Training & Events Calendar

Section 106 and Community Infrastructure Levy – a session for Parish/Town Councillors covering the existing Section 106 agreements regime and providing an introduction to the Community Infrastructure Levy. The training will include a section of ensuring that the requests for financial and other contributions that Parish and Town Councils submit are as persuasive as they can be.

The Community Infrastructure Levy is a planning charge which helps to deliver infrastructure in an area to support local development. West Northamptonshire Local Authorities (Northampton, Daventry and South Northamptonshire) have adopted CIL and North Northamptonshire Councils are still considering whether to adopt this charge.

The Localism Act 2011 amended the CIL regulations to ensure that a 'meaningful proportion' of this charge would be directed to those areas where development occurs. This has resulted in Town and Parish Council's receiving payments which they can decide how it will be spent on local infrastructure.

This workshop will;

• Inform you what CIL is, what the charging regime is for West Northamptonshire Councils and how the charge is applied and collected
• Examine exemptions from CIL and what this means for Town and Parish Councils
• Explain how CIL sits alongside site specific Developer Contributions (s106 agreements)
• Describe what CIL can be spent on by the 'collecting authority' (Regulation 123 list) and how Town and Parish Councils can spend their payments and explain the difference in payments if you have a Neighbourhood Plan.
• Explain what the reporting requirements of CIL are for Town and Parish Councils
• Provide case studies of what CIL payments may represent for different areas with and without a Neighbourhood Plan

Who should attend
Suitable for Clerks and Councillors

Course Tutor
Lance Wiggins, Lion Planning

Cost per delegate
£38+ VAT members
£76+ VAT non members

Venue:

Online

Contact:

Marie Reilly

For clerks, finance staff and councillors from councils that are not VAT registered, but reclaim VAT on Form VAT126.

This session explains how VAT affects local councils. Essential for any council contemplating major building projects.

Topics include:
• how VAT law applies to local councils
• where to find the law and guidance
• business and non-business activities
• understanding whether sales are taxable or exempt from VAT
• when a council must register for VAT
• when VAT can be reclaimed
• Partial exemption
• Reclaiming VAT when using grants and donations

By the end of this session you will:
• Know where to find the relevant legislation and guidance
• Understand the key concepts of VAT
• Know when a council can or can't reclaim VAT
• Recognise when a council must register for VAT
• Be aware of activities that require special attention

Who Should Attend?
RFOs, Clerks, finance staff, councillors on the finance committee and councillors who wish to develop their knowledge in this area.

Course Tutor

Steve Parkinson, The Parkinson Partnership LLP

Cost (per delegate)
£30+ VAT members
£60+ VAT non members

Please note: the course is open to all county associations and will therefore have clerks and councillors not from Northamptonshire in attendance. We hope that this will allow for this course to be delivered more often and throughout the year.

When booking onto this course, the details that you provide will be used to book you onto a third party website where you will receive booking confirmation. Your details will only be used for the purposes of sending joining instructions.

Venue:

Online

Contact:

Marie Reilly

Whether you are an experienced Councillor or have only recently been elected, it is vital that you understand how data protection fits with your role as an elected member. With legislation and case law evolving, this interactive session will provide you with an opportunity to make sure you are getting the essentials right and ensure you are meeting your legal obligations as a Councillor.

Who should attend
This course is aimed at councillors to councils of all sizes

Course Tutor
Breakthrough Communications

Cost per delegate

£42+ VAT members
£84+ VAT non members

Please note: the course is open to all county associations and will therefore have clerks and councillors not from Northamptonshire in attendance. We hope that this will allow for this course to be delivered more often and throughout the year.

When booking onto this course, the details that you provide will be used to book you onto a third party website where you will receive booking confirmation. Your details will only be used for the purposes of sending joining instructions.

Venue:

Online

Contact:

Marie Reilly

Course description
Everything should start with a strategy – and good communication is no different. To get the most from an increasing range of communications platforms and tools, it's vital that your Council has a strategy that supports the delivery of your Council's existing aims and objectives. We walk you through best practice for creating an effective communications strategy that fits with the needs and aspirations of your Council, whilst making best use of communication opportunities available to you.

