Newsletter 31/03/23
31 March 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.
Copthorne Road Closure
Free English Classes – New addition!
Airspace change masterplan: scoping the environmental assessments
Responses, if any, to be with the consultation group by 1st May to allow for preparation and submission.
Consultation group is Cllrs Woodgate, Mrs Farren, Visser and Mrs Mockford
(Sent to all major stakeholders by the UK Civil Aviation Authority)
To ensure that environmental impact considerations are integrated into the development of the airspace change masterplan, the CAA must ensure that the masterplan is subject to a strategic environmental assessment (SEA) and a Habitats Regulations assessment (HRA). These assessments are a legal requirement.
The first stage of each of these assessments is to decide what they must cover, including the approach we propose to use. You can give us your views via our consultation on our dedicated webpage. The consultation closes on 8 May 2023.
The masterplan is being developed by the Airspace Change Organising Group to coordinate airspace changes that will upgrade and modernise UK airspace at a system level.
Once we have decided what each assessment will cover, work will begin on the actual environmental assessments for both SEA and HRA as the masterplan is developed. We will consult on those assessments later.
If you have any questions please email us at airspace.modernisation@caa.co.uk.
Airspace Modernisation
UK Civil Aviation Authority
West Sussex County Council Newsletter
‘Egg-perience’ West Sussex this Easter!
Check out Experience West Sussex which is full of exciting things to see and do over the Easter holidays.
Join Ludo the Lamb’s Easter Race or get a wriggle on with the Superworm Trail, hunt for chocolate eggs or try some spring crafts.
Soak up the spectacle of historic re-enactments, chill with an outdoor yoga session in the countryside, take a vineyard tour or test your nerve in an Escape Room and much much more!
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How to contact us over the Easter break
We are here if you need to get in touch with us over the Easter Bank Holiday.
On the link below you’ll also find details of our online services, including reporting a problem with a road or pavement if you spot something on your travels, and renewing library books.
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Cut the cost of composting with this special offer
Take advantage of our special offer and buy a subsidised compost bin this spring.
Composting has lots of benefits, and simply involves recycling your fruit and veg peelings, along with any other organic materials like grass cuttings, unwanted plants, tea bags, coffee grounds and egg shells.
Together, these will naturally decompose over time to produce a ready-made mixture rich in nutrients to feed your soil and nourish your garden.
It’s a great way to minimise waste collected from your household, and a simple way to help the environment and give your garden a natural boost.
Read more about composting on our waste prevention page.
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Fun times in our libraries
There are some exciting storytime and craft activities for children taking place in selected libraries during the Easter school holidays.
These ‘Go Wild in the Library’ special events are free to attend but places are limited and must be pre-booked.
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Clear the clutter
If you are planning a spring clean this Easter then check out the opening days and times of your local Recycling Centre on the link below.
You can also find details of the booking system, and a full list of what items you can bring to our centres, if you can’t repurpose or donate them to a charity.
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Stay safe in the countryside this Easter
Visiting farms can be great fun but contact with farm animals carries a risk of catching infections from some of the bugs they naturally carry.
You can reduce this risk by washing hands thoroughly with soap and water after contact with animals, and especially before eating and drinking.
If you or anyone in your group is sick or has diarrhoea within two weeks of visiting a farm contact your GP or call NHS 111 as soon as possible.
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NALC Newsletter
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SCRP Annual Review 2022
Planning Applications
NALC Events
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GATCOM News Bulletin
Chief executive’s bulletin
24 March 2023
Launch of The Big Help Out
The Big Help Out is happening on the 8 May and is an initiative to celebrate and promote volunteering around the Coronation and well into the future. NALC’s chair, Cllr Keith Stevens, attended the campaign’s launch on 20 May as local government has a huge part to play both in terms of engaging with voluntary and community organisations but also in terms of opening up voluntary opportunities in and with councils. NALC is working with Neighbourly Lab, a non-profit organisation which is partnering with the Big Help Out, to support councils to get involved and be ready for the local government launch date on the 24 April. Help is available from Neighbourly Lab, such as sharing ideas for how you can get involved, supporting you to develop volunteering opportunities, and providing communication materials for councils to share locally. Neighbourly Lab is also keen to have one on one conversations with councils to find out what you’re doing and what further support would help you. They will be hosting bi-weekly coffee morning drop-in sessions starting from the 30 March for you to meet other councils and chat through plans. If you’d like to share any of your current goals for the Big Help Out, please email emma@neighbourlylab.com. To find out more about the Big Help Out including signing up and accessing support, please visit www.neighbourlylab.com/.
2023 edition of Practitioners Guide published
This week, we published the Joint Panel on Accountability and Governance (JPAG) 2023 edition of the Practitioners’ Guide. The 2023 edition of the guide has minor updates and applies to Annual Governance and Accountability Returns regarding financial years commencing on or after 1 April 2023.
Meetings of NALC’s Management Board and Finance and Scrutiny Committee
The main focus of meetings of the Management Board and indeed the Finance and Scrutiny Committee this week has been the current sale of the NALC office, here are a few highlights:
- The sale of 109 Great Russell Street in London and work to secure alternative accommodation whilst we review our future needs are proceeding well and councillors have agreed to conduct a major review of NALC’s budget in the light of these significant developments.
