Latest National News and Briefings
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Capping Of Local (Parish and Town) Council Precepts
Ministers have announced a short consultation on the capping of local (parish and town) council precepts as part of the wider proposals for a freeze on council tax. A copy of a NALC Briefing is available in the Members’ Area.
Car mileage allowances: VAT increase
The Chancellor of the Exchequer announced in the Budget that VAT is to be increased from 17.5% to 20% with effect from 4 January 2011. As a result, the amount of VAT per mile in the petrol element of the NJC Car Allowances will change. The new figures – applicable to the current NJC mileage rates – are available in the Members’ Area.
Pay Freeze Will Not Affect Contractual Increments
A Local Government Employers circular, available to download in the Members' Area, says that contractual increments, etc. will not be affected by the pay freeze on local government salaries.
Employment Briefing E05-10: Local Government Pay 2010/2011 and 2011/2012
This employment briefing updates Employment Briefing E01-10 which set out the response of the Employers’ Side of the National Joint Council (‘NJC’) for Local Government Services (‘The Employers’) to the trade unions’ 2010/2011 pay claim. It can be downloaded in the Members’ Area.
Devolution and Localism Bill
A Devolution and Localism Bill was announced in the Queen speech. Some of the Coalition Agreement commitments will be legislated through the Localism Bill including:
- Returning decision-making powers on housing and planning to local councils by abolishing Regional Spatial Strategies;
- New powers for communities to help save local facilities and services threatened with closure, and the right to bid to take over local state-run services;
- Giving councils a general power of competence;
- Giving residents the power to instigate local referendums on any local issue and the power to veto excessive council tax increases;
- Greater financial autonomy to local government and community groups;
- Outright abolition of Home Improvement Packs;
- Abolition of the Standards Board regime;
- Create Local Enterprise Partnerships - joint local authority-business bodies to promote local economic development.
The speech also included a Local Government Bill to revoke the previous Government's plans to create unitary councils in Exeter, Norwich and Suffolk. NALC is pressing for urgent meetings with both the Secretary of State and the Minister for Decentralisation to discuss these Bills and the Coalition Agreement commitments in more detail, as well as meetings with senior officials.
Axe Falls On Rural Watchdog
The government’s rural watchdog – the Commission for Rural Communities – is to be axed. The commission kept an eye on ministers. The commission would be abolished as part the government’s review of Defra’s arms length bodies, said rural affairs secretary Caroline Spelman. The delivery of public services by Defra would be shaken up to line up with the coalition Government’s commitments on service delivery, she added.“With an urgent need to drive down debt and reduce government spending we will have to make some tough decisions. Our belief is that policy should be driven from the centre and that our arms lengths bodies will be efficient and effective in meeting customer needs.”
The commission’s advisory work will be taken on by a strengthened but much smaller Rural Communities Policy Unit within Defra.
Commission for Rural Communities launches ‘Affordable Housing – keeping villages alive’
The CRC has been very pleased to be able to work with the National Housing Federation, the Council for the Protection of Rural England, the Countryside Alliance, and ACRE (Action for Communities in Rural England) in producing this report - Affordable Housing – keeping villages alive. Over the last year the NHF has been working on raising the profile of affordable rural housing as a means to creating more vibrant and sustainable rural communities.
NALC Manifesto
NALC has published its first ever manifesto – aimed at Government, political parties, stakeholders and local councils themselves – which sets out a number of key issues for the future of local councils.
We believe that by tackling the issues set out in our manifesto we will help create the environment to unlock the potential of local councils to play a greater role at local level and improve their productivity and effectiveness.
To download a copy of the manifesto please click here
Pickles Supports Local Councils' Plea
Communities secretary Eric Pickles has backed a ‘call to arms’ to hand more power to parish and town councils issued by the National Association of Local Councils.
In a new manifesto, the NALC says that local councils should be given the freedom to tackle a wider range of issues including climate change, economic regeneration and planning. The association also published a toolkit offering practical guidance to communities looking to set up a local council. NALC chair Michael Chater said: “More than ever before, very local government is going to be needed to play its part in meeting the economic, social, environmental and political challenges facing our country.”
Mr Pickles said that the DCLG’s top three priorities were “localism, localism and localism”. He continued: “We want to use parish and town councils to pass down power to them and through them to community groups. We want to make neighbourhoods the essential building blocks for service delivery and finance. Further, we are going to introduce very significant incentives for neighbourhoods, like parish and town councils, who wish to accept new developments.”
