Government Advice on meeting up

Government advice on meeting up

You can meet in groups of up to two households (your support bubble counts as one household) in any location - public or private, indoors or outdoors. You do not always have to meet with the same household - you can meet with different households at different times. However, it remains the case - even inside someone’s home - that you should socially distance from anyone not in your household or bubble. This change also does not affect the support you receive from your carers

When you are outside you can continue to meet in groups of up to six people from different households, following social distancing guidelines  This prevents Parish Councils from holding meetings as the minimum number of Councillors is 5 and you would have to restrict the public to one which you cannot do.  The meetings are open to the public of however many. 

It will be against the law to gather in groups larger than 30 people, except for a limited set of circumstances to be set out in law  This could only happen with a gathering of two very large households.  The exception is that you can now have 30 people at a wedding.  Logically those same 30 people could attend a wedding reception in a Village Hall.

Track & Trace Regulations

Track & Trace Regulations

On 18 September 2020, new regulations came into force making it a legal requirement for venues to log details of visitors, customers, and staff. Local council venues and buildings that allow public access or bookings must:

• Have a system in place to request and record contact details of their customers, visitors and staff
• Register for an official NHS QR code and display the official NHS QR poster from 24 September 2020

The NHS has provided more information on the QR code and posters for organisations, as well as further information on the NHS COVID-19 app.

Collecting contact details and maintaining records for NHS Test and Trace is a legal requirement and failure to comply is punishable by a fine.

Meetings

Meetings

updated 17 July

Both NALC and SLCC still strongly advise local councils to continue to meet remotely, without the need for face-to-face contact. If your council wishes to consider returning to face-to-face meetings we have produced a checklist (downloads a MS Word doc) to help ensure this decision is made in accordance with relevant regulations and requirements.

The Government has now passed the Coronavirus Bill and it has received Royal ascent so it has now passed into law.

Section 78 of the law allows for meetings to take place in different forms but it requires a regulation to be passed by the Secretary of State.  The regulations have now been passed by the Secretary of State and further details of how to hold virtual meetings can be found on this site.

The legislation now allows video conferencing and I would recommend trying this technology out with the Councillors before holding a formal meeting so that they become more comfortable with the technology moving forward.

There are a number of apps and websites which can be used to host conference calls or virtual meetings.  We would advise where possible to use Zoom. There are time restrictions with the free package, however, it does allow 40 minutes which should be enough time to transact essential business and delegate powers to the Clerk for many of the other activities that might need to be processed.  The two good things about zoom is that links can be provided to residents (or put up on the website) so that there is still transparency and in these times of being at home it might provide a good audience and potential Councillors in the future. Also the meeting can easily be recorded so that there is an unambiguous record of the decisions.

If you are unable to hold meetings like this, then I would recommend decisions via email where the way Councillors have voted can be evidenced.

Further details on organising meetings during the current crisis

The first point to make is that even when virtual meetings are confirmed as being lawful Please keep the number of meetings down to a minimum and when you do need them keep the agenda down to be a short as possible

Top priority is to ensure all that needs to be delegated to the clerk is done so as a matter of urgency – this can be time limited – it will minimise the need for meetings virtual or otherwise.

Subsequent meetings – keep agenda down to essentials

Holding the meetings. 

If you have enough Councillors that have the technical ability to hold a meeting on Zoom that is probably the best option so the public can witness the discussions and decisions.  Just remember normally the public can see what happens at a Council meeting and at the moment that is not possible. You could use mixed media – so if some Cllrs can’t use zoom they can phone in. Remember not every Cllr has to participate – just enough to be quorate.  NB if there is not a valid reason for the Councillor to participate then their apologies (if sent) should not automatically be accepted.

There will be a great emphasis on the clerk to ensure that the resolutions to be considered are very clear as it will be much more difficult to remove any ambiguity that is possible in a normal meeting.  You need to be sure that each councillor is voting on the same thing rather than their interpretation.

As not all the public will be able to attend a meeting the clerk should endeavour to have the unapproved minutes of the meeting on the website as quickly as possible and certainly within a week in order to keep the public informed.  There must be an obvious note to the public stating that these are unapproved. 

Don’t forget to post agendas and minutes on noticeboards as well. Not everyone is IT literate.

