Training courses are available to book via the portal (login required).
The Training Bulletin has previously been issued 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.
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.
꙰꙰ ꙰꙰ ꙰꙰ ꙰꙰ ꙰꙰ ꙰꙰ ꙰꙰ ꙰꙰ ꙰꙰ ꙰꙰ ꙰꙰ ꙰꙰ ꙰꙰꙰꙰ ꙰꙰꙰꙰ ꙰꙰꙰
|
Position |
Closing date |
|
|
Clerk/RFO |
No closing date |
|
|
Clerk/RFO |
No closing date |
|
|
Clerk/RFO |
10th July |
|
|
Temporary Clerk |
No closing date |
|
|
Clerk/RFO |
No closing date |
|
|
Clerk/RFO |
12th May |
|
|
Clerk/RFO |
26th May |
|
|
Administration Assistant |
16th June |
|
|
Handyperson |
5th June |
|
|
Clerk/RFO |
No closing date |
|
|
Deputy Clerk |
23rd June |
|
|
Clerk/RFO |
Not specified |
|
|
Clerk/RFO |
23rd June |
|
|
Clerk/RFO |
No closing date |
|
|
Clerk/RFO |
10th July |
|
|
Deputy Clerk |
4th July |
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.
The NALC Recruitment Manual (developed as part of the Civility & Respect project) is now available via the portal. Go into Knowledgebase and click on the ‘Employment’ card and enter ‘recruitment’ in the search box.
꙰꙰ ꙰꙰ ꙰꙰ ꙰꙰ ꙰꙰ ꙰꙰ ꙰꙰ ꙰꙰ ꙰꙰ ꙰꙰ ꙰꙰ ꙰꙰ ꙰꙰ ꙰꙰ ꙰꙰꙰꙰ ꙰꙰꙰
Health & Safety, Fire Safety, Risk Assessment Training - Places still available
Don’t miss the H&S, Fire Safety and Risk Assessment Training coming up on Tuesday 11th July. This all day (9:30 – 16:30) training will be held at Cranwell Village Hall (NG34 8DF) and will be delivered by MB Fire Training and BHIB insurance respectively.
There are some places left so please book via the portal.
This is essential training covering H&S legislation, employer/employee duties, risk assessment, accident reporting, manual handling, working at height, basic fire safety legislation, understanding fire, fire hazards, fire precautions, workplace risk assessments from an insurance perspective, including risk assessment of events.
꙰꙰ ꙰꙰ ꙰꙰ ꙰꙰ ꙰꙰ ꙰꙰ ꙰꙰ ꙰꙰ ꙰꙰ ꙰꙰ ꙰꙰ ꙰꙰ ꙰꙰꙰꙰ ꙰꙰꙰꙰ ꙰꙰꙰
Please vote on LALC Management Committee Nominations
Following the closure of nominations for the new LALC Management Committee, member councils are now asked to vote (one vote per council for each seat).
https://forms.office.com/e/KxrynLAmiM
The results will be revealed at the AGM being held on Thursday 29th June at 7:00pm. Agenda (including Zoom link have previously been issued).
꙰꙰ ꙰꙰ ꙰꙰ ꙰꙰ ꙰꙰ ꙰꙰ ꙰꙰ ꙰꙰ ꙰꙰ ꙰꙰ ꙰꙰ ꙰꙰ ꙰꙰꙰꙰ ꙰꙰꙰꙰ ꙰꙰꙰
LALC Annual Shining Star Awards 2023 – Get your nominations in by 30th June!
Do you know any councillors that have done extraordinary work in Council or in their community? Does your Council have young councillors (aged 18-30) that have stood out, doing outstanding work in the community? Or maybe your Clerk has gone the extra mile to support the Council, Councillors or the community.
Who do you want to nominate?
Categories for Nominations:
1. Council of the Year (small councils – up to 5000 electorate)
2. Council of the Year (larger councils – over 5000 electorate)
3. Councillor of the year
4. Young Councillor (aged 18-30)
5. Clerk of the Year
6. Special Recognition Award
Nomination forms have previously been issued to all Councils and should be returned to enquiries@lalc.co.uk by 30th June 2023.