Who should attend
Clerks and Councillors wishing to develop an clear and effective communications strategy

Course Tutor

Breakthrough Communications

Cost per delegate
£42+ VAT members
£84+ VAT non members

Please note: the course is open to all county associations and will therefore have clerks and councillors not from Northamptonshire in attendance. We hope that this will allow for this course to be delivered more often and throughout the year.

When booking onto this course, the details that you provide will be used to book you onto a third party website where you will receive booking confirmation. Your details will only be used for the purposes of sending joining instructions.

Venue:

Online

Contact:

Marie Reilly

This session will help you consider practical and effective ways for your Council to systematically and proactively find out what really matters to people living within your parish, through a range of print and digital tools.

Discover the tools, strategies and techniques needed to not just better promote your own messages but also to better hear and respond to the voices within your local community, and get buy-in on your vision for your community's future.

Who should attend
This course is open to Clerks, Officers and Councillors wanting to engage with their community.

Course Tutor

Breakthrough Communications

Cost per delegate
£42+ VAT members
£84+ VAT non members

Please note: the course is open to all county associations and will therefore have clerks and councillors not from Northamptonshire in attendance. We hope that this will allow for this course to be delivered more often and throughout the year.

When booking onto this course, the details that you provide will be used to book you onto a third party website where you will receive booking confirmation. Your details will only be used for the purposes of sending joining instructions.

Venue:

Marie Reilly

Contact:

Online

Course description
Young people are often a hard-to-reach demographic for councils a engage with. In this session we explore what we mean by young people, what issues matter to them, how to effectively reach and engage with them both online and offline, and how to build partnerships with youth-focused organisations.

Who should attend
Councils wishing to engage more with the younger community.

Course Tutor
Breakthrough Communications

Cost (per delegate)
£42+ VAT member
£84+ VAT non member

Venue:

Online

Contact:

Marie Reilly

Social media provides town and parish Councils a unique opportunity to significantly enhance their communications – yet few Councils are fully reaping the benefits on offer. Moreover, few councils have a clear social media strategy in place. This comprehensive course looks at how to build a social media strategy that seeks to promote your services and key council priorities.

Who should attend
Clerk, officers and Councillors wanting to create an effective social media strategy for their council

Cost per delegate)

£42+ VAT members
£84+ VAT non members

Please note: the course is open to all county associations and will therefore have clerks and councillors not from Northamptonshire in attendance. We hope that this will allow for this course to be delivered more often and throughout the year.

When booking onto this course, the details that you provide will be used to book you onto a third party website where you will receive booking confirmation. Your details will only be used for the purposes of sending joining instructions.

Venue:

Online

Contact:

Marie Reilly

In an ever-evolving legislative landscape, it is vital that Councils ensure they have the most up-to-date understanding of their data protection and related obligations. This session walks Councils through the principles of GDPR and related legislation including PECR, what it means in practical terms and the systems and processes Councils should have in place to ensure they are working towards sustainable compliance.

Who Should Attend
Clerks and Officers who wish to develop their knowledge in this area.

Course Tutor

Breakthrough Communications

Cost per delegate
£42+ VAT members
£84+ VAT non members

Please note: the course is open to all county associations and will therefore have clerks and councillors not from Northamptonshire in attendance. We hope that this will allow for this course to be delivered more often and throughout the year.

When booking onto this course, the details that you provide will be used to book you onto a third party website where you will receive booking confirmation. Your details will only be used for the purposes of sending joining instructions.

Venue:

Online

Contact:

Marie Reilly

This advanced data protection session deep dives into how councils are required to demonstrate accountability with GDPR. We consider the lawful bases for how councils process personal data and we explore how to create different policies and documents, including your Privacy Notice and Data Protection Impact Assessments.

