Communities Minister, Stephen Williams MP announced on 18 February 2015 a new £6 million funding boost to the Community Rights programme.
This new funding will mean:
- Likeminded communities will be able to network and learn from each other through the new My Community Network
- Communities will have access to tailored advice through a phone and online advice service to help them use the range of community rights and other neighbourhood approaches
- 100 more neighbourhoods will be supported 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
- 100 communities will receive support to take the first steps in identifying important local issues and develop Community Action Plans
- 50 communities will receive support to develop economic plans to address local economic priorities like job creation and enterprise
- 50 local authority/community partnerships will receive advice, support and grants to support the transfer of multiple or complex publicly owned assets into community ownership
Stephen Williams MP also announced the awarding of six new contracts to support communities in using Community Rights in 2015 to 2016. These contracts have been awarded to Locality, Co-operatives UK and The Community Development Foundation (CDF).
These six new contracts are:
- Advice service and network - Locality and the Community Development Foundation with the Local Government Association, National Association of Local Councils, National Association for Voluntary and Community Action and Anthony Collins Solicitors
- Community economic development – Co-operatives UK with New Economics Foundation, Community Development Foundation, The Community Development Finance Association and Locality
- Community ownership and management of assets – Locality with a wide range of delivery partners including The Local Government Association, National Association of Local Councils, Community Matters, Plunkett Foundation, Civic Voice, Ubele and Voice 4 Change grant administration – Groundwork
- Neighbourhood planning and community Right to Build – Locality with URS-AECOM, a leading planning consultancy, and a number of other specialist sub-contractors including Design Council/CABE, the Royal Town Planning Institute and Royal Institute of Chartered Surveyors
- First steps and Our Place - Locality with a wide range of delivery partners including The Community Development Foundation, The Local Government Association and The National Association of Local Councils
See the interactive community rights map
The Department of Communities and Local Government (DCLG) is to host a
live phone-in on neighbourhood planning with Brandon Lewis MP, Minister
for Housing and Planning on 10 March 2015.
DCLG would like lots
of people involved or interested in neighbourhood planning to join
conversation – including from parish and town councils.
You can join Mr Lewis on 10 March 2015 at 10.30am to 11.30am for this live public phone-in.
Mr
Lewis will be taking your calls and it is an opportunity to speak to
him about neighbourhood planning issues that local councils are facing,
questions councils may have or successes they want to share. Questions
can be asked at any time during the phone-in or people can simply listen
into the conversation. It should be a lively discussion so anyone
interested should start thinking about what they would like to ask Mr
Lewis about neighbourhood planning.
You will need to register to join in
NALC writes in its Direct Information Service:
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"The government is changing the rules on refunds on business rates.
If you have not appealed against your business rates by 31st March 2015 you will lose 70% of any refund you are entitled to. If you appeal after 31st March and a reduction is agreed you will only be entitled to a refund from April 2015 not April 2010."
There are caveats but if your council pays business rates it might be worth investigating before 31st March. More information here:
https://www.gov.uk/apply-for-business-rate-relief/small-business-rate-relief
Legal Topic Note 14 has been revised by NALC to bring it up to date.
Parish Councils have the to power to create byelaws in relation to a variety of matters including public walks and pleasure grounds, hiring pleasure boats, open space, managing mortuaries, regulating wash houses, public bathing, markets and parking spaces for bikes and motorbikes. An arcane list; but most parish councils use byelaws for restricting dogs on recreation grounds. The failure to observe a byelaw is a criminal offence but in practice the police are often reluctant to prosecute the breach. A sign to notify users of the presence of a byelaw may have a deterrent effect.
The revised LTN includes a useful flow chart illustrating the steps-
- preliminary research
- drafting the byelaw
- provisional approval DCLG
- advertising the byelaw
- confirmation by DCLG
- if contentious a public inquiry
- approval by Sec. of State.
The complete LTN is available on the NALC website. BALC member councils have a username and password to assess the Members Area of the NALC website.
Further to last month’s review of Sick Pay arrangements for council employees this month we are taking a look at managing the absence itself – employee rights, employer obligations and how a council can manage absence.
- Why is Sickness Absence such a concern in local councils?
- What measures can a council adopt to manage sickness absence?
- How can we get a medical opinion?
- When might absence lead to a misconduct disciplinary action?
- When might absence lead to a capability process?
- Can an employee be dismissed under a Capability Procedure?
- What about equality legislation relating to disability rights?
- What other measures can be adopted to support attendance at work?
For more information take a look at:
GOV.uk guidance: https://www.gov.uk/taking-sick-leaveHealth and Safety Executive guidance: http://www.hse.gov.uk/sicknessabsence/
The new Government-backed Occupational Health service (more information to follow before April 2015 launch) https://www.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/362480/fit-for-work.pdf
The full briefing is on the BALC website here
Prepared by Bethan Osborne, Employment and HR Consultant to Berkshire Association of Local Councils - February 2015
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| c Daily Mail JK Rowling |
As you may be aware, the start of the BBC One series The Casual Vacancy prompted NALC to issue a media release, commenting on the portrayal of parish councils in the programme – and to give a broader perspective of the sector and its work.
NALC has also shared an account of parish life by Emma Kane, chairman of Hook Norton Parish Council, which was published in response to The Casual Vacancy, in last Friday’s Telegraph online.
With elections coming up this is an opportunity to use the programme to highlight the important work your council does for its community. Parish councils are changing despite the continued Vicar of Dibley image. This is a rare opportunity to write to your local paper or even better, blog, post on Facebook and Tweet, about the lively stuff that your council does in response to the needs of everyone in the community.
A company called Boud Digital has contacted BALC about an app for parish councils. It sounds like an interesting idea which your council may want to investigate. BALC has no association with this company and does not endorse its products whatsoever.
This is their email:
Boud Digital is creating an affordable way for Local & Parish Councils to have their own App so as to better share information - and engage - throughout their community. We thought this would be of interest to share with your member Councils.
As the Local & Parish Council App will be self-contained on residents' phones, it will provide visual encouragement to regularly check in to see what is new.
We are creating a Content Management System and a range of tailored templates that will enable the App to be built quickly and easily. It can be updated whenever needed.
The cost is just £360 per year (plus vat). Payment will not be required until content has been entered and the Council is ready to publish.
We also offering 10% off the first year's subscription to those who express their interest between now and the end of March. There is no obligation to complete the subscription when the templates become available.
Local & Parish Council App visuals can be viewed on the Boud Digital website, and Prospectus can be downloaded from there as well.
Please contact us on 07957 576765 or email michael@boud.com if you have any questions.
