If any Clerks want to join the Clerks’ eGroup, or any councillors want to join the Councillor eGroup, contact enquiries@lalc.co.uk.

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This fortnightly newsletter is provided to member councils through the clerk and should be circulated to all councillors. This eNews can also be found on the LALC website under News.

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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.

If you update your council email and are already booked on training, please let us know so that we can update your booking to ensure you receive the automatic reminders.

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Vacancy advertising

LALC can advertise your vacancy on our website and in the fortnightly eNews. This is a free service. If you 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.    

We also offer a paid advertising service, costing £60, which ensures that your advert also appears on Lincolnshire County Council’s website, Facebook, and LinkedIn (in addition to the LALC website and eNews). Please complete the Vacancy Template (as above), ensuring that all requested information is completed, and then contact us at enquiries@lalc.co.uk. You will be invoiced for this service.

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.

We recommend all councils advertise their vacancy, job details, method of application and up to date contact details on their own website too.

Please let us know when the vacancy has been filled, so that we can remove it from our website/eNews. 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.

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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LALC affiliation fees for 2024-25

The LALC Management Committee met on 15th December to agree the budget for 2024-25 and any associated increases.

The internal audit service fees remain the same as for 2023-24 but will be reviewed again next year.

The website management service fee will increase to £18 per hour to cover administration costs.

The Annual Training Scheme (ATS) fee will increase by £10 per band:

Non-ATS members will pay £30 (+ VAT) per session, or £72.50 (+ VAT) for a full day (including lunch and refreshments). Non-core training will also cost £30 (+ VAT) per session, or £72.50 (+ VAT) for a full day (including lunch and refreshments).

LALC affiliation membership fee: It was agreed to increase each baseline banding by £10 and to increase the LALC per-elector figure to 7.94p, in line with the NALC figure.

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Get the latest updates on LCC services through our new newsletter - County catch-up

Keeping residents informed is incredibly important - from major road projects to school applications and from scam warnings to business grants; there’s a wealth of vital information that residents need to be aware of. That’s why we have launched a new digital newsletter for residents. County Catch-Up provides timely advice, information and news directly from the county council - directly to your inbox.

Please encourage residents in your area to sign up too at www.lincolnshire.gov.uk/countycatchup

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Extra £4m allocated for flood investigations and alleviation

The county council’s executive have approved an additional £4m to support flood relief measures in the next year.

Almost 700 properties were internally flooded across Lincolnshire in October after Storm Babet brought more than a month’s worth of rain to the county in less than 24 hours.

Each case of internal flooding is investigated by Lincolnshire County Council to produce what is called a ‘Section 19’ report. As part of the reports, there will be recommendations that could be undertaken by relevant authorities to minimise the likelihood of further flooding in that area.

The extra funding will be used to carry out these investigations and facilitate some of the recommendations where the council is able. Government grant funding has also been made available to help homeowners and businesses affected by flooding due to Storm Babet. 

You can find out more about the different financial support available at: www.lincolnshire.gov.uk/floodgrants

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Police & Crime Commissioner parish and town council engagement sessions

Lincolnshire Police have launched six-monthly online engagement briefings to keep parish and town councils across Lincolnshire up to date on how local policing performance and strategies are working.  

The presentations from the engagement sessions which have recently been held for each district, can now be found on the LALC website:

https://www.lalc.co.uk/lincolnshire-police-engagement-briefings 

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National Flood Forum (NFF)

The National Flood Forum exists to support individuals and communities at risk of flooding and have been doing this across the country since 2002. NFF is a charity enabling communities and individuals to feel supported, informed and empowered to reduce their flood risk. NFF stand out as the dedicated national body championing the voice of flood-risk communities.  NFF work alongside the Environment Agency, Natural Resources Wales, local authorities, water companies and many other organisations, to address the pressing and urgent needs of people who have experienced or are at flood risk.

LALC will invite NFF to send representatives to our forthcoming conferences.  

If any parish or town council felt that they would like to make contact directly with NFF in the meantime or perhaps seek a representative to attend your annual parish/town meetings please look at their website for contact details: https://nationalfloodforum.org.uk/

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Greater Lincolnshire Devolution consultation

Have your say on the Lincolnshire County Council, North Lincolnshire Council and North East Lincolnshire Council Greater Lincolnshire devolution proposal. 

 To share your views or to find further information visit www.letstalk.lincolnshire.gov.uk/devolution

 The consultation is open now until 29 January 2024.

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Lincs Police Christmas Safety Messages

Lincolnshire Police have produced a leaflet with key safety messages for communities over the festive period and have asked for this to be shared on their behalf.

In addition, further Crime Prevention advice can be found here: 

https://www.lincs.police.uk/cp/crime-prevention/

If you are a victim of crime you can use a variety of methods to report this - more information can be found on the Lincolnshire Police website at: 

https://www.lincs.police.uk/ro/report/ocr/af/how-to-report-a-crime/

If you have been a victim of crime, you can seek support regardless of the length of time since the crime and or if it has been reported to the Police.; support can be found at 01522 947 510 where support can be signposted by Victim Lincs.

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Ask for ANI

#AskforANI is a safe and discrete way for domestic abuse victims to reach out for help in pharmacies across the UK. If you need help, Ask for 'ANI' at a pharmacy supporting the scheme. 

Find a safe space near you: https://uksaysnomore.org/safespaces/

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Lincolnshire Strong Voices

As part of work to engage communities across Lincolnshire, the Police and Crime Commissioner, Marc Jones, is keen to hear the voice of young people and support joint working between residents and partners to make our communities even safer.