Download the NALC publication 'Holding Remote Meetings'

Please also see the article Failure to Convene Meetings

Online Meetings: Management

Online Meetings: Management

updated 15 April 2020

• Upon joining a meeting, you should mute your microphone and ensure your video is enabled.
• The Chair will confirm if there are any members of the public present and ask them if they want to speak during the public session.
• The Chair will remind everyone on the meeting to ensure that their microphone is on mute and that their video is enabled (this includes members of the public).
• The Chair will inform all present that the meeting will be recorded by the Council. The public session need not be recorded if anybody wishes to object.
• The Chair will then work through the Agenda supported by the Clerk as required. The Agenda will be as concise as possible and focus on what is important, where practicable it will avoid items that may require lengthy debate. These items will be postponed until the current lockdown has been lifted. The scheme of delegation approved at the March meeting will remain in place until face to face meetings are permitted again.
• Papers for the meeting will be posted on the Parish Council Website and emailed out to all Councillors with an email address. Every effort will be made to avoid additional papers being required.
• If a Councillor has declared an interest in an item to be discussed they will be asked to leave the meeting at that point. When that item has been concluded the Chair will ring the Councillor concerned and invite them to re-join the meeting using the original link provided.
• In order for a Councillor to make a point regarding an item under discussion they should raise their hand and wait for the Chair to invite them to speak, at which time they should un-mute the microphone and mute it again after they have made their point. If any member has joined by telephone only the Chair will invite them to speak before moving to a proposal.
• When a proposal is required the Chair will ask the meeting and look for a Councillor who has raised their arm, the Chair will invite that Councillor to state their name and the proposal.
• The Chair will then ask for a Councillor to second the proposal and look for a Councillor who has raised their arm. The Chair will state the name of the Councillor who has seconded the proposal.
• The Chair will then ask all Councillors in favour to raise their hand and to keep it raised until he asks them to place it back down. The Chair will ask telephone participants to give their vote audibly. The Chair will confirm the number of Councillors voting in favour.
• The Chair will then repeat for any Councillor not in favour or who wants to abstain.
• “Standing Orders” will continue to be used to assist with the good management of a meeting.

WALC are using Zoom for online meetings, however other platforms are available, there is guidance of this in the NALC publication 'Holding Remote Meetings'

PDF Zoom Tutorials

• A step by step guide to using Zoom and joining a meeting 
• Setting up a zoom meeting

Zoom Tutorial Videos

• Getting Started with Zoom Meetings 38 minutes (skip to 18 minutes in to jump straight to the hosting meetings section)
  What is a Zoom Meeting? The basics with Zoom expert. We will cover scheduling, inviting others, host controls.
• Zoom Meetings 1 hour
  

  Once you have completed the Getting Started with Zoom Meetings session, the Zoom expert will guide you through tour of Zoom Meetings, taking you beyond the basics.

Annual Assembly

Annual Assembly

updated 1 May

The new Audit regulations do apply to Parish meetings as well as Parish Councils so the delays to the audit schedule applies to them.  The schedule has been updated on the WALC website page.

The regulations regarding the deferral of annual meetings until next year does not apply to parish meetings therefore as the law stands these meetings need to be held by 1st June at the latest.  The current lockdown imposed by the Government makes the holding of such meetings impossible.  The NALC advice is to not  hold these meetings in the current circumstances. They should be delayed until the situation improves.

Annual Council Meetings

Annual Council Meetings

updated 6 May

Latest Government Statement

As you know, a parish meeting is a meeting of all the local government electors of the parish. All such electors in a parish have the right to attend the parish meeting and hence depending on the size of the parish the numbers attending a parish meeting could potentially run into several hundreds. This raises questions as to the practicability of holding such meetings remotely, even if the 2020 Act had included parish meetings.
Currently, the Health Protection (Coronavirus, Restrictions) (England) Regulations 2020, subject to a number of limited exceptions, ban public gatherings of more than 2 people.
However Section 15 (10) of the 1972 Local Government Act provides that the chairman of a parish meeting can continue in office until a successor is elected.  This means that essential parish meeting business can continue until a meeting to elect a new chair can be held.
In relation to concerns about parish meetings not being able to sign off their draft Annual Governance and Accountability Returns (AGAR), the deadline for submitting returns has been extended to 31 August.  If, nearer the time, public health restrictions render this deadline unachievable, we will consider what further steps may be appropriate.