Who should attend
Clerks and officers

Course Tutor
Breakthrough Communications

Cost per delegate

£42+ VAT members
£84+ VAT non members

Please note: the course is open to all county associations and will therefore have clerks and councillors not from Northamptonshire in attendance. We hope that this will allow for this course to be delivered more often and throughout the year.

When booking onto this course, the details that you provide will be used to book you onto a third party website where you will receive booking confirmation. Your details will only be used for the purposes of sending joining instructions

Venue:

Online

Contact:

Marie Reilly

Certificate in Local Council Administration (CiLCA) is a Level 3 accredited and recognised qualification for the Local Council Sector, designed to test basic levels of competence for the role of parish clerk. CiLCA has been designed to cover all aspects of the clerk's role and learners are required to compile a portfolio of evidence to show they fully understand their job.

There are 30 Learning Outcomes within the 5 units covering the following topics:

• Core roles in local council administration
• Law and procedure for local councils
• Finance for local councils
• Management for local councils
• Community Engagement

Venue:

Online

Contact:

Marie Reilly

This introductory session is for inexperienced clerks in their first few months and is designed to give them an overview of a council's year, along with a basic understanding of the RFO's role.

If you have 9 month's experience or more, this session is unlikely to cover anything you don't already know. so you may benefit from the following more detailed sessions on budgeting, Internal Control, Year-end and VAT instead.

Topics include:
• Roles and responsibilities
• Setting a budget and precept
• Internal control
• The Annual Governance & Accountability Return
• Internal and external audit

By the end of the session you will:
• Be aware of relevant legislation and sources of guidance
• Be able to describe the key financial activities in a year
• Be aware of how the council's accounts must be prepared and audited
• Recognise the importance of internal controls

Who Should Attend
Clerks new to the sector with less than 9 months experience in the role

Course Tutor
Steve Parkinson, The Parkinson Partnership LLP

Steve is a former Town Clerk and an accountant with 30 years' experience in public and voluntary sector finance. He now specialises in delivering training and advice on VAT and finance matters for the local council sector.

Cost per delegate

£33 + VAT Members
£66 + VAT Non Members

Please note: the course is open to all county associations and will therefore have clerks and councillors not from Northamptonshire in attendance. We hope that this will allow for this course to be delivered more often and throughout the year.

When booking onto this course, the details that you provide will be used to book you onto a third party website where you will receive booking confirmation. Your details will only be used for the purposes of sending joining instructions.

Venue:

Online

Contact:

Marie Reilly

Beyond Facebook: how councils can make use of Instagram, Twitter and other platforms to get their message across

More and more Councils are looking to use a range of social media platforms in order to increase their digital reach into their community. Instagram and Twitter are two key platforms that offer a range of benefits for Councils. This practical session looks at how to get started and what strategies and techniques are working well for councils like yours.

Who Should Attend
Clerks, Councillors and officers wanting to know how to use social media platforms

Course Tutor

Breakthrough Communications

Cost per delegate
£42+ VAT members
£84+ VAT non members

Please note: the course is open to all county associations and will therefore have clerks and councillors not from Northamptonshire in attendance. We hope that this will allow for this course to be delivered more often and throughout the year.

When booking onto this course, the details that you provide will be used to book you onto a third party website where you will receive booking confirmation. Your details will only be used for the purposes of sending joining instructions.

Venue:

Online

Contact:

Marie Reilly

Certificate in Local Council Administration (CiLCA) is a Level 3 accredited and recognised qualification for the Local Council Sector, designed to test basic levels of competence for the role of parish clerk. CiLCA has been designed to cover all aspects of the clerk's role and learners are required to compile a portfolio of evidence to show they fully understand their job.

