Guides

16 July 2026

What a parish council risk assessment must cover, how to structure it for AGAR Assertion 5, and the common failures that generate 'no' answers in the governance statement.

9 July 2026

What counts as a casual vacancy in a parish council, when to hold an election versus co-option, and the exact notice and 14-day window that determines the route.

2 July 2026

What parish council financial regulations cover, the annual review obligation, the NALC 2024 model, and how procurement rules changed under the Procurement Act 2023.

25 June 2026

What parish council standing orders are, where the legal power to make them comes from, what they should cover, and how to adopt and review them using the NALC model.

18 June 2026

How a parish council can run a newsletter lawfully — the local authority publicity code, the data protection rules for a mailing list, and the funding powers behind it.

11 June 2026

How parish councils fill a casual vacancy by co-option — the statutory 14-day notice, the by-election trigger, eligibility, the declaration of acceptance, and how challenges arise.

4 June 2026

What insurance a parish council actually needs — the one statutory cover, the proper-practice covers, and what an insurer's renewal questionnaire asks about your governance.

21 May 2026

What parish council minutes must contain, the one-month publication deadline, the draft-versus-signed distinction, and how to handle corrections.

14 May 2026

How parish councils set the precept — the November to January timeline, the council tax base, referendum thresholds, and common errors that delay approval.

7 May 2026

What a parish council publication scheme must contain under FOI Act 2000, the seven information classes, and the practical maintenance routine clerks need.

30 April 2026

Parish council websites must meet WCAG 2.2 AA. What changed in October 2024, what your accessibility statement must include, and how to evidence it at audit.

23 April 2026

What parish council clerks must do when a code of conduct complaint arrives — the process, common mistakes, and how to handle service complaints separately.

16 April 2026

Every compliance obligation your parish council must meet — governance, finance, data protection, digital, and publication requirements in one checklist.

9 April 2026

Every compliance obligation a parish council clerk is responsible for — governance, finance, data protection, digital compliance, and publication duties.

2 April 2026

The ICO flagged three recurring GDPR problems in parish councils — personal email, data hoarding, and sharing confusion. Here is how to fix each one.

26 March 2026

Step-by-step guide to creating, customising, and formally adopting a parish council IT policy that satisfies SAPPP Assertion 10 audit requirements.

19 March 2026

Everything parish council clerks need to know about AGAR — deadlines, what each section requires, how to prepare, and what changed with Assertion 10.

12 March 2026

Assertion 10 adds digital and data compliance to your parish council audit — domain, email, IT policy, accessibility, and GDPR. Here is what to do.

5 March 2026

What parish council internal auditors check against each AGAR assertion — evidence to prepare, common failures, and the new Assertion 10 digital requirements.

26 February 2026

Every item parish councils must publish under the Transparency Code for Smaller Authorities — what to publish, when, and in what format.

19 February 2026

How parish council clerks adopt, implement, and manage the LGA Model Code of Conduct — step-by-step adoption, register of interests, and breach handling.