Nominees will be invited to attend the evening Awards Ceremony following the LALC Summer Conference on 19th July, starting at 5:30pm.
꙰꙰ ꙰꙰ ꙰꙰ ꙰꙰ ꙰꙰ ꙰꙰ ꙰꙰ ꙰꙰ ꙰꙰ ꙰꙰ ꙰꙰ ꙰꙰ ꙰꙰꙰꙰ ꙰꙰꙰꙰ ꙰꙰꙰
LALC Summer Conference 19th July – Now booking
Don’t miss this opportunity to network with fellow councils, get some new ideas and listen to informative speakers.
The LALC Summer Conference will be held on Wednesday 19th July at the Bentley Hotel, South Hykeham, featuring:
• Guest speaker - Clive Wilson from United Nations Association Greater Lincolnshire, promoting new thinking and actions by local councils to promote the attainment of the UN2030 goals
• Q&A Panel – Police & Crime Commissioner, Deputy Police & Crime Commissioner, John Turner (local Integrated Care Board), Richard Davies (LCC Highways), Jane Moore - NALC.
• Workshops:
o Amy Lennox – Grant Funding
o BHIB – Cyber Security
o Breakthrough Communications – TBC
• Presentation of Long Service Awards
• Trade stands including: National Allotment Society, Pear Technology, CCLA, Blachere Illuminations, Breakthrough Communications, Kompan, BHIB, Lincolnshire Council for Voluntary Youth Services, Clear Utility Solutions
The conference fee will be £25 plus VAT. Bookings should be made via the portal. This does not include the Evening Awards Dinner.
The LALC Shining Stars Awards will be presented at our Evening Awards Dinner starting at 5:30pm, following the conference. We will have guest speaker Alistair Jones from De Montfort University, presentation of the awards by our sponsors, and a celebration of 50 years of LALC.
꙰꙰ ꙰꙰ ꙰꙰ ꙰꙰ ꙰꙰ ꙰꙰ ꙰꙰ ꙰꙰ ꙰꙰ ꙰꙰ ꙰꙰ ꙰꙰ ꙰꙰꙰꙰ ꙰꙰꙰꙰ ꙰꙰꙰
NALC Star Council awards – don’t forget to vote!
NALC has opened nominations for its Star Council Awards 2023 to celebrate the achievements of the local (parish and town) council sector.
The Star Council Awards are the only awards programme in England specifically designed to acknowledge the impact and contribution of local councils in their communities. The awards are open to all local councils, councillors, clerks, and county associations across England.
This year, there are five award categories for which entrants can apply:
• Council of the Year – Sponsored by Blachere Illumination
• Councillor of the Year – Sponsored by Breakthrough Communications
• Young Councillor of the Year – Sponsored by DCK Accounting Solutions
• County Association of the Year – Sponsored by CCLA
• Clerk of the Year – Sponsored by Cloudy IT
The award categories have been carefully selected to recognise excellence in different areas of local council operations and highlight the varied contributions made by councils.
Further details:
https://www.nalc.gov.uk/starcouncilawards?mc_cid=0a857b931f&mc_eid=55cf3210cb
The nomination period ends on 28 July 2023, and the winners will be announced at a ceremony in the House of Lords on 29 November 2023, where they will be presented with their awards.
BHIB Councils Insurance, Blachere Illumination, Breakthrough Communications, CCLA, Cloudy IT and DCK Accounting Solutions sponsor the awards.
꙰꙰ ꙰꙰ ꙰꙰ ꙰꙰ ꙰꙰ ꙰꙰ ꙰꙰ ꙰꙰ ꙰꙰ ꙰꙰ ꙰꙰ ꙰꙰ ꙰꙰꙰꙰ ꙰꙰꙰꙰ ꙰꙰꙰
Printed copies of Good Councillor Guides
Printed copies of The Good Councillor Guide to Employment 2023 can be obtained via LALC for £7.99 per copy, plus p&p. (Arrangements can be made to collect purchased copies from the LALC Summer Conference in July).
