Its Not Too Late for your Council to submit a Transparency Fund Application!

 NALC’s Chief Executive, Dr Jonathan Owen, advised last week:

‘Grants to smaller Parish and Town Councils from the Transparency Fund has now topped £500,000!  Those councils with a turnover of less than £25,000 and who have not applied are still encouraged to do so, information can be found through your local county association and on the NALC website’.  

Examples of what your Council may be able to claim a grant for include: Computer, scanner, broadband access and training. 

The link to this is here       

If your Council wish to apply please contact the County Executive Officer at the Berkshire Association of Local Councils.

External Audit: Extension of Deadline for opting out of the “Sector-led Body” arrangements

Published on the SLCC Website on the 15th January 2016

'The Board of Smaller Authorities' Appointments Ltd (the 'sector-led body') has confirmed that the deadline for councils to 'opt out' of the SLB external audit arrangements is 31 March 2016. This is an extension from the earlier 31 January deadline.

Councils which wish to opt out and appoint their own external auditors must do so by resolution of the full council. They will wish to be aware of the statutory procedures for appointing external auditors (including the requirement to have an auditor panel consisting wholly or mainly of independent members) as set out in sections 7 to 18 and Schedules 3 to 5 of the Local Audit and Accountability Act 2014.

HOT OFF OF THE PRESS - 2016 The Good Councillor's Guide

The National Training Strategy has published an essential guidance for local (parish and town) Councillors. The guide is a resource primarily aimed for new Councillors but also can be for those thinking about becoming a local councillor. Indeed this is a guide useful for long established councillor. 

At a time when the Government is pushing ahead with new devolution plans to move power from Whitehall to local communities, there are huge opportunities for local people to become local leaders. Whether helping an area to survive the harsh economic climate, protecting services that are under threat, or providing the events, culture and fun that puts the heart into each local community – town and parish (local) councils have never had a better opportunity to make a difference.

The guide looks at new powers that local councils have after the Localism Act 2011 came into force as well as councillors responsibilities; what they can do and must not do; processes around meetings; delivery of service; and lots of tips explaining in simple terms the broader world of local government.

Further it explores some of the main issues and challenges facing local councillors today and includes hints on how to be successful in this position of being a community leader. Whether you have a few hours to spare or just 10 minutes, you will find helpful information in this guide about the areas in which you may become involved.


Cllr Ken Browse, chair of National Association of Local Councils (NALC) and its Improvement and Development Board (IDB) said: “This latest edition of the guide is available at a crucial time for communities where there are significant opportunities available and some of these are around being local councillors and making a real difference in your neighbourhood. I would urge you to use this guide as introduction into the work local councils and the part you could play as a councillor in the tier of local government closest to the people.”

To view a copy follow the link  below to the members area of the NALC webiste  
Good Councillor's Guide 2016
(Please note that in order to access this you will need your NALC log in details)

Hard copies of the Good Councillor’s Guide can be ordered by contacting the Berkshire Association of Local Councils.  Cost £2 per guide (plus postage and packing).

Pay Award 2016-18: Unions reject employers' offer

 

Published on the SLCC Website on 20th January 2016

The Employers' Side of the National Joint Council for Local Government Services (NJC) made a final two-year pay offer to the Trade Union Side in December of 1% on spinal column point (SCP) 18 and above on both 1st April 2016 and 1st April 2017 with larger increases for SCP’s below 18. At a further meeting on 19th January 2016 two of the three unions, UNISON and Unite, agreed to consult their members on the pay offer with a recommendation that it be rejected.
Any agreement reached eventually will apply to all local council staff employed on NJC terms including the SLCC/NALC model contract.

Click on the following documents for full details, Local Government Pay 2016 and Pay Negotiations Update.

New NALC Neighbourhood Planning Notes

NALC have published a new edition of notes on Neighbourhood Planning which includes the latest Neighbourhood Planning News and recent updates including:

• Housing and Planning Bill
• Raising awareness and building capability
• Creating a Parish Council
• National updates

This can be downloaded from the NALC website via the link below 

http://www.nalc.gov.uk/news/entry/447-a-new-edition-of-notes-on-neighbourhood-planning-has-been-published 

 (please note that in order to access this you will need your NALC log in details).

Updated NALC Legal Briefing LO5-15 re Public Contracts Regulations 2015 - and impact on Standing Orders and Financial Regulations

NALC has updated its Legal Briefing L05 - 15 (Public Contracts Regulations 2015 - impact on the Standing Orders and Financial Regulations adopted by Councils) have been updated because the financial thresholds in the Public Contracts Directive 2014/24/EU which apply to the Public Contracts Regulations 2015 were amended in November 2015 and take effect from 1 January 2016.

