LALC ENews 6th February 2023

Training

We still have availability at the following sessions. Book now to avoid disappointment! (Places can be booked via the member portal – login required. Usually this will be via the Clerk).

New Councillor Session

7th February

6:00pm-9:00pm

Zoom

UK Shared & Rural Prosperity Fund briefing (Boston Borough, East Lindsey and South Holland district areas)

9^th February

7:00pm – 8:30pm

East Lindsey District Council, Horncastle, LN9 6PH or remote via MS Teams

Coming soon - Elections Workshops

February – See below

Planning for councils

21^st February

7:00pm-9:30pm

Zoom

UK Shared & Rural Prosperity Fund briefing (Boston Borough, East Lindsey and South Holland district areas)

22^nd February

7:00pm – 8:30pm

South Holland District Council, Spalding, PE11 2XE or remote via MS Teams

Allotments (Day 1 of 3) – Tenancy and Policies

1^st March

2.00pm-3.30pm

Zoom

Allotments (Day 2 of 3) – Site Facilities and Health & Safety

8^th March

2.00pm-3.30pm

Zoom

Allotments (Day 3 of 3) – Self-management for Association Councils

15^th March

2.00pm-3.30pm

Zoom

LCC websites – Jadu Basics

21^st April

10.00am-4.00pm

Zoom

Cemetery Management (part 1)

16th May

9.15am-12.3opm

Zoom

CiLCA Intro Day

16^th May

1:00pm-3:00pm

LALC Offices

Cemetery Management (part 2)

17th May

9.15am-12.30pm

Zoom

LCC websites – Jadu Advanced

26^th May

10.00am-12.30pm

Zoom

Play Area Inspections

7^th June

9:30am-4:00pm

North Hykeham Town Council Civic Offices, Fen Lane, North Hykeham, LN6 8UZ

Play Area Inspections (with exam)

8^th June

9:30am-4:00pm

North Hykeham Town Council Civic Offices, Fen Lane, North Hykeham, LN6 8UZ

CiLCA Intro Day

27^th September

1:00pm-3:00pm

LALC Offices

***Training venues are booked once a number of bookings have been received. This allows LALC to book venues based on where the majority of delegates are travelling from. If there are less than 10 bookings on any course, the course will automatically be held at the LALC Office, 8 Market Rasen Road, Dunholme, Lincoln, LN2 3QR***

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Current vacancies

Position

Closing date

South Luffenham Parish Council (Rutland)

Clerk/RFO

No closing date

North Luffenham Parish Council (Rutland)

Clerk/RFO

No closing date

Snitterby Parish Council

Clerk/RFO

10^th February

Gainsborough Town Council

Allotments Officer

2^nd January

Tattershall with Thorpe Parish Council

Clerk

31^st January

Asterby and Goulceby Parish Council

Clerk/RFO

31^st January

Skidbrooke cum Saltfleet Haven Parish Council

Temporary Administrator/Data Processor

28^th February

Skidbrooke cum Saltfleet Haven Parish Council

Clerk/RFO

28^th February

Folkingham Parish Council

Clerk/RFO

17^th January

Nettleham Parish Council

Clerk

3^rd February

Nettleham Parish Council

RFO

3^rd February

Ingoldmells Parish Council

Clerk/RFO

No closing date

Scothern Parish Council

Clerk/RFO

10^th February

Legbourne Parish Council

Clerk

10^th February

Bilsby & Farlesthorpe Parish Council

Clerk/RFO

1^st February

Mablethorpe & Sutton Town Council

Administration Assistant

24^th February

Ruskington Parish Council

Parish Caretaker

20^th February

Ruskington Parish Council

Caretaker for Buildings & Play Facilities

20^th February

Osgodby Parish Council

Clerk/RFO

10^th February

Metheringham, Sots Hole and Tanvats Parish Council

Clerk

19^th February

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 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.

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LALC ANNUAL SUBSCRIPTION 1st April 2023 - 31st March 2024

LALC would like to confirm all Annual Subscription 23/24 invoices have now been emailed out to clerks for Town/Parish & Parish Meetings.

If for any reason you have not received yours please email enquiries@lalc.co.uk for a further copy.