Printed copies of The Good Councillor Guide 2018 are available for £3.99 per copy, plus p&p.
꙰꙰ ꙰꙰ ꙰꙰ ꙰꙰ ꙰꙰ ꙰꙰ ꙰꙰ ꙰꙰ ꙰꙰ ꙰꙰ ꙰꙰ ꙰꙰ ꙰꙰꙰꙰ ꙰꙰꙰꙰ ꙰꙰꙰
The Largest Naval, Air and Land Operation in History
The 6th of June 2024 marks the 80th anniversary of D-Day, when Allied forces mounted the largest amphibious invasion the world has ever witnessed. In 1944 Operation Overlord saw over 5,000 ships and landing craft set down more than 130,000 troops on five Normandy beaches in an action that would bring about the liberation of north-west Europe from Nazi occupation.
Communities are encouraged to take part in the D-Day 80th anniversary celebrations lighting a Beacon at 9.15pm on 6th June 2024, representing the ‘light of peace’ that emerged from the darkness of war. Participants are asked to read out the International Tribute as their beacon is being lit that evening.
The official guide to taking part can be downloaded from https://www.d-day80beacons.co.uk.
꙰꙰ ꙰꙰ ꙰꙰ ꙰꙰ ꙰꙰ ꙰꙰ ꙰꙰ ꙰꙰ ꙰꙰ ꙰꙰ ꙰꙰ ꙰꙰ ꙰꙰꙰꙰ ꙰꙰꙰꙰ ꙰꙰꙰
COUNCIL NEWS
JUNE 2023
The Government has announced what future changes it intends to make to employment legislation.
1. Changes to EU Employment Law
In October 2022 the Government introduced the Retained EU Law (Revocation and Reform) Bill, the purpose of which was basically to scrap all legislation that had its origins in the EU on the 31st December 2023.
On the 10th May 2023 a further Government announcement reversed this decision. Instead of a wholesale ‘bonfire of the Statutes’, the announcement said that only 600 laws would be repealed. The only Employment legislation included in this list are the Community Drivers Hours and Working Time (Road Tankers) Regulations 2006 and the Posted Workers Regulations 2016. Nothing of any major to Town or Parish Councils.
Expected changes to TUPE, Collective Redundancies, Discrimination legislation and Agency Workers Regulations will not now happen.
Therefore, current and existing EU law will remain binding in the UK. For my part it is interesting to speculate as to the future influence of the European Courts on UK Law. We will be retaining current legislation which is based on EU law, therefore any major decisions made by the European Courts regarding the practical application of this legislation, may well have to be taken into consideration by the UK Courts.
2. The Working Time Regulations
Separate to the Retained EU Law Bill, there has also been a Government announcement concerning how holiday pay entitlement may be changed:
• Since 2014 holiday pay has been based on an Employee’s average weekly earnings, including overtime and bonuses. The planned changes would result in holiday pay no longer be based on average weekly earnings. Instead Councils may be able to base holiday pay on an Employee’s contractual pay.
• Reintroducing Rolled Up Holiday Pay. This practice involves increasing an Employee’s hourly rate of pay by a percentage, which over 12 months would amount to 5.6 weeks wages, the same as their annual holiday pay entitlement. As a result, the Employee gets all of their holiday pay added onto their normal pay, and gets nothing when they take leave. This practice was ruled out by the Working Time Regulations of 1998, which prevented Employers from replacing paid time off work with a payment in lieu. The Government has now announced plans to repeal this and allow the practice to resume.
Statutory Payment Rates from April 2023
Shared Parental Pay (ShPP)
Statutory rate of £172.48 or 90% of employee’s weekly earnings if lower.
Maternity Pay (SMP)
6 weeks at 90% of average weekly earnings. Then statutory rate of £172.48 or 90% of employee’s weekly earnings if lower.
