Newsletter 27/01/23
27 January 2023
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.
Mayor Opens New Xcelerate Gym in Queens Walk
The Mayor in ribbon cutting action last night (Thursday 27th Jan 2023) to open the new Xcelerate Gym in Queens Walk (thanks to Rex Whittaker for providing the photos).
Mid Sussex District Council Monitoring Officer
Following the decision of MSDC’s full Council in December 2022, we would like to take this opportunity to alert you to the change in the MSDC’s designated Monitoring Officer (MO). As of Monday 16th January, Kevin will formally assume this role from Geoff. Geoff will remain with the Council until the end of January, but the statutory and constitutional functions of the MO will pass to Kevin. Please contact Kevin with regard to any Town or Parish conduct matters.
EGBA Business Updates
Please see the latest local business updates from EGBA by following this link – your-business-weekly-updates
Planning Applications & Decisions
Barry Starmer – Funeral
The funeral for Barry will be held on Friday 24th February at 13.15 hrs. at the Surrey & Sussex Crematorium. The venue for afterwards is yet to be booked. Sue has asked that anyone wishing to attend, could they please let her know for catering purposes.
Sue Starmer can be contacted by the following means –
07761 028892
01342 300534
suestewart73@sky.com
Update from the governors of QVH
Councillors may be interested in a newsletter QVH governors have prepared, that includes views from the governors on the decision made in 2022.
We currently have our own governor at the QVH and receive regular updates, so any feedback to the governors should be through our Town Clerk.
Tackling anti-social behaviour
(Excerpt taken from letter sent by Katy Bourne OBE to all major stakeholders)
| Hello
This week, I joined key leaders & organisations at 10 Downing Street to discuss how to further tackle anti-social behaviour (ASB) across the country. The meeting was the first of a series of roundtable discussions which follow the Prime Minister’s speech at the beginning of the year, where he stated that cracking down on anti-social behaviour is a key priority for Government. Discussion points included: how anti-social behaviour impacts the public; what forms of ASB create the greatest barriers to communities’ feelings of safety; the effectiveness of existing solutions currently in place and the role that youth groups play in cutting anti-social behaviour and supporting young people. It was an insightful meeting and will feed into the Government’s current review as PCCs (along with police, partners, agencies and specialist organisations) continue to seek the best possible outcomes for victims of ASB. Just last week, I was delighted to attend Bramber Bakehouse’s Open Day. Bramber Bakehouse are an award-winning charity providing vital support to survivors of trafficking and modern slavery. Last year, I had the chance to award money through my Safer in Sussex Community Fund so it was good to hear directly from graduates of their programme and learn more about the positive, life-changing impact the charity has had. You can read more about the visit on my website. I also accompanied Tim Loughton, the Member of Parliament for East Worthing & Shoreham for a walkabout around Lancing. It is always important to me that I see, first-hand, the issues some residents are facing and hear directly from them about their experiences. You can read more about the walkabout on my website. |
| Trust in police was shaken again this week when we heard that a serving police officer is a serial rapist who had exploited his warrant card and status to coerce, abuse and rape women over a 20-year period.
Carrick was an armed police officer who was still entrusted with protecting diplomats and politicians despite repeated complaints and investigations. You cannot gain the public’s trust if a predatory police officer can carry out their abuse in plain sight, unchallenged by their peers and superiors. Not only that, but it casts a shadow across the exemplary work of thousands of police officers and staff who are trying hard to keep us all safe from harm 365 days a year. Following the recent HMICFRS report, which outlined 29 recommendations for forces to improve vetting, I have used two webcast Performance and Accountability meetings to scrutinise Sussex Police’s vetting protocols and procedures to see how they are implementing these. I intend to revisit this again next month. There is a great deal of work going into improving vetting at a national level as well as in Sussex. The force’s anonymous ‘Break The Silence’ internal reporting route has been used by officers and staff to confidentially report colleagues’ unacceptable behaviours and led to swift disciplinary action and, in a few cases, officers being dismissed. You can listen to my interview with Nick Ferrari on LBC where I talk about this in greater detail. If British policing wants to regain and retain its global reputation for professionalism, competence, fairness and integrity, we will have to do what it takes – we can’t afford not to. Katy Bourne OBE Sussex Police & Crime Commissioner |
NALC Newsletter
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Chief executive’s bulletin
(Sent to all Local Councils by NALC)
National Assembly discusses the upcoming King’s Coronation
NALC’s chair, Cllr Keith Stevens, hosted an informal meeting of our National Assembly on 17 January to discuss the upcoming Coronation of His Majesty The King. This meeting was open to county associations and local (parish and town) councils and was well-attended, with around 100 people joining the discussion. The recording of the meeting can be viewed on NALC’s committee webpage. We were pleased to be joined by Pageant Master Bruno Peek to introduce the session, where he said local councils “are the heart of the community” and have been instrumental in making national celebrations, like the coronation, work on the ground. The two outcomes from the meeting were, firstly, for NALC to request information from Buckingham Palace to support local councils’ planning for activity over the coronation weekend. And secondly, to summarise the advice and experiences that might help local councils in planning for activities, which is now available on the NALC website.
