don’t let lack of planning become your emergencywednesday 20 january 2016 (10am-4pm) - nettleham...

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No. 155 3/2015

DON’T LET LACK OF PLANNING BECOME YOUR EMERGENCY Emergencies come in many shapes and guises, and hardly ever announce themselves – most happen suddenly, without warning and can often be dra-matic, even traumatic. They might never happen to you or your community – but, equally, they might... You can help your community plan ahead for how it will cope in the event of 999 emergencies such as flood, fire, accident, exceptional weather and even illness. Your community may already be well equipped to play its full part in coping with an emergency situation, but making an emergency plan for your commu-nity is a two-way exercise – it completes a record of what you and your com-munity already knows and informs the emergency services and others out-side of your community who can help you when it’s really needed. Time is often the one commodity which is in short supply during an emer-gency – a community emergency plan can save time, and that could save lives. Those on the ground first, and that’s the people who live and work in your community, will be the key to dealing with an emergency in those vital first minutes and hours. An easy-to-use emergency plan template has been drawn up to help you to firm up and record how you will respond, who will do what, when and where and inform the emergency services about how best they can assist taking into account any individual and unique aspects of your community. Please take action today. Plan for your emergency. Contact [email protected] and ask for your emergency plan template so you can take the first steps towards being prepared.

PREPARING FOR EMERGENCIES

In addition, several workshops have been arranged by LALC so the Joint Emergency Planning Unit and Environment Agency can help you get started ...... See page 2 for dates and venues .................................... →

Date for the Diary....... T h e 2 0 1 5

LALC AGM and Conference will be held on Tuesday 20 October 2015 at Wragby Town Hall from 5pm to 9pm.

Guest speaker will be Dr Jonathan Owen, Chief Ex-ecutive of the National Asso-ciation of Local Coun-cils........

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PREVENT duty guidance as part of the Counter-Terrorism and Security Act 2015 What is Prevent? Prevent is all about working in partnership with the community ensuring that everyone works together to prevent people being drawn into terrorism, including local community groups, schools, young people and all sections of our community. Prevent is also about early intervention and encouraging a conversation to be had regarding difficult topics in a safe environment

PREVENT is a strand of the Government’s counter-terrorism strategy, CONTEST. Prevent contains three objectives: • To respond to the ideological challenge of terrorism and the threat from those who promote it; • To prevent people from being drawn into terrorism and ensure that they are given appropriate advice

and support; and • To work with sectors and institutions where there are risks of radicalisation that we need to address. The main objective is to stop people becoming terrorists or supporting violent extremism and operates in the NON-CRIMINAL space, this means individuals who are referred to Prevent, are supported to move away from terrorism, rather than being criminalised. This multi-agency safeguarding process is called ‘Channel’ and is lead locally by Lincolnshire County Council. What is the Prevent Duty? The Counter-Terrorism and Security Act 2015 (Section 29) contains a duty on specified authorities to have ‘due regard to the need to prevent people from being drawn into terrorism’. The duty commenced on 1st July 2015 for authorities specified in Schedule 6 and outlines how the duty should be implemented within each authority. More information on Prevent and the Duty can be found on www.gov.uk or the Lincolnshire Prevent team website http://lincs.police.uk/Advice/Counter-Terrorism/PREVENT.html (You can also search ‘Prevent Lin-colnshire’ in your search engine). The Prevent team can be contacted on [email protected]. TRAINING: The following days will be split into two halves. The morning session will involve a short presentation from LALC and then you will hear from the Lincolnshire Police Prevent Team, whose aim is to inform Parish Councils in Lincolnshire about the Prevent strategy and how this links in with safeguarding their communities. You may wonder ‘what has this got to do with the Par-ish Council’ ... But in general you know your communities and they know you and talk to you about their is-sues and concerns. The information parted by the Prevent team will help Councils in knowing where they can go if such concerns are raised. The afternoon session will involve Paul Drury from Lincolnshire County Council who is going to talk about community engagement and how and when we get the parishioners involved. This session will look further at how Prevent is all about working in partnership with the community ensuring that everyone works together to prevent people being drawn into terrorism, including local community groups, schools, young people and all sections of our community. We will also look at community integration and cohesion, and the importance of involving people in civic society. This will be followed by a workshop by the Community Emergency Planning Team (Steve Eason-Harris) on how to complete a Community Emergency Plan and how it operates. Monday 21 September 2015 (10am-4pm) - Carlton Scroop VH, Newark Lane, Carlton Scroop NG32 3AR

Tuesday 10 November 2015(10am-4pm) - Louth TH, Eastgate, Louth LN11 9NH

Wednesday 20 January 2016 (10am-4pm) - Nettleham Police HQ, Deepdale Lane, Nettleham LN2 2LT

Thursday 17 March 2016 (10am-4pm) - Fire & Rescue HQ, South Park Avenue, Lincoln LN5 8EL

Tuesday 17 May 2016 (10am-4pm) - Fosdyke VH, Old Main Road, Fosdyke PE20 2BU

Wednesday 13 July 2016 (10am-4pm) - Nettleton VH, Moortown Road, Nettleton LN7 6AA

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Public Contracts Regulations 2015.......