Adoption Pay (SAP)
6 weeks at 90% of average weekly earnings. Then statutory rate of £172.48 or 90% of employee’s weekly earnings if lower.
Paternity Pay (SPP)
Statutory rate of £172.48 or 90% of employee’s weekly earnings if lower.
Parental Bereavement Pay (SPBP)
Statutory rate of £172.48 or 90% of employee’s weekly earnings if lower.
Statutory Sick Pay (SSP)
£109.40 pw for 28 weeks subject to earnings (average £123 per week)
Minimum Wage from April 2023
Workers aged 23 and over (National Living Wage) £10.42/hour
Workers aged 21–22 £10.18/hour
Workers aged 18–20 £7.49/hour
Workers aged 16-17 £5.28/hour
Apprentices under 19, or over 19 and in first year £5.28/hour
PROFILE
Chris Moses LLM Chartered FCIPD is Managing Director of Personnel Advice & Solutions Ltd. He is a Chartered Fellow of the Chartered Institute of Personnel and Development, and has a Master’s Degree in Employment Law. If you have any questions regarding these issues please feel free to contact him on (01529) 305056 or email p.d.solutions@zen.co.uk
www.personneladviceandsolutions.co.uk
꙰꙰ ꙰꙰ ꙰꙰ ꙰꙰ ꙰꙰ ꙰꙰ ꙰꙰ ꙰꙰ ꙰꙰ ꙰꙰ ꙰꙰ ꙰꙰ ꙰꙰꙰꙰ ꙰꙰꙰꙰ ꙰꙰꙰
Update from the latest NALC Policy Committee meeting held on 20th June
• The Committee agreed to engage with the Local Government Association and Home Builders Federation on water neutrality and ensuring a clean and sustainable system for supplying drinking water to newly built and other homes, as well as undertaking further research on nutrient neutrality. We’ll also be liaising with our climate emergency network so do join if you haven’t already!
• Councillors reiterated their current position on increasing the threshold levels required to trigger parish polls and agreed a similar approach should apply to by-elections, but further work was needed to determine an appropriate level, and they supported the use of co-option where repeat by-elections result in no election of a candidate to fill a vacancy.
• The committee agreed that our training policy should strongly encourage newly elected councillors to attend training on corporate governance, behaviour at meetings and sharing good practice.
• A new policy on neighbourhood planning was agreed and we will be pressing the government to define the production of a neighbourhood plan as a parish council function under The Parish and Community Councils (Committees) Regulations 1990 (1990/2476) to allow non-parish council members to have voting rights on a neighbourhood plan committee on the same basis as committees dealing with land management, harbour, tourism or festival functions.
• Progress of the Levelling Up and Regeneration Bill was noted, including amendments tabled by NALC’s president, Baroness Scott of Needham Market. The likely areas of focus for our advocacy at the Report Stage will include planning reforms, remote meetings, financial assistance to the church, and the dependants' carers' allowance.
꙰꙰ ꙰꙰ ꙰꙰ ꙰꙰ ꙰꙰ ꙰꙰ ꙰꙰ ꙰꙰ ꙰꙰ ꙰꙰ ꙰꙰ ꙰꙰ ꙰꙰꙰꙰ ꙰꙰꙰꙰ ꙰꙰꙰
Update from the Civility & Respect Board meeting on 13th June
The board reviewed progress to date including the great news that 1,254 local councils have signed the Civility and Respect Pledge. Therefore, these councils have an up-to-date Code of Conduct, Contracts of Employment, Dignity at Work Policy, and training programmes for councillors and clerks. They have also committed to seeking professional help at early stages, to call out bullying and harassment, to continuously learn, to aspire to be role models and to support lobbying for relevant legislation. Early intervention resources have also been developed as this has been identified as critical to minimise the risk of chronic failures, the board decided to complete these by producing a governance checklist (in line with that included in the Local Council Award Scheme). Forthcoming work through the project will include identifying and implementing the intervention and support mechanisms.
