Resources
Guides for the council office
Plain-English answers to the questions clerks and RFOs actually deal with — statutory deadlines, good-practice process, and how to stay on top of it all.
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Meetings & governance
Standing orders & the scheme of delegation, in plain English
What standing orders, financial regulations and a scheme of delegation are for a parish council, how they differ, and why keeping them current matters.
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Meetings & governance
Handling complaints: the model complaints procedure
How a town or parish council should handle complaints — the model procedure, what it covers, and the different routes for conduct, staffing and data complaints.
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Meetings & governance
Agendas & minutes: the legal requirements for council meetings
The rules for town & parish council meetings — the three-clear-days notice, what belongs on an agenda, public access, and how minutes must be recorded and approved.
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Finance, audit & risk
Internal vs external audit: what each one covers
The difference between internal and external audit for a parish council — what each checks, who does it, and how they fit into the AGAR.
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Finance, audit & risk
Setting the precept: how parish councils fund themselves
What the precept is, how a town or parish council calculates and requests it, the timetable, and how it links to your budget and reserves.
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Finance, audit & risk
Building a parish council risk register
How a town or parish council builds and maintains a risk register — likelihood × impact scoring, what to include, and how it feeds the AGAR.
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Finance, audit & risk
AGAR explained: the annual return, deadlines and the assertions
A plain-English guide to the Annual Governance and Accountability Return (AGAR) for parish councils — the sections, the nine governance assertions, and the key dates.
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FOI & transparency
WCAG 2.2 AA: the accessibility duty for council websites
Why town & parish councils must meet WCAG 2.2 AA, what an accessibility statement needs, and the common failures that put councils in breach.
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FOI & transparency
The Transparency Code: what smaller councils must publish
A plain-English guide to the Transparency Code for Smaller Authorities — who it applies to, exactly what a parish council must publish, and when.
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FOI & transparency
Subject Access Requests (DSAR) for parish councils: the one-month rule
What a Subject Access Request means for a town or parish council, the one-month deadline, when you can extend it, and how to respond without exposing other people's data.
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FOI & transparency
FOI for town & parish councils: the 20-working-day rule explained
What the 20-working-day FOI deadline means for a parish council, how to count it correctly, when you can extend it, and how to stay on the right side of the law.
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