NALC Vice Chairman Awarded an MBE In The Queen's Birthday Honours List.
NALC is delighted that its vice chairman, Cllr Hazel Williams, has been awarded an MBE in the Queen's Birthday Honours list. Cllr Williams received the award in recognition of her past 30 years in public life. Cllr Williams has served on Burwell Parish Council for 30 years including two periods as Chairman and represents the Cambridgeshire County Association on NALC’s National Council. Cllr Williams was Chairman of NALC’s Larger Local Councils Committee for four years and was recently re-elected as Vice Chairman of NALC in December 2009. As well as being a councillor on East Cambridgeshire District Council, Hazel is a member of the Local Government Association’s Rural Commission and the East of England Rural Affairs Forum.
NJC Car Allowances 2010/11
The current allowances are available in the Members' Area.
Local Government Charity Toolkit
The Toolkit is a free online reference manual developed by the Charity Commission in liaison with the Local Government Association, the National Association for Voluntary & Community Action and the Commission for the Compact. It highlights key issues and is designed to help local authorities work with charities and to explain the legal and fiscal framework within which charities must operate. It is a useful guide for sub-committees and officers administering charitable assets in the council’s care and for councillors nominated to serve as charity trustees. It uses real case studies to do this and it highlights where things can go wrong and offers a range of tips on how to avoid the pitfalls. The Toolkit also provides information on the possible options for modernising, merging, or winding up charities and highlights the legal, financial and governance issues that arise from the relationship between local government and charities that can get in the way of an effective partnership.
Please see the following links to the Charity Commission website. They consist of a link to the Councillor’s Guide to a Council’s Role as Charity Trustee and a link to the Local Government Charity Toolkit:
April-2010 |
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Councillors Guide to a council's role as charity trust - PDF |
April-2010 |
A Place to Grow - A Practice Guide for the Management of Allotments - March 2010
Following NALC and other stakeholders’ round table discussions in respect of allotments hosted by the Department of Communities and Local Government in 2009, there is a new practice guide for the management of allotments entitled a “Place to Grow’. The guide has been written by Dr Richard Wiltshire, from the School of Social Science and Public Policy, Kings College London and has been produced jointly by LGA and CLG. The Guide can be downloaded here.
Ministry of Justice Issues New Burials Guidance
The Ministry of Justice has recently issued new guidance for burial ground managers, custodians of war memorials, archaeologists and others directly connected to the upkeep and maintenance of cemeteries.
This guidance has been long awaited and will be of interest to local councils involved in cemetery management. It covers six themes: natural burial grounds – guidance for operators; guidance for burial ground managers; guidance for custodians of war memorials in England and Wales; managing the safety of burial ground memorials; memorial safety guidance: frequently asked questions; and a statement on burial law and archaeology. This guidance can be downloaded at http://www.justice.gov.uk/guidance/burials.htm.
War Memorial Theft - Prevention and solutions This helpsheet provides guidance on preventing theft from war memorials and what to do if theft has occurred. Theft commonly affects war memorials made from metals with a scrap value such as lead and bronze. It is important to take steps to assess and reduce the risks of theft before it is too late.
The 2010 Countryside Alliance Awards Are Open - Nominate Now
The 2010 Countryside Alliance Awards, nicknamed "The Rural Oscars" have opened to nominations. Further information is available here.
Making Local Food Work Programme
The Plunkett Foundation is offering a support package to village shops to enhance their local food offering through the Making Local Food Work programme. They have a limited number of places on the scheme to help improve and stock more local food.
Making Local Food Work looks to stimulate the growth of local foods through community enterprise. To find out more about the Making Local Food Work programme please visit the website – www.makinglocalfoodwork.co.uk .
The free local food support package provides:
- The Look for Local Practical Guide – this offers tips on how to identify Local Food ranges and advice on marketing and displaying them.
- Look for Local point of sale material – including shelf edge labels, posters and window stickers.
- Up to 3 days of free specialist adviser support
- Marketing support worth up to £100 to launch a local food event.
If you think your village shop may be interested in joining the scheme please forward on this information, or ask your shop to contact us directly and we will happily talk through the project in more depth. If you would like to find out more about the scheme please call Nicole Hamilton on 01993 814 383.
New Community Shops Network
An online support network for people involved in setting up and running community-owned village shops has been launched: The network, which already has 150 members, is intended to boost the number of rural communities that are taking over the management of local shops at risk of closure.
The Plunkett Foundation, a membership organisation that offers funding and practical guidance on setting up community-owned or co-operative local services, set up the network.
