Chief executive’s bulletin

23 May 2024

Prime minister calls General Election for 4 July

Yesterday on 22 May the prime minister Rishi Sunak MP announced the General Election will take place on 4 July 2024. Parliament is likely to be dissolved on 30 May, with next week’s recess cancelled to allow time for some remaining legislation to be completed while others will be dropped. You can read the prime minister’s full statement on the 10 Downing Street website. In the run up to the General Election and then afterwards, we will be working with county associations to engage with current and potential Members of Parliament, political parties, and opinion formers to promote local councils by banging the drum about the difference between local (parish and town) councils make and our future potential. This will include promoting our Manifesto for building stronger communities across England which sets out an offer to a new or returning government on the part local councils can play to support our communities and how they can help us do more and increase our effectiveness.

New national network for smallest local councils 

Earlier this week, NALC launched a new national network for the smallest local councils. The NALC National Network: Micro councils are for local councils with an annual precept or expenditure of £10,000 or less. This new network will follow the same model as the six other NALC networks, meeting roughly quarterly by Zoom and discussing issues relevant to the group’s distinct interests. To find out more information about this network and to join, please click here.

National Network: Super Councils

NALC’s National Network: Super councils met on 16 May 2024 to discuss the work of the Rural Services Network, two surveys issued to the network, a proposal from Shared Intelligence on Net Zero and, next year’s Study Visit. The guest speaker was Nadine Trout, assistant chief executive of the Rural Services Network (RSN), who informed the group about the RSN’s campaign for fair funding in rural areas and provided an overview of the Rural Market Town Group, which was run by the RSN, with support from NALC. At the meeting, the network was also encouraged to review feedback from the survey on the network’s future priorities, complete a survey on finance, devolved assets and services and express an interest in potential support on Net Zero from Shared Intelligence and in hosting the 2025 Study Visit. The next meeting is on 13 September 2024.

National Network: Women Councillors

NALC’s National Network: Women councillors met on 20 May 2024 to discuss International Women’s Day (IWD) celebrations, parental leave, and remote meetings. The group was joined by Louise Soothill, community development officer at Keighley Town Council, who shared how her council celebrated IWD in 2024, talking about how the town council partnered with a local women’s group, the Keighley Soroptimist Club, to host a free event at Keighley College aimed at empowering women and girls to explore opportunities in traditionally male dominated industries. The group had a debate on parental leave, with members sharing their opinions and experiences. The group then discussed remote meetings and reiterated support for councils being able to have remote meetings for numerous reasons such as it can better cater to varying needs, schedules, and people. The group agreed to put code of conduct on the agenda for the next meeting. The next meeting is on 31 July 2024.

LGC story on new town councils in Yorkshire

While it’s good that 92% of England’s geography is covered by local councils, it remains our constitutional objective and key campaign to get the whole country ‘parished’. Working with county association colleagues we have consistently made the case that where local government reorganisation takes place, new parish or town councils should be established where they don’t exist. This is why it was good to see local government trade magazine LGC continue their coverage of our part of local government with a story on the latest consultation about establishing new town councils next year for Harrogate and Scarborough. NALC’s chair, Cllr Keith Stevens is quoted in the piece, saying: “All communities in England should have a local (parish and town) council to give people a voice and take action to improve their areas. The latest consultation on creating new town councils for Harrogate and Scarborough is very welcome as over 300 new local councils have been established in the last decade, especially in areas which have undergone local government reorganisation”. Hear hear!

On the blog: Lowering the voting age

This week’s blog is from NALC Star Council Awards 2023 Young Councillor of the Year, Cllr Cameron Palin from East Cowes Town Council, who argues that England should follow Scotland and Wales in granting voting rights to 16- and 17-year-olds, highlighting the success of such policies in these regions. Drawing from his own experiences of political engagement since the age of 14, Cameron highlights the ageism young people face and stresses the importance of valuing their perspectives. He underscores the unique insights of young people, particularly on issues like climate change and education, and advocates for their inclusion in local government decisions. He goes on to urge actions such as lobbying MPs, supporting campaigns for lowering the voting age, and improving political education in schools to empower young people and enhance democratic participation. Read the blog to find out more!