NB: PKF Littlejohn have set a deadline of 31st July for return of documents to them.

Standing Orders

Standing Orders

updated 12 May

Several councils have raised questions surrounding the validity of their current Standing Orders in respect of arrangements for meetings, in light of the new Regulations (see above) permitting ‘virtual’ meetings.

As explained in NALC Legal Briefing L01-20 Regulation 5 (6) “…enables local councils to make standing orders to specify (i) how voting will be carried out, (ii) how members and the public can access documents and (iii) how remote access of the press and public by  electronic means will take place. Councils should make these decisions based on their own needs and capacity. Local factors such as broadband strength may also determine what methods they use”.

The NALC Legal Team has, however, confirmed that it is not going to issue a revised template for Standing Orders in response to the current emergency and the new provisions for remote meetings.

Assuming that a council’s existing Standing Orders are based on the existing NALC template, any reservations about being challenged over a possible breach of Standing Orders, as currently specified, arguably could be overcome if the Council were simply to make the next meeting an ‘extraordinary’ one, as per the clause The Chairman (or Vice-Chairman in Chairman’s absence) may convene an extraordinary meeting at any time (this can be done within the scope of the new Regulations). Thereafter, the council could proceed by referencing back to an earlier clause, viz In addition to the annual meeting of the Council (the need for which, of course, has been disapplied under the Regulations) at least three other ordinary meetings shall be held in each year on such dates and times as the Council decides.

There is, however, no reason why Standing Orders should not be amended in order to make them more explicit about arrangements for virtual meetings, if the council so chooses. Another approach would be to adopt a new policy covering the emergency period outlining how the council intends to manage the situation.

The 2020 Regulations permit the council to hold their meetings in a remote way.  The fact that the Standing Orders do not refer to ‘remote meetings’ is irrelevant as it will still be a meeting of the council.   At their first remote meeting the council may wish to approve a protocol for their remote meetings.  NALC Legal say that Councils can override “normal” Meeting Standing Orders to facilitate remote meetings and approving a protocol is sensible.

End of Year Audit

End of Year Audit

updated 30 April

Please review the relevant documents below.

• ANNUAL GOVERNANCE AND ACCOUNTABILITY RETURN 2019-20 (revised April 2020) (revised April 2020) (all authorities other than parish meetings)
• ANNUAL GOVERNANCE AND ACCOUNTABILITY RETURN 2019-20 (revised April 2020) (revised April 2020) (where there is no parish council)
• PARISH MEETINGS: COMPLETING THE 2019-20 AGAR: A STEP-BY-STEP GUIDE (revised April 2020) (revised April 2020) (where there is no parish council)

The Accounts and Audit (Coronavirus) (Amendment) Regulations 2020

Owing to the increasing impact of COVID19 MHCLG has made amended Regulations which extend the statutory audit deadlines for 2019-20 only for all Category 2 smaller authorities (town and parish councils, parish meetings, internal drainage boards and other authorities).

• The requirement for the public inspection period to include the first 10 working days of July has been removed
• Instead, smaller authorities must commence the public inspection period on or before 1 September 2020. Authorities are urged to commence this period as soon as possible
• The AGAR must be approved and published by 31 August 2020 at the latest or may be approved earlier, wherever possible. This means that the period for the exercise of public rights can now be held at any time after the approval of the accounts and AGAR as long as it is commenced on 1 September at the latest.

Authorities should publish the dates of their public inspection period. If this is significantly earlier or later than in previous years, they should inform the public through their websites (where available) of the reasons why they are departing from normal practice for 2020.

• The publication date for final, audited, accounts will move from 30 September to 30 November 2020 for all local authorities. This is the date by which the Part 3 AGAR Sections 1, 2 and 3 including the completed External Auditor Report and Certificate must be published. This does not apply to an authority that has certified itself as exempt and submitted a Certificate of Exemption to the external auditor. These authorities must publish their Certificate of Exemption by 31 August 2020.

SAAA does not intend to alter the official AGAR forms issued in March 2020 to reflect the changes in legislation, rather, SAAA has issued a single page addendum to highlight the changes and new dates. 

