Support for switching to a gov.uk domain!
Catch up here on the Parish Council Domains Helper Service sessions held to help councils learn more about switching to a gov.uk domain!
Advice in the Practitioners Guide, which represents best practice for local councils as required by the Accounts and Audit Regulations 2015, has changed this year and now recommends that local councils have a gov.uk domain name (download the Practitioner’s Guide here)
The Cabinet Office set up the Parish Council Domains Helper Service to provide help to parish councils who want to make that change. That currently includes practical support, as well as some finite funding which will only be available this year, to help councils make the switch.
The Parish Council Domains Helper Service have written a number of blogs for us, covering different aspects of a gov.uk domain to help you make your decision:
- There’s never been a better time to switch to a gov.uk domain
- Is a gov.uk domain mandatory?
- Why the question ‘how much does a gov.uk domain cost’ is not easy to answer
- Understanding your council’s responsibility towards an accessible website
Learn more about gov.uk with our webinars!
We recently held two free webinars for our member councils with the Parish Council Domains Helper Service to help you learn more about the benefits of a government domain, what support might be available, and what the next steps might be. We had a session for clerks and a session for councillors, and you can catch up on both those recordings below in case you weren’t able to make it.
Parish Council Domains Helper Session | Clerks
Parish Council Domains Helper Service | Councillors
More information about gov.uk
The Parish Council Domains Helper Service has also sent through a welcome pack for all our member councils, which have move information about the help that’s available for you to switch domains.
You can also join them at one of their FREE sessions designed to help take you through the process:
- Overview of gov.uk domains – a no-commitment session with guidance on how to move over, what you need to consider, and how much it will cost. Join a session here.
- Getting set up on your new domain – for councils who already have, or will soon have, a gov.uk domain. Join a session here.
- Keeping it going – guidance on good practice and security for councils who have gov.uk domains. Join a session here.
You can also email the service directly on parish-helper@domains.gov.uk where they will be delighted to assist.
Understanding your council’s responsibility towards an accessible website
Every council, regardless of the domain it uses, has a legal obligation to ensure its website, and the information on it, is accessible to the whole community.
What does this mean? Ideally, your website and all of its content should be accessible for everyone regardless of any visual, hearing, cognitive, motor impairments or learning difficulties they may have.
However, it is rare to find any website that is 100% accessible. And small councils – where there is little budget available to redesign a website – may find this particularly difficult.
These councils can set aside their accessibility obligation if they can show that making all the necessary changes would be a ‘disproportionate burden’. In other words, if they can prove the council cannot afford to make the changes required to make its website accessible.
It is, however, important for every council to demonstrate that it is committed to accessibility. At a minimum, you must include an accessibility statement on your website. This statement should include contact details for people to raise any concerns about your website’s accessibility. It should also include links (if possible) to an accessible version of any published information – for example, a PDF document is not accessible so providing a link to a Word document would be helpful.
A website is an important communication tool for all councils reaching out to every section of their communities. Councils can complete their own basic accessibility check to see where improvements can be made. Councils are also encouraged to read the guidance on GOV.UK on how to make your website accessible and publish an accessibility statement.
More information
This is the last in a series of blogs from the Parish Council Domains Helper Service, other blogs include:
- There’s never been a better time to move to a gov.uk domain
- Is a gov.uk domain mandatory?
- Why the question ‘how much does a .gov.uk domain cost’ is not easy to answer!
Why the question ‘how much does a .gov.uk domain cost’ is not easy to answer!
At the Parish Council Domains Helper Service, we are often asked ‘how much does a .gov.uk domain cost?’ and we always pause before answering.
On the surface, ‘how much does a gov.uk domain cost?’ appears to be quite a simple question but, actually, there are some complexities! This is because the cost of moving over to a .gov.uk domain depends on two key factors:
- The services that a council might need to buy in addition to the domain itself
- The .gov.uk Approved Registrar that a council chooses to work with
Let’s look at these in turn – first up, services:
At a very minimum, a council will need to buy a .gov.uk domain from a .gov.uk Approved Registrar who will manage and monitor it on their behalf.