꙰꙰ ꙰꙰ ꙰꙰ ꙰꙰ ꙰꙰ ꙰꙰ ꙰꙰ ꙰꙰ ꙰꙰ ꙰꙰ ꙰꙰ ꙰꙰ ꙰꙰꙰꙰ ꙰꙰꙰꙰ ꙰꙰꙰
House of Lords debate on local government
On 15 June 2023, NALC’s president, Baroness Scott of Needham Market, gave a speech in a House of Lords debate on local government and reinvigorating democracy. In her remarks, Baroness Scott told Peers that local councils were an important part of local democracy and deserved greater recognition, they were growing in number, role and range of services and responsibilities, and that everyone who is involved in local councils should be thanked and celebrated. She concluded by setting out three ways in which the sector can be strengthened and supported, by extending local councils across all of England, by making it easier and more attractive for people to get involved, and by supporting local councils better. The Lord Bishop of Durham spoke about the part local councils played in establishing warm hubs during the winter before going on to highlight disengagement from local government and decision making in local elections, then calling for devolution “that goes down to town councils and parish councils; that is where ordinary, everyday people are most concerned about what happens in their community”. Responding on behalf of the government, Lord Evans of Rainow said the contributions in the debate showed “if you have a local authority background you have a feel for the citizens of this country”, before sharing some reflections on his time in local government including as a town councillor, adding that “the parish councils in my part of the world are very vibrant. They work well with the unitary council and seem to have a lot of flexibility”. You can watch the debate again on Parliament.tv (starting at 15:00) or read the transcript on Hansard.
꙰꙰ ꙰꙰ ꙰꙰ ꙰꙰ ꙰꙰ ꙰꙰ ꙰꙰ ꙰꙰ ꙰꙰ ꙰꙰ ꙰꙰ ꙰꙰ ꙰꙰꙰꙰ ꙰꙰꙰꙰ ꙰꙰꙰
Martyn’s Law and impact on local councils' survey
Last month the government published the draft Terrorism (Protection of Premises) Bill which sets out the requirements that, under Martyn’s Law, venues and other organisations will have to meet to ensure public safety. ‘Martyn’s Law’ is a tribute to Martyn Hett who was killed alongside 21 others in the Manchester Arena terrorist attack in 2017. The legislation aims to ensure venues and visitor attractions are prepared for, and ready to respond in the event of, an attack. A tiered model will be introduced for certain locations depending on the capacity of the premises or event and the activity taking place, to prevent unnecessary burden to businesses and organisations. The law will require some venues to take appropriate measures based on the size and nature of their activities comprising a standard tier for venues with a capacity of 100 to 799 people, and an enhanced tier for venues with a capacity of 800 or more. The draft bill is currently subject to pre-legislative scrutiny by the Home Affairs Select Committee, ahead of formal introduction when parliamentary time allows. NALC and the Society of Local Council Clerks are working together on the impact the bill will have on the sector including engaging with government, Parliament and other bodies such as the Local Government Association and Action with Communities in Rural England. We’ll both be submitting written evidence to the Committee and to help support our ongoing representations, I’d be grateful if all clerks could take a few minutes to complete this short rapid response survey which closes at 09.00 on 26 June 2023 – thank you!
Survey:
Draft Terrorism (Protection of Premises) Bill:
꙰꙰ ꙰꙰ ꙰꙰ ꙰꙰ ꙰꙰ ꙰꙰ ꙰꙰ ꙰꙰ ꙰꙰ ꙰꙰ ꙰꙰ ꙰꙰ ꙰꙰꙰꙰ ꙰꙰꙰꙰ ꙰꙰꙰
ASB Awareness Week – 3rd to 9th July
Neighbourhood Watch knows that Antisocial Behaviour (ASB) can be the highest contributor to negative influence in our community. Often affecting an individual person or group, a whole community and the place we live. We know, because we have heard the distress from people that are going through this, here and now.
ASB Awareness Week is an opportunity to raise awareness of what it covers, provide methods of how and who to report it to, understand your right to your case being reviewed and more importantly, what support you can expect from various agencies and organisations.
