Please note: this news article is in our archive. Articles were correct at time of publication, but should not be relied on for accuracy after the passage of time.
Access the Green Book with exclusive NALC discount
I’m pleased to announce that NALC has agreed with the Local Government Association (LGA) a 15% discount for the first year’s subscription to its Employer Link service. In December, NALC launched the new model and template contracts of employment for local (parish and town) councils. We recommend local councils align terms and conditions with the best practices outlined in the rest of the local government sector, as defined by the Green Book. NALC produced the new documents to aid understanding of those terms and their application within councils. To help local councils understand and be fully aware of all the terms contained in the Green Book, a subscription fee is required to access this information. All local councils can sign up to the LGA’s Employer Link service, which includes access to the Green Book and other employment advice and guidance. NALC has agreed with the LGA to a 15% discount on the first year (usual price £468) using the code NALC15.
Holocaust Memorial Day
Holocaust Memorial Day (HMD) will take place on 27 January. Recognised as the International Day of Remembrance for victims of the Holocaust and those affected by more recent genocides, the event is commemorated annually on the anniversary of the liberation of Auschwitz-Birkenau. HMD seeks to educate, commemorate, and inspire action against discrimination and hatred in our communities. The theme for HMD 2024, “Fragility of Freedom,” reflects on the vulnerability of freedom to abuse. Throughout the UK, activities are organised each year to observe HMD, with over three-quarters of councils participating in 2023. HMD invites councils to partake in the Light the Darkness National Moment on 27 January at 8 pm, during which individuals nationwide will light candles and place them safely in their windows as a symbolic stand against present-day prejudice and hatred. To assist local organisations, the Holocaust Memorial Day Trust provides valuable advice, guidance, and free resources, including a ‘Getting Involved Guide’ for councils. Additionally, an interactive map allows local organisations to share their events. For inquiries, please contact enquiries@hmd.org.uk. I would be grateful if councils could share this information as appropriate.
D-Day 80th Anniversary Commemorations
6 June 2024 marks the 80th anniversary of the D-Day landings. A series of commemorations will be held throughout the country, including many organised by local councils. Helpfully, the organisers of the commemorations have produced a guide on how to take part, and this can be accessed, along with many other resources, via their website. They are also keen to encourage as many locations as possible to take part in the Lamp Light of Peace and for those with relatives who were involved in D-Day or the Second World War to purchase a pin badge in commemoration.
On the blog: Clear Councils Insurance on winter safety and risks
This week’s blog, from NALC’s partners Clear Councils Insurance, is all about winter safety and risk management tips for councils. It identifies various challenges posed by winter, these include hazards on roads, car parks, walkways, and buildings due to ice, snow, storms, and floods. The blog post provides tips for dealing with winter conditions, such as increasing property inspections, protecting against slips and trips, and safeguarding staff working outdoors. Also, the blog provides a winter checklist for councils covering equipment plans, task responsibilities, snow removal procedures, and communication plans with the community. Read the blog to find out more!
Forthcoming consultation on Martyn’s Law
Cllr Keith Stevens, NALC’s chair, sets out in his recent open letter how our growing range of partnerships and work with representative bodies such as the Society of Local Council Clerks (SLCC) are among his priorities for the next two years. One important issue we are working together on is the Terrorism (Protection of Premises) Draft Bill – also known as Martyn’s Law – where we have so far set up a steering group to inform and shape our work, held a joint online event to explain what the proposed legislation means for our councils, and engagement with government and other organisations. Last year, NALC made representations to Parliament’s Home Affairs Committee, which conducted pre-legislative of the bill and whose final report reflected many concerns we and SLCC highlighted. The government has not yet responded to the Committee’s report – which was expected by the end of September – however, there is a planned further consultation on the standard tier part of the bill. I wanted to provide advance notice of this, as many councils may wish to respond, in addition to submissions by NALC and SLCC. We met with Home Officials last week, who briefed us on the upcoming consultation. Although they indicated that the consultation is imminent, the exact timing is unclear on whether it will be in the coming days or weeks! The consultation is anticipated to last for six weeks and will involve answering around 10 questions online. At this stage, both NALC are SLCC are suggesting councils consider setting an agenda item at upcoming meetings in preparation. We are keeping in touch with the Home Office and will let you know as soon as the consultation is published.