Signing and submitting the AGAR forms

There are no changes in the requirement for wet signatures on the AGAR.  PKF's understanding is that wet signatures need to be added to the AGAR in the same order as previous years and that the AGAR will need to be passed between the relevant individuals for signature.  Where individuals are self-isolating it is hoped that local assistance will be available to facilitate this.  

If smaller authorities are able to keep to the regular reporting timetable as much as is possible and practical by making use of their ability to hold virtual meetings, they are very much encouraged to do so.   

Link to audit pages of PKF Littlejohn including the full instructions for the audit process for all Parish Councils and Parish Meetings

Submission deadline

Please note that the submission deadline for the receipt of the approved AGAR and supporting documentation or the Certificate of Exemption (as appropriate) is Friday 31 July 2020.

If you are not able to meet this deadline please contact PKF Littlejohn

 to arrange an alternative submission date (subject to below) to avoid incurring the administrative charges. 

Non-submission will lead to chargeable chaser letters being issued (£40 plus VAT for all financially active smaller authorities).  It is important to note, however, that in a change to prior years:

• no submission deadlines will be granted beyond 13 November;
• it will only be possible to extend submission deadlines by a maximum of 4 weeks at a time providing sufficient justification explaining the need for the extension is given;
• a statutory recommendation will be issued to all financially active non-responding authorities that fail to submit their documents by 13 November.  Statutory recommendations for non-response are charged at the standard fee rate depending on the authority’s expenditure banding and hence give rise to a minimum additional fee of £200 plus VAT. 

IMPORTANT:  If a financially active smaller authority is issued with a statutory recommendation (and/or a public interest report) for 2019/20 it will not be able to claim exemption from a limited assurance review for 2020/21, regardless of whether it meets all other criteria.  

If you are a Parish Meeting you will need to request a 4-week extension to your submission date as you are not able to hold a meeting under the current Government Covid 19 restrictions. Depending on circumstances further extension requests may be required.

Staff and Contractors

Staff and Contractors

Updated 15 April

• Working safely during coronavirus: The Government's section on outdoor work may be of particular relevance to many local councils.

Home working

Staff should be helped to work from home where possible. This mostly happens anyway with the majority of Clerks

Litterpickers/bin collections in parks

From a public safety/cleanliness point of view these staff will need to keep working while the parks are open. However, staff should abide by social distancing requirements and where possible co-ordinate their activities for quieter parts of the day.

Grass Cutting

If the work is being conducted through a contract ask them to see their policy for dealing with this crisis. In particular hand washing social distancing. The work should be able to continue if they are willing to do it. They should be asked to carry out this work early morning when it is likely to be quiet and they should not get involved in conversations except at a safe distance. If the contractor feels they should stay at home you should respect their decision.

Finance

Finance

In a press release the government last week announced: The deadline for local government financial audits will be extended to 30 September 2020

We are waiting for the government to issue further guidance however with the restrictions on meetings and the requirements for internal audit, access for electors to view the accounts and the requirement for signatures on the Annual Return it is likely this will be delayed.

Spending money

Within your financial regulations permissions should already be in place for the Clerk to undertake emergency expenditure if required,

In addition, there will be a default permission to spend against agreed budgets.

You should have considered any gaps or improvements in your financial processes and tried to incorporate them in the delegated powers that have been given to the clerk during this period.

Online banking and Cheques

We advise that if you are currently undertaking online banking to continue with this

If you are not currently using online banking, we recommend that you look into the possibility of arranging it as restrictions may go on for a long time

If you are unable to arrange online banking, then we would advise to make arrangements for cheques to be signed while adhering to government guidelines on social distancing and self-isolation

WALC would like you to take this opportunity to seriously consider switching to on line banking.

Many Councils have already switched to online banking and are finding paying invoices by bank transfer much easier and quicker than using cheques.  Online banking removes the need for cheques to passed between people and also helps those you are paying who are now being charged some hefty fees for the banking of cheques.

Most of the major high street banks have excellent online banking services which would allow the Clerk to raise a payment and two other signatories to authorise the expenditure making it very safe for Councils to use.

WALC and many of our members use Unity Trust Bank that already provide banking services to many Parish Councils with a platform that was developed by working with a local Town Council.  If you decided to switch they will guide you through the set up and have a very good telephone help line which is open Monday-Friday 8:30 am - 5 pm

We recommend that you speak to your current bank and find out what options are available.

