The Improvement and Development Board will be launching the new Local Councils Award Scheme in January 2014. The Board is comprised of Department of Communities and Local Government, the Local Government Association, the National Association of Local Councils and the Society of Local Council Clerks. This brand new scheme will enable councils to apply for an award at one of three levels:

  • the Foundation Awardwhich demonstrates that a council meets the minimum requirements for operating lawfully and according to standard practice;
  • the Quality Awardwhich demonstrates that a council achieves good practice in governance, community engagement and council improvement; and
  • The Quality Gold Awardwhich demonstrates that a council is at the forefront of best practice and achieves excellence in governance, community leadership and council development.

Central to the scheme is to be a system of “peer review”. In other words councils applying for any level of award will have their applications judged by an accreditation panel made up of councillors and clerks who have the necessary extensive knowledge and experience of the key areas over which applications will be judged. Those are:

  • good governance in managing the business and finances of a council;
  • community leadership and promotion of the democratic process; and
  • council improvement through the management and development of staff and councillors.

ERNLLCA wishes to recruit a pool of suitably qualified councillors and clerks to be appointed to the local Accreditation Panel.

The vast majority of the work will be carried outremotely. A council applying for an award will contact NALC which, in turn, will inform ERNLLCA. The Executive Officer will then appoint no less than three panel members (for some larger councils, more may be appointed) to carry out the assessment. Web links will be provided to enable panel members to electronically interrogate applicant councils’ websites and, having done so, complete an assessment form. Those forms will then be sent electronically to the ERNLLCA office and a decision recorded. It is not expected, at this stage, that there will be any need for panel members to meet other than where an application is made at Quality Gold level. In those circumstances one or two members of the panel may be asked to visit the applicant council to interview councillors and the clerk.

When the membership of the panel has been finalised, all will be invited to attend a briefing event at which the accreditation process will be explained. It will be a condition of being accepted to the panel that the appointed councillors and clerks attend this event and every effort will be made to find a date that suits everyone.

Attached, in order to help applicants, is a copy of the briefing paper about the scheme, but please be aware that there may yet be minor changes to the content of this document. Also attached is an application form which must be completed for would-be panel members to be considered.

Shown below is, to all intents and purposes, a Person Specification for the role of Accreditation Panel Member. This has been put together to help candidates assess their own abilities to fulfil the role. The following simple examples may help you with your own “assessment” of yourself:

  • At Foundation Level councils will be expected to have in place Standing Orders andFinancial Regulations which (and I quote from the guidance) are “for operating lawfully and according to standard practice”. Panel members will therefore have to be able to determine whether or not such documents meet those standards, as opposed to merely noting that the documents exist;
  • At Quality Level councils must have up-to-date insurance policies that mitigate risks to public money. Panel members will have to interrogate the council’s risk management approach in order to make a judgement;
  • At Quality Gold Level councils must deliver value for money. Panel members will have to make judgements on that.

Having placed all of this responsibility on panel members’ shoulders, it will come as no surprise that the Government has not made any funding available to support the delivery of this scheme. Therefore much is being asked of those people appointed to the Accreditation Panel in that they will be asked to give their time to the process. Access to the internet and an ability to interrogate electronically will be essential criteria that Panel members must possess. In a situation where the Executive Officer has to ask Panel members to meet, travel expenses will be paid at 45p per mile.

Finally, the scheme stipulates an application turn-around timescale of two months from submission. Given that the ERNLLCA office has to fulfil certain administrative duties with the regard to the scheme, and some time has to built in to allow for any follow-up questions to a council, panel members must be able to carry out an assessment within 28 days of being notified. Clearly there will be times when this is not possible because of other commitments and all that will be asked of Panel members is that they notify ERNLLCA by return in order that another Panel member can be allocated to that application. Where a panel member has a question on an application, this must be referred to the Executive Officer who will communicate with the council on the panel’s behalf.

Suggested criteria for an accreditation panel member:

  • Attendance at a training event to be briefed on the panel members’ role;
  • Substantial experience or detailed knowledge of parish and town councils;
  • Substantial experience or detailed knowledge of the key assessment areas of Good Governance, Community Leadership and Council Improvement, as required by the Scheme;
  • Ability to carry out interrogation of council websites and communicate with ERNLLCA by electronic means;
  • Ability to assess the lawfulness of governance documents and governance arrangements;
  • Ability to make reasonable judgements on council policies and strategies where panel members have to assess their suitability;
  • Experience of carrying out assessments;
  • Availability to carry out an assessment within 28 days.

Would-be applicants do not have to be proposed by their councils. The closing date for applications is 28 February 2015.

Alan Barker

Executive Officer

January 2015

APPLICATION FORM

Private and Confidential

Please complete all sections in full, in black ink or typescript

Personal information

Post applied for: / ERNLLCA Accreditation Panel Member
Post reference: / 2014/LCAS
Full Name:
Address:
Daytime telephone number:
E-mail address:

Are you a Councillor or a Clerk? Please highlight as appropriate (if both, please fill in both sections below)

CouncillorClerk

CLERK
Name and address of current and past council/s (with years in post) / Job Title / Summary of duties
COUNCILLOR
Name and address of current and past council/s (with years in office) / Positions held / Main achievements as a councillor

Do you hold any qualifications or experience which may help you as a Panel member? Please give details.

Please provide any further information in support of your application

Please check that all sections of this application form have been completed.

Declaration:
I hereby declare that, to the best of my knowledge, the information given on this form is correct and complete. I understand that if any statement is false or misleading, or if I have withheld relevant information, my application may be disqualified or, if I have already been appointed to the Accreditation Panel, I may be immediately suspended and possibly disqualified.
Signed: ……………………………………………… Date: ………………………..
Please return this form to: ERNLLCA, Suite 8, Waters Edge Business Centre, Maltkiln Road, Barton upon Humber, DN18 5JR or by e-mail to no later than 28 February 2015.
All applicants, successful or otherwise, will be informed of the outcome. Application forms from unsuccessful applicants will be safely destroyed and that person given written confirmation that this action has been taken.
FOR OFFICE USE ONLY:

Received Confirmed Decision