WEST SUSSEX ALC LIMITED

ANNUAL REPORT & ACCOUNTS INCLUDING

SSALC LIMITED ACCOUNTS

2017/2018

Company No. 8500937 – Incorporated England & Wales Registered Address:

Suite C 2nd Floor Sackville House, Brooks Close, Lewes, East Sussex, BN7 2FZ

TELEPHONE: 01273 830200

www.sussexalc.org.uk

Email: trevor.leggo@ssalc.co.uk anne.bott@ssalc.co.uk

anna.beams@ssalc.co.uk isabelle.mouland@ssalc.co.uk

finance@ssalc.co.uk

The Associations are affiliated to the National Association of Local Councils

West Sussex ALC Ltd. Board of Directors 2017/18

Chairman / Horsham District Association (DA) Cllr T Oliver

Vice Chairman / Chichester DA Cllr M Beal

Adur DA Cllr T Nicklen

Arun DA Cllr A Gardiner

Arun DA Vacant

Chichester DA Cllr L Pocock

Horsham DA Cllr V Court

Mid Sussex DA Cllr R Jackson

Mid Sussex DA Cllr I Gibson

Company Secretary Mark Mulberry

Hon. Solicitor

The President and Vice Presidents are ex officio

members of the Board

Roger Taylor

West Sussex ALC Ltd. Officials

President Michael Chater OBE

Vice Presidents The Earl of Lytton DL Cllr A Grant

Dr J Godfrey DL

Chief Executive Officer Trevor Leggo

Assistant CEO Mrs Anne Bott Office, Training & Events Manager Mrs Anna Beams

Member Support Officer (Surrey) Mrs Isabelle Mouland

Admin & Finance Assistant

Mrs Jodi Wilson

Auditors Williams & Co 8/10 South Street

Epsom Surrey

KY18 7PF

Representation on Other Bodies

SSALC Ltd. Board Cllr V Court

Cllr A Gardiner Cllr R Jackson

Cllr T Oliver

Mark Mulberry Roger Taylor

The President, Vice Presidents, Hon. Solicitor & Treasurer are ex officio members of the Board The Council of the National Association of Local Councils Cllr R Jackson

The Annual General Meeting of the National Association of Local Councils Cllr M Beal Cllr A Grant

Cllr R Jackson

South Downs National Park Authority Parish Council & Parish Meeting Elected Representatives

Cllr A Aylesbury Cllr T Burr

West Sussex Representative at SDNP meetings Cllr R Jackson

West Sussex Co-operative Cllr R Jackson

Arun & Chichester Citizens Advice Bureau Vacant

Community resilience Group, Horsham Cllr A Grant, Vice President

District Associations

Adur District Arun District c/o SALC Chairman Secretary

Cllr T Gardiner Andrew Gardiner

Chichester Sub-District

c/o Yapton PC 38 Ruskin Avenue

Chairman Secretary North Bersted

Cllr M Beal Greg Burt c/o Billingshurst PC Council Offices Billingshurst Centre Roman Way Billingshurst West Sussex RH14 9QW

Bognor Regis West Sussex PO21 5BW

Horsham District Chairman Secretary Cllr V Court Beverley Bell

c/o Cranleigh PC Council Offices Village Way Cranleigh Surrey GU6 8AF

Mid Sussex District

Midhurst Sub-District Chairman Secretary c/o SALC Cllr Ian Gibson

Petworth Sub-District c/o SALC

West Sussex Members

PM = Parish Meeting

TC = Town Council

Adur District Lancing Sompting

Arun District

Aldingbourne Aldwick Angmering Arundel (TC) Barnham Bersted Bognor Regis (TC) Clapham Clymping

East Preston Eastergate Felpham Ferring Findon Ford Kingston Littlehampton (TC) Lyminster & Crossbush

Pagham Patching Rustington Slindon Walberton Warningcamp (PM) Yapton

Chichester District

Apuldram (PM) Birdham Bosham Boxgrove Chichester City Chidham & Hambrook Compton Donnington Earnley

East Wittering Fishbourne Funtington Hunston Lavant Marden (PM) North Mundham Oving Selsey (TC) Sidlesham

Singleton Southbourne Stoughton Tan West Dean West Itchenor West Wittering Westbourne Westhampnet

Midhurst Sub-District

Bepton Cocking Easebourne East Lavington Elsted and Treyford Fernhurst Graffham

Harting Heyshott Lodsworth Lurgashall Lynchmere Midhurst (TC)

Milland Stedham with Iping Tillington Trotton with Chithurst West Lavington Woolbeding with Redford

Petworth Sub-District

Bury Duncton Ebernoe Fittleworth

Petworth (TC) Kirdford Loxwood Northchapel

Plaistow & Ifold Sutton & Barlavington Wisborough Green

Horsham District Amberley Ashington Ashurst Billingshurst Bramber Broadbridge Heath Coldwaltham Colgate Cowfold Henfield