Rural Coalition
The Rural Coalition held its first meeting of the year on 17 January focussing on its priority this year of making the economic case for rural, linked to the Coalition’s roadmap published last July. We were pleased to be joined by colleagues from Pragmatix who have been commissioned to undertake this work which will present a clearer narrative of the potential for economic growth and pull together a number of existing studies, reports and data into a coherent economic narrative. We were also pleased to be joined by a senior official from the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs who provided an update on ministerial changes and their emerging priorities, the forthcoming rural report and the Rural England Prosperity Fund. Other issues discussed included the local government finance settlement where we briefed colleagues on our response, the development of manifestos by Coalition members and plans to engage with the political parties and the new report by the Co-operative Party on community ownership.
CPRE – The countryside charity
One of our key partners on the Rural Coalition is the Campaign to Protect Rural England (CPRE), so it was good to meet with their new chief executive, Roger Mortlock, last week to discuss areas of mutual interest. These included progress with producing updated resources on planning such as responding to planning applications, possible guidance on stewardship of green spaces and promoting good practice on rural buses. We agreed to keep in touch as we approach a General Election, as there are many shared policy positions that we would like to see included in party manifestos and for the new government to address to benefit rural areas.
NALC response to Provisional Local Government Finance Settlement 2024-25
NALC has welcomed the government’s decision to exclude local councils from council tax referendum principles for the 2024-5 financial year. In our response to the government’s consultation on the Provisional Local Government Finance Settlement 2024-25, we have highlighted that in many cases, the precept is the sole means for local councils to raise funds for community projects in their areas, and they must continue to retain the flexibility to increase investment in their areas while maintaining financial prudence. Our response also calls for direct access to government grant funding, building on the welcome extension of the Community Ownership Fund, and reiterates our call for the standards regime to be strengthened as behavioural issues can lead to additional costs for councils and their taxpayers. Read the full response here.
Banking campaign meeting with Barclays
Cllr Keith Stevens, NALC’s chair, attended an online meeting with SLCC colleagues and the Barclays Know Your Customer team on 11 January 2024. Several previously reported technical issues have been addressed, and Barclays have also ring-fenced the known accounts experiencing persistent issues. Barclays maintains its standing advice, urging prompt responses from local councils to their letters from the bank and is exploring providing NALC and SLCC with a recommended response local councils can use. Also, Barclays will release a statement explaining the issue and how it was resolved, along with helpful links to relevant pages on their website. While waiting times for phone calls have apparently decreased significantly on average, Barclays acknowledges this has been a big problem for them and local council customers. During the meeting, Keith emphasised the banking issues faced by some local councils and Barclays have committed to providing us with details for who we should liaise with at Barclays regarding these issues.
NALC National Network: LGBT+ Councillors
NALC’s National Network for LGBT+ councillors will hold its first session of the year online on 22 January. The agenda includes a discussion of NALC’s new website and the potential content based on the preferences of the network, the type of events the network would find valuable, and how the network would like NALC to participate in Pride month. If you want to join next week’s meeting but have not yet signed up for the network, you can sign up here.
And finally…
As part of our ongoing digital transformation projects, we are developing a new website to be launched in 2024! We’re inviting county associations, councillors and clerks to register their interest to be the first to explore and refine the new website, which we want to be at the heart of how we provide services and information to councils and county associations. The testing will involve completing tasks to test the new website’s capabilities. To register your interest, please complete our short form, and we’ll be in touch on the next steps.
Mid Sussex Applauds 2024 Award Information
Nominations are now open for Mid Sussex Applauds 2024
The Mid Sussex Applauds Awards are back for 2024 and are looking for nominations to help celebrate the fantastic work of individuals, groups and businesses across the district.
Through eight distinct categories, the Awards seek to recognise our connections and celebrate our community. Now in its fourth year, the Awards are a chance to celebrate the heroes in the local community who do so much to make Mid Sussex such a special place to live and work. Help to give local residents the recognition they truly deserve by nominating today!
The Awards range from recognising young people who go the extra mile, to climate champions, those who help support diversity and inclusion, and others who work to bring communities together. The aim is to highlight all our community VIPs.