The Lincolnshire Strong Voices project has been created to do just this. A group of young people from across the county aged 11 to 21, have been meeting throughout 2023 to discuss the key topics of Relationships with the Police, Violence, Drug and Alcohol Use and Anti-Social Behaviour. Providing their views and thoughts on these topics they have collaborated with key strategic and operational decision makers across the partnerships to provide input into services, and the perspective of young people for future activity.

The Police and Crime Commissioner and Lincolnshire Strong Voices would like to invite you to the Hear Our Voices Conference on 2nd February 2024, to find out more about the work they have undertaken throughout 2023, impact of using this platform to have their voice heard and to talk about opportunities to collaborate with them during 2024.

Sign up to secure your place at this free event: https://tinyurl.com/52h7dkpa

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Phase three of Lincolnshire Fire and Rescue’s Community Risk Management Plan engagement - half way point!

Lincolnshire Fire and Rescue would like to thank everyone who has already taken the time to complete previous engagement about your views on priority risks. Your feedback together with detailed incident data from across Lincolnshire and the UK, has been used to list the biggest risks to our Lincolnshire communities. 

We have also used this information to put together a draft of our Community Risk Management Plan (CRMP). This is the document which provides a detailed look at how we plan to reduce the priority risks of fires and other emergencies in the county to help keep everyone safe.  

 We’d like to share the draft CRMP with you and get your views about this.  To see a link to the document and tell us what you think please use our online survey here at:

https://www.letstalk.lincolnshire.gov.uk/stage-3-crmp

You can also watch a short video about the draft CRMP here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2HHWcHAZz20

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Headstone toppling apology by Town Council (York) after laying flat 87 memorials

https://www.yorkpress.co.uk/news/23969467.haxby-town-council-may-pay-fix-flattened-gravestones/

LALC reminds all councils that have responsibility for maintaining or managing a cemetery or closed churchyard that while ensuring memorials are safe the process should involve communication about the process and there is rarely a need to lay down any memorial. There are steps that can be taken including regular hand testing and adding warning notices on affected graves, support staking and safety markings to alert families and cemetery users of any concern. 

The Institute of Cemetery and Crematorium Management (ICCM) offers helpful guidance Management of Memorials: 

https://www.iccm-uk.com/iccm/wp-content/library/iccm_MM%20Policy%20Final%2008%202019.pdf

A Local Government Ombudsman Report published in 2006 into this topic is also published on the ICCM website - Special Report - Memorial safety in local authority cemeteries:

https://www.iccm-uk.com/iccm/wp-content/uploads/2021/11/LGO-612-Special-Report-final-1.pdf

LALC recommends all councils ensure councillors and clerks attend ICCM burials management training (provided annually through LALC) and reminds councils that ICCM is providing a memorial testing training course at Dunholme on 10th September. 

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Castle Rising Parish Council (Norfolk) - has now run out of money

Read the story: https://www.edp24.co.uk/news/23989072.castle-rising-council-elections-called-lord-quits/

LALC reminds all parish/town councils to maintain reserves to cover general running costs and earmarked reserves for unexpected election costs, recruitment, sickness, training, locum Clerk arrangements, legal issues and challenges through the external auditors (who can charge fees over £350 an hour).

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Lancashire parish council forced to overturn a controversial tree protection order 

https://www.lancashiretelegraph.co.uk/news/23991286.controversial-curb-jubilee-trees-axed-near-village-play-area/

LALC recommend that parish councils carry out consultation and engage with the community while proposals are being developed to ensure they have sufficient support and take into consideration local views.

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SAAA Ltd - audit process survey link closing 5th January 2024

Smaller Authorities Audit Appointments (SAAA) is looking at the process for submission and processing the Annual Governance and Accountability Return form, the AGAR. 

 The SAAA is considering making the AGAR digital - to improve access and efficiency - and wishes to hear from users of the current process to understand their current experience of, and aspirations for, the process.  

 The survey, and the wider review of process, is being supported by RedQuadrant. Completing the survey should take around 10 minutes, and the survey link will be open until 5/01/2024. Summary data can be made available, on request, at the end of the review. 

 If you have any questions or suggestions, or any or difficulties completing the survey, you can contact us at Aidan.Loughran@redquadrant.com or James.Wickham@redquadrant.com

Take the survey: https://tinyurl.com/y6xxpz4r

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December Civility & Respect Newsletter

1414 local councils have now signed the civility and respect pledge.

Towns and villages are demonstrably and immeasurably improved by what local council councillors, clerks and other employees do in their communities day in and day out.

The pledge is a public declaration that in what they do, town, parish and community councils are committed to civility and respect. It outlines what they do/will do as part of that commitment. Research has found that taking a voluntary pledge of this nature can impact (for the better) on behaviour and cooperation.

If your council has not yet signed-up to the pledge they can find out more about it at: www.nalc.gov.uk/our-work/civility-and-respect-project

The December Civility & Respect Newsletter can be read here (no login required):

https://tinyurl.com/384ffcmm

Highlights:

• Jo Cox Civility Commission

• Toxic behaviour, personal safety and stalking awareness

• Survey of monitoring officers

• Internal Audit Forum (IAF) proposals for change

• Review of The Good Councillor’s Guide

• Resilient Governance in the Netherlands

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Eden Project Communities – Winter Warmers campaign

Eden Project Communities, the people behind The Big Lunch which brings neighbours and communities together every June, have launched a new ‘Winter Warmers’ campaign, with a menu of ideas to help us all stay connected during the colder months.

From sharing a ‘Mince Hi’ moment, and creating Advent windows, to hosting a Big Lunch at Christmas, and enjoying a wintery walk with neighbours – there are lots of easy and affordable ideas to help bring people together and free resources, including invites, posters, cracker templates and conversation starters, to help you take part.

Read more: https://www.edenprojectcommunities.com/support-your-community/spread-joy-this-winter

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