LALC ANNUAL TRAINING SCHEME 1st April 2023 -31st March 2024

The LALC Annual Training Scheme form for 2023-24 is now available.

To renew, clerks can access this form via https://lalc.jams.junari.com and then Document Templates in the Member Portal.

The form includes the 2023-24 prices and is based on your electorate.

Please complete this form and return it to lindsey.westman@lalc.co.uk . Upon receipt of the completed form an invoice shall be raised.

Any questions relating to finance please don’t hesitate to contact Lindsey.

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UK Shared Prosperity Funding and Rural Prosperity Funding available

LALC will be holding presentations to promote the recent announcement of grant funding to support parish and town council areas in Boston Borough, East Lindsey and South Holland districts use some of the £12million available to your local communities. Projects of £1,000 and above may be eligible. These free events will allow councils to learn more and ask questions.

Advance notice was previously given in the eNews. The sessions will take place at the council offices at the following dates, times and locations. Even if you cannot make the session for your own council area, please feel free to join a later session. The session at Boston Borough Council took place on 1st February. Capacity for face-to-face meetings is limited at each venue so booking is essential. When registered for online access we will send details how to join remotely.

• 9th February 7pm-8.30pm at East Lindsey District Council Offices at the Hub in Horncastle both online and face to face.

• 22nd February 7pm-8.30pm at South Holland District Council Offices, Priory Road, Spalding both online and face to face.

Further information about the grant funding available in each borough/district can be found at these online locations.

• https://www.boston.gov.uk/article/23150/Council-invites-eligible-Boston-organisations-expressions-of-interest-in-2-62million-Prosperity-Funding

• https://www.e-lindsey.gov.uk/article/23151/Council-invites-eligible-East-Lindsey-organisations-expressions-of-interest-in-6-14million-Prosperity-Funding

• https://www.sholland.gov.uk/article/23152/Council-invites-eligible-South-Holland-organisations-expressions-of-interest-in-3-39million-Prosperity-Funding

The full bidding guide for the funding and the expression of interest form is accessible through the above links. Parish and town councils are eligible to submit expressions of interest for the grant funding for their local projects alone or in partnership. For booking to attend the online or face to face events please register through your clerk on the LALC website – Training/Events Home | Lincolnshire ALC (lalc.co.uk).

We look forward to assisting as many local councils obtaining grant funding and delivering their projects for their communities.

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VAT on Sporting Fees – update from the Parkinson Partnership

Summary: HMRC conceded last week that charges for local authority sports facilities are a non-business activity and outside the scope of VAT. Affected councils may be able to reclaim additional VAT relating to the last 4 years.

Detail: HMRC’s existing guidance is that local authority sports and leisure services can either be taxable or exempt from VAT. This has been challenged in the courts, with test cases for England, Scotland and Northern Ireland going on for several years.

In Chelmsford City Council [2020] UKFTT432(TC) the First Tier Tribunal determined that such services are provided under a ‘special legal regime’ and can be treated as ‘non-business’, providing that does not give rise to significant distortions of competition.

HMRC unsuccessfully appealed the first part of that decision, as they did not accept the reasoning that local authority sports services are subject to a ‘special legal regime’. The Upper Tier Tribunal [2022] UKUT149(TCC) dismissed that appeal in March 2022.

On 26 January 2023, HMRC advised Chelmsford City Council that they will NOT be pursuing the ‘significant distortion of competition’ argument and accept that local authority sports services can be treated as non-business and outside the scope of VAT.

HMRC have yet to issue any further guidance as to the basis on which they accept no significant distortion of competition would be caused, how far the interpretation of “sport and leisure services” extends or what steps councils should take to recover VAT.

We suggest that councils consider the following steps in relation to sports facilities, bearing in mind that HMRC have not issued any guidance and might refuse claims or require them to be submitted in a particular way:

1. If you’re VAT registered and charging VAT on your sports services, you should:

a. stop doing so as soon as possible and certainly before 1 April 2023

b. compile and submit a claim to HMRC for a refund of such VAT declared for the past four years

c. consider whether you will refund that VAT to the bodies charged for sports

2. If you’re not VAT registered and have avoided reclaiming VAT on sports facilities because you thought they were taxable supplies, you should reclaim any such VAT incurred over the last 4 years.

