we must have that information as a minimum to ensure the information we need is clearly set out. We recommend all councils to advertise their vacancy, job details, method of application and up to date contact details on their own website too. Please note that Lincolnshire County Council require a closing date on their advert, as well as salary information (these are mandatory fields). LCC will remove your advert once the closing date has passed, so please consider the date carefully as you will have to pay again to re-advertise if your vacancy hasn’t been filled by then.
The NALC Recruitment Manual (developed as part of the Civility & Respect project) is now available via the portal. Go into Knowledgebase and click on 'Recruitment Manual' in the 'Employment' menu area.
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ICO publishes new guidance on sending bulk communications by email
The Information Commissioner’s Office (ICO) has today issued a warning to organisations to use alternatives to the blind carbon copy (BCC) email function when sending emails containing sensitive personal information, following a catalogue of business blunders.
The warning comes as the ICO publishes new guidance to help organisations understand the law and good practice around protecting personal information when sending bulk emails.
According to ICO data, failure to use BCC correctly is consistently within the top 10 non-cyber breaches, with nearly a thousand reported since 2019. The education sector is the biggest offender for BCC breaches, with health in second, then local government, retail and the charity sector rounding out the top five.
For further advice on email best practice:
https://ico.org.uk/for-organisations/uk-gdpr-guidance-and-resources/security/email-and-security/
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Important change to the 2023-24 external audit
There is an important change within the Practitioners’ Guide 2023 which is mandatory for the 2023/24 period.
Paragraph 1.26 relates to the requirements in relation to Assertion 3 (Compliance with laws, regulations and proper practices) and states:
‘Email management - every authority should have an email account that belongs to the council and to which the council has access – this ideally would be a .gov.uk or .org.uk address or could be an address linked to the council website.’
In order to answer yes to Assertion 3 in the 2023/24 Annual Governance Statement the local authority should ensure that it has an email address that complies with this requirement and if it does not already it should do so urgently.
The JPAG Practitioners’ Guide for 2023-24 can be downloaded from the LALC website: https://www.lalc.co.uk/jpag-practitioners-guide?#scrollTop=0
There is an article in the LALC Knowledgebase (login required) on The Importance of Secure Email Systems and GOV.UK: https://www.lalc.co.uk/web#id=107&action=584&model=jcrm.wiki&view_type=form&cids=1&menu_id=451
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Have you moved to Gov.uk email address(es) recently?
Please let us know so that we can make sure our records are correct. We will also need to update your membership of any of the LALC eGroups.
If you have any LALC training booked for your councillors, let us know so that we can update their email addresses on the booking, otherwise they may not receive relevant communication such as joining instructions or handouts.
Don’t forget also to:
• Update contact details on your website
• Let your district council know
• Update details with your bank
• Notify your insurer
• Notify the Information Commissioner’s Office (for your annual Data Protection registration); PPL/PRS regarding TheMusicLicence (if applicable); TV licencing; utilities (if you have premises); your usual contractors; regular hirers; neighbouring parishes; LCC (if you receive their town and parishes newsletter); local school; and anyone else you regularly deal with or have subscribed emails with…………
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Coming Soon – An Audience With….
Following feedback from the LALC Summer Conference, where we held a Q&A panel (with the Deputy Police & Crime Commissioner, LCC Highways Portfolio Holder, Alistair Jones from De Montfort University, representative from Lincolnshire Integrated Care Board), we hope to arrange some future “An audience with….” events.
Let us know which speakers you would like to hear, and we’ll then try to arrange the sessions.
꙰꙰ ꙰꙰ ꙰꙰ ꙰꙰ ꙰꙰ ꙰꙰ ꙰꙰ ꙰꙰ ꙰꙰ ꙰꙰ ꙰꙰ ꙰꙰ ꙰꙰꙰꙰ ꙰꙰꙰꙰ ꙰꙰꙰
North Kesteven councils – Litter picking grant available
North Kesteven councils should have received a letter from the NKDC Waste and Street Scene Operational Services Manager regarding parish funding available for a litter picking grant.
Funding is available to:
• Collect dog faeces as litter.
