Chief executive’s bulletin

21 September 2023

NALC pushes local council hedgerow protection role  

We have urged the government to simplify the rules to protect hedgerows and give local (parish and town) councils a more significant role. Responding this week to the Department for the Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (DEFRA) consultation on hedgerow protection, NALC argued that the current Hedgerow Regulations 1997 should be simplified to make them easier to understand, more widely applied and give communities represented by local councils a more significant say in hedgerow protection in their areas. We also called for local councils to be consulted before hedgerows are removed and that the government should prioritise hedgerow protection like trees.

NALC Management Board 

NALC’s Management Board, which oversees our work, met this week and considered how to improve our internal committee management and support to our councillors. The board agreed on a request to resource the Improvement and Development Board’s ability to support the civility and respect work, approved a note on our strategic direction for inclusion in this year’s Annual Report, and considered NALC’s involvement in political party conferences. The board also supported the Finance and Scrutiny Committee’s recommendation to our National Assembly of a 3% increase in affiliation fees for 2024/25, which will be considered at this year’s Annual General Meeting (AGM). The proposed fee is 7.94 pence per elector, capped at £2,037 for larger councils. Our constitution requires fees to be paid annually through county associations that make their first instalment of 80% by the end of June and the final balancing sum by the end of September, reflecting the latest electorate of member councils. I want to thank all member councils for their continued support and all our county associations for paying the first tranche of the 2023/24 affiliation fee so promptly this year. We very much appreciate the work they do on this on our behalf. This year, we used a new system for capturing the electorate and membership data, and we are pleased that this resulted in a much simpler approach. The total electorate we represent now stands at around 16 million and is growing!

Jo Cox Civility Commission 

Colleagues from our member services team met recently with Hannah Phillips, who joined the Jo Cox Civility Commission in July 2023 as the research and policy manager. The commission was set up following the murder of British MP Jo Cox. The aim is to find practical recommendations to address the problem of violence, abuse and intimidation of elected representatives. They have called for evidence to develop support, guidance, resources and best practices. The commission has already engaged with over 100 stakeholders and knows local councils are also affected. The Local Government Association survey of local councillors in 2022 found that 88% had experienced abuse and intimidation in fulfilling their roles. They aim to draft recommendations, which they seek to publish in January 2024. We advised them about the work done by the Civility and Respect Project and the aims for further improvement work that we would like to see included in their report.

County Councils Network parliamentary event 

I was pleased to join NALC’s chair, Cllr Keith Stevens, and head of policy and communications, Justin Griggs, at a parliamentary reception hosted by the All-Party Parliamentary Group for Counties and County Councils Network (CCN) on 19 September 2023. CCN are among the many organisations represented on the judging panels which are currently meeting to assess applications to NALC’s Star Councils Awards, so it was good to thank them for their help! The event also provided an excellent opportunity to engage with councillors, officers and other stakeholders and talk about the work of our tier of local government. Speaking at the event, local government minister Lee Rowley MP thanked local government for the “fantastic work that goes on in the sector” before acknowledging the challenges facing councils, such as inflation and rising demand and committing to “advocate for you and try to make the case to ensure you have resources you need in the coming years ahead”. Check out CCN’s Twitter for a few other highlights and photos from the event.

Coastal communities report and next meeting of NALC national network 

Among the organisations I was pleased to catch up with at the CCN event was the think tank Onward (who are also among the NALC Star Councils Awards judges!). It was good to hear firsthand about their latest research report published just that day, Troubled Waters: Tackling the crisis on England’s coast, which uncovers the challenges facing coastal communities. The report urges the government to commit to levelling up England’s struggling seaside towns, or risk a political tidal wave at the next general election. It highlights that communities set within 5km of England’s coast are poorer, sicker and more crime-ridden than their inland neighbours and calls for a £500m regeneration package. We’ve invited Onward colleagues to speak about the report at next week’s meeting of the NALC National Network: Coastal Communities which takes place on Tuesday 26 September from 12.00 to 13.15. The agenda also includes an update from the Local Government Association’s coastal special interest group, dealing with anti-social behaviour, undertaking a survey to inform the network’s future work and priorities, and an open forum for sharing information and good practice. If you haven’t joined the network yet and would like to attend next week, you can sign up here.

