Yateley Town Council want Town Clerk and Responsible Financial Officer

Yateley Town Council
Town Clerk and Responsible Financial Officer

With a population in excess of 21,000, Yateley is a thriving community in North East Hampshire. In 2013 the town was rated one of the most attractive postcode areas to live in England. 

The Town Council is one of the largest and most active authorities in Hampshire. With a budget approaching £500.000 the council delivers a wide range of services to the population that it serves.

This summer, after 15 years in the post the current Town Clerk is retiring. The council looking for a candidate who will play a key leadership role in the management and ongoing development of the Town Council. 

The successful candidate will be highly motivated, focussed, forward thinking, and have a proven track record in delivering quality services and possess excellent communication skills. Heading a team of ten people, the ability to work in a team as well as individually is vital.
The position is full time and includes some evening working.

Salary scale is LC3 (NJC points 46-48) plus a car allowance and pension scheme.

A candidate pack (including the job description, person specification and application form) is available online at www.yateley-tc.gov.uk 

Closing date for applications is noon on Wednesday 20 May 2015

Interviews will be held during early June.

Transparency Code - does you council need a new website?

Small councils that haven't got a website may be interested in two companies which are offering their services to councils. 
 
The Transparency Code requires councils (with an annual turnover not exceeding £25,000)
to publish on their website:

• all items of expenditure above £100
• end of year accounts
• annual governance statement
• internal audit report
• list of councillor or member responsibilities
• the details of public land and building assets
• Minutes,agendas and meeting papers of formal meetings.

Please have a look at your website. Can a member of the public find your agendas and minutes in no more than two clicks or three at most? If council information is buried among the cricket club and the church perhaps you need to be rethinking your website. 

BALC has been approached by two companies offering their services:
HugoFox.com   this company offers to develop a site for free, building on the ethos of connecting communities.

Adam Curtis this link takes you to an example website developed by Adam Curtis :  07944 390923
Email:  adam@curtiswebsitedesign.com

BALC does not endorse either of these companies but hope you may find the information useful

Apply for funding - My Community Rights programme

NALC is supporting Locality in delivering the 2015-16 My Community Rights programmes as funded by DCLG which parishes can apply to.

The following support programmes are currently available and are open for applications, with some looming application deadlines:

Community economic development – Co-operatives UK will support 50 communities to develop economic plans to address local economic priorities like job creation and enterprise. Closing date for applications 8 May 2015.

Community ownership and management of assets – Locality will support 50 local authority/community partnerships to support the transfer of multiple or complex publicly owned assets into community ownership. Applications close when programme is full.

First steps and Our Place – Locality will support 115 more neighbourhoods to use the Our Place approach, enabling councils and other public sector providers, voluntary and community groups, local businesses and the community to work together to tackle important local issues from job creation to health priorities and 115 communities will receive support from the Community Development Foundation to take the first steps in identifying important local issues and developing Community Action Plans. Closing date for applications is 8 May 2015 for First Steps and 15 May 2015 for Our Place.

Neighbourhood planning and the Community Right to build – Locality will give grants and technical support to communities to shape new development in their area through a neighbourhood plan or neighbourhood development order, and to gain planning permission for new community led buildings. No closing date for applications.

There is also an advice service and network - Locality and the Community Development Foundation are providing communities with the opportunity to network and learn from each other through the new My Community Network. They provide a phone and online advice service that gives access to tailored advice to help communities use the range of community rights and other neighbourhood approaches that are available.  

Details of all the support and grant funding on offer are at: www.mycommunity.org.uk .

Employment Update for April - holidays

 

Annual Leave - Aprils Employment briefing covers the often difficult area of holiday entitlement and calculation.

• The statutory position
• The contractual position
• The maths
• Part-timers 
•  Adjustments for Bank Holidays
• Carrying over leave
• Accrued leave
• Rolled up holiday pay
• Controlling Leave
•  How does a sole, part-time employee, working from home actually take annual leave?

The complete briefing is here on the BALC website

Resources for those embarking on Neighbourhood Plans

Planning Aid has put together a whole suite of resources for groups embarking on a Neighbourhood Plan. 