Itchingfield Lower Beeding North Horsham Nuthurst Parham Pulborough Rudgwick Rusper Shermanbury Shipley

Slinfold Southwater Steyning Storrington & Sullington Thakeham Upper Beeding Warnham West Chiltington Wiston Woodmancote

Mid Sussex District

Albourne Ansty & Staplefield Ardingly Balcombe Bolney Cuckfield East Grinstead (TC) Fulking

Hassocks Horsted Keynes Hurstpierpoint & Sayers

Common Haywards Heath (TC) Lindfield Lindfield Rural Newtimber (PM)

Poynings Pyecombe Slaugham Turners Hill Twineham West Hoathly Worth

West Sussex Non-Members

Adur District Coombes (PM)

Mid Sussex District Ashurst Wood

Horsham District Washington West Grinstead

Arun District Burpham (PM) Houghton (PM) Madehurst (PM) Middleton on Sea Poling (PM) South Stoke (PM)

Chichester District Bignor (PM) Eartham (PM) East Dean Linch (PM) Rogate Stopham (PM) Upwaltham (PM) West Thorney (PM)

Report of Three County Chairmen Unsurprisingly, across East Sussex, West Sussex and Surrey the issues we face continue to be very similar and tend to be dominated by planning followed by traffic, community safety and health with employment issues close behind. How quickly time goes by we are barely a year away from the next election in 2019 when all our communities face the challenge of attracting candidates; let’s see if we can improve on the 2015 statistic when only 10% of our councils held contested elections. Surrey has a dedicated focus with Isabelle supporting Anne Bott, SSALC Deputy CEO there is more emphasis on the specific needs of our Surrey members. The Surrey ‘sub team’ calls on the vast experience of Roger Taylor, SSALC’s Honorary Solicitor who remains in practice in Bookham and whose advice has been highly valued by local councils in Surrey for many years. At NALC level Councillor Rodney Jackson, WSALC representative, has been re-elected as Chairman of the Policy Committee and Councillor Keith Stevens, ESALC representative is now Vice Chairman of NALC with specific responsibility for its finances. At a regional level SSALC continues to co-ordinate the work of SERCAF, the body representing 9 County Associations and 1600 parishes in the south east covering the area from Banbury and Milton Keynes in the north, Margate in the east and the Isle of Wight in the west. SERCAF meets quarterly to fit in with the NALC council and committee cycle; it enables the County Association Chairmen and NALC representatives to arrive at a view on policy issues and increasingly a framework for CALCs to provide support to each other. Our experience of recruitments for Clerk positions this year has still seen a limited number of candidates coming forward for both larger and smaller council positions, in many cases smaller councils find themselves with no response first time round with larger councils offering well paid full time positions experiencing limited choice. Whilst some of this may be down to pay and conditions, we cannot ignore the fact that some councils experience reputational damage as a ‘bad employer’ and word spreads within the Sector; as an employer, a council owes a duty of care to its employees to protect them from harassment and bullying, quite often caused by an individual councillor, sometimes the Chairman. Recognising that employment issues represent a challenge for many of our councils, we offer briefing sessions in association with HR Services Partnership. These are designed to provide the guidance needed for councillors to deal with employment issues lawfully and with confidence. During the past year, we have been involved in strategic areas affecting all three counties, for example

• A27 proposed improvements from Chichester to Eastbourne

• Gatwick expansion proposals

• Civilian / Military Partnership Board

• Health and Wellbeing project in West Sussex

• Reduction in Scamming & Fraud

The impact of Brexit may have consequences for member councils but remains to be seen!

Within our Sector matters relating to Planning can dominate the agendas of many councils, having the services of Lindsay Frost, former Director of Planning & Economic Development at Lewes DC provides SSALC with the capability to develop briefing and training sessions across the three counties. Such events can be tailored on demand to meet local needs such as Green Belt in Surrey or National Park in Sussex. We commissioned Lindsay to produce a ‘Planning Protocol’ for use by our member councils, it was published in April this year and has been well received. Legal support for parishes is offered by Ian Davison who, with 3 other solicitors launched Surrey Hills Solicitors at the end of 2016, this practice based in Dorking specialises in the needs of local councils and we are very pleased to offer access to Ian and his colleagues. SSALC has negotiated an arrangement for very urgent matters by way of a retainer, where at the discretion of the CEO, Surrey Hills LLP can give advice to a local council without the Clerk having obtained council approval for any expenditure. Financial advice is well supported by Mark Mulberry who has been involved with SSALC for 12 years as well as providing an internal audit service to many of our councils; may we express our gratitude to Mark for his continuing professional support. In Sussex, the Chairmen of the seven District Associations meet with Giles York, the Chief Constable twice a year, this meeting is also attended by Katy Bourne, the Police and Crime Commissioner or a senior member of her team. These sessions allow for full and frank discussion about concerns expressed by communities and, enables the Chief Constable to put Sussex policing in a national and regional context. Many aspects of policing in Sussex and Surrey are on a shared basis, the main point of contact in Surrey is Nev Kemp, the Assistant Chief Constable and the Surrey team meet Nev on a regular basis; senior officers from Surrey Police also attend the Annual Conference and AGM. The Health & Wellbeing study in West Sussex is ‘work in progress’ but has been taken up by NALC as one of its key themes this year. SSALC is working with the Clinical Commissioning Groups, West Sussex County Council, Patient Participation Groups, Dementia Friends and many other voluntary groups. The Report was published and circulated in January 2017; in October councils were invited to report on their achievements or provision planned for the 2018/19 financial year. Sadly only around 25% of West Sussex councils responded which is disappointing given the nature of the topic. With so many initiatives emerging that could benefit local councils it is important that SSALC has the ‘seed corn’ funding to undertake research. The Board will therefore be considering setting up a fund to enable this type of work to be carried out. We know that the resources of County, Borough and District Councils will continue to be stretched and in some areas it will fall upon town and parish councils to maintain a service for the benefit of residents. Whilst this will come as no surprise, it still requires a local council to recognise the need and take steps to provide a solution. As we have said in previous years, forget the expression ‘Double Taxation’ and think positively about ‘Choices’ and allow your residents to guide you as to whether they wish their local council to budget for the maintenance of the service. A popular service offered by SSALC is to assist councils with their Business Planning. This starts with the CEO or DCEO taking councillors through a ‘Visioning’ exercise reflecting upon

