Newsletter 30 October 2023
East Grinstead Annual Town Meeting
Please note it has been brought to our attention that the Annual Town Meeting in the diary for Wednesday 27th March 2024 clashes with a Mid Sussex District Council meeting. We are looking to move the meeting to Tuesday 26th March and this will be brought to the Council meeting on 8th January 2024.
Planning – updated
Gatcom News and AGM
The next meeting of GATCOM will be held on Thursday 2 November 2023 commencing at 2.00 p.m. The agenda papers for the meeting are attached for your use. The agenda papers are also available on GATCOM’s website.
Please note the meeting will be held virtually, via MS Teams. Members of the public are welcome to observe the meeting. To register your interest to observe the meeting please contact the GATCOM Secretary by no later than close of business on 31 October 2023 secretary@gatcom.org.uk
Rural News Bulletin
Rural Bulletin 24 October 2023
Sussex Police & Crime Commissioner News
SPCC – Ensuring we are all Safer in Sussex (proworx.co.uk)
NALC News
Chief executive’s bulletin
NALC Annual General Meeting 2023
Our Annual General Meeting (AGM) held remotely on 24 October 2023 supported two important policy motions. Representatives from our 43 county associations backed the Shropshire County Association of Local Councils call for government to recognise the value of local (parish and town) councils as effective delivery agents of government policy and open funding opportunities to direct access rather than through principal authorities. The AGM also called on all political parties, as the general election approaches, to commit to implementing the proposals of the Committee on Standards in Public Life including introducing sanctions for poor behaviour of councillors and enacting that within the first year of forming the new government These motions underscore our existing manifesto objectives of direct access to government funding and a strengthening the standards regime. The AGM also reappointed Baroness Ros Scott of Needham Market as president; and Baroness Bennett of Manor Castle, Cllr Sue Baxter, Andrew Gwynne MP, The Earl of Lytton and Lord O’Shaughnessy as vice-presidents. They were thanked for their help in raising the profile of NALC and the sector, with Baroness Scott commended for her work on the Levelling Up and Regeneration Bill. The AGM also approved our Annual Report, setting out successes over the last year and future plans. The affiliation fee for 2024/25 of 7.94 pence per elector, capped at £2,037 for larger councils, was also approved.
Levelling Up and Regeneration Bill and remote meetings
The Levelling Up and Regeneration Bill has been in its ping pong stage over the last week. This is when amendments to and fro between the House of Commons and the House of Lords. Following the disappointing vote by MPs on 17 October 2023 to overturn a Lords amendment giving councils the flexibility to hold remote council meetings, the Bill was back again in the Lords then the Commons. On 23 October 2023, Baroness McIntosh of Pickering tabled a revised and pragmatic amendment which would provide for a minister via regulations to specify circumstances in which remote meetings would be allowed. In a thread on Twitter/X, NALC’s head of policy and communications, Justin Griggs, covered what happened, including the vote where Peers backed the amendment by 208 votes to 199. The Bill then went back to the Commons on 24 October 2023, but despite continued cross-party support, the government set out their continued opposition, with MPs again striking out the amendment by 292 to 177. Justin has the full summary on Twitter/X in another thread. I hope councils will acknowledge and recognise the efforts NALC and others have gone to on our remote meetings campaign, and like you, we are bitterly disappointed the government still steadfastly disagree, despite the overwhelming evidence of the extensive benefits. Rest assured this is an issue we will continue to lobby on, including in the run up to the General Election by calling on all political parties to include this in their manifestos.
NALC National Network: Climate emergency
Our national network on climate emergency held its latest online gathering on 19 October 2023 to discuss the Great Collaboration website, the Local Net Zero Forum Task and Finish Group and biodiversity. The network received an overview of the Great Collaboration, a website developed by the Herefordshire Green Network that features up to 60 actions individuals can take in response to climate change and nature recovery. It was explained that the Place Based Initiative would take over the website and aims to extend its use extended nationwide. A further update was provided on the Department for Energy, Security and Net Zero’s recent Local Net Zero Forum Task and Finish Group meeting, which was in the process of setting up at least four sub-groups to help achieve net zero. Network members were also encouraged to seek out the climate officer at their principal authority and to look out for NALC’s 2024/25 events programme as climate change would feature on it. If you have any issues you’d like the network to be discussing or considering, or ideas for speakers at their meetings, do let us know at policycomms@nalc.gov.uk. And do join the network if you haven’t already!
Legal bulletin
We have issued our bi-monthly legal bulletin update to county officers. The bulletin includes updates on whether a councillor who resigned before signing their declaration of acceptance of office could be employed as the clerk, the secret filming of council meetings by a councillor, a recent elections legal case, the Building Safety Act 2023 and information on the revised request for legal advice forms.
