Dear Clerk,
As quarter three draws to a close, we wanted to issue another newsletter and focus on a few topics which we hope you will find informative and useful.
Operation London Bridge
This has been an unprecedented time and we appreciate the extra pressure that Operation London Bridge will undoubtedly have put on Clerks, especially those who look after larger Councils. We hope communication was timely from us and that everyone knew the correct protocol to follow. We were immensely impressed with the response from our member Councils and wanted to acknowledge how well you handled everything.
On a similar topic, the decision was made to continue with the Queen’s Green Canopy initiative as a memorial to the late Queen Elizabeth II. For further information, please contact Emily.
Resilience Plans
As you are all hopefully aware by now, arrangements have been made with a Project Manager who understands the work of local councils and has experience in this field and is able to devote 2-5 hours to a council’s template to produce their plan at a cost of £50 per hour. A template can be provided if your Council does not already have one. If this is of interest or you would like further information, please contact Trevor Leggo 07825 506649 trevor.leggo@esalc.co.uk
Civility and Respect pledge
The civility pledge has been launched by NALC in partnership with the SLCC and is designed to encourage discussions about civility/respect within councils and to help support appropriate behaviour. The pledge statements are based on feedback received regarding the key actions which councils should follow to minimize opportunities for bullying and harassment. For further information and to take the place, please click here: CIVILITY AND RESPECT PLEDGE (nalc.gov.uk)
ESALC Training Sessions & Forums
Thank you to those of you who are ‘repeat offenders’ at our Forums – it’s always great to see so many familiar (and new!) faces at them. We hope you find them useful and remember the Clerks Forum is a great opportunity to ask questions, vent any frustrations and make connections with other local clerks. Our next Forum will be in November so look out for the save the date email! The Chairman’s Forum is scheduled to take place on October 11th at 7pm so please make sure your Chairman is aware.
You may also have seen recent correspondence regarding Breakthrough Communications. They are delighted to announce their new programme of communications and compliance-focused training courses for parish and town councils across East Sussex. From community engagement to social media, interpersonal skills to brand new data protection courses, Breakthrough Communications have refreshed their courses with latest best practice and guidance.
Please see their website (link below) for further details – to book onto a session, this can be done directly via their website and then any invoices will be sent from ESALC. Please note that Breakthrough Communications are also available to carry out full council training in any given topic if this is preferred over joining a session with councillors/clerks from other areas.
https://breakthroughcomms.co.uk/calc-training-events/
Police Focus Groups
As you are no doubt aware, the very useful Focus Groups take place every six months with the basic question ‘has policing improved or deteriorated in your area over the past six months?’
Responses and issues raised by local councils are picked up by the District Commander or local Inspector who are usually present and fed back to the Chief Constable and PCC.
In East Sussex the timetable is as follows :
14th November, South Wealden 10.30 – 12.00
North Wealden 2.00 – 3.30
21st November Lewes inland 10.30 – 12.00
Lewes coastal 2.00 – 3.30
22nd November East Rother 10.30 – 12.00
West Rother 2.00 – 3.30
All the above will be held remotely via Teams or Zoom, invitations will be sent to those who have previously attended. Owing to its size and particular issues, separate face to face sessions will be held for Bexhill on 18th October.
If you are a council that has not previously taken part and wish to on this occasion, or would like further information please contact Mandy Jameson, the PCC’s Senior Communications Manager
Mandy.Jameson@sussex-pcc.gov.uk
Elections
Whilst the elections are not until May 2023, we are already receiving a number of enquiries on the topic. We will be running a number of Zoom sessions at the start of the new year which will cover the process along with any of the queries you may have. Further information will be made available towards the end of the year but please be assured there is plenty of time and we will ensure you are fully equipped with all you need to know!
We are also looking into ways to encourage candidates to stand for election. We are aware that NALC will be publishing material and Breakthrough Communications will also be holding some online sessions. We will endeavour to work on some marketing material or perhaps some punchy wording which you can use on your social media platforms.
Locum Clerks
As always, don’t forget to send Emily your contact information if you would like to be considered for locum work which becomes available in East Sussex. Useful information to include is the number of hours you can work, whether or not you are CiLCA qualified, how far you are willing to travel for meetings, and the contact details you are happy for me to keep on file.
No doubt I will be in touch again soon with news and additional training dates but if you have any queries in the meantime then please do not hesitate to get in touch on admin@esalc.co.uk
Best wishes,
ESALC