Training & Events Calendar

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

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

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

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

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

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

Under the Localism Act 2011, Parish Councils and community groups can nominate an asset to be registered on the assets of community value register giving communities the opportunity to collate a bid for an asset should it be sold on the open market. All communities have assets that are of great importance to them but do they all qualify as an Asset of Community Value? You'll hear directly from North/West Northamptonshire Council to know what is needed when submitting a nomination for an ACV.

This course will cover:

• Background to ACV
• Summary of Legislation including key points
• Unitary Authority Role as arbitrator of process
• Unitary Authority Policy and process
• Parish & Town Councils role

Who Should Attend

Clerks, officers and councillors are welcome to attend.

Course Facilitator

Edwina Crowley, Head of Asset Management, North Northamptonshire Council

Cost per delegate

£42+VAT member
£84+VAT non member

Venue:

Online

Contact:

Marie Reilly

This course follows on from our Chairmanship course and is designed to help delegates explore the skills needed to be an effective community leader, including developing awareness of different styles of leadership, looking at the key issues of the day affecting all councils, how to build a strategic vision for the community, the importance of good communication within the council and with the community, and how to get the whole council working as a team.

Who should attend
The course is suitable for chairmen/mayors, vice chairman/deputy mayors and other leading councillors.

Course Tutor

Danny Moody, CEO Northants CALC

Cost (per person)

£48+ VAT member
£96+ VAT non member

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

Risk assessment is one of the key legal requirements that parish and town councils are required to carry out and probably the one that is the least well understood. This course aims to demystify the subject by explaining what the law requires and then providing practical guidance on how to carry out a risk assessment, using actual examples from the parish and town council sector. The course is run as an interactive event that encourages active participation by delegates. At the end of the course, delegates will understand when and how to conduct a risk assessment and will have created a model risk assessment covering the common core business risks, including health and safety risks that exist in the sector.

Audience
This course is suitable for both Clerks and Councillors

Course Tutor

Brian Brookes, BHIB Insurance

Cost (per person)
£33+VAT member
£66+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

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)
£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

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
£42+ VAT members
£84+ VAT non members

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

This course is designed to help all Clerks and Councillors make an early, effective and confident start to their careers, by providing quality, constructive and participative training on the roles and responsibilities of Clerks and Councillors.

Key areas covered include:

• Roles and responsibilities within the Council
• Powers and duties
• General Power of Competence
• Elections
• Different types of meetings
• Community engagement
• Finance

Who Should Attend
Suitable for new Councillors and existing Councillors to refresh their knowledge

Course Tutor

Marie Reilly, NCALC Training Manager

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

Venue:

Moulton Community Centre, Sandy Hill Lane, Reedings, Moulton, Northampton NN3 7AX

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

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

Course description
How can you find and encourage a more diverse pool of people to stand or be co-opted as town or parish councillors? It is increasingly hard to find people who are willing to put their names forward either at election time or to be co-opted. We explore effective ways councils and councillors can engage people over time, building up their awareness and interest in the work of the council, in order to better promote and demystify the role of a councillor.

Who should attend
Councils wanting to know how to encourage more, and diverse, people to stand as a councillor.

Course tutor
Breakthrough Communications

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

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

Under the Localism Act 2011, Parish Councils and community groups can nominate an asset to be registered on the assets of community value register giving communities the opportunity to collate a bid for an asset should it be sold on the open market. All communities have assets that are of great importance to them but do they all qualify as an Asset of Community Value? You'll hear directly from North/West Northamptonshire Council to know what is needed when submitting a nomination for an ACV.

This course will cover:

• Background to ACV
• Summary of Legislation including key points
• Unitary Authority Role as arbitrator of process
• Unitary Authority Policy and process
• Parish & Town Councils role

Who Should Attend

Clerks, officers and councillors are welcome to attend.

Course Facilitator

Edwina Crowley, Head of Asset Management, North Northamptonshire Council

Cost per delegate

£42+VAT member
£84+VAT non member

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

This session is an introduction to the basics of procurement for local councils – inviting quotes, producing specifications and tender documentation, achieving competition and value for money, managing contracts.

Topics include:
• Procurement thresholds
• Basic terminology and steps involved in procurement
• Estimates, quotes and tenders
• Specifications
• Quality and value for money
• Advertising, including Contracts Finder

Session benefits:
By the end of Contracts and Procurement you will:
• Be aware of procurement thresholds
• Recognise when you must advertise on Contracts Finder
• Understand how to produce a specification for what you want
• Understand the basic terminology and steps involved in procurement
• Be able to ensure your procurement achieves value for money

Who should attend
Clerks, Officers and Councillors involved in procuring goods and services, preparing tenders or entering into contracts on behalf of local councils.

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
£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

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

This session is for those who already understand the rules of VAT (possibly from one of our VAT sessions) and need to work out whether their council can reclaim VAT in relation to its use of land.

This session is unlikely to be of benefit for councils spending less than £50,000 a year, or for anyone that doesn't understand the difference between business and non-business activities or between taxable and exempt supplies.

This session explains when VAT cannot be reclaimed in relation to exempt activities and what options may be available.

Topics include:
• law and guidance
• non-business, taxable and exempt uses of land
• Apportionment of costs
• Partial exemption calculations
• Occasional breaches
• Option to tax
• Capital Goods Scheme adjustments

By the end of this session you will:
• Know where to find the relevant legislation and guidance
• Understand how to undertake a partial exemption calculation
• Recognise when a project is likely to lead to unrecoverable VAT
• Be aware of options to achieve VAT recovery

Who should attend
For clerks, finance staff and councillors of councils that lease or hire out land and buildings such as village halls, community centres, meeting rooms, sports facilities or markets, who need to understand when their council is at risk of not being able to reclaim VAT. Essential for any council contemplating major building projects, or incurring significant expenditure on running these facilities

Cost
£33+VAT per person (member)
£66+VAT per person (non-member)

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.

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.

Venue:

Online

Contact:

Marie Reilly