Through its Village Core programme, the foundation provides grants of up to £20,000 – funded by the Esmee Fairbairn Foundation – and loans of the same amount that the community takes out with lender Co-operative and Community Finance. The community then raises a contribution of the same amount, which provides a total package of around £60,000 that, according to the Plunkett Foundation, is the average start-up cost for a community-owned shop.
The new Community Shops Network - register online at www.plunkett.uk.net
Plunkett Foundation - Survey of Parish Councils in England and Wales
The Plunkett Foundation is undertaking a survey of Parish Councils across England and Wales to find out what the level of awareness is within rural communities of community-ownership approaches to rural challenges. Community-owned village shops are one example of this approach but there are many more. All respondents will be entered into a prize draw which includes a prize of:
- £250 grant for a community project
- one day of specialist support from a consultant to help you look at community-ownership solutions to the challenges your community is facing.
The information you provide will be used only for the purpose of which it was provided and will not be passed on to any third party.
Click Here to take survey or visit http://www.surveymonkey.com/s.aspx?sm=EuW1BmfyrbbBlWrGh07Rqg_3d_3d
Plunkett Foundation
The Quadrangle Woodstock Oxfordshire OX20 1LH
t 01993 810730 | f 01993 810849 http://www.plunkett.co.uk
Planning Aid 
Planning Aid provides free, independent and professional town planning advice and support to communities and individuals who cannot afford to pay planning consultant fees. It complements the work of local planning authorities, but is wholly independent of them.
Planning Aid was started by the Town and Country Planning Association in 1973 and has consistently proved its worth. From the beginning, it has been at the forefront of engaging communities in the planning process. Now Planning Aid is working to further widen engagement in the planning process and to give an equal voice to all those involved in planning. More details at: www.planningaid.rtpi.org.uk
For all initial planning enquiries in the South region(Berkshire, Buckinghamshire, Hampshire, Isle of Wight, Oxfordshire), please contact the Planning Advisor on the telephone number listed below.
Planning Advisor, Martha James
PO Box 37, Freshwater, Isle of Wight, PO40 9ZR
Tel: 0870 240 7552
E-mail: socw@planningaid.rtpi.org.uk
Available:Wednesday, Thursday & Friday. If calling outside of these times, please leave a message.
Guide to Good Public Engagement in Development Schemes
Planning Aid has also published a guide to good public engagement in development schemes. The easy-to-read free guide contains practical advice and is illustrated by real examples of good practice. It has been produced in response to a growing number of requests for advice on good practice in engaging with local people in development schemes. Planning Aid provides free, independent and professional planning advice to individuals and communities who cannot afford to pay professional fees. A digital version of the free good practice guide is available to download here.
Guide to Managing Community Involvement in Common Land
The Open Spaces Society has published a new guide to managing community involvement in common land: Finding Common Ground is the first-ever guide on how to recognise and take account of local-community interests in common land. The work was commissioned by Natural England, the government’s adviser on the natural environment.
Open Spaces Society general secretary, Kate Ashbrook, said: “Commons are unique. People value them for all sorts of reasons. There is no other type of land in which so much public interest is concentrated. “A staggering number and many thousands of hectares of commons are designated as national or international sites, for their wildlife, landscape or archaeological interest—and nearly all of them are available for public access by right. “These designations bring with them targets and guidance on how to achieve them but, until now, there has been no guidance on how to evaluate and respect the community’s interests in commons. It’s all too easy to ignore those interests in the scramble for funding.”
Details of Finding Common Ground are available here.
It takes all sorts – Local councils: represent your community, make a difference
Representing the 9,000 or so communities in England really does take all sorts. This booklet, developed by NALC with support from the Commission for Rural Communities, highlights the diversity and experiences of councillors within the first tier of local government. It shows the difference that people make within the community and highlights the kinds of activities that are being undertaken by local councils across the country. The booklet can be downloaded at here.
Green Communities
Organised by the Energy Savings Trust, Green Communities is a campaign to encourage people, local communities, and local (parish and town) councils to be actively involved in carbon reduction. Ashton Hayes Parish Council and Sadbergh Parish Council have been highlighted as examples of good practice. For more information and case studies on the launch and campaigns including examples of parish and town councils, please see http://www.energysavingtrustorg.uk or http://www.greencommunitiesonline.org.uk
The Parish Councillor's Guide by Paul Clayden - £15.95
This ever-popular book, regarded as invaluable for all parish councillors and clerks, has been updated to a 20th edition to reflect the large amount of new legislation affecting parish and community councils.