However, councils may also need to factor in the purchase of other services such as emails, a website or data storage and migration. The cost of these services will vary – for example, a council buying 10 email addresses with a large amount of storage will pay more than a smaller council that only needs to buy one email address. Similarly, a council that wants to completely redesign their website will pay more than a council who wants to keep their existing website, but connect this to their new domain.
Costs will also vary from one .gov.uk Approved Registrar to another. An Approved Registrar is a company who buys and manages a .gov.uk domain on behalf of a council. These companies operate in a commercial marketplace so the prices they charge will differ. For example, some include the cost of a domain in a ‘bundle’; some offer a domain free of charge when purchasing other services; some add a small mark-up to the wholesale cost of a .gov.uk domain.
So, in essence, costs will always vary:
- From council to council, based on their service and support needs, and
- From one Approved Registrar to another depending on their commercial offering
Sounds complicated? It doesn’t need to be. The Parish Council Domains Helper Service has established a shortlist of Approved Registrars for councils to select from. All of these have experience and knowledge of working with councils and have committed to providing an enhanced level of support to councils as part of the Service. They also understand what kinds of services councils need and the kinds of budgets they are working to.
As a government organisation, the Cabinet Office is commercially neutral – we are not able to direct councils to any particular provider. The shortlist helps narrow down the choice and makes clear what services each Approved Registrar offers. However, we still encourage councils to research which of these companies can best serve their needs and are most competitively priced. We suggest putting together at least three quotes to help councils make an informed decision. We also recommend that no decision is based on cost alone.
If your council is thinking about moving to a .gov.uk domain, you can register their interest by completing a short form or emailing parish-helper@domains.gov.uk.
Authors: Sandra Lowe, Will Christmas – Parish Council Domains Helper Service, Cabinet Office
More information
Please note that there is currently some funding available to help parish councils move to gov.uk. Read here for more details.
This is third in a series of blogs from the Parish Council Domains Helper Service, other blogs include:
- There’s never been a better time to move to a gov.uk domain
- Is a gov.uk domain mandatory?
- Understanding your council’s responsibility towards an accessible website
Webinars to learn more!
Clerks Session
All clerks are invited to join this FREE networking session to find out more about moving to a gov.uk domain.
24 June, 10 – 11am
Councillor Session
Councillors are invited to join this FREE networking event to find out more about moving to a gov.uk domain.
2 July, 12 – 1pm
Is a gov.uk domain mandatory?
It is a common misconception that owning a .gov.uk domain is a mandatory requirement for all councils. This is not the case. However, using a .gov.uk domain for council business, email, and your website is absolutely a sign of good practice, trust and professionalism.
Local (parish and town councils) considering a move to a .gov.uk domain but unsure of their obligations should refer to the latest Practitioners Guide 2024. In strengthened language for the 2024 edition, the guide states that ‘community, suppliers and partners will now reasonably expect a local council to have a .gov.uk domain.’ Section 5.212 provides full details, and there is an important note in Section 1.26 about the use of email for council business.
Councils with a .gov.uk domain benefit from:
- Robust security measures and monitoring for cyber vulnerabilities by the Cabinet Office
- Emails that are immediately recognisable as legitimate and trustworthy by the recipient
- Separation of personal and professional communications – recipients will always understand the capacity in which you are emailing
- Administrative control over email accounts for easy management of change (new joiners, leavers, sudden absences) as well as Freedom of Information / Subject Access Requests
- Peace of mind that your council’s .gov.uk domain will never be sold to another organisation should it not be renewed on time
The Parish Council Domains Helper Service is available for local councils aspiring to use a .gov.uk domain. Tailored support is available at every step of the process, from initial decision-making and choosing the correct .gov.uk Approved Registrar to setting up your new domain and maintaining good practices. Virtual sessions are accompanied by guides containing checklists, templates, and detailed, practical information.
