Clerk Development

This session deep dives into how councils are required to demonstrate accountability with UK GDPR.

With recent changes in political direction following the General Election, join Andrew Towlerton to understand the possible implications on the National Planning Policy Framework (NPPF). Come armed with your questions for an interesting and informative update on this topic.

Learn how to create a public communications strategy that supports the delivery of your council’s priorities, aims and objectives.

This session is for clerks, finance staff and councillors. It explains how VAT rules affects local councils, focussing on those that are not VAT registered, but reclaim VAT using Form VAT126. Essential for any council contemplating major building projects

This introductory session is for inexperienced clerks, deputy/assistant clerks and finance officers 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.

This session is for people who have never used Canva before. We will go through the basics and show you how to get the most out of the free version. Our goal is to get you started with Canva and to help your Council to communicate better.

This session is aimed at officers of parish & town councils, who are involved in preparing and monitoring their council's budgets.

For anyone involved in procuring goods and services, preparing tenders or entering into contracts on behalf of local councils.

Ideal for new councillors recently in roles after the May 2024 elections, or for returning councillors wanting a refresher course. This course may benefit new to role clerks and members of their team where they have one.

This data protection session considers how to deal with data subject rights requests, including Subject Access Requests.

For councillors, clerks/RFO's and officers.

Ideal for new councillors recently in roles after the May 2024 elections, or for returning councillors wanting a refresher course. This course may benefit new to role clerks and members of their team where they have one.

This session gives councillors and officers an understanding of the need for internal controls and how they work, with practical examples and case studies.

This session takes participants through the detail of preparing for any crisis. We pass on expert tips and guidance on being prepared, and cover the effective steps your council could take should the worst happen.

This session is for clerks, finance staff and councillors from VAT registered councils, who wish to develop their knowledge of how VAT applies to their council's activities.

This course looks at what requirements and obligations local councils have when it comes to Freedom of Information.

Discover the tools, strategies and techniques needed to better promote your own messages but also to better respond to the voices within your local community.

In this session we  explore how to get the most from each of the key social media platforms and how to ensure your social media content is delivering on your council’s communications objectives.

This introductory session is for inexperienced clerks, deputy/assistant clerks and finance officers 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.

In this session we explore what we actually mean by the term ‘young people’, what issues matter to different groups of younger people and how to effectively reach and engage them, both online and offline

This session is for experienced Canva users.

During the session we will focus on the advanced features of Canva, showing you how your Council can get more out of this online graphic design tool.

In a constantly changing legislative landscape, it is important that councils have the most up-to-date understanding of data protection legislation. They should also have a good grasp of their data protection obligations.

Explore how to create a social media strategy and the basics of Facebook. Our goal is to share with you time-saving tools and techniques. Hopefully, this will help you and your council to be more confident using social media.

For councillors and officers that want to understand the role of the internal auditor and how to appoint one. (Please note, this is NOT a training session for people who want to undertake internal audits)

In this session we explore what we actually mean by the term ‘young people’, what issues matter to different groups of younger people and how to effectively reach and engage them, both online and offline

This session is for clerks, finance staff and councillors. It explains how VAT rules affects local councils, focussing on those that are not VAT registered, but reclaim VAT using Form VAT126. Essential for any council contemplating major building projects

This session deep dives into how councils are required to demonstrate accountability with UK GDPR.

Learn how to create a public communications strategy that supports the delivery of your council’s priorities, aims and objectives.

For anyone involved in procuring goods and services, preparing tenders or entering into contracts on behalf of local councils.

In this session we explore practical techniques to manage difficult conversations and situations in a council environment.

This session gives councillors and officers an understanding of the need for internal controls and how they work, with practical examples and case studies.

NEW UPDATE SESSION FOR 2025

This webinar will outline the key aspects of the government reforms contained in the National Planning Policy Framework (NPPF) and more generally that will have implications for local councils and explore how they are likely to work in practice.

Learn effective ways to raise awareness and interest in the work of the council, in order to better promote and demystify the role of a councillor.

This introductory session is for inexperienced clerks, deputy/assistant clerks and finance officers 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.

Don’t miss The Big Lunch webinar for councils and housing associations

In this session we consider how to deal with data subject rights requests, including Subject Access Requests (SARs) and the importance of Information Security for local councils and what this means in practice..

For councillors, clerks/RFO's and officers.

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.

Ideal for new councillors recently in role, or for returning councillors wanting a refresher course. This course may benefit new to role clerks and members of their team where they have one.

Some recent feedback from delegates attending this course:

“Presentation was very clear and didn’t presume any prior knowledge. The trainer was happy to take questions throughout”

“This was a good refresher for me, packed with useful information and with excellent examples”

“Andrew’s delivery of the information was the best I have attended so far, clear, informative with memorable examples that make the principles stick in the mind”

This session takes participants through the detail of preparing for any crisis. We pass on expert tips and guidance on being prepared, and cover the effective steps your council could take should the worst happen.

This course looks at what requirements and obligations local councils have when it comes to Freedom of Information.

This session is for clerks, finance staff and councillors from VAT registered councils, who wish to develop their knowledge of how VAT applies to their council's activities.

Discover the tools, strategies and techniques needed to better promote your own messages but also to better respond to the voices within your local community.

NEW FOR 2025

This session builds on the Basic Introduction to Planning webinar and covers some of the more specialised aspects of the planning system as well as looking at some aspects in more detail.

For officers who want to understand how to prepare their council’s Annual Governance & Accountability Return and comply with the requirements of the audit process.

This session does NOT cover exemption from audit or the Transparency Code for smaller Authorities. We have alternative sessions for councils under £25,000 that need those topics.

This session is for clerks, finance staff and councillors. It explains how VAT rules affects local councils, focussing on those that are not VAT registered, but reclaim VAT using Form VAT126. Essential for any council contemplating major building projects

Learn effective ways to raise awareness and interest in the work of the council, in order to better promote and demystify the role of a councillor.

This session gives councillors and officers an understanding of the need for internal controls and how they work, with practical examples and case studies.

Join Clare Lucas for 30 minutes to find out exactly what Canva, Mailchimp and Trello are and how they can help you.

In this session we explore what we actually mean by the term ‘young people’, what issues matter to different groups of younger people and how to effectively reach and engage them, both online and offline