There are 30 Learning Outcomes within the 5 units covering the following topics:

• Core roles in local council administration
• Law and procedure for local councils
• Finance for local councils
• Management for local councils
• Community Engagement

Venue:

Online

Contact:

Marie Reilly

Course description
Social media offers Parish and Town Councillors as individually-elected members a fantastic opportunity to engage and communicate with their residents. Building up two-way conversations through the power of digital platforms has never been easier, but it can be tricky to get started and to know where to focus your time and effort as an individual Councillor. We walk you through the essential ways to get the most out of key social media platforms as a local Councillor, and provide top tips to engage with your residents

Who should attend
This course is aimed at councillors wishing to learn more about how to use social media

Course Tutor

Breakthrough Communications

Cost (per delegate)
£42+ VAT member
£84+ VAT non member

Venue:

Online

Contact:

Marie Reilly

To support clerks through their learning journey we are introducing CiLCA focus sessions. You can use these as a dedicated time and space to complete some of your portfolio work, to ask questions about specific Learning Outcomes or for general support in building your portfolio.

These sessions are optional and free of charge to those who have attended CiLCA training.

To attend a session please email mreilly@northantscalc.com.

Venue:

Online

Contact:

Marie Reilly

Course description
Managing professional relationships effectively is important, and this is particularly true for Clerks and local council officers. Yet whether it's with other officers or with councillors, sometimes difficult situations will present themselves, and it's vital to have the skills to manage the challenges. This session for local council officers explores practical techniques and ideas to manage difficult relationships in a council environment.

Who should attend
Whilst this course is primarily aimed at clerks and council officers, councillors are also welcome to attend

Course Tutor

Breakthrough Comms

Cost (per delegate)
£42 member
£84 non member

Venue:

Online

Contact:

Marie Reilly

The course will cover a range of topics including:

• How to conduct an efficient and effective council meeting
• Dealing with disruptive Councillors and/or members of the public
• The statutory role of Chairman – and all the other roles you weren't told about when you were elected!
• How to deal with new legislation affecting council meetings, including the new right for meetings to be recorded without notice
• The one secret that will make your meetings better – and shorter!
• How to build a council that works effectively as a team

At the end of the workshop there will be time allocated for a Q&A session.

Welcome to our Virtual Classroom! These are not webinars. These are live, interactive 'classroom' based sessions led by one of our experienced trainers. You'll take part, ask questions and contribute to the group discussion in the same way you would if you were attending an open course. With whiteboarding, 'raise your hand', and screen sharing, our aim is to as closely as possible replicate the experience of attending one of our open training courses.

Who Should Attend
This course is suitable for the council's Chairman/Mayor, Vice Chairman/Deputy Mayor as well as all chairmen of committees.

Course Tutor

Danny Moody, Chief Executive, Northants CALC

Cost per delegate
£48+ VAT members
£96+ VAT non members

Venue:

Online

Contact:

Marie Reilly

This course looks at what requirements and obligations local councils have when it comes to Freedom of Information and related legislation. We look at what policies and procedures councils should have in place, how to ensure officers and councillors are aware of their obligations and what steps to take when you get an FOI request.

Who Should Attend
Clerks and Councillors who wish to develop their knowledge in this area.

Course Tutor

Breakthrough Communications

Cost per delegate
£42+VAT members
£84+VAT non members

Please note: When booking onto this course, the details that you provide will be used to book you onto a third party website where you will receive booking confirmation. Your details will only be used for the purposes of sending joining instructions.

Venue:

Online

Contact:

Marie Reilly

Do you have councillors who are overtly members of a political party?

Does your council have political groups?

This discussion session looks at the pros and cons of party politics in councils, what the provisions are for politics at town and parish level in local government law and procedures, and how as clerk you should manage the dynamics and tensions between political groups.

A seasoned clerk will share their wisdom, but this is mainly a discussion session, so it is about sharing experiences – good and bad – and learning from each other.

Who should attend
Clerks with political parties within their council

Cost
Free

Venue:

Online

Contact:

Marie Reilly

This advanced data protection session considers how to deal with data subject rights requests, including Subject Access Requests. We explore specific steps to take to ensure you are compliant with the legislation, and we consider what exemptions may apply, and when. We also explore the importance of Information Security for local councils and what this means in practice.