Village Halls, Council Buildings & Community Facilities

Village Halls, Council Buildings & Community Facilities

updated 23 July 

Version 4 of the ACRE Re-opening Information Sheet has been issued on 20th July 2020 this can be downloaded from the WRCC website.

We recently ran a briefing session on the re-opening of village halls, led by Kim Slater of WRCC, you can watch the whole session on our YouTube channel.

The government produced guidance for the safe use of multi-purpose community facilities and guidance for the safe use of council buildings which include what activities can take place from 4 July and what practical steps can be taken to manage risks.

Play areas, open spaces & outdoor sport facilities

Play areas and Outdoor Spaces

updated 22 July 2020

The government has updated its guidance for managing play areas and outdoor gyms. This amended guidance provides greater clarity as well as providing advice on what a council can do to mitigate against risks

BHIB Council’s Insurance have produced guidance on re-opening playgrounds plus a set of templates to help councils risk assess play areas (available to download here)

Also see the COVID-19 Risk Assessment Guide from NALC.

Following the government’s guidance for managing playgrounds and outdoor gyms, The Association of Play Industries has produced a useful summary document that provides their own interpretation of the government’s guidance. It aims to identify practical solutions that will allow public play areas to re-open at the weekend.

Information from the Play Inspection Company

With regards to opening your playgrounds without having conducted an annual inspection that was due, our advice is as follows:

1. It is important that some kind of inspection is carried out as a bare minimum, especially where sites have laid dormant for months and have not been checked at all – we would recommend that an in-depth operational / maintenance inspection is carried out on your site before opening it up to the public – this can be done in-house (definition from BS EN 1176 Part 7 below)
   "b). Operational Inspection The operational inspection is a more detailed inspection to check the operation and stability of the equipment, especially for any wear. This inspection should be every 1-3 months, or as indicated by the manufacturer's instructions.
   Special attention should be given to 'sealed-for-life' parts.
   NOTE1 Examples of visual and operational inspection points are cleanliness, equipment ground clearances, ground surface finishes, exposed foundations, sharp edges, missing parts, excessive wear (of moving parts) and structural integrity."
2. Ensure that any temporary barriers, hazard tape, chains or padlocks that have been used to restrict use of equipment or access to the area are removed safely from site once an inspection has been completed.
3. Consider providing temporary signage on your play area entrances / gates and posting on any social media channels you use, advising parents and supervisors to consider the following:
   Follow the current social distance guidelines when visiting and encourage your children to do the same.
   If the playground is busy, consider coming back at a later time. Talk to your children about this possibility before visiting.
   Wash your and your children’s hands before and after visiting. Ensure your children are using hand sanitiser frequently.
   Follow and adhere to all current government advice in addition to the above guidance.
4. If you are still not comfortable with opening your playground facility, please leave your playground closed until such time as it can be professionally inspected and advise your community that this is the case. If you do this, please ensure that any temporary barriers or equipment restrictions in place do not introduce additional hazards. We have seen numerous examples of sites that have been ‘closed off’ to the public during the COVID-19 Pandemic where the measures used have been quite frankly very dangerous. If you need any advice on this matter, then please contact us for assistance.

Safer public places - urban centres and green spaces — the Government has a dedicated section on green spaces with clear and succinct information on key issues to consider.

Guidance on the phased return of sport and recreation — the Government has a section for providers of outside sports facilities which may be relevant to many local councils.

Allotments

Allotments

The National Allotment Society has issued useful guidance on how to manage allotments in accordance with government regulations.

Burial Ground / Cemetery

Burial Ground / Cemetery

updated 22 April 2020

WALC cannot find a definitive answer to the issue of people being able to pay their respects to their loved ones.  Until there is formal guidance we suggest that most sites should be open for that purpose. However you should put a sign on the gates stressing the need for social distancing rules to be abide by (unless you are from the same household).  People should not enter just to walk around for "exercise".

If your burial ground is large and in an urban area where the likelihood of social distancing being an issue,  you had better use your own judgement and close the site to protect people.  You could perhaps consider an appointment system - but that may be too onerous to administer.

