Wow what a week! As we rush towards Easter there's quite a lot happening. Let's just summarise some important topics for member councils and parish meetings:
Virtual Meetings - We have news, but not the sort we wanted to hear. MHCLG's Luke Hall has written to NALC to say there is insufficient time to get through the primary legislation need to lift or extend the 'sunset' clause in the temporary measures for the pandemic. There is a whiff of possible help in the future with a call for supporting information to make the case for a permanent change. That won't help in the coming weeks. See point one in our Information | Guidance | Advice section below for more help.
Summer Visitor Opening - During the course of the last 12 months a number of impromptu and planned meetings have been scheduled to help co-ordinate activities and share plans particularly around holiday months. Dorset Council have booked a call for 5pm on Wednesday 31st March which DAPTC will host to share an update and plans. It's limited to 2 attendees per council - please check your inbox for further details which includes a quick survey to submit any pre-session questions.
Dorset Council Grant - DAPTC receives an annual grant to support our activities and this year as part of the final assessment of the agreement it requires our membership to complete a 'satisfaction' survey. The link is in the Dorset Council section below and will also be in the Towns and Parishes Newsletter issued later today. It's important there is a good response and by that I mean volume! Be honest and we'd welcome any feedback to improve what we do.
Some sad news for those that knew Janet Page whom served on our Executive Committee and was a Vice President of DAPTC. Janet passed away a week ago today with her family around her. Many of you may have attended meetings with Jan over the years or been on training courses she ran. She served as a councillor since 1973 no less, which is a remarkable achievement. Our thoughts are with Chris and their families.
Despite the news on virtual meetings, have a great weekend......I've a feeling it's going to be a bit bonkers next week!
Neil
Please forward this update to elected members so they can also keep up-to-date and have an appreciation of what's happening in the sector.
INFORMATION | GUIDANCE | ADVICE
Don't forget to check out the links to Dorset organisations in the Other News section at the bottom of this newsletter, they are updated regularly.
This is not what the majority of councils wanted to hear, but it does at least give some clarity. Below is an extract of an email received last night from NALC:
This evening the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, Robert Jenrick MP, has written the attached letter to council leaders about remote meetings to confirm that the government has considered the case for extending legislation very carefully and has concluded that it is not possible to bring forward emergency legislation on this issue at this time.
Our chairman, Cllr Sue Baxter, hasrespondedto express her disappointment, as has the Local Government Association in their statement.
The government has alsoupdated the guidance on the safe use of council buildingsfollowing this confirmation, aimed at helping councils operate safely and securely, including using existing powers to reduce the number of face-to-face meetings deemed necessary. We have not been involved or consulted on the update to this guidance and will obviously need to consider the new advice.
A 12 weekcall for evidencehas also been launched about how remote meetings have been used to inform any potential future legislation regarding their use beyond the coronavirus pandemic. We will of course be responding to this consultation and will be discussing this with other key stakeholders who we have already been working with on this issue.
As county officer colleagues heard at yesterday’s fortnightly remote meeting, we are supporting the application by Hertfordshire County Council/Lawyers in Local Government/Association of Democratic Services Officers to the court for a declaration. This will continue despite the government’s decision and is expected to be determined before the end of April.
Next steps:
If you wish to conduct meetings virtually do so before 7th May 2021, bringing forward in non by election locations meetings like your Annual Council Meeting will avoid any delays to critical council business. Use a slimmed down agenda to ensure you elect key roles, get your AGAR signed and if appropriate an updated scheme of delegation to cover the next few weeks until after 21st June 2021.
Use the guidance available on the NALC Coronavirus pages to plan and risk assess what you can do between 7th and 21st June - it is extremely limited and of course may be subject to change.
We know a number of councils are already discussing return to work plans for colleagues, we will have a checklist and guidance ready next week to share. We will issue some useful checklists, draft scheme of delegations to help officers manage the transition.
We are also looking at offering drop in surgeries for 30/45 mins via Zoom a couple of times a week for Clerks to 'ask us anything' - dates/times for these will come imminently by email.
As we have any more guidance or help we will share immediately with you.
2. Are your council members Charitable Trustees?
Amanda Crocker, the clerk at Bere Regis Parish Council is interested to hear from any councils where your members are Charitable Trustees or where your council is responsible for the running of a charity. If you have any information that you are happy to share with Amanda please contact her direct here.
3. Is your council situated next to Heathland?
Firewise UK is hosting a free webinar on wildfires, which may well effect you if your council is next to heathland. Wildfire is an increasing threat and Firewise here in Dorset, along with the Urban Heaths Partnership, is trying to address this.
Firewise is running an on-line webinar event between 3pm and 4pm on Wednesday, April 28th 2021 to help provide you with some useful information. Please see further details on the event and information on how to register here.
4. Clarification on the procedure for removing a Councillor from a meeting for disorderly conduct.
If you require clarification on the procedure to follow to deal with a councillor's disorderly conduct during a meeting, please take a look at the advice on the subject from DAPTC here.
5. Changing Places toilets fund
On 4th March the Ministry of Housing Communities and Local Government(MHCLG) announced a new £30 million fund for the installation of Changing Places toilets. This funding is being distributed through principal councils and town and parish councils interested in installing Changing Places toilets are being recommended to get in touch with their relevant principal council to register interest in working in partnership to deliver a Changing Places toilet in your venue/building. We are hoping to have 'one point of contact' for Dorset Council on this topic soon and will issue it out.
