1 / 15

Area Meeting Presentation February 2015

Area Meeting Presentation February 2015. Justin Robinson, Somerset Association of Local Councils. Local Government Finance Settlement. Announced December 2014 but was not confirmed until early February 2015 Continued reductions in government grant for principal authorities

edane
Download Presentation

Area Meeting Presentation February 2015

An Image/Link below is provided (as is) to download presentation Download Policy: Content on the Website is provided to you AS IS for your information and personal use and may not be sold / licensed / shared on other websites without getting consent from its author. Content is provided to you AS IS for your information and personal use only. Download presentation by click this link. While downloading, if for some reason you are not able to download a presentation, the publisher may have deleted the file from their server. During download, if you can't get a presentation, the file might be deleted by the publisher.

E N D

Presentation Transcript

  1. Area Meeting Presentation February 2015 Justin Robinson, Somerset Association of Local Councils

  2. Local Government Finance Settlement • Announced December 2014 but was not confirmed until early February 2015 • Continued reductions in government grant for principal authorities • Strongest indication yet that DCLG is minded to extend capping • Council Tax Support Grant now included in the general figure of government grant

  3. Capping • Strong response from NALC, CALCs and member councils • Announced that capping will not be extended to town/parish councils for 2015/16 • DCLG indicating that if capping were to be introduced, it would only apply to larger precepting parishes • Band D equivalent figure of £150 per household likely threshold

  4. Council Tax Support Grant • WSDC has already decided to keep the grant • Other districts likely to pass on what they receive but the future outlook is very uncertain • Remember it was introduced as a transitional grant • SALC advice remains the same: don’t rely on this too much!

  5. Local Council Award Scheme • Launched January 2015, to replace Quality Council Scheme • Existing Quality Councils can register for a free year at Foundation Level but this needs to be done by the end of February • The central principle: The scheme is designed to recognise achievement and set a framework for continuous improvement

  6. LCAS: The Benefits • Improved performance and confidence, with policies in place for continuous development • Recognition and respect for commitment and hard work • Assurance of being up-to-date and progressive • Providing the community with confidence that the council is delivering to a national professional standard

  7. LCAS: The Scheme • Three Levels: - Foundation (minimum standards) - Quality (good practice) - Quality Gold (best practice) • Three key themes: - Good governance - Community leadership - Council development

  8. NALC Register Update records CALC Ready to start Panel assessment Decision Aware of registration I want to take part Council Criteria in place Celebrate!

  9. LCAS: Info • Section currently under development for the SALC website • A full briefing session will be held after the elections • Likely to be a regional conference in the summer on the theme of best practice

  10. CiLCA • CiLCA 2015 likely to be launched in April 2015 • Does not replace existing CiLCA which will remain fully valid; no requirement to take extra modules • Stronger academic focus, NVQ level 3 recognition • Those currently studying will not be disadvantaged in any way

  11. Transparency Code • Likely to be placed before Parliament this March, with elements coming into force in April 2015 and July 2015 • Read the guidance issued by DCLG – available on the SALC website • Lack of clarity around whether this will run alongside the current external audit arrangements in the interim

  12. Elections 2015 • Parish/Town council elections this May • What do clerks need to do? – absolutely nothing prior to the elections! • What do councillors need to do? - organise themselves - publicise in the local community • Elections are a basic democratic right and not something to fear

  13. Elections Info • New section available on the SALC website, with public access • Be aware of the key dates (Please see separate sheet) • If standing for election or re-election it is best to get forms in promptly so that any mistakes can be rectified • SDC election session for clerks March 3rd

  14. Post Election Training • Multiple sessions will be held in each district area by SALC to cover basic new councillor training • SDC will also offer some training in specific areas, eg. Equalities training, Code of Conduct • There may well be some joint training in certain key areas such as planning • SALC can also offer bespoke training for individual/groups of councils

  15. Other Issues • Review your Financial Regs!!!! The external auditor is almost certain to want to see evidence of this • Parish Polls consultation • SALC is on the move! • ??? Any Other Questions ???

More Related