• Work within the 30mph limit (for the larger villages / towns we appreciate the operational logistics of this and therefore concede to local knowledge to target hotspots accordingly).
• Provide the District Council with an annual report outlining the difference the funding has made to their parish / town.
• Continue to work with Officers of the District Council to review the location and effectiveness of litter and dog waste bins.
The grant available will be either 80% of the actual costs incurred or 21p per head of population (whichever is the lesser amount).
To apply for 2023/24 funding, please submit your request along with the annual report (which should outline the difference the funding has made to your village / town) to Jenny_bailey@n-kesteven.gov.uk by Monday 6th November 2023.
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NALC: Model Financial Regulations consultation free events
As part of the consultations to inform an update to our Model Financial Regulations, we will hold two free events next month. Taking place on 2 October 2023 at midday and 12 October 2023 at 6.30 pm. The events will provide an opportunity to speak directly with Steve Parkinson from The Parkinson Partnership LLP, who is working with us to update this essential document for our members. If you want to raise issues outside what is asked in our online survey or prefer a conversation to providing written feedback, then this is your opportunity to engage with this review in a way that works best for you.
Book 2 October: https://tinyurl.com/yra4zu64
Book 12 October: https://tinyurl.com/f9hamccy
Online survey: https://tinyurl.com/3ssatemt
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Markets and Car Boot Sales held within 6 ⅔ miles of Lincoln Central Market
The City of Lincoln Council operates a Markets Policy, and Point 5.5 states the following:
5.5 A commercial market is one which is operated for profit and where the traders are engaged in a business activity of selling goods for their own purposes. The Council shall consider applications in respect of commercial markets having regard to the following matters:
1. No market shall be authorised within 6 ⅔ miles of an existing licensed market unless it can be demonstrated that the new market shall not undermine the existing market and not prejudice the overall market offer.
The City of Lincoln Council Market Manager, has confirmed the following:
• Although the Market in Lincoln is currently not open, it is anticipated that it will reopen in late Autumn.
• The Market Policy applies to any market within 6 ⅔ miles of the Lincoln Market, and this would include car boot sales, as a market is defined as ‘a concourse of buyers and sellers’, with five or more trading spaces (stalls, stands, vehicles etc).
• Accordingly, permission would need to be sought from the City of Lincoln Council should you wish to hold a market or car boot sale within 6 ⅔ miles from Lincoln Central Market. The costs for which are located here: https://democratic.lincoln.gov.uk/documents/s65245/Regen.pdf
This is quite a unique situation where one Council can legitimately request a fee to grant permission for an activity in a neighbouring Council area, however this is an ancient market charter that goes back several hundred years.
Should you require further information relating to this, please contact Sammy Pengelly (City of Lincoln Market Manager) at: Sammy.Pengelly@lincoln.gov.uk
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Joint Panel on Accountability and Governance
The Joint Panel on Accountability and Governance (JPAG) met on 4 September 2023 to agree its plans for updating the Practitioners Guide' for the 2024/25 financial year. The meeting also considered proposals from our partners, the Internal Audit Forum, on changes to guidance to maximise the potential of internal audit to support councils' governance and transparency. JPAG also considered how it might enhance its capacity to support accountability and governance amongst smaller authorities and has committed to developing a business proposal over the coming months.
Find out more about the work of JPAG here: https://tinyurl.com/bdzerydk
Internal Audit Forum: https://internalauditforum.org.uk/internal-audit-forum/
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NALC Chief Executive’s Meeting with SLCC
I was pleased to meet with Rob Smith, chief executive of the Society of Local Council Clerks (SLCC), on 5 September 2023 in London, where we also brought together several colleagues from our two organisations. The get-together was an excellent opportunity for colleagues to meet face to face, some for the first time given our locations in London and Taunton, coupled with much of our communication since the pandemic has been conducted online. It was good to catch up on the challenges we face as membership bodies and discuss how we can collaborate more closely to deliver the shared ambitions of our memorandum of understanding. Specific issues covered included our work on climate change, holding joint regional events involving county associations and the SLCC branches, getting input from SLCC on the review of our risk register, and discussing principles to underpin our approach to securing funding for sector support on areas such as audit and Martyn's Law.
