Cambridgeshire & Peterborough Association of Local Councils



February 2014 Bulletin

Cambridgeshire & Peterborough Association of Local Councils

WELCOME to the CAPALC February 2014 Bulletin

CLERKS please circulate this bulletin to chairmen, councillors and members of staff in printed form or in electronic form or email the web link at .uk

CAPALC BULLETIN - DIRECT TO YOU

If you are not already receiving your personal copy of the CAPALC Bulletin simply sign up on the home page of the CAPALC website at .uk to receive a copy direct to your PC, tablet or phone.

RECURRING THEMES

We keep a record of queries, questions and help requests that come into the CAPALC office and we do notice some recurring issues for clerks or councils

• DOG FOULING

This is a major and recurring issue for many of our parishes and towns. It is the most offensive type of litter on our streets and is consistently raised as a public concern.

Despite legislation a significant number of dog owners still fail to clean up after their dogs.

Dog fouling is not only unpleasant it is dangerous.

The biggest threat to public health from dog excrement is toxocariasis which results in illness and infection that lasts between six and 24 months. Symptoms include eye disorders, vague ache, dizziness, nausea, asthma and, in extremely rare cases, seizures/fits.

Toxocariasis can affect adults but most commonly affects children between 18 months and five years.

It is the responsibility of the dog owner or the person in charge of the dog to clear up any dog foul left by their dog. If the owner fails to clean up after their dog they can be issued with a Fixed Penalty Notice, or if the case goes to court a fine of up to £1,000.

The regulations state specifically, that being unaware that the dog has fouled, or not having a suitable means of removing the faeces is not a reasonable excuse for failing to clean up after your dog.

Byelaws however are difficult to enforce and it is rare for members of the public to challenge or report dog fouling often due to fear of reprisal.

Many local authorities have declassified dog waste as hazardous waste so that it can be deposited in the normal street litter bin, a fact that many dog owners may not know and something parish councils can capitalise on by producing posters for notice boards and other public places to better inform local dog owners.

Parish councils also have the power to fund dog bins where dogs are walked and where there is a shortage of litter bins.

Local Audit and Accountability Act 2014

Following agreement by both Houses on the text of the Bill it received Royal Assent on 30 January. The Bill is now an Act of Parliament (law).

In summary the new legislation:

• Abolishes the Audit Commission for local authorities and the National Health Service in England

• Makes provision about the accounts of local and certain other public authorities and the auditing of their accounts

• Makes provision about the appointment, functions and regulation of local auditors

• Makes provision about the publication of information by smaller authorities such as parish and town councils

• Makes provision for directions to comply with codes of practice on local authority publicity

• Makes provision about council tax referendums

The Act also outlines changes in the “clear days notice” period for meetings and repeals the Admission to Meetings legislation.

The actual detail of the legislation is not yet available but when it comes forward it will have a significant impact on parish and town councils.

Free childcare for two year olds

Two year olds from families on a low income may be eligible for 15 hours of free childcare and early learning a week, for 38 weeks of the year. You must be in receipt of one of the following benefits for your two year old to be eligible:

• Income Support

• Income Based Job Seekers Allowance

• Income-related Employment and Support Allowance

• Support under part VI of the Immigration & Asylum Act 1999

• Child Tax Credit if you are not entitled to Working Tax Credit and your annual income (as assessed by HM Revenue & Customs) does not exceed £16,190

• Guarantee element of State Pension Credit

There are currently vacancies for free childcare locally. These could be with childminders, preschools or nurseries, but all must have proved that they can offer a high-quality early education. Childminders, like nurseries and preschools, must be Ofsted registered and follow the Early Years Framework – a kind of curriculum for pre-school children and can be great for younger children because they have smaller groups of children and a home-from-home environment, and can look after different aged siblings together.

To find out more about childminders, nurseries and pre-schools, go to .uk/childcare or visit a Cambridgeshire Children’s Centre, or call Cambridgeshire County Council’s childcare information team on 0345 04 54 014.

Community building projects line up for grants

From community centres to brand new social housing schemes, the new £14 million Community Led Project Support fund is opening up possibilities for communities to push forward local building projects right across the country.

Locality is in touch with dozens of local groups and parish councils interested in taking up the grants to improve their communities. It is operating a free advice line through the My Community Rights support service to enable many more to come forward and discuss the options.

The grant pot managed by the HCA (Homes and Communities Agency) can be used to cover the cost of getting ideas for community building development off the drawing board and up to planning application stage, including paying for detailed site plans and professional fees.

Advice and support on all the Rights is being provided by Locality, which is the leading network of community groups in the country, with 700 members. Guidance on how to apply for Community Led Project Support funding is available through the My Community Rights advice service at .uk or by visiting the Homes and Communities Agency website.

The Rural Community Energy Fund

The Rural Community Energy Fund (RCEF) supports rural communities in England to develop renewable energy projects which deliver economic and social benefits to the community and reduce dependence on fossil fuels.

RCEF is being delivered by WRAP on behalf of the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (DEFRA) and Department for Energy and Climate Change (DECC).

The fund will provide support for communities in two stages:

• An initial grant of up to £20,000 will pay for investigations into the renewable energy project’s feasibility.

• A further £130,000 will then be available in the form of an unsecured loan, to allow projects to develop a robust business case to attract further investment.

RCEF launched earlier this year and demand has been strong and a number of parish councils have applied and have already received grant funding for their feasibility reports. RCEF is available to community organisations in England that represent a rural community of fewer than 10,000 residents (or larger market towns within a local authority area classified by the Office of National Statistics as 'predominantly rural’).