This can be downloaded from the NALC website via the link below (please note that in order to access this you will need your NALC log in details).


http://www.nalc.gov.uk/library/members-library/briefings/contract-1/1859-l05-15-public-contracts-regulations-2015-impact-on-standing-orders-adopted-by-councils-january-2016/file   

ROLE OF TOWN CLERK

(Reproduced from notes for Councillors published in the Local Council Review by John Clark.)

 

The Town Clerk is an employee of the Town Council and head of the Council's staff. The Town Council is a body corporate so that in the last resort, a majority of Councillors acting correctly at a duly convened meeting can require the Town Clerk to carry out any lawful instruction within the scope of his/her employment. Although it is often a usual and acceptable practice that the Town Mayor, or indeed the Chairman of a Committee, can give necessary directions to a Town Clerk, they have no right by law to give any binding instructions other than those agreed by the Town Council and, in particular, have no power to suspend or dismiss the Town Clerk.

The Town Clerk is the "proper officer" of the Town Council (Section 270 of the Local Government Act 1972) i.e. the person responsible for formal acts, as set out in the Standing Orders.

The Town Clerk, as an employee, is covered by all the legislation relating to employment and the "Town Council" is in no special position as compared with other employers. In legal terminology, the Town Clerk is "the servant of the Council", but this carries no implication of civility or any legal relationship other than employer/employee.

The post of Town Clerk can be seen as analogous to that of the Chief Executive in a county or Borough. A local authority operation consists of policy-making and decisions, and administration. The Town Clerk is head of the administration and therefore responsible for the whole of that side of the work. The role is not that of a secretarial employee but that of a hands-on administrator. Neither Councillors nor the Town Mayor should take any responsibility for administrative, managerial or supervisory tasks, as they should correctly be discharged by the Town Clerk.

In some authorities, it has been known for Members to try to take over the role of the Town Clerk as, for example, where the Chairman drafts the minutes or Councillors write Council letters on the justification that the Town Clerk or Parish Clerk cannot be left to do it. If the justification is correct, the Council concerned has not appointed a suitable person; if the justification is a cover for Councillors to "do it their way" it should be rejected as a wrong attitude.

Since the Town Clerk is responsible for administration, he has the practical function of advising the Council, advising the Chairman of the Council or Town Mayor and Chairmen of Committees on procedural issues, and ensuring that the Council business is conducted according to the rules of law and procedure. More especially, the Town Clerk is expected to be suitably qualified both through experience and through formal training and Councillors (even if it be inconvenient or contrary to their expectations) should accept the guidance as to the existence and applicability of relevant facts of law and content themselves with making policy decisions using such guidance.

It is always right to record the advice of the Town Clerk if it has not been followed.

As part of his role as an employee of the Town Council, it is possible for the Town Clerk to take actions which are necessary to continue the running of the Council, where no decisions between alternative courses of action are needed, without reference to a Council meeting. For example, if a Member resigns his seat, this happens as soon as the written notice reaches the Town Council; the Council is required by Section 87 of the Act of 1972 to give public notice as soon as practicable thereafter. The Town Clerk does not need to get approval of a meeting for posting a notice because this is an automatic administrative consequence. Of course, the Town Clerk will report to the Town Council that he has posted the notice.

The Town Clerk is in the dual position of "independent" administrator but also of employee. He has to carry through adequately decisions of the Town Council which the Town Council has probably arrived at even though they are decisions which the Town Clerk would not have made. Councils, like any deliberative body, benefit from suggestions and the Town Clerk is particularly well placed because of the information regularly available to suggest lines of action; yet the Town Clerk must be careful to see these as suggestions which the Town Council may reject, whilst Councillors must see them as helpful, not an interference in their own duties.

As in all public life, the conduct of local Council affairs cannot be reduced to a precise set of rules. The component parts of any activity have to accept that the other parts have a proper role and must be allowed to get on with it.

Issues of dispute must be argued without malice and with deference to the view of the person who has principal responsibility. Without the very best of reasons, a Member will not challenge a Chairman's interpretation of procedures nor a Chairman reject the Town Clerk's guidance on a legal point. It is equally valid that the Town Clerk should not try to argue the Members into changing their minds.

"The Council is only as good as its Clerk."

"A Council is only as good as its Councillors"

"A Council is only good if well led by its Chairman."

All these are true; the truly good Council is the one which accommodates all three sayings at once. A truly good Council is an active, effective, resourceful Council quietly administered by its Clerk whilst the Members press on with the local public issues.