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ELDC Councils - UK Shared Prosperity Fund Briefing sessions in your area
Briefing sessions have been arranged for ELDC councils. At each briefing, there will be a representative from YMCA Lincolnshire, Lincolnshire Community Foundation (LCF) and South East Lincolnshire Councils Partnership (SELCP) to talk about how we can support your community. You’ll also be able to obtain details of GRASSroots funding guidelines.
To help us with our planning, please complete this short form to let us know which session you will be attending: https://tinyurl.com/bde3bd6t
• Kirton Town Hall - 12th October 1-2pm
• Cowbit Village Hall - 19th October 2-3pm
• Holbeach Community Centre - 10th October 3-4pm
• Horncastle Community Centre - 3rd October 1-2pm
• Alford Corn Exchange - 31st October 2-3pm
• Croft Village Hall - 26th October 11-12pm
For queries please contact:
Sally Darley
Community Development Manager
E: communities@lincsymca.co.uk
M: 07803 858654
Facebook: YMCALincs
Twitter: @YMCALincs
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NALC raises permitted development rights at the Rural Insight Forum
NALC joined the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (DEFRA) Rural Insight Forum on 25 August 2023.
The forum discussed the current consultation on extending permitted development rights, which seeks views on nature-based solutions, farm efficiency projects and diversification. The meeting also provided an opportunity to raise with senior government officials concerns about the proposals' impact on high streets, loss of democratic control of the planning system and the importance of resourcing planning departments adequately. NALC will respond to the consultation through its Policy Committee.
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NALC Blog: Royal British Legion launch network for councillors
Author: Luke Lancaster, public affairs and campaigns officer for the Royal British Legion
The Royal British Legion (RBL) recently launched Councillor Network. The aim is to enhance the support we provide to those who serve in local government. We welcome all elected representatives from every level of local government – including from local (town and parish) councils – to join.
Members of the Network will receive regular communication about how local government can support the Armed Forces community, and about the wider work of RBL, ranging from Remembrance, to Fundraising, to Membership. If you would like to be in touch with a member of the Campaigns, Policy and Research team to learn more about the RBL Councillor Network, please email councillornetwork@britishlegion.org.uk.
Following a campaign led by RBL, the Armed Forces Covenant was enshrined into legislation in 2011, and since then, every principal local authority in Great Britain has signed the Covenant, with many Town and Parish Councils also being signatories.
The Covenant contains two key principles:
1. Those who serve in the Armed Forces, whether Regular or Reserve, those who have served in the past, and their families should face no disadvantage compared to other citizens in providing public and commercial services.
2. Special consideration is appropriate in some cases, especially for those who have given the most, such as the injured and bereaved.
Alongside working with national and devolved governments, the RBL Campaigns, Policy and Research team engages with local government to fulfil the promise of the Armed Forces Covenant and to advocate for serving and ex-serving personnel and their families. From adult social care, to housing allocations, to school admissions, the local government delivers many services which affect the Armed Forces community.
More recently, the Armed Forces Act 2021 introduced a new statutory duty to pay due regard to the Covenant, and so local authorities now more than ever have a greater responsibility to meet the needs of our community better.
To that effect, the Campaigns, Policy, and Research team often attend Council Covenant meetings, substantively contributing to policy discussions and improving local outcomes. Additionally, we regularly respond to public consultations in a wide variety of areas.
We also identify issues affecting our community and address these in our campaigning activities. Currently, we are promoting our Credit Their Service campaign asks. Credit Their Service calls on local authorities to ensure that military compensation is never treated as income for all locally administered benefits and urges the Government to ensure that local authorities have the financial provision to exercise those exemptions. Owing to many existing local policies, the poorest members of our Armed Forces community are losing their compensation when accessing benefits, whilst comparable civilian compensation awarded by the courts is not counted as income.
RBL Public Affairs and Campaigns representatives, based across the country, are dedicated to assisting local government, and joining our Network is the best way of staying informed about issues facing the Armed Forces community.