Natural England 

Natural England is the government’s adviser for the natural environment in England. Its purpose is to help conserve, enhance and manage the natural environment to benefit present and future generations. Its chair, Tony Juniper, spoke at our conference last November during the climate change session and agreed to set up a meeting to discuss how we could work together. NALC’s chair, Cllr Keith Stevens and I met Tony’s senior officials this week and discussed local councils’ role in supporting their work and the importance of engaging effectively with councils and county associations, especially around developing local nature recovery strategies. We also used the opportunity to flag up concerns expressed by some councils about urban gull management and reiterate our ask that Natural England rethink its approach of not issuing licenses to control the number of urban gulls.

English Rural Report on affordable housing 

English Rural Housing Association published a report on Land, Landowners and the Delivery of Affordable Homes in Rural Areas on 11 September 2023. The report’s main argument is that the need for affordable housing extends beyond city limits, often hitting rural communities hardest due to unique challenges such as high property prices and low average incomes. Rural Exception Sites have become a beacon of hope for such communities as these sites are designed to provide affordable homes that meet current local housing needs and remain perpetually. The report delves into relevant case studies that bring to life the transformative power of Rural Exception Sites, which I was pleased to see cite local councils as integral to the process and includes eight local council examples.

On the blog: The Great British Beach Clean  

This week’s blog is from the Marine Conservation Society, which hosts the Great British Beach Clean to help clean up the coastline and fight for a cleaner, better-protected, healthier ocean! This year, it’s taking place between 15 and 24 September 2023. This cause is essential since it is estimated that every minute, one rubbish truck’s worth of plastic makes its way into the ocean, equating to thousands of millions of tonnes per year. The blog lists a few ways you can help support your local community by joining the Great British Beach Clean. These include spreading the word about beach cleans that have already been organised, using the Marine Conservation Society’s comms toolkit, attending an event, or arranging your own event. Read the blog to find out more about how you can get involved in the Great British Beach Clean!

County associations events 

Last week, member services manager Anders Hanson attended the East Riding and North Lincolnshire Local Councils Association (ERNLLCA) Conference and AGM. This was an opportunity to meet councillors, clerks and partner organisations. Anders gave a presentation on the Local Council Award Scheme, encouraging more councils to participate — you can find out more about the scheme on our website. And last week NALC solicitor Gurvynda Padden-White and I attended the Cambridgeshire and Peterborough Association of Local Councils (CAPALC) Annual Conference. It was good to see so many committed councillors and clerks there and, in a busy programme, it was encouraging to hear Stephen Moir, the chief executive of Cambridgeshire County Council, stress the critical part our sector plays and that the county association was one of its key partners. I spoke about NALC’s vision in our manifesto and what we are doing to help achieve it. Gurvynda briefed them on topical legal issues, including the biodiversity duty, the latest on remote meetings and fox hunting.

Fortnightly meeting with county officers  

This week’s fortnightly online meeting between NALC and county association officers had a packed agenda. Pageantmaster Bruno Peek talked about next year’s 80th-anniversary commemorations of D-Day, including lighting beacons across the country and eating fish and chips. Certificate in Local Council Administration (CiLCA) lead, trainer and mentor Sue Hobbs from the Society of Local Council Clerks also attended to provide an update on the CiLCA qualification and the importance of county associations returning their Service Level Agreement form. There were also brief updates on the NALC Annual General Meeting, our committee elections, legal topic notes, and council insurance.

Update on pay negotiations 

The full National Joint Council (NJC) for Local Government Services Trade Union Side met this week to discuss the National Employers’ full and final pay offer, which they received on 23 February 2023. No decision on the pay offer was reached. The unions did though agree to reconvene within a few days of GMB’s strike ballots closing. You can find more information on the LGA’s website. This continued delay to a final decision on a pay settlement due in April 2023 is very frustrating indeed.

And finally… 

Last week, the government launched the £1 billion Great British Insulation Scheme to help some families insulate their homes. Families in lower council tax bands with less energy-efficient homes will be offered upgrades such as roof, loft or cavity wall insulation. Customers can use an online checker for the Great British Insulation Scheme to determine eligibility. The tool will ask a series of questions – including how they heat their home, whether their home has solid or cavity walls, and if they are receiving any benefits. A separate online checker has also been launched for the Home Upgrade Grant, which will help off-the-gas-grid homes with an energy performance certificate rating of D to G. The grant provides energy efficiency upgrades and low-carbon heating to households in England. Customers using the online tools will then be referred to either their energy supplier for support from the Energy Company Obligation programme and Great British Insulation Scheme or their council for the Home Upgrade Grant.