It provides the whole tool kit - templates for project planning, spreadsheets, videos on how to do it. An extremely useful and free set of 'how to' tools. 

Well worth a look here

Entertainment in Village Halls

A raft of cuts in red tape will make it easier for village halls to be the social heart of their communities, says leading rural network ACRE.

The charity says major changes to Government regulations on entertainment licensing, which come fully into force from April 6, have reduced the burden on community buildings.

It says village halls now face less paperwork when it comes to putting on the events, plays, performances and social evenings which pull communities together.

The charity has produced a new guide ‘Entertainment in Village Halls’ which steers management committees through the rules and regulations on licensing, music copyright, cinema, events and more.

It is available through Wendy Dacey, CBAS Community Buildings Adviser in Berkshire wendy.dacey@ccberks.org.uk   0118 961 2000

Community Guide to Your Water Environment

The Community Guide to Your Water Environment has been produced by ACRE in partnership with Farming and Wildlife Advisory Group (FWAG), NFU and the Countryside and Community Research Institute.

The guide features a step by step guide to community projects to help manage water with case studies and resources to help your community. 

Nick Chase, ACRE said: "The floods of recent years got many local communities thinking about how they could protect their villages from the worst of the weather. However, people are confused by the number of individuals, agencies and authorities involved in managing the water environment... This guide sets out to put communities on the right path to be prepared for more extreme events.

The report is here

Local Audit and Accountability Act 2014, Commencement Orders Financial Topic Note

Local Audit and Accountability Act 2014, Commencement Orders

NALC has issued a Financial Topic Note on when and how changes to the audit regime will be implemented.

The details are here on the BALC website

Stanford Dingley need a new clerk

Stanford Dingley Parish Council have a vacancy for a new clerk 

Stanford Dingley, West Berkshire is a small village that needs a new clerk for approx. 12 hours per month. The closing date is very soon 30th April.

More details from the clerk s.scottjohnston@btinternet.com

Sharing services among small councils some examples

NALC SMALLER COUNCILS COMMITTEE 21 April 2015

The committee has an item about shared services; case studies of existing examples are available via the link below but BALC would be interested to hear what you are doing in Berkshire to share/commission/tender jointly for services.

• To publish and promote the examples of shared services already collected;
• To identify other examples and promote them;T
• o look at areas for joint working between smaller councils e.g. sharing services, joint procurement, shared clerks etc.;
• To "future scenario" the role of smaller councils within new governance in the UK e.g. move to larger unitary principal councils and devolution/ regionalism.

Update:
Examples of shared services has been published on the NALC website and received some publicity. http://www.nalc.gov.uk/library/news-stories/1500-item3examplesandcasestudiesonsharedservices/file

NALC Discussion Paper on devolution down to parish councils

NALC Discussion Paper on Devolution

1) Context
a) A significant outcome of the Scottish referendum has been to open up a debate on devolution in the UK, both to the nations and beyond to a more local level;
b) Our message so far has been that any new constitutional settlement for the UK must include new powers and responsibilities for communities at grassroots level through our most local level of government, parish and town councils;
c) NALC needs to agree a narrative and package of ideas to help us make the case for devolution to parishes.

2) Issues
a) Diversity in size, capability and ambition of the parish councils;
b) Devolution should not stop at principal authority level; but nor should it stop at parish council level and parishes councils should devolve further;
c) Disparity of both resource levels in communities, especially in urban and deprived areas, which affects ability to generate income, either from precept or potentially from business rates; and also innovative and entrepreneurial approaches to driving business growth and income generation;
d) Devolution on demand or devolution to everyone? Devolution to parishes should go at different clock speeds; some councils better placed to take on new responsibilities than others and should be able to and not held back by majority;
e) How will additional powers and responsibilities be funded? Double taxation still happens and funding doesn’t always follow service, plus revenue support grant model not sustainable with principal councils moving towards local income through council tax and business rates;
f) Financial incentive policy initiatives such as Community Infrastructure Levy do not always work well and solution still needs to be found to ensure communities benefit from development;
g) Legislative framework required to ensure parishes can take on new responsibilities and services from principal councils, perhaps through reformed community governance review process with scope widened to consider delivery of public services;
h) More grouping and clustering of parishes to build capacity and capability.