Local councils were previously subject to the 2006 version of Public Contracts Regula-tions, and the model Standing Orders issued by NALC in 2013 contained reference to this legislation. The 2006 Regulations were repealed by Statutory Instrument 2015/102 - the Public Contracts Regulations 2015 - this year. What does this mean for local councils?

The 2015 Regulations impose certain new statutory obligations on councils when procuring and awarding contracts of above a certain value for the supply of public works, public services or a public supply. The pro-curement or award of such contracts which have an estimated value of £25,000 or more must now include use of the government’s ‘Contracts Finder’ website. Councils will need to register to use this service - further information can be sought by e-mailing [email protected] (There are also further statutory requirements in respect of the procurement and award of very high value contracts - a public works contract with estimated value of £4,322,012 or above or a public service or public supply contract with an estimated value of £172,514 or more - these are going to affect relatively few coun-cils, and only those who embark on more major projects.) Councils should therefore amend their Standing Orders accordingly, to confirm that the procurement and award of contracts covered by the 2015 Regulations which have an estimated value of £25,000 or more will be dealt with in this way. Further detailed guidance on the requirements of the 2015 Regulations may be found in NALC’s new Legal Topic Note 87 - Procurement, available from the LALC Office by request or to download from the Members’ Area of the LALC website.

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Calling all Clerks - how you can become a member of the SLCC......

A message from the Lincolnshire Branch Secretary

The Society of Local Council Clerks is the professional body for local council clerks. Its membership is steadily growing and now represents clerks to over 4500 council in England and Wales. Many councils realise the benefits of having a clerk who is properly trained, fully briefed on the issues of the day and can get fast accurate advice to problems that they may face. In fact, over 90% of members' councils pay for their clerks' subscriptions to the Society, as permitted by the Local Government Act 1972.

The Society of Local Council Clerks is developing fast and is increasingly recognised as the body which represents and promotes 'best practice' in the sector. Membership is open to all full time, part-time and deputy Clerks of town, parish or community councils and parish meetings in England and Wales.

Joining and membership fees are based on salary – for current rates and an application form visit the SLCC website at www.slcc.co.uk or pick one up at our meetings. You can benefit from attending training events, conferences and quar-terly branch meetings at which there is a wealth of experience to glean from fellow clerks or to just have a chat over a cup of tea and a piece of cake – there’s always cake at our meetings! Other benefits include:

• A team of National and Regional Advisors providing an online and telephone based advisory service, which is available Mon-Fri from 8.30am till 6.30pm, giving answers to technical, professional and employment queries in relation to issues with your council

• A free confidential 24hr telephone Counselling Service for members who may be facing any Clerk' is the offi-cial magazine of the SLCC, packed with interesting features, news, reviews, letters, advice and a great way to keep informed of current affairs within the sector and can now be viewed on-line on the SLCC website.

• Support and networking with Clerks from around the county ............................... and many more, you won’t regret it!

Lincolnshire Branch Officers & Contacts

Correspondence address: Hon. Secretary: Julie Murray

The Parish Office, 7 Lincoln Road, Welton, Lincoln, LN2 3HZ E-mail: [email protected] Telephone: 01673 860336

Chairman & Reserve NEC Representative: Eddie Findlay Vice-Chairman & Mentoring Officer: Shelagh McIntyre, F.I.L.C.M., M.C.I.P.D

Treasurer: Julia Finn NEC Representative: Tracey Broughton, M.I.L.C.M

Executive Committee Member: Barbara Camps

The National Association of Local Councils (NALC) is supporting calls from the parish and town council sector for the government to reconsider exempting these councils from paying business rates on the important neighbourhood matter of public toilets.

The government, under its own laws contained within the Sustainable Communities Act, dismissed claims from the sector that local councils should not have to pay business rates on public toilets. At a

time when thousands of these important public conveniences are being closed down up and down the country, it is im-portant to safeguard their future for the well-being of communities. Any unnecessary and bureaucratic costs placed on parish and town councils to provide these vital facilities inevitably act as disincentive to own and maintain them, particu-larly at a time when principal authorities are endeavouring to close them or transfer them into other ownership.

Public toilets are vital to many older and disabled people, enabling them to get out and about and to access essential services. Worrying about being ‘caught short’ can have a devastating impact on many residents, resulting in them be-coming housebound and cut off from society. Furthermore a decline in publicly accessible toilets can impact in high street business, and tourism.

Cranleigh Parish Council in Surrey submitted a proposal to the government via the Sustainable Communities Act to re-quest exemption for parishes for paying business rates on public toilets. The government turned down this proposal, so NALC, in its administrative role under this Act is re-submitting the proposal with the weight of the organisation and the parish sector backing it.