Latest Community Ownership Fund window opens on 30 May

Ashley Parish Council, Burntwood Town Council, Calow Parish Council, Falmouth Town Council, Flitwick Town Council, Leominster Town Council, Lynton & Lynmouth Town Council, Newport Parish Council, Normandy Parish Council, St Ives Town Council and Todmorden Town Council collectively secured £2.6 million from the Community Ownership Funding during the third round of the third window. Successful projects from Round 4 Window 1 will be announced shortly. The initiative – which NALC lobbied successfully to be extended to allow applications from our councils – supports communities in preserving, enhancing, or reviving local assets like libraries, halls, pubs, and nature reserves. The final window, round 4 window 2, launches on 30 May 2024 and will close on 26 June 2024. I would encourage councils to apply for this important funding before the window closes!

New Defra Community Green Spaces Fund

Lobbying for access to grant funding is among our key policy objectives and we’ve been pressing the government to build on the Community Ownership Fund by providing further funding opportunities for local councils. Which is why the recent announcement by the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (Defra) of a new Community Green Spaces Fund is extremely welcome, as this will make up to £7 million available until the end of March 2025 for rural organisations including local councils to support capital improvements to rural community greenspaces in England. It is envisaged funds will be available for capital expenditure for projects that aim to create, restore, and enhance green spaces such as landscaping, planting, installation of natural play facilities, paths and seating. And we are expecting the fund to use the current rural definition of under 10,000 population. We’re engaging with Defra and our Rural Coalition colleagues Action with Communities in Rural England to get the fund set up and open as soon as possible, but in the meantime I wanted councils in rural areas to be aware of the fund as you may have projects in the pipeline which could be supported or to encourage you to start thinking about how you may use the funding. Rural community groups and local councils interested in the fund are encouraged to register their details with ACRE to receive more information about the fund when this becomes available, we’ll also be sharing details when we have them.

MemberWise Digital Excellence 2024

Last week, NALC colleagues, including the Management Board champion for AI, Cllr Paul Harvey from the Buckinghamshire and Milton Keynes Association of Local Councils, attended the MemberWise Digital Excellence 2024 conference, themed “Redefining Member Experience and Value in the Digital Era.” This annual event, organised by the MemberWise Network, offers membership and association professionals a unique opportunity to explore the latest digital achievements, best practices, and strategies to enhance their organisations’ digital capabilities. The conference proved to be an invaluable resource, enabling my colleagues to delve into topics such as how AI can be used to improve the accessibility of a website, the benefits of an online member community platform, and improving member engagement through localising and segmenting information. MemberWise is an independent professional network that serves over 8,000 member association professionals by providing guidance, advice, and networking opportunities.

White Ribbon webinar with Jess Phillips MP

NALC’s White Ribbon steering group attended a webinar hosted by White Ribbon UK on 14 May 2024. Featuring Jess Phillips MP, the event highlighted her journey into political activism, driven by a personal commitment to supporting vulnerable communities. Jess detailed her successful lobbying for mandatory women’s refuges in the 2015 Labour manifesto, which led to a law requiring tier-one unitary authorities to provide refuge accommodation for women. She advised organisations to prioritise concrete policies over PR gestures and stressed the importance of community-led change. She also emphasised the crucial role men can play as active allies in combating domestic abuse. Find out more about White Ribbon.

Great Big Green Week 8 – 16 June

The Great Big Green Week will take place between 8 and 16 June 2024, providing an opportunity for local communities across the country to come together in a week-long celebration of action to tackle climate change and protect our natural world. Save the date and get planning your activities, or why not link up with other local groups to connect with existing events? Find everything you need to take part in the Great Big Green Week at greatbiggreenweek.com today. And on top of that, if you add your events to the website, you’ll be sent a free pack of branded materials to display at your events – including posters, flyers, bunting and more!

Minutes of NALC Finance and Scrutiny, Policy, Smaller Councils and Larger Councils committees

Over the last few weeks, we’ve successfully held in-person meetings of the Finance and Scrutiny Committee, Smaller Councils Committee, Larger Councils Committee, and Policy Committee at the NALC office. The important discussions and decisions made during these sessions play an important part in the effective governance and management of NALC and our support and advocacy for different sizes of councils. The draft minutes for each committee meeting are now available on our website where you can also find out more about all our committees.