3) Proposed messages/asks
a) NALC should support the creation of unitary principal authorities, provided it is coupled with empowered parish councils and devolved functions and services;
b) Strengthen local democracy through the creation of parish councils across all of the UK;
c) More powers through a Parish Councils Bill, leading to greater autonomy, responsibility and accountability for the area;
d) Devolution of a share of business rates to parish councils and which is enshrined in law;
e) Top slicing of the LGA improvement grant from Government to invest in building the capacity and capability of the parish council sector;
f) Reform to community governance review process to include delivery of public services, mandatory referendums and right of appeal;
g) The new Local Council Award Scheme providing the means to assess the devolution capability of parishes;
h) Fairer funding including the removal of the Government power to require referenda on precept increases.
i) Opportunity to adopt more innovative and radical governance models such as directly elected mayor or leader/cabinet.

Adopted by National Council 31 March 2015

NALC events programme

NALC Events Programme 2015

This year, NALC will be covering a broad range of topics – the topics that you told us you are interested in – and in different formats to suit your needs.

Our first headline event is Digital Councils, your opportunity to learn from the experts how to make the most of the digital world we now live in for the benefit of your council. 

We also have an event specifically for new councillors, Councillor Horizons is a must for anyone new to this rewarding and privileged, yet demanding form of public service.

What next for local councils, is a one day conference that will give you a comprehensive overview of the post-election landscape, of the government's priorities and the implications for our sector.

Please take a look at the programme and book your places ASAP to avoid disappointment.

NALC events are a fantastic opportunity to bring our disparate membership together, so we look forward to seeing you at one of them soon.

New Training Dates for New Councillors

The Berkshire County Training CIC has just announced three dates for New Councillor Training. This will obviously be of particular interest to those new faces standing for election on the 7th May.

Who should come?

This training is designed for newly elected councillors; it will be of help to new or inexperienced clerks too. More experienced councillors may find it useful as a refresher and reminder of roles and responsibilities.

The evening will be run by Kim Bedford a very experienced and recently retired County Officer of Gloucestershire Association or Local Councils.

What does it cover?

• The role and responsibilities of a Councillor.
• Examining how the four key components fit together - Councillor, (Code of Conduct) Council, Chairman and Clerk.
• How a council works; the law, procedures, meetings and a place for committees.
• How to fulfil compliance, accountability and transparency requirements as a statutory body.
• Forward thinking - discussing possible future changes.
• How to work with and engage with the community to ensure that you work with and for them.

There will be time for questions and networking. 

Cost

BALC Members    £40 + £8 VAT = £48

Non Members       £80 + £16 VAT = £96

VAT registration number: 186 1942 79

Dates and Booking

To book a place at one of these sessions please click on the appropriate link below.

All training sessions are being held at the Calcot Centre, Highview, RG31 4XD which is just off Junction 12 of the M4.

Click here to book on Wednesday 17th June, 6.00 - 9.30pm: 

Click here to book on Wednesday 15th July, 6.00 - 9.30pm

Click here to book on Wednesday 9th September, 6.00 -  9.30pm

FREE SEMINAR - Ideas and tools for managing and monitoring landscape change

This free event will explore how interest groups, including local communities, can collaboratively monitor and manage landscape change. Speakers will cover the development of local landscape quality objectives; scoping out change issues, and various tools and data that can be practically and locally applied. Tools include fixed point photography and mobile phone app FieldTripGB as well as Ordnance Survey and UK government information. A guided walk through the ancient woods and suburbs of Ruislip will illustrate change and continuity in the landscape over time, prompting discussion about the realities of managing and monitoring change at local scales.

Confirmed speakers from Campaign for the Protection of Rural England (CPRE), Ordnance Survey, South Downs National Park Authority, Natural England and South Devon AONB. The guided walk will be led by respected local historians.

The target audience for this event includes professionals and volunteers working to maintain and enhance landscape character in their local and regional areas, such as landscape architects, strategic planners, project officers for strategic landscape-scale countryside projects, development control officers, landowners/staff of large estates, parish councils and local resident/friends groups.