We would like to encourage the conversations and we have arranged for 4 webinars to help you. We have speakers from Resolve, ASB Help, British Transport Police and from our Central Support Team, all talking about the many facets of antisocial behaviour in our communities and helping you to know the changes that were announced earlier this year and how that affects you, understanding your rights, knowing what to do when faced with ASB whilst on transport and what Neighbourhood Watch is doing to help communities deal with ASB in public spaces, through the Community Safety Charter
ASB Awareness Week is spearheaded by Resolve and we are delighted to welcome Rebecca Bryant OBE, who is the Chief Executive Officer (CEO). Resolve is a Centre of Excellence solely focused upon community safety and antisocial behaviour (ASB) who strongly advocate that community safety issues and ASB can be tackled effectively, and everyone has a right to feel safe. ASB should be treated as a priority, it is not low level and is a precursor to serious crime.
Our webinar programme for ASB Awareness Week is as follows. If you see a webinar that you would like to attend online, please click on the below links (webinar title) to book your space. You will need to do this for each individual webinar that you wish to attend. All webinars are online and are via the platform Zoom.
|
Date |
Time |
Webinar |
Speaker |
|
Monday 3rd July |
12pm – 1pm |
Understand the changes to ASB legislation and know your rights |
Rebecca Bryant OBE CEO Resolve UK |
|
Tuesday 4th July |
6pm – 7pm |
ASB Help Specialist Victim Project Manager- Charlotte Hamilton-Kay & Practitioner Support Manager – Katy Anderson |
|
|
Wednesday 5th July |
12pm – 1pm |
British Transport Police Led by Chief Inspector David Rams |
|
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Thursday 6th July |
12pm – 1pm |
Neighbourhood Watch Network |
ASB Awareness Week:
꙰꙰ ꙰꙰ ꙰꙰ ꙰꙰ ꙰꙰ ꙰꙰ ꙰꙰ ꙰꙰ ꙰꙰ ꙰꙰ ꙰꙰ ꙰꙰ ꙰꙰꙰꙰ ꙰꙰꙰꙰ ꙰꙰꙰
NALC committee agrees the national agreement on terms and pay needs reviewing
The National Association of Local Councils (NALC) Smaller Councils Committee on 23 May 2023 agreed that the national agreement on terms and pay needs to be reviewed.
The Large Councils Committee had previously discussed the National Agreement on Salaries and Conditions of Services on 28 February 2023. They agreed to present the meeting to the Smaller Councils Committee and Management Board for discussion.
In addition to the Smaller Council Committee agreeing the agreement needs to be reviewed, they emphasised clerks from smaller councils being appropriately paid for all the hours they work.
The committee also agreed to engage with NALC’s National Assembly county association representatives who are from smaller councils. They will be encouraged to take part in the committee’s work and to organise a network for the smallest councils.
꙰꙰ ꙰꙰ ꙰꙰ ꙰꙰ ꙰꙰ ꙰꙰ ꙰꙰ ꙰꙰ ꙰꙰ ꙰꙰ ꙰꙰ ꙰꙰ ꙰꙰꙰꙰ ꙰꙰꙰꙰ ꙰꙰꙰
NALC Legal Update – June 2023
Biodiversity duty
A few of you have asked us about the biodiversity duty. The Environment Act 2021 made changes to the Natural Environment and Rural Communities Act 2006 in respect of biodiversity.
Section 40 of the 2006 Act, in force 1 January 2023, places a duty on all local authorities, including parish councils, to from time to time consider what action the authority can properly take to further the general biodiversity objective. The general biodiversity objective is the conservation and enhancement of biodiversity in England so all parish councils must take biodiversity into account in all their decisions and actions. The government has issued guidance on complying with the duty.
Section 40A of the 2006 Act places a duty on principal authorities (but not parish councils) to produce biodiversity reports.
Data protection – request not to share an email with councillors
A council asked us about a scenario where a member of the public had written to the clerk to complain about named councillors. The clerk shared the correspondence with all councillors and the resident had complained that this was a data protection breach. Our view considered the reasonable expectation a person has when writing to a council. The council is the corporate body and our general view was that it would be within the contemplation of a complainant that such a letter would be shared with councillors.