achievements and looking forward over the next 3 – 5 years. If your council is interested in developing a Business Plan please contact Trevor Leggo or Anne Bott. As we approached the end of 2017/18 we wrestled with the uncertainty of GDPR, arrangements were put in place but an 11th hour change to draft legislation raised the issue of parish councils not needing to appoint a Data Protection Officer. Our advice from the outset has been to externalise this role to ensure the council is able to respond properly when a data breach is identified, our advice remains unchanged. May we take this opportunity to thank all town and parish councillors for the time they devote to the life of their communities throughout the year and look forward to successful elections in May 2019. Finally, we express our thanks to the team of SSALC employees for their dedication and support to the SSALC Boards and member councils. Keith Stevens Chairman ESALC

Richard Olliver Chairman Surrey ALC

Terry Oliver Chairman WSALC

WEST SUSSEX ALC LIMITED

REPORT OF THE DIRECTORS AND FINANCIAL STATEMENTS FOR THE YEAR ENDING 31 MARCH 2018

SSALC LIMITED REPORT OF THE DIRECTORS & FINANCIAL STATEMENTS FOR THE

YEAR ENDING 31 MARCH 2018

Three Counties Training events who they are for & what will be gained?

As an election year, the main focus during 2019/20 will be on Councillors Training. We will still offer the core range of Clerks training and larger conferences and networking days. Venues will be accessible to the majority by being well spaced geographically and, where possible, close to public transport links. Most training provided for councillors will be held in the evening to allow those who work to attend and clerks training will mainly be held during working hours. Some of the training/events included in the SSALC Training Programme are as follows: Councillor Briefing & Awareness

• For parish/town councillors, both new and experienced

• You will receive updates on the most current legal, financial & procedural topics most relevant to local councils

Chairmanship, Meetings & HR Training for Councillors

• For Chairmen/Vice Chairmen both new & experienced of a Council or its committees and any other members interested in chairmanship

• You will receive guidance on good practice at meetings, managing press, public & much more

New Clerks

• For clerks & deputy/assistant clerks new to their post

• You will receive useful documents & details of your role including hints, tips & networking

Clerks Networking Days / Clerks Technical Networking Day

• For clerks, deputy/assistant clerks & RFOs of all levels of experience

• You will receive presentations on current topics of interest and guidance on new legislation & changes

• For Clerks Technical Networking Day the networking will still take place but the content will be practical

Legal and Finance Day

• For clerks, deputy/assistant clerks, RFOs, chairmen and councillors of all experiences

• You will receive presentations on updates and changes on financial and procedural topics Planning Updates

• For clerks, deputy/assistant clerks, chairmen and councillors of all experiences

• For councillors/clerks who wish to receive an update on Neighbourhood Plans, the planning application process and material considerations

• The Practical Clerk – how to manage your Council effectively

• For clerks who have been in their role for 6+ months

• This is a brand-new course introduced in 2017 and is ideal for those clerks wishing to

develop their skills within the role

Where are the training events held and how do I book on?

Location of Events We circulate our training events across Surrey, East & West Sussex to ensure that we cater for all of our members. We try to use venues close to public transport with ample parking to ensure easy access. Bookings We only take bookings on receipt of a completed booking form which must be returned by the closing date shown on the form. All bookings are taken on a first come first served basis and once an event is full we will start a waiting list. Details of events including programmes and bookings forms can be found on the Events/Training page of our website.

SUITE C, 2nd FLOOR, SACKVILLE HOUSE BROOKS CLOSE, LEWES EAST SUSSEX, BN7 2FZ

TELEPHONE: 01273 830200

www.sussexalc.org.uk