3. If you treat any sports services as VAT-exempt and include VAT incurred on those activities in your partial exemption calculation, you should:

a. take that VAT out of the 2022/23 calculation

b. if you had any irrecoverable VAT in the 2018/19 to 2021/22 calculations, review them to see if you can now reclaim some or all or of that VAT

c. if you have done a 7-year average calculation for any of those years or to forecast a future year, review it to see if you can recover any further VAT

Please note that VAT126 reclaims must be submitted within 4 years of the end of the month in which the supply of goods or services occurred, so a council can still claim for purchases in February 2019 until the end of this month.

For VAT-registered councils, adjustments cannot be made more than 4 years after the due date of the VAT return that is being amended, so the oldest return that can be adjusted is the one for the January to March 2019 quarter, unless you submit monthly returns or have non-standard VAT quarters.

In reclaiming any VAT charged, councils must avoid “unjust enrichment”, which might occur if you reclaim the VAT and keep it, rather than refunding it to your customers. Where council facilities are subsidised and operate at a loss due to low charges, or where charges were made VAT-inclusive rather than being increased, HMRC are unlikely to consider that unjust enrichment.

Please note that the tribunal decisions only relate to charges for sporting services and should not be applied to meeting room hire, or other taxable or exempt business activities at this point. If you are in any doubt as to whether an activity is affected by this change, please consult your county association of local councils in the first instance.

Change in Procurement Thresholds

Summary: The Government increased the £25,000 threshold for Contracts Finder to £30,000 from 21 December 2022. (SI 2022/1390). This puts us back to the position where it is effectively contracts over £25,000 plus VAT (rather than £25,000 including VAT) that are advertised.

Detail: Public contracts, with an estimated value (including VAT, from 1 January 2022):

over £213,477 (previously 189,330 ex VAT) for goods or services or

over £5,336,937 (previously £4,733,252 ex VAT) for public works (construction),

must comply with the full requirements of the Public Contracts Regulations 2015. These include specific tendering methods and timescales, as well as a requirement to advertise on both the Contracts Finder website and Find-a-Tender (the UK e-notification service).

Where a contract will run for several years, it is the total (not annual) value that matters.

Where the estimated total value (including VAT) is below these thresholds, but exceeds £30,000 (after 21 December 2022), a council is required to advertise the opportunity on Contracts Finder if they publish an open invitation to quote/tender. If they are inviting specific firms and not opening up to wider competition, they don’t have to advertise the opportunity on Contracts Finder (Public Contracts Regulations 2015, Reg. 110(5)(b)).

However, a council must comply with its own Standing Orders and Financial Regulations and if those regulations require an open invitation and a formal tender process, the council should follow them. Tendering processes ensure fair competition, achieve value for money and avoid anti-competitive behaviour. They protect the council and taxpayers.

If a council simply chooses specific firms to invite, it must avoid allowing non-commercial considerations (defined in Part 2 of the Local Government Act 1988) to influence its decisions. If a council invites some suppliers and not others, it should record its reasons.

If the council genuinely believed the value would be under £30,000 but the tenders came in above that, the Regulations do not require it to go back and start again.

Regardless of whether the opportunity was advertised, Regulation 112 requires a council to publish the award of a contract over £25,000 prior to 21 December 2022, or £30,000 thereafter, on Contracts Finder within a reasonable timescale. There is no specified timescale for parishes, but we suggest within 3 months.

Disclaimer

This bulletin is only intended as a brief guide about a developing situation and councils should ensure they follow the Regulations and guidance on www.gov.uk, read the tribunal decisions and seek professional advice if they are in any doubt. The Parkinson Partnership LLP accepts no liability for any loss arising from situations where councils have not followed the applicable law and guidance.

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Elections Briefings

NKDC are running a series of briefings for Town and Parish Councillor candidates and interested Clerks in NK. These are:

• Wed 22 February at 6.30pm in North Hykeham Town Council offices

• Thurs 23 February at 6.30pm online on Teams

• Mon 27 February at 6.30pm in the Civic Suite at NKDC, Sleaford

To register, email nk-corporatecivicsupportteam@n-kesteven.gov.uk stating Election Briefing and Date and include number of attendees with contact details for each. (NKDC councils should have already received this information).