To register your interest, complete this short form, and the Parish Council Domains Helper Service will send you a welcome pack and an invitation to join one of our introductory sessions. Please note that attending the first introductory session does not obligate you to move to a .gov.uk domain. Councillors and clerks are welcome to come along to learn more; there is no obligation to move forward with a new domain by attending. Questions can also be directed to parish-helper@domains.gov.uk.
Authors: Will Christmas, Sandra Lowe – Parish Council Domains Helper Service, Cabinet Office
More information
This is the second in a series of blogs from the Parish Council Domains Helper Service, other blogs include:
- There’s never been a better time to move to a gov.uk domain
- Why the question ‘how much does a .gov.uk domain cost’ is not easy to answer!
- Understanding your council’s responsibility towards an accessible website
Webinars to learn more!
Clerks Session
All clerks are invited to join this FREE networking session to find out more about moving to a gov.uk domain.
24 June, 10 – 11am
Councillor Session
Councillors are invited to join this FREE networking event to find out more about moving to a gov.uk domain.
2 July, 12 – 1pm
There’s never been a better time to move to a .gov.uk domain
Thinking about moving over to a .gov.uk domain? Here are four great reasons why there’s never been a better time to make the move:
Funding: 1000 eligible councils will receive a discount of £100 +VAT to offset the initial costs of setting up a new .gov.uk domain in this financial year. It is extremely unlikely that this funding will be available in future years. Funding is offered on a first-come-first-served, once per council basis; to date more than 280 councils have taken advantage of this
Step-by-step support: You’ll have access to useful, easy-to-use guides – including templates, checklists and good practice advice – to help you at each stage. Virtual workshops and drop-in sessions are also available for clerks, councillors and council staff alike
Technical hand-holding: From managing the registration of your domain, to actively supporting device, service and email set-up there’s an Approved Registrar ready to help with the most technical aspects of the move to a .gov.uk domain
Flexibility: If you’re happy with your current website or email provider there’s no reason for you to change – your Approved Registrar can work with them to make the connection to your new .gov.uk domain
The Parish Council Domains Helper Service is offering a wide range of support to all councils moving over to a .gov.uk domain in the financial year 2024-25. If you’re interested in finding out more please contact parish-helper@domains.gov.uk.
Authors: Khidr Suleman, Sandra Lowe – Parish Council Domains Helper Service, Cabinet Office
Using gov.uk domains
We encourage councils to consider switching to a gov.uk domain if you haven’t already, and now is a great time to consider that move for the reasons above. Please note that the wording in the Practitioners Guide 2024, which represents best financial practice in the sector as required by the Accounts and Audit Regulations 2015, has been strengthened from previous years. It now advises gov.uk domains as being a sign of good professional practice:
5.210. All Parish, Town and Community Councils are eligible to use, and are advised to use, a .gov.uk domain for their websites and email communications. Your community, suppliers and partners will now reasonably expect a local council to have a .gov.uk domain name. Note that Parish meetings are exempt from the requirement to have a website.
5.211. To assist with compliance with the General Data Protection Regulations (GDPR), it is advised that clerks provide official .gov.uk email accounts to their councillors, which must only be used for official council business.
5.212. When choosing a domain name all councils must follow the rules set out by the Cabinet Office to choose a .gov.uk domain name, for example, ‘ourparishcouncil.gov.uk’ with email addresses linked to that domain.
5.213. Using a .gov.uk domain for your council website and email accounts gives Parish Councils the following advantages:
5.214. Increased professionalism and trust from members of your community, partners and suppliers because your email address and website domains are a trusted government brand.
5.215. Separation of your personal life from your professional life, ensuring members of your community, partners and suppliers understand what capacity you are emailing them in – whether a Councillor or Clerk.
5.216. Increased control for the Responsible Officer over email accounts and documentation when managing new joiners, leavers, sudden absences or Freedom of Information and Subject Access Requests.
5.217. Peace of mind that your .gov.uk Parish Council domain will never be sold to someone else if it is not renewed on time, which can happen with .co.uk, .org.uk and other commercial domains.
5.218. Additional security measures, as all .gov.uk domains are checked for any cyber vulnerabilities by the Cabinet Office and reported to the Responsible Owner, or your technical point of contact, so they can be fixed.