Cllr Derek Liddell, Chairman of the NALC SCA Board, said: “We were delighted to be able to send this proposal back to the Department of Communities and Local Government. NALC and the parish sector feel it is vital to keep public toilets open to maintain high standards of public health and hygiene. Also they’re important for people with certain medical con-ditions, for older people, disabled people, pregnant women and families with kids. So the government needs to act now to help local councils keep these all-important facilities open.”

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CHANGES TO FIRST CONTACT Please see below for a message from the LILP.........

From 31st October 2014 First Contact ceased to exist, however essential parts of the service will continue through different routes. The service has successfully worked in partnership with many organisations around Lincolnshire, promoting ef-fective communication and engagement within the community and assisting people to access information and advice through one single point of access.

From 1 November 2014 the help provided by First Contact moved to the Wellbeing Service, a service commissioned by LCC to support vulnerable people 18 and over and Lincs2Advice providing access to advice and information services in Lincolnshire. The Wellbeing Service, launched in April 2014, offers more personalised advice and signposting to vulner-able adults in Lincolnshire supporting individuals and families to access support services, either through Lincolnshire County Council or other agencies. On bringing First Contact into this service it will enable a wide range of services to be offered through a single contact. In addition the Lincolnshire Advice Network (LAN) will offer signposting and advice for professionals and the public through its Lincs2Advice service.

The Wellbeing Service is delivered by East Lindsey District Council (www.e-lindsey.gov.uk/wellbeingservice)and North Kesteven District Council (www.n-kesteven.gov.uk/residents/housing/support-and-independence/wellbeing-service) for their respective district area and by Lincolnshire Independent Living Partnership (LILP) in the remaining 5 districts and borough areas. LILP comprises four local charities: Age UK Lincoln, Boston Mayflower Housing, Lincolnshire Home Independence Agency and LACE Housing, working together as one to ensure ease of access to support services. For more information on the Wellbeing Service visit www.lincolnshire.gov.uk/wellbeingservice

Lincolnshire Advice Network (LAN) is a 2 year Big Lottery funded project firmly focussed on enabling people in Lincoln-shire to be able to access quality advice and information when they most need it. The project began in 2013 with 12 partners (the 7 Citizen Advice Bureaux, 4 Age UK’s from across the County and Lincolnshire Credit Union) who came together to deliver two aims: To support advice and information agencies based in Lincolnshire To make accessing advice, information and support easier for the residents of Lincolnshire

Lincs2Advice is the signposting database made up of Lincolnshire Advice members (currently 260). All members are quality checked so that we can ensure customers are being signposted to relevant and trustworthy organisations. Cus-tomers can access the service via the self-help website www.lincs2advice.org.uk or by calling one of our trained Hub Co-ordinators on 0844 257 0042/ 0300 303 8789

Wellbeing Service - Helping you to live independently and safely in your own home Helps Lincolnshire residents to continue to live independent, safe and healthy lifestyles in their own homes through per-sonalised support and assistive technology. The service brings together a range of support services to enhance long-term health, safety and wellbeing. It can offer :

• A personal Support Plan: one of our Trusted Assessors will make home visits to undertake a holistic assess-ment of needs and develop a personal support plan

• Simple Aids for Daily Living: supply and install low cost equipment to overcome issues such as accessibility and security.

• Minor Adaptations: undertake minor adaptations to the home to facilitate mobility and independence.

• Telecare - Monitoring Service: Affords independence at home, but also peace of mind that help can be sum-moned quickly when needed. Telecare is a system of wireless sensors placed around the home or worn which can immediately detect hazards such as fires, floods and falls. 24 hours a day, 365 days a year.

• Stay Safe - Response Service: can be used in response to a Telecare alert and is available 24 hours a day, 7 days a week. If the alarm is activated, the Stay Safe service will either contact the nominated person or one of our trained responders, based throughout the county.

• Home Safe - Home Transport and Support after Hospital: our Home Service can provide transport and sup-port to get back home and help settle in and be met by a response team member. As well as informing lifeline services and nominated family member or friend of the return home, response team members will check the heat-ing, dates on food in the fridge, fetch shopping and offer refreshments.

The Wellbeing service is available to anyone over 18. If certain triggers are met, such as recent hospitalisation, bereave-ment or a fall in the home, many parts of the service will be available free of charge. However, even if the eligibility crite-ria is not met, there is still a free assessment of needs available.

Wherever your live in Lincolnshire, the dedicated team can be contacted at Lincolnshire County Council’s Customer Service Centre, open Monday to Friday, 9:00am - 5:00pm, on 01522 782140

The Customer Service Centre will carry out a short eligibility check over the phone and make a referral to the Wellbeing Service. Within 3 days contact will be made so that a date can be made to meet a Trusted Assessor in the home. The assessor will discuss needs and explain the range of support available.

