BISHAM PARISH COUNCIL- Vacancy for a part-time Parish Clerk
Owing to the retirement of the current Clerk a vacancy has arisen for the post of Clerk to Bisham Parish Council.
The rôle involves on average 15 hours’ work per week, working mainly from your home but including one Parish Council evening meeting on the 3rd Monday of each month and one Annual Parish Meeting, attending other meetings as required.
A laptop computer, printer/copier and filing cabinet will be provided and an answer phone if required.
The successful candidate will need to be self-motivated and have good IT skills and a desire to benefit the community.
An attractive salary will be offered, based on experience.
A job description can be obtained by emailing chairman@bishamparishcouncil.org.uk to whom application should then be made.
The closing date for enquiries is the 28th February 2015.
Election timetable
Please find here the timeline of important dates for the election on the Elections page of this website.
Councillors welcome pack
As well as encouraging new and diverse people to stand for election to your council don't forget to have ready a welcome pack for the newly elected councillors. Here is a list of the basics that should be in the pack whether you call it a welcome pack or an induction file.
Election resources
Booklets, posters you can personalise for your council, welcome pack, councillor job description - go to the Elections page of this website or the NALC website
Please publicise that 5th February is National Voter Registration Day.
It is important that all those eligible to vote are registered so they can take part in the forthcoming national and local elections. The method of registration has changed so please ensure you are personally registered and all other people in your household are too, especially students.
The electorate in West Berkshire is down from 117,140 (January 2014) to 114,578 in January 2015, where have all those voters gone? When parish elections co-incide with a general election there is usually a better turnout, ensure an even better turnout with good elector registration.
You can register to vote on line here it couldn't be easier.
More information at Bite the ballot
NALC has revised its Elections Legal Topic Note. It can be found on the BALC Elections page along with links to other documents which could be useful to your council as you plan for the forthcoming election.
THAME TOWN COUNCIL
Appointment of Town Clerk & Responsible Financial Officer
Salary SCP 43-51 (£37,483 - £45,129)
Plus Local Government Pension Scheme
Thame Town Council is seeking a dynamic, forward-looking Town Clerk to raise the community profile of the Council.
The role demands good leadership, self-motivation, administrative, financial and interpersonal skills, enthusiasm, lateral thinking and an ability to forge strong partnerships. You will be determined that the Council meets local government best practice standards and will ensure the efficient and effective implementation of Council decisions. You will also ensure that the Council is prepared for the future and maximises opportunities to serve the community through exploring new opportunities and accessing grants. The successful candidate will have a proven track record in senior administrative and financial management, and will already hold, or be prepared to undertake, the Certificate in Local Council Administration (CILCA).
An application pack can be obtained from the Council’s website: www.thametowncouncil.gov.uk or by email recruitment@thametowncouncil.gov.uk
Applications must be returned by 4.30pm on Friday 13 February 2015.
Short listed candidates will be invited to attend an evening reception on Wednesday 25 February and will then be interviewed by a panel of Members on Thursday 26 February.
Each candidate will start their interview with a 10 minute presentation entitled:
‘‘The appointment of a new Town Clerk will coincide with local elections and a new Council. How would you go about integrating new Councillors with existing Councillors in the new administration?”
Any enquiries please contact the Town Clerk, Helen Stewart (BEM) on 01844 260495
It’s that time of year when coughs, colds and viruses are rife and sickness absence at work can often peak. This article will look at employers’ obligations to pay staff who are off sick.
- Do we have to pay sick pay?
- What is the benefit to the employer of sick pay?
- What are the downsides of paying sick pay?
- What should a Sickness Policy include?
- What is a Fit Note?
- What are the SSP rules?
- How does SSP work with company sick pay?
- How can a reasonable employer ensure that sick pay is being paid appropriately?
