Chief executive’s bulletin
10 February 2023
Parish and town councils ‘central’ to King’s Coronation celebrations says communities minister
Baroness Scott of Bybrook, minister for faith and communities in the Department for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities (DLUHC), has written to NALC’s chair, Cllr Keith Stevens, about the King’s Coronation where she reiterates the important role of local (parish and town) councils in the celebrations. The minister’s letter says, “the Government wants to see people across the UK and the Commonwealth come together to celebrate this momentous occasion” and goes on to say, “efforts made by local councils and their communities will be central to making this a momentous weekend of UK-wide celebration”. The letter also includes more information for local councils about street parties, The Coronation Big Lunch, The Big Help Out and National Lottery funding through the Awards for All programme (which councils are encouraged to apply to quickly!). You can read the letter in our news story here.
NALC meeting with communities minister
I was pleased to join NALC’s president, Baroness Scott of Needham Market, in Parliament this week at her first meeting with the faith and communities minister, Baroness Scott of Bybrook. In her speech at the Levelling Up and Regeneration Bill’s second reading in the House of Lords, our president spoke about the role of local councils in the levelling up agenda and highlighted several areas where she would be seeking to amend the bill. The meeting provided an opportunity for us to brief the minister on the amendments which cover extending the general power of competence to all local councils, introducing a new sanction to suspend councillors, local council involvement in the scrutiny of combined authorities, the Infrastructure Levy, power to pay carer’s allowances, ability for ministers to pay a grant to local councils, the review of neighbourhood governance, virtual meetings, and financial assistance to the church. The full list of amendments is regularly updated here. We are briefing Peers ahead of the Committee stage which starts on 20 February, and I will provide further updates and the Bill progresses.
Final local government finance settlement
Confirmation that local councils will not be subject to council tax referendum principles in 2023/24 was made by DLUHC’s secretary of state, Michael Gove MP, in his statement to Parliament on the final local government finance settlement. This has been a key campaign for NALC to ensure local councils retain the flexibility to increase precepts without being required to hold a referendum.
Section 137 limit for 2023/24
DLUHC has written to us to confirm the appropriate sum for section 137(4)(a) of the Local Government Act 1972 for 2023/24 is £9.93. The amount is a result of increasing the 2022/23 figure of £8.82 by the percentage increase in the retail index between September 2021 and September 2022 under Schedule 12B to the 1972 Act. We have updated paragraph 14 of Legal Topic Note 31 with the new figure for 2022/23, you can find this in the member’s area of the NALC website.
On the blog: Stonewall
As part of LGBT+ History Month, we share content through our website and social media accounts. Over a third of LGBTQ+ people still feel they have to hide who they are at work. In week’s blog, Stonewall lists ways you can be an LGBTQ+ ally at work.
Fortnightly meeting with county officers
This week’s meeting between NALC and county officers included a presentation from Tim Light of the Internal Auditors Forum on the work that they do and the services they have available for county associations, local councils, and internal auditors themselves. Tim was keen to emphasise the earliest a local council organises their internal auditor the better. There was also a presentation on the key priorities for NALC in making representations on the proposed National Planning Policy Framework (NPPF). The meeting also received some brief updates on VAT and legal changes, and on ‘Martyn’s Law’.
February legal bulletin to county officers
This week we circulated our bi-monthly legal briefing for county officers. It included sections on annual council meeting dates for councils with uncontested elections, eligibility to exercise the general power of competence where clerks are on maternity leave, politically restricted posts and local councils, use of councillor email addresses and the exclusion of the press and public from meetings.
Out and abouts
Members of the policy and communications team started the first of a series of out and about visits to county associations and local councils this week. Our policy manager, Chris Borg, was at the Dover offices of the Kent Association of Local Councils where he took part in a meeting of their Climate Change Panel and discussions on the creation of new local councils in the Canterbury area as well as on our Make a Change campaign as around 290 local councils have elections on 4 May! And Jessica Lancod-Frost, policy officer, visited Ware Town Council in Hertfordshire, whose clerk Terry Philpott won Clerk of the Year at NALC’s Star Councils Awards 2022. Jessica attended the council’s monthly staff meeting to learn about key projects such as the refurbishment of Ware Lido, Priory Park, and the kitchen and conservatory of Ware Priory. She also heard how the council consults the community and works effectively with other local stakeholders and about the extensive events programme the council will be running this year. I’m grateful to KALC and the town council for hosting these visits.
Voter ID in the May local elections
I wanted to share again information about the new requirement for voters to show photo ID when voting at a polling station in some elections. From 4 May 2023, voters in England will need to show a photo ID to vote at polling stations in some elections. This will apply to local elections, Police and Crime Commissioner elections, UK parliamentary by-elections and recall petitions. From October 2023, it will also apply to UK general elections. The Electoral Commission’s public awareness campaign on photographic voter identification for the May 2023 elections is now up and running. Alongside a mass advertising campaign across mixed media, the Electoral Commission has produced voter ID resource packs for partners, including councils, to use to help amplify messages to underrepresented groups. Councils can access the Electoral Commission’s broader Your Vote Week campaign resources for educators and sign up for the Your Vote Week campaign to receive general resources.
Next week’s NALC National Network: Climate emergency
The NALC Climate Emergency Network will hold its next online meeting on 14 February. The packed agenda includes councillor training, climate change questions in the government’s NPPF consultation, a draft programme towards the delivery of Net Zero and an update on Skidmore Review into Net Zero. There will also be a presentation from Dr Paul Behrens from the University of Leiden. If you want to join next week’s meeting but haven’t yet signed up to the network, you can do so here.
Levelling Up Locally report by Onward
It was good to read the latest research by the centre right think tank Onward this week where they continue to make the case for empowering local councils and forming more in unparished areas. Levelling Up Locally draws on conversations in five parts of the country to identify five common challenges of tackling antisocial behaviour, particularly among young people, bringing life back to high streets and town centres, supporting local sport, culture, heritage, and green space, boosting local growth in the private sector, and providing community-based support to the most disadvantaged. The report includes a playbook of interventions local leaders such as councils can use to tackle these issues.
Better Planning Coalition
NALC has recently joined the Better Planning Coalition and we were pleased to attend our first meeting this week. Issues covered included an application from another organisation to join, the development of a coalition response to the NPPF consultation and engagement with the Levelling Up and Regeneration Bill by the coalition and individual members.
And finally….
NALC is working with our IT partners Cloudy IT to offer an opportunity for students to join a project to build an app supporting the Local Council Award Scheme. The project will see the students aged between 14 and 24 learn how to use different applications in the Microsoft suite to build an app which will help us improve the process. The 7-week programme starts on 21 February with virtual sessions every Tuesday and Thursday for 45 minutes from 17.00. Spaces are limited but to find out more contact david@cloudyit.co.uk or register at the Enterprise Academy. Participants can be based anywhere in the country, so do spread the word to anyone who may be interested. |