If the Council would like to know more about or wish to promote the Wellbeing Service you can obtain leaflets and posters by emailing [email protected] who will contact the relevant partner (Please include the district you would like leaflets for).

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WEST LINDSEY DISTRICT COUNCIL makes headway with its Digital Inclusion Project

Last year West Lindsey District Council received funding from the European Social Fund to run a digital inclusion project. They recruited and trained over seventy digital champion volunteers who supported people to develop their IT skills within their local community. WLDC are pleased to an-nounce that the work of these digital champion volunteers will continue with support from the newly appointed Volunteer and Employability lead, Jane Bennett.

Working closely with parish councils and Lincolnshire libraries, they have been able to set up a number of digital hubs. They currently have weekly sessions running at the following locations:

The Guildhall (West Lindsey District Council) Gainsborough Library Welton Library Nettleham Library Saxilby Library Scotter Eau Community Centre Market Rasen Hub Market Rasen Library Upton-cum-Kexby Village Hall Nettleton Village Hall Southrey Village Hall Bardney Village Hall Cherry Willingham Millennium Hall

Digital champions have helped over 800 people within the last year to develop their IT confidence. This has ranged from general advice and guidance about how to get online, to full one-to-one support on how to use different types of equip-ment, from laptops to iPads and phones. Members of the public have been able to save money, move into work and connect with people both online and at the sessions.

Two examples of the benefits accrued from this service -

Jess, 18, who used the computers to apply for jobs, received support from employment adviser Jane Bennett - Jess said: “I’m so glad I did it, it really improved the amount of responses I’m getting to my job applications. I’ve recently man-aged to get some interviews, but before I came to the council I didn’t get any. Jane has encouraged me to apply for things and has improved my confidence.”

A man of 78 had a computer and home internet but no knowledge of how to search on the web. He also didn’t know how easy it was to change electricity supplier. He and his wife had always used pen and paper. Once shown how to get online which sites to search, he was able to change his supplier and save at least £500 for the year.

WLDC are still looking for keen volunteers to support others within their communities and would welcome interest from villages who are interested in setting up a hub in other locations across the district. For more information contact: Jane Bennett, [email protected] 01427 675158

Prayers at Council Meetings.......... An Update

Most of us will remember back to early 2012, and the national controversy at the time over inclu-sion of prayers at council meetings, fuelled by a successful challenge mounted by the National Secular Society and a former town councillor in respect of Bideford Town Council. The judge in the relevant case ruled there was no statutory power that permitted a council to include prayers in the conduct of their business, and councils throughout the country were advised that the item must be removed from their agendas forthwith.

The outcome of that ruling was that Eric Pickles MP, Secretary of State at the time, greatly incensed by the judge’s deci-sion, took up the reins immediately and insisted that implementation of the new Localism’s Act 2011’s General Power of Competence would allow prayers to be said, rushing through the relevant Statutory Instrument for GPC which, he claimed, could then be used by those councils eligible to use the new power to allow the practice to continue.

There was, and remained, considerable debate as to a) whether GPC did indeed allow for prayers at meetings anyway and b) there being such a small no. of councils eligible to use the power that it made little difference. There was also the ongoing possibility of this being challenged yet again through the courts........

To this end, the government has now introduced the Local Government (Religious etc. Observances) Act 2015, which was given Royal Assent in the spring. This Act has inserted three new sections into the Local Government Act 1972 - 138 A, 138B and 138C. The new legislation now gives local authorities a clear statutory power to include prayers or other religious or philosophical observances in their council meetings if they so wish and to organise, support, attend or be formally represented at events which are ‘to any extent, religious or related to a religious or philosophical belief’’ - such as church services, the Remembrance Day observations, etc.

To access the new 2015 Act, and view the wording of the additional paragraphs added to LGA 1972, please see:

http://www.legislation.gov.uk/ukpga/2015/27/section/1/enacted

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EMPLOYMENT ROUND-UP.......

Bank Holiday confusion looms ...... Most Town and Parish Councils holiday years run alongside the fiscal year, start-ing in April and ending in March, and either provide twenty days leave, plus Bank Holidays, or twenty one days plus Bank Holidays if they employ staff on the NJC Terms and Conditions. In which case the 2015/16 holiday year will provide ten Bank Holidays, due to Easter falling in March 2016. Consequently, Employees can expect two extra days paid leave in the current holiday year. However, in 2016/17 there will only be six Bank Holidays, due to the absence of Good Friday and Easter Monday within that year. Councils will need to look closely at their Employees’ contractual entitlements. If the contract provides twenty days, plus eight Bank Holidays, the Council could potentially ask staff to work on two of the Bank Holidays in 2015/16, when there are ten Bank Holidays, as there is no contractual entitlement to ten Bank Holidays. However, if the contract states twenty days paid leave plus all Bank Holidays, the Council will have no other option than to allow staff to take all ten of the Bank Holidays, as well as their twenty days. For NJC Councils this would be twenty one days plus ten Bank Holidays in 2015/16. In 2016/17, Councils whose contracts state twenty days plus bank holidays, may have to provide an extra two days paid leave to ensure that the statutory minimum holiday entitlement met, and Employees receive twenty eight days paid leave during the year. Those who offer the NJC Terms could offer one extra day to ensure they provide the statutory minimum. However, longer term Employees who have been employed for five years or more on NJC terms and condi-tions, and whose holiday entitlement is twenty five days paid leave plus Bank Holidays, will not be entitled to any additional leave, as they will still be receiving above the statutory minimum entitlement of twenty eight days in total.