If you do not serve in local government but would like to support our work, please join our Campaigner Community.
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Police and Crime Commissioner Public Assurance Meeting
Public Assurance Meetings are one of the primary mechanisms by which the PCC meets his statutory responsibility to hold the Chief Constable to account. The meetings focus on the performance of Lincolnshire Police and provide assurance regarding the effectiveness and efficiency of policing services.
The next Public Assurance Meeting will take place on Tuesday 19th September 2023 via an internal video conference.
Agenda: https://lincolnshire-pcc.gov.uk/media/3657/pam-september-2023-agenda-v10-final.pdf
Agenda item 5 – Public Assurance Meeting Dashboard: https://lincolnshire-pcc.gov.uk/media/3656/public-assurance-meeting-dashboard-sep-23-final.pdf
Agenda item 6 – NHP Remodel: https://lincolnshire-pcc.gov.uk/media/3656/thematic-briefing-nhp-remodel.pdf
The previous meetings have been recorded and uploaded to the Police and Crime Commissioner's YouTube account: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCotE6goo11XnRXGxpS0jCjA
Public Questions
The meeting provides the opportunity for the public to observe the discussions between the Police and Crime Commissioner and the Chief Constable of Lincolnshire Police.
Public questions are now open.
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SLCC: Government announces a relaxation in planning rules for onshore wind turbines
The government has removed the de facto ban on new onshore wind turbines by making immediate changes to the National Planning Policy Framework (NPPF) that “will help supportive communities take forward onshore wind projects”.
More details about the announcement can be found at https://www.gov.uk/government/news/local-areas-supported-to-progress-onshore-windfarms
The revised NPPF can be found at https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/1182995/NPPF_Sept_23.pdf
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Whitby Town Council: Extra staff for Freedom of Information requests
Councillors have urged their authority to hire extra staff to deal with a rise in Freedom of Information (FOI) requests.
Read the full story: https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-york-north-yorkshire-66745427
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Sad news – Barbara Camps
LALC have been made aware of the sad news that Barbara Camps, former clerk at Pinchbeck Parish Council, has sadly passed away.
In a statement, Pinchbeck Parish Council Chair James Avery said:
All at the Parish Council were saddened to hear that Barbara Camps, clerk to the Parish Council from 1994 - 2023, died on Monday 11 September 2023.
All at Pinchbeck Parish Council were saddened to hear of the death of Barbara Camps. Barbara was the Clerk to the Parish Council from 1994 to 2023 and was known and respected by so many residents. Barbara decided to retire this year to do other things and spend more time with her family, so it is particularly sad that circumstances took a different turn.
Barbara was undoubtedly a focal point within Pinchbeck. She was dedicated to helping others and was quite selfless. Whether it was signposting residents to the right support or simply providing a cup of tea, a biscuit, and a sympathetic ear, she was there to help and advise.
Personally, I’ve known Barbara for 18 years. She was always enthusiastic, up for a challenge and would just dive in. Barbara would rather ask for forgiveness, than permission – which I loved. Her warmth and welcoming spirit will be missed by many, and our thoughts are with her family and friends at this difficult time.
For many years Barbara was also an active member of the Lincolnshire branch of SLCC.
Barbara will be sadly missed by the Lincolnshire clerks’ community.
꙰꙰ ꙰꙰ ꙰꙰ ꙰꙰ ꙰꙰ ꙰꙰ ꙰꙰ ꙰꙰ ꙰꙰ ꙰꙰ ꙰꙰ ꙰꙰ ꙰꙰꙰꙰ ꙰꙰꙰꙰ ꙰꙰꙰
Government announcement on blue plaque schemes
The government announced on 8 September the expansion of the official blue plaques scheme, which currently operates only in London, to cover all of England. This expansion, to be discussed as part of the Levelling Up and Regeneration Bill, will allow people across England to celebrate local historical figures by nominating them for blue plaques on buildings associated with these figures. The Department for Culture, Media, and Sport (DCMS), Historic England, and English Heritage will collaborate to develop this nationwide initiative. While nominations for national blue plaques are not yet open, individuals interested in participating are encouraged to review English Heritage's current selection criteria: https://tinyurl.com/2udbdasm
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NALC Attendance at Party Conferences
As well as many county association events, Autumn also heralds the party conference season, and our senior councillors and officers will be at the Conservative, Green, Labour, and Liberal Democrat conferences to promote the sector and fly the flag for local councils. The conferences are an opportunity for us to promote our policies, raise the profile of the important work of local councils and engage with key politicians and stakeholders. If you or councillors you know are planning to attend any of the conferences this year, please complete or share this short survey so we can send relevant information about NALC events, activities and engagement opportunities.
