Action with Communities in Rural England (ACRE) has produced guidance and sample risk assessments for re-opening of village halls. These are reproduced with permission on our Covid 19 resources page and in the advice library. Clerks whose councils are members of their local rural community council can get additional advice from their local RCC advisor
We are pleased to announce that The National Association of British Markets (NABMA) has produced a free webinar entitled Opening Your Market Safely. Following the recent announcement from the UK government allowing open air markets to open from 1st June, this pre-recorded webinar gives advice and information on how you can safely open your market
Due to the coronavirus, the Government’s basic grant allowance provided to local councils and other groups preparing a Neighbourhood Plan has increased from £9,000 to £10,000. For further information please click here.
The LocalGov website reports that the government is to hand over £300m to principal authorities in England to support track and trace work in order that any future outbreaks be managed locally. Under the plans, councils have been asked to submit detailed virus control plans by the end of June to demonstrate how they would
HMRC have published guidance on the tax treatment of certain expenses and benefits provided to employees (including employees of local councils) during the current emergency. The guidance largely reflects existing law and practice but there are a few concessions. The guidance can be found by clicking here. There is also guidance on the tax treatment
The National Association of Local Councils (NALC) has published the results of their recent survey which looked at the financial impact of the coronavirus on local councils. The survey which ran between 14 and 27 April attracted 1191 responses from town and parish councils with a budget of up to £1m. A separate survey was
The results of our recent survey on The Impact of COVID-19 have been collated and offer a valuable insight into the concerns of members during this challenging time. A huge thanks must go to all 379 members for taking the time out to complete the survey, a summary of which follows: – The most common
On 13th May the Government issued advice on management of urban centres and green spaces in England. The guidance is detailed and offers practical steps for clerks to consider using a decision tree which can be found here. Chapter 5 specifically deals with green spaces here.
Julie James AC/AM, Minister for Housing and Local Government has responded to the letter sent by SLCC Chief Executive Rob Smith, which highlights the significant financial impact that the current pandemic is having on local councils and requests that money provided by central government is used to support town, parish and community councils as well
The Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, Robert Jenrick MP, has written a letter (on 30 April) to town and parish councils expressing his thanks for all the work being done to support communities throughout the current crisis. In his letter The Secretary of State acknowledges the fast response of local councils
