Councillor Development

What to do if you consider a bad / unlawful planning decision has been made. Suitable for new to role councillors, refresher for existing and experienced councillors. beneficial for clerks and their teams where they have one.

This session is designed for councillors, regardless of whether you are an experienced chairperson or whether you are new to the role. 

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

In this session we walk you through the essential ways to get the most out of key social media platforms as a local councillor, what issues to be mindful of, and we provide top tips to engage with your residents.

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 is for councillors only and is designed to give them a greater understanding of their duties with regard to the council’s finances.

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 session is for councillors only and is designed to give them a greater understanding of their duties with regard to the council’s finances.

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.

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 will help you understand your legal obligations to yourself and to your council and how to get things right. as well as introducing Freedom of Information and what this means for councillors.

For councillors, clerks/RFO's and officers.

This session is for councillors only and is designed to give them a greater understanding of their duties with regard to the council’s finances.

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.

Interesting and informative training for new chairs and vice chairs to council and committees, councillors considering the role of chair or as a refresher for those with more experience. 

Interesting and informative training for new chairs and vice chairs to council and committees, councillors considering the role of chair or as a refresher for those with more experience. 

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

Being a newly elected or co-opted councillor can Initially be quite daunting and difficult to understand, 

The New Councillor Essentials will give delegates a good introduction to parish and town life.

Being a newly elected or co-opted councillor can Initially be quite daunting and difficult to understand, 

The New Councillor Essentials will give delegates a good introduction to parish and town life.

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.

This session is for councillors only and is designed to give them a greater understanding of their duties with regard to the council’s finances.

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 this session we walk you through the essential ways to get the most out of key social media platforms as a local councillor, what issues to be mindful of, and we provide top tips to engage with your residents.

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

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

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.

This session is for councillors only and is designed to give them a greater understanding of their duties with regard to the council’s finances.

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.

For parish and town councillors with less than one years’ experience.

Being a newly elected or co-opted councillor can Initially be quite daunting and difficult to understand, 

The New Councillor Essentials will give delegates a good introduction to parish and town life.

Some recent feedback from new councillors attending this training:

“A very good course. The instructor was very open to receiving questions”

“Every subject was covered if only briefly and it then allows you to have an overall understanding and to go into more specific detail of a subject in its own particular training course”

“The delivery was very good and everything was explained thoroughly”

“I think this should be mandatory for all councillors”

For parish and town councillors with less than one years’ experience.

Being a newly elected or co-opted councillor can Initially be quite daunting and difficult to understand, 

The New Councillor Essentials will give delegates a good introduction to parish and town life.

Some recent feedback from new councillors attending this training:

“A very good course. The instructor was very open to receiving questions”

“Every subject was covered if only briefly and it then allows you to have an overall understanding and to go into more specific detail of a subject in its own particular training course”

“The delivery was very good and everything was explained thoroughly”

“I think this should be mandatory for all councillors”

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 is for councillors only and is designed to give them a greater understanding of their duties with regard to the council’s finances.

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.

In this session we walk you through the essential ways to get the most out of key social media platforms as a local councillor, what issues to be mindful of, and we provide top tips to engage with your residents.

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.