- The Board agreed to look at progress on the review of NALC’s governance at a special meeting likely to take place in July.
- Councillors supported proposals to further develop the financial advice and support which we provide to county associations and councils and more details will be available shortly.
- Plans for NALC’s presence at the Local Government Association’s annual conference in Bournemouth in July were noted, this will comprise a stand in the exhibition, a fringe event, a session in the Innovation Zone.
- Baroness Scott of Needham Market and our officers were thanked for their ongoing work making the case for changes to the Levelling Up and Regeneration Bill to address sector concerns on issues such as remote meetings and standards.
- It was noted that the Committee’s chair, Cllr Graham Ford, was no longer the Cornwall Association of Local Councils representative on National Assembly and thanked him for his work over many years, agreeing that Cllr Peter Davey, vice chair (finance) would act as chair pending a future appointment.
- The Committee also noted updated risk register and received a report on the latest financial position and cash flow which was broadly in line with budget, although some one-off costs associated with the sale of the NALC office will need to be addressed from the proceeds.
On the blog: Utility Aid
This week’s blog comes from our partner, Utility Aid. They write about the new government Energy Bills Discount Scheme, which runs from 1 April 2023 to 31 March 2024 and replaces the previous Energy Bills Relief Scheme.
Fortnightly meeting with county officers
At this week’s regular meeting with county officers, we were delighted to be joined by Daniel Purchese from Breakthrough Communications, NALC’s partner on council communications and engagement, as well as data protection and Freedom of Information (FOI). Daniel provided county officers with information and advice on data sharing agreements and other matters related to FOI requests. We also gave several updates including on our work engaging with the Levelling Up and Regeneration Bill, recent changes at Smaller Audit Appointments Limited and progress on our office move.
Updated advice and guidance
I am pleased to let you know about several updated documents which are available to county associations and member councils. The briefing on VAT on sports facilities, produced by the Parkinson Partnership LLP, has been updated in light of new guidance from His Majesty’s Revenue and Customs. The Template Annual Leave Policy has been updated to reflect the additional annual leave day for staff employed on National Joint Council conditions. We have also updated Legal Topic Note (LTN) 31 on local council general powers because of legislative changes in Wales. LTN 31 will now be England only advice and be known as LTN 31E. All these documents can be found in the members area of the NALC website.
Member benefits information
In recent months NALC has launched two new services for county associations and local councils. A new HR advisory service, in partnership with WorkNest, gives county associations access to a team of employment specialists to assist in giving advice to councils. And our e-learning offer is now available to all councils with a new range of courses developed through the Civility and Respect Project. To reflect these changes our benefits of membership information has been updated to highlight the increased range of benefits available.
Out and abouts
In addition to spending time at the NALC office preparing for our move out of 109 Great Russell Street, several colleagues have also been out and about this week, here’s a summary:
- Last weekend, our member services manager, Anders Hanson, attended the Liberal Democrat Party Spring Conference, the party’s first in-person conference in three years. This was an opportunity to meet and build relations with councillors from local councils and principal councils. Anders also met with parliamentarians engaged the Levelling Up and Regeneration Bill and MPs representing areas with local councils.
- And to end this week, Anders has spent the last few days in Morecambe as part of the town council’s corporate peer challenge. This is a joint project with the Local Government Association and the panel also included an experienced clerk and councillor from Falmouth Town Council and Frome Town Council respectively.
- Charlotte Eisenhart, head of member services, attended an online meeting of the Internal Audit Forum (IAF) on 21 March. It was the first time NALC was able to join the Forum since the launch of our partnership and Charlotte gave an update on the Joint Panel on Accountability and Governance and the changes to the 2023 edition of the Practitioners Guide.
- On 21 March, Fflur Jones, campaigns intern, paid a visit to Flitwick Town Council who were a finalist in last year’s NALC Star Council Awards. I’m grateful to the town council for their warm welcome and hospitality and for sharing throughout the day some of their exciting projects from tackling the cost of living through their community fridge, and their Proud Ampthill and Flitwick project celebrating the town’s LGBT+ community. The visit ended with a tour of their new Youth Hub which organises a range of activities for young people as well as providing them with a safe space to hang out after school. You can find out more about the town council’s projects on their website.
NALC Policy Committee agenda papers
The agenda papers for next week’s meeting of NALC’s Policy Committee on 28 March are now available. The committee will be considering two motions from the Leicestershire and Rutland Association of Local Councils on the Financial Services Compensation Scheme and the Transparency Code for smaller authorities. Other items on the agenda the final Local Government Finance Settlement 2023/24, our campaign for direct access to grant funding from the government, councillor training, establishing a policy on local council amenities, the Levelling Up and Regeneration Bill and the recent survey of clerks by the Society of Local Council Clerks.
And finally…
As I mentioned in my summary of the meetings of the Management Board and Finance and Scrutiny Committee, NALC is on the move! From 31 March, we are moving out of our office at 109 Great Russell Street in London. We are in the process of finalising arrangements for alternative accommodation which will take effect from 1 May 2023. I will of course provide a further update when this has been confirmed. In the meantime, post sent to NALC’s current address will still be managed, there is no change to our email addresses or telephone numbers, and there will be no impact on the delivery of our services and support to county associations and local councils.