Councillor Alison Bennett, Deputy Leader at Mid Sussex District Council, said: “As we launch the Mid Sussex Applauds Awards for 2024, I encourage everyone to reflect on the unsung heroes among us, the groups, individuals, societies, and organisations who are essential in making Mid Sussex great.
“Take some time to nominate these fantastic groups and individuals and join us in giving them the recognition they deserve.”
The award categories for 2024 are – Volunteer of the Year, Community Project of the Year, Young Hero of the Year, Business in the Community, Community for All Award, Environment and Climate Champion, Community Hero of the Year and Lifetime Achievement Award.
West Sussex County Council Budget 2024/25 information
Thank you to everyone who gave us their views on Our Council Plan and proposals for the 2024/25 budget.
The county council remains committed to doing all we can to protect and invest in vital services across West Sussex. This can be seen in the budget papers which describe the significant levels of funding being committed to the critical services the County Council continues to provide to meet the priorities in the Council Plan.
We asked for views on our priorities, the services we deliver and where you would prefer us to invest money, and how best to achieve a balanced budget.
More than 3,300 residents, staff and partners responded.
68.2% of respondents agreed with Our Council Plan priorities for keeping people safe from vulnerable situations, a sustainable and prosperous economy, helping people and communities fulfil their potential and making best use of resources underpinned by the cross-cutting theme of protecting the environment.
37% of respondents disagreed with the where the council spends its money, compared to 28% who agreed, 32% neither agreed or disagreed.
The service area most commonly selected across all respondents for increased funding was highways and transport. More on our Better Roads programme.
The service area most commonly selected to decrease funding was finance and property, followed by adults’ social care (including Public Health).
Highways and transport, and fire and rescue and community support (including libraries) were areas least selected to decrease spending on.
The services used the most by respondents over the last 12 months were waste services, such as household waste and recycling centres, followed by rights of way, footpaths, cycleways or country parks and libraries and archive services.
Council Leader Councillor Paul Marshall said:
“Thank you to everyone who’s taken the time to have their say in our consultation on Our Council Plan and budget proposals.
“WSCC spends over £2bn per annum to ensure our residents, communities and businesses receive the services and support they need and deserve. Our budget proposals show once again how committed the County Council is to the funding and delivery of services that are so important for the residents and businesses across the County. I hope that everyone takes the opportunity to look at where council tax money is being spent and to see also how we are making sure it is spent where it is most needed and can make most difference for our communities.
“We want to be able to continue to do this but must ensure we receive the funding necessary to deliver our services. We will continue to ensure we receive what the people of West Sussex deserve.
“In the context of the cost pressures we’re facing, not least in adults’ and children’s services, we are currently doing well to balance our overall budget while retaining our focus on services that support vulnerable people and investment in areas that help us to deliver the priorities in Our Council Plan.
“Our current financial position is challenging but, we have been able to put forward proposals which will achieve a balanced budget for the year ahead while we protect frontline services and rise to the need to fund the additional demands they face.
“Following the news from Government’s announcement about local government funding in late December, the Cabinet will be recommending a 4.99% Council Tax increase to ensure it can continue to deliver its vital services
“We have outlined this position to our MPs in West Sussex, something our survey showed our residents wanted us to do.
“Backed by your response to our consultation, we are calling on our representatives at Westminster to lobby the government to provide additional funding to address the pressures we are facing for 2025/26 and onwards.”
Cllr Jeremy Hunt, Cabinet Member for Finance and Property added: “Despite robust financial management over many years, ensuring that we have a financially sound and balanced budget in place is getting ever more challenging, which is why we are needing to increase Council Tax as well as dipping into our reserves. Despite these challenges we are still proposing a budget that continues to deliver for the residents, businesses and communities of West Sussex, but we need support from our local MPs to ensure that Government listens to the needs of our county if those services are to be sustainable.”
The committee will provide its comments to Cabinet ahead of its meeting on Tuesday 30 January. Cabinet will review the refreshed Council Plan, 2024/25 revenue budget and capital programme to approve them for recommendation to Full Council on Friday 16 February.
At Full Council, the proposals and any amendments proposed by other political groups will be presented and debated, followed by a vote.
You can find agendas for each meeting, watch the meeting webcast live or watch again at a later date via the links above.