An introduction to the Local Council Award Scheme event
We’ve launched another free event on the Local Council Award Scheme (LCAS), which introduces the core principles of the scheme and helps councils have the confidence to put in an application. It is open to councillors, clerks and other council staff interested in the scheme. The event will detail the benefits of applying, how to apply, how the scheme works, tips on making the best application possible, how to make the most of achieving accreditation, and an opportunity to ask further questions about the scheme. Please find out more about this event and all our other events.
On the blog: Utility Aid
This week’s blog is from NALC’s partner, Utility Aid and lists the benefits of fixing energy costs for local councils. A few benefits are that councils can plan their budgets with more certainty, have greater control over their expenses, and help them be more sustainable and efficient. The blog also lists the benefits of joining Utility Aid’s National Charity Tender, including discounted rates achieved through the scheme. Visit Utility Aid’s website to learn more about the National Charity Tender.
Surrey Association of Local Councils AGM and Conference
Last week, on 19 October 2023, NALC’s senior solicitor and legal manager, Jane Moore, attended the Surrey Association of Local Councils AGM and Conference held at Dorking Halls in Dorking. The 120 attendees heard from Ellie Vesey-Thompson, the deputy police and crime commissioner, Emma Armstrong, head of services of domestic abuse refuge charity I Choose Freedom, Chris Moon from the Surrey Local Resilience Forum, and Surrey County Council.
Smaller Authorities’ Audit Appointments
The Smaller Authorities’ Audit Appointments (SAAA) board met on 18 October 2023. It is still developing as a new board and considering its future strategic direction and operating model. It welcomed its new chief executive, Annie Childs, and thanked departing general manager Howard Midworth for his outstanding contribution. The board also noted that at the end of September 2023, 179 smaller authorities still needed to submit an exemption certificate or Annual Governance and Accountability Return (AGAR) for review. It was noted, however, that half of those non-submissions were by parish meetings.
Making Music event
One of NALC’s strategic objectives is to raise the sector’s profile with other national bodies and membership organisations to raise awareness and encourage more people to get involved in their local council and make a change. This week, our vice-president, Cllr Sue Baxter, One Voice Wales chief executive, Lyn Cadwallader and the town clerk of Bridport Town Council, Will Austin, spoke at an event organised by Making Music, which represents around 228,000 musicians. We set out what local councils do and how they can support local music groups and musicians and encouraged the attendees to contact their local councils. Discussions focussed on how these groups could promote their work to local councils and access grants and other support. Our attention was also drawn to Make Music Day, an annual celebration of music held every year on 21 June, which councils may consider supporting.
Association of Liberal Democrat Councillors online conference for parish and town councillors
Following our attendance at the recent political party conferences, we were pleased to continue our engagement through involvement in the Association of Liberal Democrat Councillors (ALDC) inaugural online conference for parish and town councillors on 21 October 2023. We want local councils and councillors of all political stripes and none to be as effective as they can in making a change in their communities. Which is why in our session The Art of the Possible – what can you achieve on your council and hosted by Justin, shared some examples on how to do just this with lightning talks from Bridport Town Council, Sevenoaks Town Council and Yate Town Council. Other sessions covered being an effective councillor and finance and budgets plus social media and building a positive culture delivered by our partners, Breakthrough Communications. Of course, we’d be more than happy to run similar sessions for other political parties at any of their own events for parish and town councillors!
Shared Intelligence free online event on climate change
Our colleagues at Shared Intelligence are holding a free online event on developing town and parish council actions on the climate change and nature depletion agenda on 9 November 2023. You may recall Shared Intelligence wrote a delivery framework to support parish and town councils, they have since been working with Friends of the Earth on identifying some key steps for principal local authorities in their report Road to Zero Carbon: council action on green jobs and skills and are keen to broaden the thinking to the most local level of local government. The webinar will explore how councils can identify and plan action towards net zero, address nature depletion, consider a range of levers available, and how to move beyond a menu of possibilities and into action. Speakers include Tony Blake, director, Shared Intelligence, Sandra Bell, senior sustainability analyst, Friends of the Earth and a NALC speaker to be confirmed.
And finally…
Last week, colleagues from the Suffolk Association of Local Councils (SALC) launched guidance for local councils on Nationally Strategic Infrastructure Projects (NSIPs) developed collaboratively between SALC and Suffolk County Council (SCC). The guide was produced using funding from the Department for Levelling Up Housing and Communities, obtained through the SCC NSIP Centre of Excellence Programme. The guide brought together the expertise of both organisations and is designed to assist those representing the views on these significant projects impacting the community. A massive well done to everyone involved!
