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Operation London Bridge | We will issue a short survey in the coming 2/3 weeks to capture any lessons from the invaluable work done by parishes and towns over the last 2 weeks. This will be shared with the Dorset Lieutenancy for use with future plans. This will land in Clerks' mailboxes in the form of an online survey.
Civility & Respect | Standards in public life, managing poor conduct and dealing effectively with difficult situations as well as managing council resources effectively. All of these topics continue to be a joint focus for our national body NALC and the Society for Local Council Clerks. We now have a dedicated webpage with training courses specifically aimed at helping:
relationships between members and employees
managing awkward and tricky situation in council
a reminder of councillor responsibilities when it comes to being an employer
handling grievances and many other topics
In addition there is a civility pledge, which I know a number of councils are currently looking at. All the information is on our website. Courses are happening throughout Autumn and into the first three months of 2023:STANDARDS IN PUBLIC LIFE
If you are a councillor responsible for the performance and development reviews of your employees - these will be very beneficial.
If you are Clerk looking to work with your elected members to put in place robust human resources procedures and policies - these too will be highly useful.
Please take the opportunity to keep yourself up to date with current legislation and working practices, rather than react when a situation occurs!
Budgets for 2023/24 | Although we normally communicate our subscription changes for the forthcoming financial year nearer the November DAPTC AGM. Our Executive Committee met yesterday to look at our budget position for next year in order that we can send out to you in good time what the subscription rates will potentially be for 2023/24. We are currently working through a recommended 4.8% increase and what this means for members. This increase having taken into account increases from a number of suppliers, means we are projecting a small loss should we meet the budgeted numbers. We will issue an email to all clerks with the amounts to add to the work being done on budgets. This is subject to approval at the AGM and is therefore, only indicative for the time being. In the meantime if you want to check your potential subscriptions they can be accessed here. INDICATIVE SUBSCRIPTIONS FOR 2023/24
2022 DAPTC AGM | Registration for the 2022 is now open and we will issue the AGM pack in the early part of October. The motions are currently being finalised and we will be asking Clerks to distribute the relevant material to those attending. The AGM is again online as per your overwhelming wishes and is on 19 November 2022 at 10am. REGISTER NOW
1. How to calculate holiday entitlement for staff on NJC Contracts
We have received advice from HR consultants Personal Advice & Solutions Ltd on how to accommodate the additional bank holiday that has been given for the Queen's funeral. Please take a look at the information providedhere.
** UPDATED** 2. CAN (Community Action Networks) Roadshows
Join CAN and partners to find out about the free support available to your local charity or community group in Dorset. CAN will be joined by a funder at each session, including the National Lottery, Dorset Community Foundation and Dorset council.
Book your free place for one of the sessions below via the CAN website (Upton an Swanage dates coming soon).
- The Exchange, Sturminster Newton - Monday 26th September 1.00pm - 3.00pm - Weymouth Town Hall - Thursday 6th October 1.00pm - 3.00pm - Upton Town Hall - Saturday 8th October 12.30pm - 2.30pm - Island Community Action, Portland - Wednesday 19th October 7.00pm - 9.00pm - The Centre, Swanage - Saturday 19th November 11.00am - 1.00pm - Dorchester Town Hall - Friday 9th December 12.15pm - 2.00pm
3. Example document shared by Dorset Clerk
We always like to encourage our members to share documents and good working processes/practices and today we have one that you can make use of as you wish.
Michele Harding, Clerk at Chesil Bank Parish Council, who has agreed that we can share her Electronic Banking protocol. Her council banks with Lloyds, but the protocol can easily be adapted for use with your own banking procedures. It's a good place to start if you wish to create your own protocol.
Dorset Council's new Digital Infrastruture project
Dorset Council are currently part of the government’s £4 million pilot Digital Connectivity Infrastructure Accelerator (DCIA) project. The Dorset Council project is called Wessex DIA (Wessex Digital Infrastructure Accelerator) and is a £500,000 government funded pilot aimed at understanding how digital asset management platforms can play a part in encouraging the rollout of critical telecommunications infrastructure in rural areas.
As part of this project, Dorset Council would like to encourage Town and Parish Councils to share their assets, so they can be mapped on the platform. By mapping the assets it allows telecoms providers (mobile and broadband) to consider and plan better networks. By mapping these assets, it is possible to make an area more attractive for telecoms providers to deliver better services.
Assets can mean anything from publicly owned buildings, land and bus stops, to existing telecoms ducting and masts. This could also include more unique assets - please contact Project Manager, Rachel Howarth at Dorset Council if you would like to discuss this further, after filling out the following survey.
NALC has announced that the Star Council Awards 2022 winners will be unveiled at an online ceremony on 13 October 2022 at noon (12 pm).
The ceremony will be open to everyone in the sector and beyond to watch and celebrate all the winners' hard work. The event will be streamed live on NALC's YouTube page.
Working between the Tiers - 28th September 2022 12pm - 1.15pm Click herefor more information
Local Councils and communications strategies - 26th October 2022 12pm - 1.15pm Click herefor more information
NALC to hold it's first-ever hybrid conference - Empowering Communities
NALC will hold its first-ever hybrid conference later this year. Empowering Communities takes place on 7 November 2022 between 10am and 4pm at America Square Conference Centre in London.
In person Ticket - up to £130 for NALC member
Virtual Ticket - up to £70 for NALC member