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New ACAS Guidelines Regarding Holiday Pay

Calculating holiday pay has become a headache for councils whose employees’ weekly working hours vary, following the outcome of recent legal cases. In response, ACAS has now issued guidelines for employers, in time for this years’ holiday season. The key points are as follows - when calculating holiday pay for employ-ees, councils need to calculate their average weekly pay to include payments received in the previous twelve weeks for:

• Guaranteed overtime • Non-guaranteed overtime • Any bonuses payments • Work related travel may need to be included.

Guaranteed overtime If the Council is contractually obliged to offer overtime and the employee is contractually required to work it, payment for these hours must be taken into account when calculating the average weekly pay of an em-ployee, for the purposes of paying their holiday pay. Non-Guaranteed overtime If the Council is not contractually obliged to offer overtime, but does so and employees are expected to work it, this is considered to be non-guaranteed overtime. According to ACAS, this should be taken into account when calculating holiday pay. • If employees believe that their employer requires them to ‘stay back’ to meet demand, it should be

classed as non-guaranteed overtime. • This is different to voluntary overtime, in which the employee is able to refuse to do any additional

hours. Currently voluntary overtime has not been addressed in case law, however if such overtime is worked on a regular basis, the trend within case law would suggest it should be included in the holi-day pay calculation. ....../......

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Work Related Travel Workers who travel as part of their work are entitled to payment for this work-related activity. These payments also need to be included in the holiday pay calculation. This however, only includes travel between places of work, and not between home and work. Should a council not take the above into account when calculating holiday pay, and just stick to the contrac-tual rate of pay, employees could submit a claim to an Employment Tribunal for unlawful deductions from wages for any periods of leave in the past three months, as well as other holiday taken where the gap be-tween leave periods is three months, up to a total of two years.

================================================================= TUPE or not TUPE, that is the question........

Town and parish councils are becoming increasingly involved in outsourcing of services, taking over activities from district/county councils, or moving staff to other functions such as community centres, grounds maintenance, and community project work. Such activities may well fall under the Transfer of Undertakings (Protection of Employment) Regulations 2006. This can become very complex - however in basic terms, if an employee’s principal purpose (i.e. 50% or more of their working time) is involved in carrying out activities which

are transferred to another council or another organisation, it is likely that TUPE will apply. TUPE has to be considered in any of the following situations:

• A council stops doing these activities and transfers them to another organisation - this occurs if a town/parish council outsources those activities. Alternatively if County, District or Borough delegate functions to a town/parish Council, TUPE is also likely to apply

• A council decides to stop using the services of one contractor (A) and gives the business to another Contractor (B). If so, there is a possibility that contractor A’s staff would have TUPE rights to move to B.

• The Council decides to take its activities back in-house and terminates its contractor’s services. The contractor’s employees may have TUPE rights to move to the Council’s employment.

• Boundary changes have also altered the town/parish council map, with some councils merging and others splitting - if the principal activities that were delivered before the change continue afterwards, those employees are also likely to be covered by TUPE

What does TUPE mean? In short, the employee’s contract is preserved, and cannot be changed by the new employer. Also, the em-ployee cannot be dismissed as a result of the transfer. However, if the Council has robust Economic, Techni-cal, or Organisational (ETO) reasons for having to change contracts, or make redundancies after the transfer date, it can present these proposals to the transferred employees, and consult with them to make necessary changes/redundancies. In 2014 the TUPE Regulations were amended to allow a ‘change to the workplace location’, to become an ETO reason for making transferred staff redundant. Another change which occurred in 2014 was to allow dis-missals following a transfer to be fair if a council can show that the service which will be delivered after the transfer is fundamentally different to that carried out beforehand. For example, if a council employs litter pickers to manually pick up rubbish, and they contract this service out to a contractor who has automated this activity by using litter picking machinery, it may be that the service has fundamentally changed, and TUPE doesn’t apply. Similarly, if a council employs manual grave diggers, and they contract this out to a contractor who uses a mechanical digger, TUPE may well not apply. Employ-ers can also start redundancy consultation before the transfer date. Prior to the 2014 amendments, this had to be conducted after the transfer had taken place. Finally, administrative activities are exempt from TUPE entitlements, following the 2014 amendments. Conse-quently operatives, grounds staff, street cleaners and community centre staff may qualify for TUPE, but a Council’s administration staff might not, if they are not engaged in direct delivery of a service.