To find out more about the fund and eligibility criteria please click here or get involved with the RCEF Facebook RuralCommunityEnergyFund

Our Place – support and grants

Want to make your place better? Have more control over services and budgets in your area, making things work in the best way for local people. £4.3m of support and grants are available from Locality and partners including National Association of Local Councils. Open to applications from 20 January, apply early to avoid disappointment, visit the My Community Rights website.

Local Sport Clubs Could Benefit from Changes to the CASC Scheme

The tax relief rules that apply to local grassroots sports clubs have been amended, extending the existing Community Amateur Sports Club (CASC) scheme. It is estimated that over 40,000 clubs could benefit. The changes follow on from a consultation which took place from June to August this year.

The CASC scheme was introduced in 2002 to give amateur sports clubs some of the tax benefits available to charities. When the scheme was introduced, sports clubs were not considered to be eligible for charitable status, although this changed shortly afterwards. Sports clubs can now choose between charitable and CASC status.

The principal tax reliefs available to CASCs are business rates relief, relief from Corporation Tax on certain types of income and gains and Gift Aid relief on donations of money by individuals.

The amendments made to the scheme will:

• Bring in a new cap on membership costs. Any club that charges more than £10 per week in membership costs will have to offer alternatives such as special discounts for those who can't afford it. No club will be able to charge a membership fee of more than £31 per week and get the tax relief

• Increase the amount that can be earned tax free from club bars, cafes and venue hire. Clubs who generate income with trading subsidiaries such as bars or cafes will be able to donate more of their profits back into the sports club tax free. This allows the club to keep more of the income from their own members and they will also be able to generate up to £50,000 from trading (increased from £30,000) and £30,000 from rental income (increased from £20,000) from non-members before paying corporation tax

• Expand scope for clubs to pay player fees and expenses. The scheme will be expanded so clubs can support promising players through a wider range of expenses for the first time. It will also allow businesses to donate to sports clubs tax free for the first time. To encourage local donations, corporations and local businesses who donate to sports clubs will be able to offset their donation against their corporation tax bill. This will encourage larger donations

• The reliefs already offered by CASCs include corporation tax exemptions to non members of £30,000 for trading and £20,000 for rental income. They can also claim gift aid on individual donations, and are exempt from 80% of business rates. These changes will mean that over 40,000 more clubs have the potential to benefit from these new rules, and this will provide greater opportunity for more people to participate in their local sports team.

Economic Secretary to the Treasury, Nicky Morgan said:

Many of the stars of Team GB started their careers in local sports clubs and I've no doubt they'll be the breeding ground for tomorrow's British Olympic legends too. But the wonderful thing about local clubs is that they are open to anyone who wants to get involved; whether as a way of getting fit, or simply of meeting new people and making friends.

These new rules will help community amateur sports clubs continue to offer a local, affordable place to take part and I hope that even more people are encouraged to become involved in sport locally.

Currently, 6,000 clubs have benefited from the CASC scheme, saving over £100 million in business rates relief alone, and over £12 million from Gift Aid.

Local councils EXPLAINED

Local councils EXPLAINED is NALC’s new book about local councils. The book, with over 200 pages, provides easy to read narrative about the role of local (parish and town) councils, their councillors and officers and how they work. There is comprehensive and practical guidance about the legal issues that local councils are exposed to.

To order your copy now, view sample pages, reviews and for more information please contact Tina on 01480 375629 or email accounts@.uk

Parishes encouraged to make direct proposals to DCLG

Under Sustainable Communities Act, 2007 is a legal order allowing parishes to formally make direct proposals to the DCLG Secretary of State under the Second Round Invitation of the Sustainable Communities Act, 2007.

NALC is promoting parish use of the Act in forthcoming issues of the E-Bulletin and DIS as the parish sector now collectively needs to focus on promoting appropriate parish proposals and indeed encouraging parishes to submit direct proposals to DCLG under the Act. All parishes in England need to have sight of the link on the NALC SCA web-page when and before making proposals under the Act.

A simple 4-step process has been formulated by NALC and is recommended to parishes to follow before formally submitting their proposals under the Act, to DCLG. A submitting parish council should;

1) Consult its community as to which ideas residents would like to have considered for a direct proposal;

2) Then formally agree with its community (possibly in response to a local policy problem which can’t otherwise be resolved locally) the wording of a formal proposal;

3) Then the council needs to formally resolve to pass the proposal and send it to DCLG at the Barrier Busting website.

4) DCLG then responds saying either ‘yes’ the proposal is passed (in which case the council uses the Barrier Busting Tracker at the above link to track progress with implementing the proposal) or ‘no’. If DCLG say ‘no’ the council can leave it at that and not re-submit a proposal, or can re-word a proposal and submit it to chris.borg@.uk to ensure that the NALC SCA Board makes a decision as to whether to re-submit it (or not), to DCLG. If the Board says ‘no’, it must give reasons to the council. In most cases, though, the Board will probably re-submit a (possibly amended) proposal to DCLG on the council’s behalf and the same process outlined immediately above is followed.

Councils are strongly encouraged to start the process of submitting direct proposals to DCLG as soon as possible.

Local Councils Insurance

NALC has lobbied AON UK Ltd and this has resulted in 30% off its standard local councils insurance premium until 31 March 2014† plus an additional 5% if you are a Quality Council and 5% if you sign a three-year Long Term Agreement.

Find out more about local councils insurance and fill in an online application. † 30% discount does not apply to the Legal Expenses part of this cover.

FEEDBACK

If you would like to contribute articles or have any positive critical comments please let us know by clicking on accounts@.uk and emailing us.

CAPALC Unit 7, The Meadows, Meadow Lane, St Ives PE27 4LG.

Website .uk Email accounts@.uk Telephone 01480 375629

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