Please click here for further information or to buy online.
Legal & Policy Briefings
The Independence of Parish Councils’ Internal Audit
All parish councils’ external auditors are appointed by the Audit Commission with whom we work closely with on matters of mutual interest. The Commission’s auditors report that some parish councils have appointed County Association staff as their internal auditors. External auditors have expressed concerns about the level of independence from councils of internal audit sourced in this way.
The purpose of this briefing (available in the Members’ Area) is to remind parish councils to ensure that the person that they decide to appoint to undertake their internal audit is not only competent to undertake such work but is also independent to the council.
Phasing Out of the Default Retirement Age of 65
The Government has announced that it will phase out the default retirement age of 65 from April 2011. A briefing from NALC is available in the Members’ area of the OALC website.
Being a Good Employer – A Guide for Parish and Town Councillors
Being a good employer – a guide for parish and town councillors is now available in the Members’ Area of the website.
The Legal Deposit Libraries Act 2003: Legal Briefing L04-10
The Legal Deposit Libraries Act 2003 (the 2003 Act) received royal assent on 30 October 2003 and came into force on 1 February 2004. The purpose of this briefing is to summarise the implications of the 2003 Act for all local councils in England and Wales, and in England, the trustees of parish meetings of parishes without a separate parish council.
A copy can be downloaded in the Members’ Area of the website.
The Local Authorities (Indemnities for Members and Officers) Order 2004 - Legal Briefing L03-05
A parish council may indemnify any action by a member or officer which has been authorised by the council, or which forms part of duties placed upon, or powers conferred on that member or officer, as long as such action has been authorised by the council or is for the council’s purposes. Further details are contained in the Legal Briefing, which can be downloaded from the Members’ Area.
E04-10: Employees, Other Workers and the Self-Employed
This briefing replaces E11– 04 - “A Clerk’s Employment Status – Employee or Self-Employed?” and is available in the Members' Area of the website.
New Communications Toolkit
NALC has published a new communications toolkit aimed at local councils, supported and funded by the Commission for Rural Communities (CRC). The toolkit offers local councils a wealth of information on which to base their communications strategies. Although the toolkit is aimed at all parish and town councils, it is envisaged that smaller parish councils will find it particularly useful. It can be downloaded here.
Governance and Accountability for Local Councils - A Practitioners' Guide (England) 2010
The new 4th edition of the guide presents, for the first time, guidance for the largest local councils. We welcome that the 2010 and all subsequent editions will now contain guidance for all local councils regardless of size. The new edition presents proper accounting and internal audit practices for financial years 20010/11 and beyond. It can be downloaded here.
Standing Orders for Local Councils
The first edition of Standing Orders for Local Councils has been published. The publication replaces NALC’s Standing Orders and Chairmanship, which was last published in 2003.
Standing Orders for Local Councils provides local councils with comprehensive guidance in respect of the law, procedure and governance arrangements which apply to them. It explains why standing orders, which are an essential tool for governance in local councils, are necessary. The new publication also contains a helpful set of model standing orders which (i) reflect mandatory statutory requirements and (ii) assist councils to be organised, effective and efficient.
An electronic version of Part 2, containing the Model Standing Orders can be downloaded in the Members’ Area of the website.
Printed copies of the full book can be ordered from OALC at a cost of £25.
Level of Burial Fees (England) L17-08 - Original Date of issue: 27 August 2008 - Update: 25 January 2010
Town and parish councils frequently enquire into the level of burial fees that they can charge. The table of fees in part 1 of Legal Briefing L17-08, entitled “Level of Burial Fees” has been amended. This is due to the Parochial Fees Order 2009 coming into force on 1 January 2010, which sets out the fees charged for burials in Church of England churchyards and will replace the Parochial Fees Order 2008.The briefing (available to download in the Members’ Area) considers the amount that a parish or town council can charge and the powers that they have with respect to charges.
Local Councils and Cheque Signatories
The National Association of Local Councils (NALC) believes that the current rules on the way that local councils can make payments are now an anachronism which needs to be updated to reflect the modern age. NALC has been lobbying extensively to address anachronisms in the payment/processing rules.In addition to a briefing paper to all MP's, meetings have taken place with members of the Bill Committee and other parliamentarians.
Rt Hon Grant Shapps MP, Minister for Housing and Local Government has written to the Chairman of NALC setting out his support and commitment to repeal rules regarding payments by local councils through a legislative reform order, which he intends to “set in train immediately”.
A NALC Briefing on the issue is available in the Members’ Area.