PROFILE

Christopher Moses is Managing Director of Personnel Advice & Solutions Ltd and a Fellow of the Chartered Institute of Personnel and Development. If you have any questions regarding these issues please feel free to contact him on (01529) 305056 or email [email protected]

While every care has been taken in compiling these notes, Personnel Advice and Solutions Ltd cannot be held responsible for any errors or omissions. These notes are intended to provide general information. Guidance for specific legal problems should be sought separately…….

FURTHER FACT SHEETS ARE AVAILABLE ON OUR WEBSITE: www.personneladviceandsolutions.co.uk

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Did you know....... ......that free websites for parish/town councils are still available from the County Council? The site, once completed, will also be hosted on the County Council’s server f.o.c. and sup-port will be provided to train the administrator of the site. For further details, and to register an interest, please contact the Digital Engagement Team at Lincolnshire County Council. The Lead Officer for parish websites now is:

Gemma Mond Digital Engagement Officer Lincolnshire County Council

Room 41, County Offices, Newland, Lincoln, LN1 1YL

Please contact Gemma and her colleagues in the first instance by e-mail at:

[email protected]

A REMINDER...... That if it has not already done so, your Council can sign up to access the Members’ Area of the LALC

website at www.lalc.co.uk Registration is for one password per council, so members will wish to decide whether the Clerk uses the site on behalf of the Council, or whether the password is issued to all councillors. If so, and there is a change in Council membership, we would request that the password is refreshed to help maintain the security of the site. In addition, councillors can sign up to join the LALC councillors’ e-group to receive regular infor-mation, updates and consultation documents. Clerks are able to register for the online chat fo-rum (townsandparishesinlincs) or if they prefer, the information-only group (infofromlalc). For further information, or to sign up for any of the e-groups, please contact Lindsey at the office via [email protected]

Audit update..........

The Government has now officially backed a proposal from the National Association of Local Councils (NALC) to lead national procurement of audit for parish and town (local) councils and other smaller bodies from 2017 onwards.

Local government minister Marcus Jones MP has approved plans for NALC to set up a ‘sector-led body’ to procure audit for smaller public sector bodies, working in partnership with the Society of Local Council Clerks (SLCC) and the Associa-tion of Drainage Authorities (ADA).

The move follows the abolition of the Audit Commission in April this year, and audit at present is being overseen by the National Audit Office until current contractual arrangements cease in two year’s time.

Throughout creation of the Local Audit and Accountability Act – the legislation which closed down the Audit Commis-sion – NALC argued the process would be complex and costly if smaller public bodies had to procure auditors them-selves, proposing instead that a self-financing body be set up to handle these responsibilities and to oversee the quality and timeliness of auditors' work.

NALC has been working closely with the previous and new government on the future of audit for local councils, Internal Drainage Boards and Port Health Authorities, with the aim of creating one single central body for deliv-ering shared objectives of increased transparency and a cost-effective and quality audit regime.

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2015 TRAINING EVENTS Councillors show book places via the Clerk - confirmations/reminders

will be sent via the Clerk. Some events have limited capacity.

VENUE DATE TIME

Summer break...................

BURIALS

AM: Cemetery Management and Compliance - compliance with burial law/using legislation to avoid/solve common problems/management & operational issues including correct admin. processes, safe grave digging, legal depths for burials, processing forms & certificates & dealing with memorial installations.

PM: Burial documentation - including rights of burial, lawful processes for transfer-ring burial rights, sourcing necessary documents & drafting statutory declarations in absence of other legal evidence, identifying lawful next of kin and implement-ing a sound administrative system that protects the burial authority’s interests

Nettleton Village Hall Moortown Road

Nettleton LN7 6AA

Wednesday 9 September

10.00 - 12.30 LUNCH

1.30 - 4.00

COUNCILLORS’ TRAINING DAY

In-depth all day course for councillors covering such topics as powers & duties, policy & procedure, financial management, employment, meeting procedures & planning

matters

LALC Offices Dunholme Old School 8 Market Rasen Road Dunholme LN2 3QR

Thursday 10 September 10.00 - 4.00

COUNCIL FINANCES

Dealing with day to day aspects of keeping the books, effective budgeting and finan-cial risk assessment, and an explanation of internal and external audit requirements


Tuesday 15 September 6:30—8:30

INTERNAL AUDIT, BUDGETS AND VAT Seminar covering the basics of internal audit, how to create an effective budget, and

understanding the intricacies of VAT legislation for local councils

Tealby Village Hall Thursday

17 September 1.00 - 4.00

CHAIRMEN & CLERKS’ EVENT For Chairmen and their Clerks - concentrating on the administrative issues of partner-ship working in preparation for, and organisation of, meetings and community activities