Mon 20th April 2015, 10am – 4pm

Woodland Centre, Ruislip Lido, Reservoir Road, Ruislip, Middlesex, HA5 7TU
 
Booking essential - email nicola.trafford@naturalengland.org.uk to reserve a place.

There is no charge to attend this event.

My Community – free advice and grants from April 1st

Your council has powers to make a difference in your area - saving local pubs, shops and community centres. Support and grants for developing your area through neighbourhood planning and building for your community are available, help with owning and managing local land and buildings, running services and boosting the local economy opened on 1 April. 
Visit mycommunity.org.uk  for information, resources, advice and grants and connect with others on the My Community Network. 

Under the Community Ownership and Management of Assets programme you can save local pubs and shops - new support & grants opened on 1 April

Parish councils can either lead consortia to apply to the programme or can support consortia to apply for the programme which seeks to support communities wishing to take on the management or ownership of multiple or complex assets in their area.  The deadline for programme applications is 31st  May 2015 – parishes are positively encouraged to participate in this programme.  Please visit the following specific link to access grant and direct support guidance and application data.

Under the Our Place programme you can have a say over services making them better for all – new support & grants opened on 1 April.  Parish councils are positively encouraged to become involved in the programme in 2015-16, as 17 parishes did in 2013-14. 

Under the Community Economic Development programme you can help bring real economic benefits to your area - new support & grants opened on 1 April.

Grants for War Memorials

This scheme is funded by English Heritage and The Wolfson Foundation and administered by War Memorials Trust. 

West Berkshire War Memorials.org

 Eligible memorials:

•  Freestanding war memorials in England with no other functional purpose than as a war memorial (plaques, bridges and buildings, for example are ineligible)
• Projects must be over £3,000 to be eligible

Annual deadlines:
 31st March, 30th June, 30th September and 31st December

Amount of funding available:
Up to a maximum of 75% of eligible costs, with a maximum grant of £30,000

Examples of eligible works:

• Urgent and necessary repairs and structural stabilisation
• Cleaning, under certain circumstances
• Works relating to ‘hard’ landscaping which form an integral part of the design of the memorial
• Reinstatement of lost elements which form an integral part of the design of the memorial when supported by historical evidence

More information here  

Please note that this scheme is currently being reviewed. 

Prince's Countryside Fund - £800,000

The Prince's Countryside Fund has £800,000 available to invest in projects that protect and sustain Britain's rural communities. Groups and organisations can apply for funding of up to £50,000. 

Projects can be considered under four headings:

• Countryside knowledge
• Thriving rural communities - projects that keep rural communities together and develop a more sustainable rural economy
• Improving rural livelihoods - projects thataim to halt the decline in the ruarl economy
• Farmers of the Future - projects that help improve skills and increase opportunities to take up rural careers

More details here

Village SOS campaign

C Gel J Saddleback Farm ShopBrightwalton

Rural residents that want to improve their local community are being urged to sign up for the ACRE Village SOS campaign.

The campaign is funded by £1.4m Big Lottery grant to encourage flourishing rural community enterprises - from car sharing to community cafes. It offers volunteers advice and support matching them with other communities that have 'been there, done that', and will offer expert mentoring through a local support organisation.

From the NALC website

“The National Association of Local Councils (NALC) has secured a multi-million pound package of funding from Government to help smaller parish councils meet new audit and transparency rules.

As one of several important decisions this week affecting town and parish councils, the Government has confirmed a £4.7m Transparency Fund to support small parish councils and other smaller authorities to become web-enabled and compliant with the Transparency Code for Smaller Authorities. This funding programme will be delivered through NALC and is planned to be available from April 2015 for a three-year period, delivered on a county basis by county associations of local councils and targeting local needs.

Support, training and guidance will be made available to assist parish councils, internal drainage boards, charter trustees and port health authorities who spend less than £25,000 a year to move to online publishing of financial and other information, ensuring these bodies are transparent and accountable to their local communities and up-to-speed in the digital age……”

The full article is here. When we have more details from NALC we will let you know.