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Smaller Authorities’ Audit Appointments
The new board of the Smaller Authorities Audit Appointments met this week together with its new chief executive, Annie Child, who is due to take up her post shortly. The board continued developing its strategy for the next few years and discussed several related matters. The chair, David Bowles, has held meetings with government and other officials where he has used the opportunity to flag up some NALC issues and concerns, including the need to review current audit thresholds. The board also received a progress report on submitting this year’s Annual Governance and Accountability Returns (AGAR). As you will no doubt be aware, the deadline for these important returns is the end of June. This year, 72% of smaller authorities had submitted their exemption certificate or AGAR return by that date, rising to 92% by the end of July. The sector must continue to focus on demonstrating sound finances and good governance, and I would encourage all local (parish and town) councils to make sure they meet the required deadlines.
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Office of National Statistics
The Office for National Statistics has now released Census 2021 estimates for usual residents and households at the parish level in England and Wales. This release provides census estimates for usual residents in parishes by their sex, ethnic group, general health, and some other key characteristics — find out more on the data: https://tinyurl.com/4z3umsmx
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NALC: Levelling Up and Regeneration Bill
Through our involvement in the Better Planning Coalition, we secured several amendments to the Levelling Up and Regeneration Bill at last week’s Report Stage in the House of Lords. Introducing new duties on climate change, public health, and extra scrutiny of national development management policies were among new clauses agreed by Peers despite government opposition. Here’s a summary:
• An amendment from crossbench peer Lord Ravensdale inserted a new clause which places a duty on the government and relevant planning authorities to have special regard to the mitigation of, and adaptation to, climate change with respect to national policy, local plan-making, and planning decisions. The clause aims to address planning weight for climate in the system and a ‘golden thread’ to ensure climate runs throughout the planning system.
• Lord Crisp, another crossbench peer, added two new clauses to the bill on the issue of healthy homes, the first of which requires the government to promote a comprehensive regulatory framework for planning and the built environment designed to secure the physical, mental, and social health and well-being and healthy homes and neighbourhoods. The second inserts a new policy statement on the principle of the healthy home and requires the government to prepare a statement to explain how the principles will be implemented and adhered to in a way that takes account of a building development’s urban, suburban, or rural location, plus a progress report for each annual reporting period.
• NALC’s concerns about national development management policies were highlighted in an amendment by Liberal Democrat peer Baroness Thornhill with support from across the house. The new clause stipulates the process for the government to designate and review a national development management policy, including minimum public consultation requirements and a process of parliamentary scrutiny.
• Another issue of concern to NALC has been Local Nature Recovery Strategies (LNRS) and Liberal Democrat peer Baroness Parminter tabled an amendment to introduce a new clause which set out the relationship between LNRS and statutory development plans to ensure their objectives were delivered and aligned with development plans. The government committed to publish new guidance on LNRS shortly, and the amendment was withdrawn.
• Other amendments passed of interest were a new requirement for the government to engage with local authorities to devise strategies to reduce the number of high street financial services becoming vacant premises and a series of government amendments relating to planning data regulations.
꙰꙰ ꙰꙰ ꙰꙰ ꙰꙰ ꙰꙰ ꙰꙰ ꙰꙰ ꙰꙰ ꙰꙰ ꙰꙰ ꙰꙰ ꙰꙰ ꙰꙰꙰꙰ ꙰꙰꙰꙰ ꙰꙰꙰