The six-month rule – attendance at the annual parish meeting
We were asked if a councillor’s attendance at the annual parish meeting counted as attendance for the purposes of section 85 of the Local Government Act 1972. In the case in question, it was the only attendance the councillor might have been able to rely on and apologies/ reasons had not been submitted for non-attendance at council meetings. Our view was it did not count. Attendance was as an elector at the annual meeting of electors rather than as a councillor representing the council. We considered the position could be different for a councillor who is the council chair where there is a separate parish council for the parish as they are required to chair the annual parish meeting.
Wine and cheese at the parish meeting
We were asked about a scenario where the parish council had paid for and served wine and cheese to electors attending the annual parish meeting. The provision on not using licensed premises unless no other suitable room is available applies to parish meetings (paragraph 14 (5) of Schedule 12 to the Local Government Act 1972). Notwithstanding the point that the meeting had happened so would need to be challenged to be an issue, and we understand it was a very well-attended meeting, our view was that paragraph 14 (5) does not prohibit the serving of wine per se. In our view it would be generally preferable for refreshments to be paid for councillors, with appropriate quantities served.
Historically redacted information in minutes
A member of the public contacted a council because he had been going through old council minutes and wondered about the parts not detailed because they were discussed in confidential session or redacted from disclosure under FOI because of the commercial sensitivity exemption. There is no duty to revisit old minutes to publish what was deemed unable to be published at the time. That is not to say a council is barred from disclosing information under FOI no longer deemed to be commercially sensitive.
Recent team activity
We have been dealing with a high number of elections and annual meeting related questions in the period since April’s legal update. We will be reissuing LTN 78 shortly (The Equality Act 2010).
Legal Team at NALC.
꙰꙰ ꙰꙰ ꙰꙰ ꙰꙰ ꙰꙰ ꙰꙰ ꙰꙰ ꙰꙰ ꙰꙰ ꙰꙰ ꙰꙰ ꙰꙰꙰꙰ ꙰꙰꙰꙰ ꙰꙰꙰
How to set up your new councillors on the portal (login required)
Following the May elections, you will now have a new council in place, and this is the ideal time for clerks to update your council’s records on the LALC portal.
We are continuing to receive emails from former councillors asking us to remove them from our mailing lists. Clerks – can you please ensure that your council’s records are up to date on the portal.
Once logged in, on your dashboard, go to Organisation Contacts.
To add a new councillor
Click on Add Contact. In the Create New Contact screen, add in the councillor details. Under Role(s), select ‘Councillor’. Then click ‘Create & Invite Contact’. (*You must have a role ticked otherwise it won’t let you save the record).
*Don’t worry if it doesn’t display ‘Councillor’ against this person when you view all your contacts – it is flagged correctly in the back-end system. Our software supplier is aware.
To remove someone who is no longer a councillor
Select the record and then ‘Edit’. Then click on ‘Remove Contact’.
Change of chair
If your previous Chair is still a councillor, edit their record. Untick the ‘Chair’ role. Tick the ‘Councillor’ role, if it is not already ticked. Then ‘Update Details’. (*You must have a role ticked otherwise it won’t let you save the record).
Your system will only permit one Chair, so you must untick the old Chair before allocating your new Chair.
On the new chair’s record, edit, tick ‘Chair’ then ‘Update Details’. *You do not need to un-tick ‘Councillor’.
Change of clerk
If the clerk changes, please notify LALC as we need to ensure that all relevant records have been updated correctly and that the new clerk is given access to the portal.
꙰꙰ ꙰꙰ ꙰꙰ ꙰꙰ ꙰꙰ ꙰꙰ ꙰꙰ ꙰꙰ ꙰꙰ ꙰꙰ ꙰꙰ ꙰꙰ ꙰꙰꙰꙰ ꙰꙰꙰꙰ ꙰꙰꙰