Officer Development

This session is for offficers that are involved in procuring goods and services, preparing tenders, or entering into contracts on behalf of local councils.

There are currently no dates available for this course. Please check back again soon.

This course is designed to give councillors and clerks an understanding of what is involved in the development of a Neighbourhood Plan and associated documents such as Design Codes, with a view to enabling them to get started or review an existing plan.

This course is for clerks/RFOs, employees in finance and councillors. The course explains how VAT rules affect local councils, whether they are VAT registered or reclaim VAT using Form 126. It's particularly important for councils contemplating major building projects.

Please note: this course is Optional in the CDF but it should be considered Intermediate for councillors on Finance Committees.

This course explores what brand identity means for parish and town councils, why it matters, and how to create a clear and consistent identity that reflects your council’s purpose and values. 

This course is for clerks, finance staff and councillors who already understand the rules of VAT and explains when VAT cannot be reclaimed in relation to exempt activities and what options may be available.

It's ideal for 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 and vital for any council contemplating major building projects, or incurring significant expenditure on running these facilities.

Canva is a versatile design tool that can be used for free. It allows you to quickly create posters, newsletters and other physical documents. You can also create images for social media and websites as well as videos.

This course is for clerks/RFOs and employees who want to understand how to prepare their council’s Annual Governance & Accountability Return (AGAR) and comply with the requirements of the audit process.

The course explains the role of the internal auditor, what to expect from them and how they provide assurance to a council that it has sound financial controls. It also explains how to appoint one.

This session does NOT cover exemption from audit or the Transparency Code for Smaller Authorities. Please see the course, Year End & Transparency - councils under £25,000, for those topics.

A crisis could strike at any time and be anything from flooding to a meeting going viral.

There are many ways in which you could find yourself in the eye of the media storm. Brealthrough Communications will take participants through the detail of preparing for any crisis. Passing on expert tips and guidance on being prepared and the effective steps your council could take should the worst happen.

This course is for clerks/RFOs and employees who want to understand how to prepare their council’s Annual Governance & Accountability Return (AGAR) and comply with the requirements of the audit process.

The course covers the stages of the AGAR approval and publishing as well as ensuring publication of the information required by the Transparency Code for Smaller Authorities, compliance with the Accounts & Audit Regulations and exemption from audit.

In part three of Data Protection & GDPR training for councils, Breakthrough Communications covers data subject rights and information security.

The course explains how to deal with data subject rights, including Subject Access Requests (SARs), and the steps to take to ensure you are compliant and able to consider what exemptions may apply. There is also an introduction to information security for local councils and what this means in practice.