Parish Polls
The Legal Briefing L18-07 entitled “Parish Polls” has been updated to incorporate commentary in respect of a High Court case decision in 2009. Members can download it in the Members’ Area.
Section 137 Expenditure Limit for 2010/11
The appropriate sum for the purposes of section 137(4) (a) of the Local Government Act 1972 for parish and town councils for 2010/11 is £6.15.
Sustainable Communities Act Amendment Act
The Sustainable Communities Act Amendment Bill has successfully passed through its final House of Commons stages and all its House of Lords stages. This backbencher Bill had such strong cross-party support as to cause the Government to give it extra Parliamentary time to ensure its success. So we now have a Sustainable Communities Act Amendment Act. This means that a second round, and an ongoing process under the original Act, is guaranteed. It also means that parish and town councils will be formally included in that process. Two things must now be ensured:
- That the proposals from the first round of the process are granted by Government, either before, though more likely after, the election.
- That people, communities and councils get involved in the second round when it starts.
National Minimum Wage Increase
Rates of the National Minimum Wage that took effect from 1 October 2009 are as follows (old rates in brackets):-
- Workers aged 22 and older - £5.80 per hour (£5.73)
- Workers aged 18 to 21 - £4.83 per hour (£4.77)
- Workers aged 16 to 17 - £3.57 per hour (£3.53)
Re-Registration Of Common Land Under Schedule 2(4) of The Commons Act 2006
There is the possibility of new land being added to the commons registers under the 2006 Commons Act. Land that is ‘re-registered’ in this way will enjoy the special legal protection afforded to common land. It will also be subject to the public access provisions of the Countryside and Rights of Way Act; or, may qualify as a s193 ‘urban’ common (in which case, the right of access would extend to both walkers and horse-riders).
Information and advice on the new provisions and on the implementation of the 2006 Act is available online here.
New Guidance for Local Councils on Service Delegation and Clustering & Collaboration Between Local Councils
The Commission for Rural Communities (CRC) with NALC has published new guidance for local councils. Both guidance papers are illustrated with useful case studies from across England and are freely available by clicking the links below:
- service delegation to local councils from principal local authorities
- clustering and collaboration between local councils
- and are also on the CRC website at www.ruralcommunities.gov.uk
Further planned outputs from this project include:
- a checklist on engagement between local councils and principal local authorities, to be published shortly;
- developing further case studies on service delegation and clustering;
- working with stakeholders such as Local Government Association and Improvement and Development Agency for Local Government on the advantages of effective engagement and partnership working between the tiers of local government.
Printed copies of these papers are also available from the CRC on request from:
Cicera Brydon
Programme Development Assistant
Commission for Rural Communities
John Dower House
Cheltenham GL50 3RA
T: 01242 534057
E: Cicera.brydon@ruralcommunities.gov.uk
8th Edition of Charles Arnold Baker’s Local Council Administration
The 8th Edition of Charles Arnold Baker’s Local Council Administration (£67), published by Lexis Nexis Butterworths is available with a discount of 20% for member councils. An order for this book can be placed directly with Lexis Nexis Butterworths by sending an email to andrew.smith@lexisnexis.co.uk.
Legal Briefing: The Power of the Promotion of Economic, Social or Environmental Well Being
The Local Government and Public Involvement in Health 2007 Act amends section 1 of the 2000 Local Government Act with the effect of extending the power of well being to “eligible parish councils”. A parish council is “eligible” if it meets the conditions prescribed by the Secretary of State by order. The Order sets out the conditions a parish council must satisfy if it wishes to qualify as an eligible parish council entitled to exercise the power of well being (defined by s.2 Local Government Act 2000).
A NALC briefing on the order defining eligible parish councils qualified to exercise the well being power can be downloaded from the Members’ Area.
Legal Briefing: Good Practice for Selection of Candidates Being Co-opted to a Local Council (L15-08)
NALC Legal Topic Note 8, “Elections” sets out the circumstances in which a parish and community council (“a local council“) may exercise the power to co–opt a person on to the council. This Briefing which can be downloaded from the Members’ Area, sets out NALC’s good practice recommendations.
Quality Parish and Town Council Scheme Updated
A number of new tests are being added to the Scheme in order to reflect the growing influence that parish and town councils have in local communities. Quality councils will also be required to evaluate the training needs of both staff and councillors and provide evidence through a training ‘Statement of Intent’.
Further details are available at the NALC website (www.nalc.gov.uk).
For details of current consultations please visit our Consultations page.