31st March from 3pm - FREE NATIONAL WEBINAR ON CRISIS COMMUNICATIONS Our training partner Breakthrough Communications would like to offer a FREE webinar on Crisis Communications for parish and town councils, with Jackie Weaver as the guest panellist.
In this free webinar the panel will look at how councils can start to prepare for future crises that may arise, how to manage them effectively from a communications perspective when they happen, and what to do afterwards. A recording of the session will be available to all afterwards. Please note that even if you can't attend live, if you register for the event Breakthrough Communications will be happy to send the recording after the session has taken place.Please register for your free place today here.
15th April daytime course - Advanced Social Media skills for individual Councillors - New One Off Course - ONLY 10 PLACES AVAILABLE When it comes to social media, change is the only constant. With new platforms, features and ways to reach out and engage with your local residents and community groups, it can be hard to keep up as a Councillor. This advanced session walks you through a range of advanced strategies, tools and techniques to keep you at the forefront of digital engagement with your community.BOOK HERE
20th April daytime course - DAPTC - What We Do
There is still time to book your place to join the DAPTC team for this FREE OF CHARGE session to help new and existing Clerks, elected members and prospective councillors understand how we support members in Dorset. Neil, Debbie and Lisa will be on hand to talk you through the resources available and an overview of the Dorset Association of Parish and Town Councils (DAPTC) and how we link up with National Association of Local Councils (NALC), Dorset Council and Bournemouth, Christchurch and Poole Council (BCP).BOOK HERE
26th April daytimeandeveningcourses available - New Councillor Induction New Councillor Induction training for new elected / co-opted councillors is now being run regularly by DAPTC. The induction programme includes a combination of engagement activities, e-learning and a short webinar for the cost of £35/delegate.
The programme should give new-to-role councillors a good introduction to parish and town life.
Newly elected or co-opted councillors can choose the most convenient way to join us to help build their knowledge.
1. Councillor attends their first council meeting or committee.
2. Councillor attends online the'What We Do'drop in session with DAPTC that explains how we can support them going forward (this is optional and free) 3. Councillor enrols for the e-learning module'Introduction to Local Councils' 4. Councillor attends'New Councillor Induction'which offers a chance to ask questions and sense check impressions and understanding from 1, 2 & 3 above.
We hope the above programme helps clerks and chairs get their new councillors hitting the ground running. The cost per delegate is £35 which includes a 90 minutes webinar (4) and the e-learning module (3).
29th April evening course - Introduction to Planning Discover what town planning is and what it covers, who is involved and what they want, where Parish & Town Councils fit in and find out about the Development Timetable. This is part one of a trio of planning course (the other two parts are being run in May).BOOK HERE
Limited places available on Year-end accounts and audit training in March/April:
Wednesday 31st March 10-11.30am
Wednesday 7th April 10-11.30am
Thursday 8th April 10-11.30am
Tuesday 20th April 10-11.30am
Don't forget - these Finance courses are run nationally for clerks and councillors across the country by our training partnerThe Parkinson Partnershipand so they fill up fast!
The CiLCA Portfolio Guide 2021 has been updated. Take a look at the guide for more information on how the qualification is now administered and what subjects are included in the qualification.
NALC's dedicated Coronavirus webpagenow includes updated information on the possibility of the return of face-to-face meetings, suggestions to help prepare, risk assessment considerations and some tips to help manage remote meetings.
NALC Launches new guide on Cyber Security
This guide aims to help local (parish and town) councils and their councillors better understand the importance of cyber security and provide practical advice on how they can minimise risks to the council. The publication features information on how to understand the most common risks such as phishing, viruses, loss of data and how some simple steps can help ensure that the council's information and equipment can be protected. Click here to download the new guide.
There are now a number of NALC publications available for download from their website, including seven Good Councillor's Guides on a number of topics including Finance and Transparency, Community Business and Being a Good Employer. You can take a look at the documents available on the websitehere. If you require the NALC website password for Dorset please contact your Clerk.
NALC Star Council Awards 2021
The National Association of Local Councils (NALC) has announced that it is once again running its awards programme this year as part of its work to recognise the local (parish and town) council sector’s achievements.
The Star Council Awards are the only awards in England to recognise and celebrate the local council sector’s brilliant contribution to its communities. Therefore, the awards are an excellent opportunity for councils, councillors, clerks, and county associations to showcase how they have made a real difference locally.
Following an unprecedented 2020, the theme for this year’s awards will be projects that have positively impacted communities in the context of COVID-19.
The five award categories are:
~ Clerk of the Year ~ County Association Project of the Year ~ Young Councillor of the Year ~ Councillor of the Year ~ Council of the Year
NALC will announce the winners at an online ceremony in September.
NALC Rebuilding Communities On-Line Training The next session will be an event on the power of a local (parish and town) council and community business partnership, taking place on 29 April 2021. Click here for more details.
Dorset Council survey for DAPTC members in relation to our grant can be undertaken on the link below:
Get the latest news from Dorset Council, including leisure centre offers, waste and recycling, libraries and more. Sign up to their various newsletters here.
Community Engagement - Website Content & Navigation
We are looking for more volunteers to join our group to help us review the structure of our content and website navigation to ensure it is user-friendly, accessible and easy to understand. Do you think you could help?
To get involved and join the group, please complete our quick survey here.
Vaccination Role out
More than 330,000 COVID vaccine doses have been given now in Dorset. This video produced by Dorset Clinical Commissioning Group shows the incredible effort across Dorset to achieve this. You can view the Dorset CCG Vaccinations page here for further here.
Through our partnership with Dorset CCG, the communications team have asked that we share the attached social media assets which can be used on your website and social media profiles.