NALC and SLCC hold joint talks

The National Association of Local Councils (NALC) and Society of Local Council Clerks (SLCC) held their first meeting on 20 March 2015 following the agreement of a new protocol between the two key national bodies representing local council staff and councillors.

In discussion, there was agreement that this was a period of huge opportunity for the sector, which would only be seized if there was close working between the two national bodies, councils, staff and councillors. The sector needed to work together now even more than ever before because of the challenges of localism, austerity and devolution.

The full article is on the NALC website

Greater devolution to parishes?

From the NALC website, 1st April:

"The National Association of Local Councils (NALC) has backed two tier local government in its latest contribution to the UK devolution debate, calling for the creation of unitary principal authorities coupled with the establishment of new parish councils.

A national gathering of parish leaders in Westminster yesterday demanded all political parties should realise the potential of parish councils as a vehicle for decentralising power to local communities as part of a new constitutional settlement for the UK.

NALC feels that real progress to devolution to grassroots councils and communities would happen more efficiently and effectively by the creation of unitary principal authorities, provided they are coupled with more empowered parish councils with devolved functions and services.

Chairman of NALC, Cllr Ken Browse said: "NALC's Manifesto calls for communities to be in more control of their areas; devolution to local government, especially parish councils, can help do just that.

"I am urging all political parties to seize this once in a generation opportunity and ensure the answer to the 'English question' goes much wider than Westminster, with power being driven down into the hands of local people and their democratically elected representatives.

"The next government should set out a new settlement for England including devolving more power and decision making down to communities through parish councils."

Although not commenting on NALC's call for the creation of more unitary principal authorities, Cllr Marianne Overton, vice-chair of the Local Government Association (LGA) also spoke at the meeting of NALC's National Council and said: "Genuine devolution for England, Scotland and Wales will give us the freedom and flexibility to be able to tackle these big issues and only constitutional and secure financial independence for local government will deliver this.

"We support NALC's call for the future settlement on devolution in England to involve all tiers of local government and parish councils must be at the heart of this."

Three Legal Topic Notes revised

Please note:

LTN 15 - Legal Proceedings has been revised

LTN 31 – Section 137 of the Local Government Act 1971 and LTN 79 – Staff Pensions have been revised to reflect the changes in monetary figures relevant for 2015/2016 .

Transparency Code - helping councils to fulfill the requirements

From the NALC website:

“The National Association of Local Councils (NALC) has secured a multi-million pound package of funding from Government to help smaller parish councils meet new audit and transparency rules.

As one of several important decisions this week affecting town and parish councils, the Government has confirmed a £4.7m Transparency Fund to support small parish councils and other smaller authorities to become web-enabled and compliant with the Transparency Code for Smaller Authorities. This funding programme will be delivered through NALC and is planned to be available from April 2015 for a three-year period, delivered on a county basis by county associations of local councils and targeting local needs.

Support, training and guidance will be made available to assist parish councils, internal drainage boards, charter trustees and port health authorities who spend less than £25,000 a year to move to online publishing of financial and other information, ensuring these bodies are transparent and accountable to their local communities and up-to-speed in the digital age……”

The full article is here. When we have more details we will let you know.

Important Consultation - Extending the remit of the Local Government Ombudsman to larger local councils

DCLG have issued a consultation on whether individuals should be able to refer larger parish councils to the Local Government Ombudsman when they feel let down by that council’s corporate governance. 

NALC has a longstanding position supporting the extension of the remit of the Local Government Ombudsman to all parish and town councils. 

The consultation seeks answers to 5 questions:
Q1. Should the Local Government Ombudsman’s jurisdiction be extended to larger parish and town councils?
Q2. Should a large parish or town council be defined by having a population the same as or greater than 35,000 people, or should the population threshold be set at a different limit?
Q3. Should a large parish or town council be defined by having an annual precept of £1m or more?
Q4. Should a larger parish or town council be defined by both population and budget?
Q5. Once subject to the Local Government Ombudsman’s jurisdiction, should the parish or town council remain so for a fixed time period?

The full consultation is here and it closes on 30th June. 

Please send your responses to these questions to either chris.borg@nalc.gov.uk or DCLG parishconsult@communities.gsi.gov.uk