Who should attend
This course is aimed at clerks and officers

Course Tutor
Breakthrough Communications

Cost per delegate

£42+ VAT members
£84+ VAT non members

Please note: the course is open to all county associations and will therefore have clerks and councillors not from Northamptonshire in attendance. We hope that this will allow for this course to be delivered more often and throughout the year.

When booking onto this course, the details that you provide will be used to book you onto a third party website where you will receive booking confirmation. Your details will only be used for the purposes of sending joining instructions.

Venue:

Online

Contact:

Marie Reilly

For clerks, finance staff and councillors from councils that are VAT registered, who wish to develop their knowledge (VAT registered councils have a 9-digit registration number, submit quarterly VAT returns online and charge VAT on taxable sales. If your council submits a VAT126 claim, it is not VAT registered).

This session explains when and how VAT registered local councils charge VAT, when they can reclaim it and when they can't. Essential for any council contemplating major building projects.

Topics include:
• how VAT law applies to local councils
• where to find the law and guidance
• business and non-business activities
• understanding whether sales are taxable or exempt from VAT
• when to charge VAT
• VAT rates
• when VAT can be reclaimed
• VAT returns
• Partial exemption
• Non-business activities
• Reclaiming VAT when using grants and donations

By the end of this session you will:
• Know where to find the relevant legislation and guidance
• Understand the key concepts of VAT
• Know when a council can or can't reclaim VAT
• Recognise when a council must charge VAT
• Be aware of activities that require special attention

Who Should Attend?
RFOs, Clerks, finance staff, councillors on the finance committee and councillors who wish to develop their knowledge in this area.

Course Tutor

Steve Parkinson, The Parkinson Partnership LLP

Cost (per delegate)
£33+ VAT members
£66+ VAT non members

Please note: the course is open to all county associations and will therefore have clerks and councillors not from Northamptonshire in attendance. We hope that this will allow for this course to be delivered more often and throughout the year.

When booking onto this course, the details that you provide will be used to book you onto a third party website where you will receive booking confirmation. Your details will only be used for the purposes of sending joining instructions.

Venue:

Online

Contact:

Marie Reilly

Description
An introductory training session for Parish/Town Councillors and Clerks covering the basic principles of planning including policy, applications, appeals and enforcement. This two hour session will also include tips on increasing the effectiveness of the responses that Parish and Town Councils send through to local planning authorities and the opportunity to ask questions of an experienced planning consultant who has worked for local Councils, a volume house builder and a planning consultancy.

Who Should Attend
Suitable for both Clerks and Councillors

Course Tutor

Lance Wiggins, Lion Planning

Cost (per delegate)
£42+ VAT members
£84+ VAT Non Members

Venue:

Online

Contact:

Marie Reilly

Session overview:

This session is designed to give councillors a greater understanding of their duties with regard to the council's finances. Topics include:

• Roles and responsibilities
• setting a budget and precept
• Financial control
• How VAT applies to local councils
• The Annual Return
• Internal and external audit

Session benefits:

By the end of Local Council Finance you will:

• Understand the council's duties regarding financial management
• Be aware of relevant legislation and sources of guidance
• Understand how VAT law applies to your council
• Be aware of how the council's accounts are prepared and audited
• Recognise the importance of internal controls

Who should attend
All councillors would benefit from this course

Course Tutor
Steve Parkinson, The Parkinson Partnership LLP

Steve is a former Town Clerk and an accountant with 30 years' experience in public and voluntary sector finance. He now specialises in delivering training and advice on VAT and finance matters for the local council sector.

Cost per delegate

£33+VAT Members
£66+VAT Non Members

Please note: the course is open to all county associations and will therefore have clerks and councillors not from Northamptonshire in attendance. We hope that this will allow for this course to be delivered more often and throughout the year.

When booking onto this course, the details that you provide will be used to book you onto a third party website where you will receive booking confirmation. Your details will only be used for the purposes of sending joining instructions.

Venue:

Online

Contact:

Marie Reilly