NB There are however strict regulations regarding actual burials which will be shared shortly

Cemetery workers, both admin and manual workers, are classed as key workers and will be allowed out to undertake their work. Preparations should be made to continue the work required. We would advise to keep up to date will any changes via the ICCM https://www.iccm-uk.com/iccm/

Data protection and GDPR

Data protection and GDPR

Updated 10th April

On 12 March the Information Commissioners Office (ICO) released a statement to reassure organisations seeking to support their communities at this time. It includes this information:

Data protection and electronic communication laws do not stop Government, the NHS or any other health professionals from sending public health messages to people, either by phone, text or email as these messages are not direct marketing. Nor does it stop them using the latest technology to facilitate safe and speedy consultations and diagnoses. Public bodies may require additional collection and sharing of personal data to protect against serious threats to public health.

The ICO is a reasonable and pragmatic regulator, one that does not operate in isolation from matters of serious public concern. Regarding compliance with data protection, we will take into account the compelling public interest in the current health emergency.

To support this statement the ICO has also produced further guidance around data protection and coronavirus.

Neighbourhood planning

Neighbourhood planning

Updated 10th April

The government has provided guidancewhere the coronavirus situation impacts on neighbourhood planning including the referendum process, decision-making, oral representations for examinations, and public consultation.  See below: 

What changes have been introduced to neighbourhood planning in response to the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic?

All members of society are required to adhere to guidance to help combat the spread of coronavirus (COVID-19). The guidance has implications for neighbourhood planning including: the referendum process; decision-making; oral representations for examinations; and public consultation. This planning guidance supersedes any relevant aspects of current guidance on neighbourhood planning, including in paragraphs 007, 056, 057, 061 and 081 until further notice.

• Referendums: All neighbourhood planning referendums that have been recently cancelled, or are scheduled to take place, between 16 March 2020 and 5 May 2021 are postponed in line with the Local Government and Police and Crime Commissioner (Coronavirus) (Postponement of Elections and Referendums) (England and Wales) Regulations 2020 until 6 May 2021.
• Decision-making: Where the local planning authority has issued a decision statement (as set out under Regulation 25 of the Neighbourhood Planning (General) Regulations 2012) detailing its intention to send a neighbourhood plan to referendum, that plan can be given significant weight in decision-making, so far as the plan is material to the application.
• Examinations: The general rule remains that examinations should be conducted by written representations. If an examiner considers that oral representations are necessary, these should not take place in person. Where feasible, oral representations may still take place using video conferencing or other suitable technologies.
• Public consultation: Neighbourhood planning groups or local planning authorities intending to undertake public consultation and notification (as set out under Regulation 14 and Regulation 16 respectively of the Neighbourhood Planning (General) Regulations 2012) should consider the government’s current guidance on staying at home and away from others or any superseding guidance.

Links to External Advice (National / County / District / Borough and other)

External Advice

 

National

• ACAS

  ACAS had put together a set of pages on advice for those employers dealing with Co-Vid 19

• COVID-19: testing for council workers

  Letter thanking councils in England for their support during the pandemic and outlining how staff can get tested.

• Gov.uk

  The latest Government guidance.

• How to help safely

  Government produced information

• ICCM

  Institute of Cemetery and Crematorium Management

• NALC

  The latest information from the National Association of Local Councils

• National Allotments Society

  The National Allotment Society is working to provide clarity for our members on what the virus outbreak and ensuing impacts will mean for Allotment Holders.

• NCVO

  Supporting charities and volunteers during coronavirus

• Share Checklist

  Before you like, comment or share online, use the SHARE checklist to make sure you’re not  contributing to the spread of harmful content. 

District / Borough / Local Information

• Birmingham City Council
• Coventry City Council
• North Warwickshire
• Rugby Borough Council
• Solihull Metropolitan Borough Council
• Stratford on Avon District Council
• Warwick District Council
• Warwickshire CAVA

  WCAVA will continually update you of new developments around COVID-19 and local responses as they occur.

Warwickshire County Council

• Coronavirus - food supply advice
• Coronavirus - information and guidance
• Coronavirus - volunteering

  There are two sections on this page
  - Advice for the voluntary and community sector and town and parish councils
  - Advice for people who want to get involved

• COVID-19 Community-Led Support Groups

  A directory of the local 'community led support activity' that has emerged across Warwickshire in response to the global crisis. 

• Guidance on social distancing
• Mental Health Advice
• WCC Adult Social Care
• WCC Children Services COVID-19