New Financial Year, Nominations Buckinghamshire Council Area, New Standing Orders, JPAG, LLA Expansion, Martyn’s Law, Employment Costs Increase, BMKALC New Resources For Clerk Onboarding, Clerks Seminar 2025
Dear Colleagues,
Wow, what a week!
- New financial Year
- Nominations, elections and uncontested appointments announced for BC area
- New Standing Orders
- JPAG 25-26 published
- LLA Expansion approval announced
- Finally “Martyn’s Law” over the bar
- Employment costs go up
Hopefully your year end processes are in full swing, If you haven’t already done so, you will be appointing your internal auditor following resolution, with a formal letter of engagement and the list of tasks to be undertaken attached for their information. It’s also time to be clear on where your council stands on the AGAR so that you can choose the right form and course of action. for Parish Meetings please check out 2024/25 AGAR forms – Parish Meetings – PKF Littlejohn.
Circulated to clerks for interest purposes the BC Highways Community Board guidance document which was reissued last year. You may already have received it, but I hadn’t seen it before, additionally our MK family members might find some of the explanations useful even though their local processes will differ, I’ll ask Kay if there is an MK version to share too.
From NALC this week, updated Standing Orders to absorb the changes in the Procurement Act have been published. We also had the SAPPP, JPAG in old money, being issued and I drew to your attention the need to be moving to secure websites and corporate email addresses. In an update I attended earlier this week, auditors may be asked to check and report back councils whether or not their websites comply with the legal requirements.
Can I also encourage all our Internal Auditors to join the Internal Auditor Forum, it cost £15 pa but you will find really useful tools to get you through your workload. If there are any new IA’s out there who would like to be included on our website, please speak to Lorraine.
Also circulated to clerks resources and webinars coming up from Worknest, one of our HR partners.
In the BMKALC office this week, we have published the Councillor Induction Booklet and are in the final proofread stage of the Clerks Induction Booklet. The Clerks handover checklist will be published as a helpful tool on the website shortly.
We met also with representatives from the Bucks branch of the SLCC to discuss all the suggestions for the Clerks Seminar Day and have started to structure the event which will be likely be held in December. Fabulous suggestions, thank you everyone!
We anticipate further comment and advice from NALC and the SLCC now that Martyn’s Law is finally over the bar and will circuclate these as soon as we have them.
All this alongside our own year end processes. We are really looking forward to the Easter break! Have a brilliant weekend and we look forward to speaking with you soon.
Kind regards
Mel & Lorraine