SHDC briefings for Clerks* in SH are:

• 7th February at 2pm at SHDC Offices, Spalding, in MR1

• 9th February 5.30pm via Teams

*Please note that these sessions were previously incorrectly listed as for clerks and candidates

SHDC councils should have already received this information, including details of how to book one of the sessions.

SKDC briefings for candidates and clerks in SK are:

• Monday 27th February at 6pm – SKDC, Bourne

• Monday 6th March at 6pm - SKDC Offices, Grantham

Places should be booked directly via SKDC.

We are currently chasing WLDC and ELDC to see if they are arranging elections briefings and will advertise details as soon as we receive them.

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Coronation Events

Coronation weekend events have now been announced. The King’s Coronation will take place at Westminster Abbey on Saturday 6th May. On Sunday, 7th May, a special Coronation Concert will be staged and broadcast live at Windsor Castle.

The Coronation Big Lunch, at which neighbours and communities are invited to share food and fun together, will take place across the country on the same date. The Coronation Big Lunch will be overseen and organised by the Big Lunch team at the Eden Project. The Big Lunch is an idea from the Eden Project, made possible by The National Lottery, that brings millions of people together annually to boost community spirit, reduce loneliness and support charities and good causes. Free downloadable resources will also be made available online by the Big Lunch team at CoronationBigLunch.com, to help people and communities start their Coronation Big Lunch planning.

On Monday, 8th May 2023, members of the public will be invited to take part in The Big Help Out, which will encourage people to try volunteering for themselves and join the work being undertaken to support their local areas. This event is being organised by The Together Coalition and a wide range of partners such as The Scouts, the Royal Voluntary Service and faith groups from across the United Kingdom. The Big Help Out will highlight the positive impact volunteering has on communities across the nation. The aim of The Big Help Out is to use volunteering to bring communities together and create a lasting volunteering legacy from the Coronation Weekend.

For further information see:

Coronation (nalc.gov.uk)

https://www.royal.uk/coronation-weekend-plans-announced

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Website maintenance service

2023-24 fees

What’s included?

Level of service

Fee

Documents uploaded to your LCC website by Pete Langford

Access to Pete for advice, queries or problem solving

Access to current guidance documents from Pete

Updates as appropriate

Access to e-group for peer support *

Premium

£85 - 5 hours

£170 - 10 hours

£340 - 20 hours

+ VAT

Yes

Basic

£50/yr + VAT

Yes

This service is available to LALC member councils and is additional to the membership subscription and Annual Training Scheme. The fee for LALC non-members is double that quoted above.

*The e-group will be primarily led by clerks providing support for each other. The webmaster will monitor and contribute information and answers occasionally, but this won’t be the priority.

Full details of this service can be found on the website at https://www.lalc.co.uk/website-maintenance,

To sign up to any of these services, please contact us on 01673 866596 or email enquiries@lalc.co.uk

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National Grid grants support East Lindsey’s warm spaces

East Lindsey District Council has been successful with a bid to the National Grid - Community Matters Fund in receiving a grant to allow them to support local community groups who are open as a Warm Space this Winter.

The Council are in process of making a £400 one-off contribution available to support Warm Spaces who have signed up to the districts Warm Spaces directory opening on a weekly basis. For those signed up but open less than once a week will be eligible to apply for a one-off contribution of £200.

The following groups who eligible for funding are:

• Not for Profit Company Limited by Guarantee

• Constituted Company/Voluntary Group

• Parish or Town Council

• Parochial Church Council

• Registered Charity

Those groups who we are aware of and are signed up and eligible have been contacted and payments are being processed.

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13th Edition of Arnold-Baker on Local Council Administration

The comprehensive and authoritative guide to local government law has been extensively revised for its 13th edition.

List price: £164.99

Price through LALC - £131.99, which is a saving of 20%.

Please contact Lindsey to order a copy.

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Rural Services network

Rural Services Network commissioned research last year that shows rural areas are struggling more with the rise of cost of living than urban areas.

You can help them understand more about rural household budgets by carrying out the below survey, which will allow RSN to engage more effectively with Government Departments, MPs and other policy makers.

The survey closes on 31 March 2023.

Please access the survey at: https://loom.ly/CvWfGqs

in LALC News