For more information take a look at:
GOV.uk guidance on SSP at https://www.gov.uk/employers-sick-pay/overviewThe new Government-backed Occupational Health service https://www.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/362480/fit-for-work.pdf
The full article is on the BALC website The full artcle is on the BALC website here
Prepared by Bethan Osborne, Employment and HR Consultant to Berkshire Association of Local Councils January 2015
Neighbourhood Development Plans enable communities to have more control over planning and housing decisions in their local area. They are statutory plans with legal status. More information about Neighbourhood Plans can be found on the Government's website here.
The Berkshire Local Nature Partnership has produced a guidance document to help local communities incorporate the natural environment into their Neighbourhood Plan.
Planning for Nature is available here
Berkshire County Training CIC - Being a good employer
When: Wednesday 25th March 2015 6pm – 9.30 pm
Where: The Calcot Centre, Highview, Calcot, Reading RG31 4XD
Registration and refreshments are available from 6.00pm for a prompt start at 6.30pm
Who should come?
All councillors, particularly those with staffing responsibilities; it will also be a useful reminder for clerks who manage other employees and volunteers within their councils.
What does it cover?
Bethan Osborne, HR Consultant and employment advisor to BALC will deliver this training which will provide a general introduction to employment rights and responsibilities. Topics covered will include:
• Getting it right from the start - effective recruitment and selection
• What the law says about employee rights and obligations
• Dispute resolution and employee relations - covering grievance and disciplinary processes
• Performance management and staff development
• Ending the contractual relationship
There will be time for questions and networking
Please note the minimum number of participants is 20, if sufficient bookings are not received by Wednesday 18th March 2015 the event will be postponed.
Cost BALC Members £ 40 + £8 VAT = £48 Non Members £ 80 + £16 VAT = £96
Booking form is available from your clerk or from christine.lalley@ccberks.org.uk
tel 0118961 2200
THIS IS IMPORTANT FOR SMALL COUNCILS
SLCC writes:
"The Government has published the final version of this Code which
replaces the need for external audit for parish councils with turnover
less than £25,000. The code will require the on-line publication of
information which the Government says will provide taxpayers with a
clear picture of the council’s’ activities, spending and governance and
will improve the ability of communities to hold local public bodies to
account.
Although the Code is published initially as recommended practice, the
Secretary of State told Parliament on 17th December that he intends to
make the code mandatory by the start of the 2015 to 2016 financial year
and will offer support to the local council sector to help authorities
comply with these requirements."
The DCLG transparency code is here : the explanation of what should be published is set out in paragraph 10 of the Code.
Please read the Code and start thinking about how your council can start the process of transferring over to the new system.
NALC has issued a legal briefing on this - L05-14 which is in the Legal Briefings section of this website.
Last year a number of CALCs and their member Councils supported Wingham Parish Council’s proposal under the Sustainable Communities Act for Parish and Town Councils to be made statutory consultees on vehicle operator licence applications and renewals.
DCLG is inviting responses to the DfT’s review of Traffic Commissioners and Operator Licensing which invites views through an interactive website on the work and role of the Traffic Commissioners and potential improvements to the operator licensing system. It is not a formal consultation.
In the meantime, we would encourage member Councils that support the Wingham SCA proposal to respond to the Traffic Commissioners and Operating Licensing Review, which will be open until 31st January.
The interactive website can be accessed using the following link: http://www.dft.gov.uk/traffic-commissioners-review/.
Friday 27th February 2015 2.30pm -4.30pm at Brownlow Memorial Hall, Warfield.
Alastair Dick - Cleland from Landmark Trust will run a seminar on building maintenance of interest to any volunteer responsible for running a village, community, church or other type of public hall, whatever it's age. Alastair is Acting Head of Historic Estate for the Landmark Trust which is a charity that rescues historic buildings which would other wise be lost.
The seminar is free to attend - please contact Wendy Dacey, Community Buildings Adviser at CCB if you would like to come, email wendy.dacey@ccberks.org.uk or tel 0118 9612000.
DCLG laid a legislative reform order before Parliament on 12th January to allow parish and town councils to use electronic communications to send agendas. This comes into force on 30th January 2015.