Caistor TH Tuesday

22 September 6.30 - 9.00

I.T. SKILLS WORKSHOP A full day workshop - Microsoft Powerpoint

Tutored by John Ritchie BEM


Thursday 24 September 10.00 - 4.00

EFFECTIVE COUNCIL MANAGEMENT

AM: Finance, audit and risk management, with insurance guidance from Came & Co. PM: Creating and utilising sound council policies & procedures

Old Leake Community Centre Furlongs Lane

Old Leake PE22 9NX Wednesday

30 September 10.00 - 4.00

CiLCA x 2 day course

A two day training course for anyone who wishes to obtain their Certificate in Local Council Administration


Wednesday 7 October &

Wednesday 14 Octo-ber

10.00 - 4.00

PRACTICAL APPLICATION OF KEY LEGISLATION

AM: EMPLOYMENT LAW - Update by Chris Moses from Personnel Advice & Solu-tions on the latest changes to employment legislation and associated ‘hot topics’ PM: FREEDOM OF INFORMATION/DATA PROTECTION WORKSHOP - presented by Ewan Robson, Information Governance Consultant

Nettleton Village Hall Moortown Road

Nettleton LN7 6AA Thursday 8 October

10.00 - 12.30 LUNCH

1.30 - 4.00

COUNCILLORS’ TRAINING DAY


matters


Monday 12 October 10.00 - 4.00

I.T. SKILLS WORKSHOP A full day workshop - Microsoft Publisher



Thursday 22 October 10.00 - 4.00

CLERKS’ TRAINING DAY

For new clerks who wish to learn the basics and for more experienced clerks who would like to refresh their knowledge of administration and current legislation

Glentworth Village Hall Stoney Lane

Glentworth DN21 5DF Wednesday 4 November

10.00 - 4.00

COUNCILLOR TRAINING DAY


matters


Thursday 12 November 10.00 - 4.00

CHAIRMEN & CLERKS’ EVENT For Chairmen and their Clerks - concentrating on the administrative issues of partner-ship working in preparation for, and organisation of, meetings and community activities

Branston Village Hall Lincoln Road

Branston LN4 1PA Wednesday

18 November 1.30 – 4.00

I.T. SKILLS WORKSHOP A full day workshop - Photo editing using Serif Photoplus



Thursday 26 November 10.00 - 4.00

PLANNING/NEIGHBOURHOOD PLANS

Update on new planning legislation and neighbourhood plans, and exploring the ba-sics of the planning system—by Globe Consultants

Kirton TH Station Road

Kirton PE20 1LQ Wednesday

30 September 6.30 - 8.30

11

Training/qualifications round-up....

Training Charges £8 per delegate - morning/afternoon/evening session

£23.50 - all-day session (inclusive of lunch/light refreshments)

Alternatively, councils can use the LALC Annual Training Scheme - a one-off payment in addition to the basic LALC subscription which covers attendance of any no. of councillors/the Clerk at all events at no further cost, other than a refreshment charge of £7.50 per person for all-day events.. Please ask the office for further details. Any booking cancellations, if they arise, should be notified to the office. The Clerk is the point of contact - reminders will be sent at least one week beforehand, and should be forwarded onto delegates, together with full venue details. (We have had several instances recently of councillors complaining that the Clerk has failed to provide them with all neces-sary information...). Failure to attend, without prior notification of cancellation, will result in a charge being made -

• Morning/afternoon/evening eves: Please notify of cancellations no later than 24 hours in advance - otherwise a 50% charge will be made (not applicable if a subscriber to the Annual Training Scheme)

• All-day events: Please notify of cancellations no later than 5 days in advance - otherwise a 50% charge will be made (not applicable if a subscriber to the Annual Training Scheme - then only £7.50 catering charge applies)

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-CiLCA Please note that the standard training charges do not cover the Certificate in Local Council Administration. Interested candidates should contact the office for further details of the LALC training/mentoring package, and an explanation of the qualification process. In addition to any training charges, there is an additional registration fee (currently £250) pay-able for submitting a portfolio for marking. This goes to the external awarding/administration body, not LALC....... The CiLCA Training Course scheduled for 7 and 14 October will only cover the new, updated 2015 Portfolio. Candi-dates who registered under the old version prior to March 2015, and who require any further training to complete their

work, should contact the office to discuss the options available. ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

-Emergency Planning..... Please see page 2 of this edition of the News for details of Emergency Plan events that have been arranged throughout the county.