Levelling Up and Regeneration Bill
NALC’s president, Baroness Scott of Needham Market, and vice president, Lord Lytton, spoke this week in the Second Reading debate on the Levelling Up and Regeneration Bill. The debate lasted seven hours and featured 72 speakers, including several contributions linked to our parliamentary briefing paper, our recent online briefing, or the conversations we’ve been having with Peers. Specific subjects raised included onward devolution to local councils, remote meetings, neighbourhood planning, powers of local councils, including funding church buildings, funding and sector support, dependent carer’s allowance, remote council meetings and the creation of new councils. Baroness Scott will put forward a series of amendments at the committee stage, which we expect to start in the middle of February. You can read the debate on Hansard or watch it again on Parliamentlive.tv (15h22m44s).
NALC National Network: LGBT+ councillors
NALC’s National Network: LGBT+ Councillors held its first online meeting of the year on 17 January 2023. In his opening remarks, Cllr Mathew Hulbert, the network’s champion who helped set it up, advised that he was standing down as a parish councillor in May, wishing everyone well for the future. I want to add my thanks to those expressed by the network to Mathew for helping bring LGBT+ councillors together through the network and in leading our involvement in events such as LGBT+ History Month and Pride Month, both of which were discussed at the meeting. Other issues covered included raising awareness of Voter ID requirements at May’s local elections, census data, and councillor allowances and training. The next network meeting is on 24 April, and you can find out more information about all our networks for councils and councillors here.
Voter ID in the May local elections
I think it’s very timely that the network introduced a requirement for voters to show photo ID when voting at a polling station at some elections, as the government have asked us to help share information about the public awareness campaign. 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.
On the blog: Stone Parish Council
The Local Council Award Scheme (LCAS) celebrates the successes of the best local (parish and town) councils. It provides a framework to support councils to improve and develop to meet their full potential. In our latest blog, Jennie Thomas, chief officer at Stone Parish Council, outlines how her council received the LCAS Quality Award and gives her top tips for councils considering applying to the scheme. Do check it out!
Rural Coalition
Lord Benyon, rural affairs minister at the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, met NALC at the meeting of the Rural Coalition on 18 January 2023, where he stressed the importance of levelling out to rural areas as well as levelling up. He also briefed us on the department’s annual rural proofing report and progress with Project Gigabit and funding for better broadband, including in rural areas. The coalition also discussed how it could work together to raise the profile of rural issues in the run-up to the production of manifestos by the main political parties for the next general election. The meeting also heard from the Rural Services Network, of which NALC is a member, about their new Rural Households Survey on the Cost of Living. The purpose of the survey is to understand more about rural household budgets at a very difficult time for many. Results from the survey – which closes on 31 March 2023 – will help us to engage more effectively with government departments, MPs, Peers, and other policymakers. Please forward the survey link to all your contacts, networks, family, and friends living in rural areas – the greater the response, the better!
Joint Panel on Accountability and Governance
The Joint Panel on Accountability and Governance (JPAG) met on 19 January 2023 to discuss and agree on changes to the Practitioners Guide 2023. The guide contains the proper practices for the governance and accounts of smaller authorities, best practice guidance for internal auditors and supporting information for officers. With this having been agreed we can confirm that the Practitioners Guide 2023 will be updated and available in March.
Policy Committee papers
The agenda and supporting papers for next week’s online meeting of NALC’s Policy Committee on 17 January 2023 are now available on the NALC website. Issues to be covered include motions from county associations on extraordinary council meetings and energy efficiency in listed buildings, local government finance, promoting NALC’s policy objectives in the Levelling Up and Regeneration Bill, mandatory training for councillors, and Gordon Brown’s Report of the Commission on the UK’s Future.
NALC responds to Provisional Local Government Finance Settlement 2023/24
NALC has urged the government to give local councils a multi-year exemption from referendum principles on excessive council tax increases in our response to the consultation on the Provisional Local Government Finance Settlement 2023/24. We stated that whilst the single-year exemption for local councils is welcome, a multi-year exemption would create much-needed certainty and allow local councils to plan for the future and continue to support their communities through these challenging times. Our submission also calls for a share of sector support funding and for local councils not to be overlooked by the government’s review of council tax. You can read more in our news story here.
And finally…
Elect Her is offering £500 grants to women from under-represented backgrounds aiming to stand in the May 2023 local elections to support the personal costs of running their campaigns. They are also providing additional access funds for deaf and disabled women standing. If you are a woman actively seeking to address the needs of your community and are in the process of standing for the upcoming local elections, please consider applying. Under-represented groups, backgrounds and experiences include but are not limited to disabled women, women living on low or no income, women of colour, carers, and care leavers. But be quick, as applications close at midnight on 22 January 2023! More information and how to apply is available on the Elect Her website.