Cllr Ken Browse, chair of NALC said: “ No one
knows the local community like we do and this new change to an arcane
law shows this in practice. This reform to rules, which are over forty
years old, is long overdue but very welcome and will help parish and
town councils operate more efficiently and effectively."
The Government’s Legislative Reform Order can be found at: http://www.legislation.gov.uk/uksi/2015/5/pdfs/uksi_20150005_en.pdf.
Please go to the NALC website for more information which is available at http://www.nalc.gov.uk/news?view=entry&id=138
Marlow Bottom Parish Council, Buckinghamshire want a part time clerk - 12 hours per week working from home, including a minimum of two Council evening meetings per month (2nd and 4th Thursday) and attending other meetings as required.
The closing date is 16th February 2015 and more details are on the Vacancies section of the BALC website
Communities Minister, Stephen Williams MP set out new measures yesterday (8th January 2015) that will remove some obstacles faced by community groups wanting to set up a town or parish council and give local people a greater say over what goes on in their neighbourhood.
Town and parish councils allow communities to take control of local assets, deliver local services and influence decision-making and priorities. The government wants the experience of creating a town and parish council to become easier for those local communities that believe they would benefit from them.
Over the last 3 years, the government has engaged interested parties both informally and through formal public consultation. The feedback gathered finds that the existing legislation can be burdensome and often discourages local campaigners.
To help cut this unnecessary bureaucracy the government has formulated 3 new measures that will cut red tape, improve the legislative process and help town and parish councils to play a stronger role in the delivery of local services.
services.
These are:
- lowering the threshold of signatures required to trigger a review of governance from 10% to 7.5 % of residents
- speeding up the process and creating greater certainty for local campaigners by shortening the amount of time the local authority can take to complete a governance review to 12 months from receipt of a valid petition
- allowing neighbourhood forums to trigger a community governance review for a new parish council without requiring them to submit a petition
Cllr Ken Browse, chairman of NALC (National Association of Local Councils), said:
"Local (parish and town) councils are popular with people and can really make a difference, and for too long communities have battled with burdensome bureaucracy to get them created. The proposals to remove red tape, simplify and streamline the current process is a common sense move.
We welcome the continued impetus on the creation of more new local councils to deliver services to local communities and give them a voice.
The government’s measures are a step in the right direction to help people and communities create these most local of democratically accountable councils. Now communities can get on with delivering grassroots level services and representation by taking local action.”
The government published its response to the consultation on a proposal to use a legislative reform order for making it easier to set up a town and parish council.
The legislative reform order has been laid in parliament and we expect that these new rights will come into force within the next 12 months.
Quality Parish Council Scheme totally revised and relaunched as Local Council Award
After prolonged consultation the new scheme was launched on 6th
January 2015. The scheme has been designed to provide the tools and
encouragement to help councils improve, as well as promoting and
recognising those councils that are already well run and are examples
of good practice.
Councils can apply for an award at one of three levels:
- The Foundation Award demonstrates that a council meets the minimum requirements for acting lawfully and according to standard practice.
- The Quality Award demonstrates that a council achieves good practice in governance, community engagement and council improvement.
- The Quality Gold Award demonstrates
that a council is at the forefront of best practice and achieves
excellence in governance, community leadership and council
development.
The scheme sets out the criteria required to attain each level
of the award. It is hoped that councils will want to progress through
the levels where resources allow. To achieve any level of award
Councils must publish the required documents and information online and
pass a resolution at full council confirming their availability.
For more information on the Local Award Scheme, the criteria and a
step by step guide to the process for applying go to the NALC website http://www.nalc.gov.uk/our-work/local-council-award-scheme
There are two fees; a registration fee paid to NALC, this is £50
irrespective of the size of the council or the level of award. And an
accreditation fee which varies from £50 - £200 depending on the size of
the council and the level of award.
The accreditation lasts for four years.