Changes to the Timetable...... Please note that the September Planning Seminar - originally scheduled for 23 Septem-ber - has had to be reorganised for 30 September, same venue, due to a change in the availability of the course pre-senter. ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

-Local Council Award Scheme Councils that wish to undertake the Local Council Award Scheme on one of the three available levels will need to firstly register with the National Association of Local Councils. Please see the NALC website at http://www.nalc.gov.uk/our-work/improvement-and-development/local-council-award-scheme for details of the Scheme, how to register, which level of award would be suitable for your council, and to download a copy of the Local Council Award Scheme Guide and the Application Form, which has to be submitted to LALC when you are ready for the Panel to evaluate your submission. ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Safeguarding Conference Plans are underway for a Safeguarding Conference, to be delivered jointly in the autumn with officers from LCC’s Safe-guarding Children’s Board. We are currently awaiting final confirmation of a venue and date, but this is expected to be held in Gainsborough during the last two weeks of October. Please watch the e-groups and websites for further infor-mation. This Conference will look at such things as adoption of best practice policies re. safeguarding, when it is neces-sary or acceptable to carry out DBS checks, recruitment of new staff, , council responsibilities when hiring out venues or holding public events, etc. This event is for councillors and clerks, and other staff members with responsibility for public venues and services...... ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

IT Courses Our IT courses are proving very popular, with spaces on each course limited due to the nature of the training. We have recently had a no. of candidates sign up for the more advanced topics, but then struggle on the day due to a limited ba-sic knowledge of computer operation. We would please ask that anyone who considers attending one of our IT courses firstly decides whether they would benefit from attendance at one of the ’Basic Skills’ days before moving onto other topics. This will ensure that delegates on the courses are then of similar skill level on the day. ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

And finally...... • Opportunity sometimes arises for extra training events at short notice, and timescales do not allow for advertise-

ment via the newsletter. Notifications then go out via LALC e-groups - please sign up to one of these to ensure that you receive details

• The training schedule for 2016 will be published with the next edition of the LALC News in the autumn

12

LCC Community Facilities Grant Aid

The LCC Community Facilities Grant Aid programme for 15/16 opened on Monday 1 June. The information on the LCC website has been updated, as there have been a number of changes to the programme this year - for further details, please see: http://www.lincolnshire.gov.uk/residents/community-and-living/community-and-voluntary-sector-support/community-grants-scheme/economy-and-culture-community-grant-aid/35965.article Potential applicants will need to request an application form by contacting the LCC Community Grants team at:: [email protected] What is Community Facilities Grant Aid? Lincolnshire County Council, in partnership with the Lincolnshire District Councils, Boston Borough Council and Lincoln City Council, makes capital funding available via the Grant Aid scheme to support projects for village halls, community buildings, recreation grounds, playing fields, play areas and facilities for young peo-ple. The grant aid is awarded to help sustain a healthy, prosperous and safe life in Lincolnshire. Grant aid is targeted at increasing or enriching the quality of life within Lincolnshire and should align to Lincolnshire County Council cultural priorities. What are the two deadlines for applications in 15/16? • Midnight 10 August 2015 • Midnight 20 December 2015 How much can be applied for? The level of grant aid available may be made up of a separate contribution from the local District Council in addition to Lincolnshire County Council; this is dependent on the cost of the whole project and available funds within individual areas. District Council funds (where available), will be awarded through the Commu-nity Facilities Grant Aid process and can be included as match funding. Please contact the District Devel-opment Officer for your area for details of available funding for this round. Contact details for District Offi-cers can be found within the application form. The total combined award available is dependent on lo-cation.

A publication compiled by the Lincolnshire Association of Local Councils for its members within the county - any views expressed herein are not necessarily those of the Association.

It is intended for circulation amongst councillors and the Clerk. Please read and pass on, making sure it is returned to the Clerk for reference. Alternatively, please copy /distribute to members as necessary. We can

provide additional copies @ £2.80 per set per annum.

The LALC News is also available in e-version—please ask the office to add you to the mailing list.

HOW TO CONTACT US: LALC . Dunholme Old School . 8 Market Rasen Road . Dunholme . LINCOLN . LN2 3QR

Tel: 01673 866596 & 01673 863417 E-mail: [email protected]/[email protected]/[email protected]

LALC OFFICE HOURS

The office is normally open Monday - Friday each week, with core hours of 10am - 3pm. Please note, however, that there are periods where the office is not manned due to meeting/training commitments elsewhere.. If we are unavail-able, please leave an answer-phone message/send an e-mail and we will get back to you as soon as we can but...... we would appreciate as much notice as possible of important queries - it is often not possible to meet requests for a response at short notice on the day of a council meeting. As it is ‘the Council' as a corporate body that is LALC’s member, we are unable to deal with specific enquiries from individual councillors relating to their own council’s business, although we try to assist by clarifying gen-eral points of law or procedure if appropriate. Requests for advice on individual council issues should nor-mally be processed via the Clerk as the council’s Proper Officer (or the Chairman in relation to employment matters involving the Clerk) unless the council as a body has previously resolved otherwise.

don’t let lack of planning become your emergencywednesday 20 january 2016 (10am-4pm) - nettleham...

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