Chief executive’s bulletin

Star Council Awards are back for 2024!

I’m thrilled about the return of our Star Council Awards! These awards recognise the positive impact of the local (parish and town) council sector on communities across England. We want the awards to be even bigger and better than before. And we want more nominations to provide even more opportunities for all councils, councillors, county associations and clerks to shine. Your participation is crucial in raising the awards’ profile and helps us lobby the government for the changes we want. Entrants can apply for six award categories: Council of the Year, Councillor of the Year, Young Councillor of the Year, County Association of the Year, Clerk of the Year, and Climate Response of the Year. This year, we’ve introduced a new award dedicated to climate response. This award will recognise the proactive efforts of councils in addressing climate change, emphasising the importance of their role in mitigating impacts, adapting to new conditions, and building resilience for both people and nature. By highlighting successful long-term strategies and community engagement, it aims to inspire other councils to take similar actions for a sustainable future. These categories recognise excellence in different areas of local council operations and highlight the varied contributions made by councils. The nomination period ends on 6 September 2024. Once again, we’ll announce the winners at our parliamentary reception in the House of Lords. I also want to thank our award sponsors, Clear Councils Insurance, Blachere Illumination, CCLA, Cloudy IT and Facilitating the Future, whose support is invaluable in making these awards possible.

NALC visits Yate Town Council for its annual study tour

Our annual study tour embarked on Yate Town Council in Avon this year. The council did a fantastic job hosting the study tour, which was held between 21 and 22 May 2024. Attendees travelled to the council (with powerful links to Banksy, JK Rowling and Paul Weller!) to learn about the council’s pivotal role and brilliant work in shaping local governance and youth provision. On day 1, everyone went on a minibus tour to the Armadillo Youth Café, Kingsgate Park, Peg Hill Skate Park, and the outstanding Yate Outdoor Sports Complex and had a look inside the council’s famous URBIE van (which travels to all areas of Yate and provides direct youth support where it is needed most). Later, attendees networked with current and past Yate town councillors over an evening meal and heard short speeches from Cllr Ben Nutland, mayor of Yate Town Council and Cllr Mike Drew, vice-chair of the NALC’s Larger Councils Committee. On day 2, attendees heard some excellent presentations from all partner organisations involved in youth provision in Yate, including the council, South Gloucestershire District Council, the Armadillo and Learning Partnership West. Thanks to Yate Town Council for being a beacon for youth service provision in the sector and a superb host!

On the blog: Yate Town Council

Keeping with the theme of the study tour, this week’s blog comes from our study tour host, Yate Town Council. The study tour allowed the council to share best practices in youth engagement, showcase its achievements and gain new insights from visiting attendees. The council reflects on sometimes not having time to consider “what have we done well?” and the study tour gave them a moment to do just that. They strongly encouraged other local councils to participate in enriching study tours to benefit their communities, whether hosting or attending. You can read the entire blog on our website.

White Ribbon Steering Group

Our White Ribbon Steering Group met on 28 May 2024 to discuss White Ribbon UK’s recent #ChangeTheStory webinar for accredited organisations, the group’s membership, and year two priorities. The #ChangeTheStory webinar advised organisations to prioritise violence against women and girls, establish domestic abuse policies and review existing policies. The webinar also highlighted the characteristics of effective male allies. Our communications officer, Daisy Petrow, wrote a blog about White Ribbon’s relevance to local councils, which includes some great insights. The group discussed expanding membership to achieve broader geographical representation and involve more councillors. Updates were provided on the action plan, particularly on year two priorities, such as NALC staff training, a toolkit, and a webinar. The next meeting is likely to be in early September.

Improvement and Development Board 

The Improvement and Development Board (IDB), whose membership includes NALC, the Society of Local Council Clerks and the Local Government Association (LGA), met on 23 May 2023 to discuss its previous workshops, the data task force, the board membership and terms of reference, and the newly published The Good Councillor’s guide. After input from the LGA and De Montfort University about why data is so important and their experience of its value in local government, the board agreed to set up a data task force. The board previously agreed to set up three other task forces: civility and respect, intervention, and workforce. These task forces will look into these important areas of improvement and development in more detail and make recommendations to the board. The board also decided to increase membership, and I’m delighted the chief executives of the Association of Democratic Officers and Lawyers in Local Government have both agreed to join.

The Good Councillor’s guide

The IDB also provides strategic oversight of initiatives and resources such as NALC’s Good Councillor’s guides and was delighted about its launch. The guide is even more accessible; to read it, visit our website for a free digital version. This revised edition of the guide is a much-needed resource, providing essential guidance for new councillors and those thinking about becoming local councillors. When they join a council, new councillors have much to take in, and the guide can help them understand this. The IDB and I are delighted that the guide has amassed nearly 3,000 downloads in its first two weeks, so grab your free copy today!

Fortnightly county officers call

The general election was the main topic at this week’s meeting between NALC and county officers. There was a discussion about how county associations can work with MPs, especially new ones, after the election itself, and county officers had a chance to ask questions about the pre-election period. The meeting also covered the proposed sessions for the county officer development programme and a recent issue where a district council sought to charge a council for a standards investigation.

Updates to Legal Topic Notes 22 and 23

This week, we reissued Legal Topic Notes (LTN) on disciplinary and grievance arrangements in local councils (LTN 22) and health and safety (LTN 23). The new versions have updated and refreshed the content, and the notes contain links to practical expert guidance. You can find both LTNs on our website in the LTN section within the member’s area.

10 years of Queen’s Park Community Council 

It was fantastic to see Queen’s Park Community Council (QPCC) mark its 10th anniversary at the weekend. Our head of policy and communications, Justin Griggs, joined the celebrations on 26 May 2024 of what is London’s first and currently only local council and the first of its type in nearly 80 years! NALC lobbied successfully in the mid-2000s to change the law to allow local councils to be created in London. Not long after the new rules took effect, QPCC’s story began in 2011 when residents started a campaign to establish a community council, submitting a petition to Westminster City Council, which then launched a community governance review to consult the community. Residents backed the move, prompting the city council to hold a referendum in 2012, with 70% of residents voting yes. The first election was held in 2014, and QPCC was officially established. I’m really pleased that NALC has helped QPCC at every step of its remarkable journey, and it was fitting we could join their celebrations, where many of the speakers remarked on our longstanding support. You can read more about QPCC’s history and remarkable journey on its website.

Houghton Regis Town Council Corporate Peer Challenge

A few months ago, between 26 and 28 March 2024, our senior solicitor and legal services manager, Jane Moore, was in Houghton Regis Town Council in Bedfordshire as part of the council’s Corporate Peer Challenge delivered by LGA and NALC. Last Friday, the council received its feedback report, which includes recommendations such as setting formal annual committee and staff objectives to progress corporate plans (including setting measurable annual targets), feedback and next steps. The panel also included Cllr Ian Davis, chair of Newton and Biggin Parish Council and vice-chair of the Warwickshire Association of Local Councils, Shar Roselman, town clerk for Newport Pagnell Town Council, and representatives from the Local Government Association. The Corporate Peer Challenge provides robust, strategic, and credible challenges and support to councils, bringing together political and managerial leadership through member and officer peers.