5.219. You can read more about the benefits of getting a .gov.uk domain on the GOV.UK website.
More information
We are working with the Parish Council Domains Helper Service to run some events for our members; these will be announced in our e-bulletin when they are available for booking.
This is first in a series of blogs from the Parish Council Domains Helper Service, the upcoming blogs in the series include:
- Is a gov.uk domain mandatory
- Why the question ‘how much does a gov.uk domain cost’ is not easy to answer
- Understanding your council’s responsibility towards an accessible website
Webinars to learn more!
Clerks Session
All clerks are invited to join this FREE networking session to find out more about moving to a gov.uk domain.
24 June, 10 – 11am
Councillor Session
Councillors are invited to join this FREE networking event to find out more about moving to a gov.uk domain.
2 July, 12 – 1pm
Nearly time for the end of year accounts and audit
The end of year accounts and audit time is approaching! Find out what help is available, along with some tips for this year’s audit process!
End of year accounts and audit
We’re now approaching the end of the financial year, March 31 2024, which is often a busy time for local councils as they embark on the audit process. Your Responsible Financial Officer will be starting to prepare the end of year accounts, and the council will be undergoing an internal audit and getting ready to approve the Annual Governance and Accountability Return.
The external auditor for Devon has remained PKF Littlejohn, who will contact councils in due course (often late March) with all the relevant documentation for this year including advice notes and proforma documents. If your contact details have changed since last year, or if you don’t hear from them, you may want to contact them to give them your new information.
Training
While the RFO might prepare the accounts, all councillors share collective responsibility for the financial management of the council, and should have an up to date knowledge of the financial position of the council. The external audit process requires the council to sign the Annual Governance Statement, making a number of assertions about how the council has complied with financial best practice. To make those assertions, councillors need to have sound information and an understanding of the council’s finances.
To help gain financial confidence, councillors will benefit from a Finance for Councillors course; for the first time in four years we are offering a one-off opportunity to attend a face to face course on 5 March, at 6.30pm. Don’t miss out on this rare chance for training, and book now!
For clerks who are doing their end of year accounts for the first time, or need a refresher, we are also offering an End of Year Accounts face to face course on 6 March, 10am. We don’t generally offer these courses in a face to face version so this is a perfect opportunity to attend, ask questions and get a thorough understanding of the audit process. Book your place now!
We also have webinars available through The Parkinson Partnership
More information
If you are new to the end of year accounts and audit process, or just not feeling very confident, then please don’t panic! There are various sources of support available to help. Of course, please do feel free to contact our Advice Service who will be delighted to assist and there’s plenty of guidance in our Knowledge Bank.
The JPAG Practitioners Guide 2023 is full of guidance on proper practices and assistance for completing the Annual Governance and Accountability Return, so will be your handbook for going through the process!
The internal audit is key to a successful process, and appointing an internal auditor is essential for the council. Read our guidance here on what to look for in an internal auditor. The Internal Audit Forum will also be able to help, especially their directory for finding an internal auditor for your council.
Lessons learned from 2023
As our external auditors, PKF Littlejohn released some feedback from the 2022/23 feedback on common issues they encountered, which may help you with the preparation of this year’s documents. We’ve gathered these points below for you.
2022/23 Audit Process
- Where any responses in the Internal Audit Report is ‘no’, an explanation is required. This can be a note to the side of the report, or a separate note.
- It is not the role of the internal auditor to complete or assist with the completion of the AGAR; they must be competent and independent.
- If documents are not correctly published on the website, or incorrect dates for the exercise of public rights are published, then this can be reported in the Annual Internal Audit Report as a response to ‘N’.
- The AGAR must be approved, and the notice of commencement of the public rights period announced, prior to the first day of the public rights period.
- Confirmation of the dates for the exercise of public rights must be submitted to PKF Littlejohn, although it is not mandatory to use the proforma they supply.
- The confirmation of dates notice is not the correct form for publication on your website, a full notice of public rights must be published with all statutory information.
- The period for the exercise of public rights must be a 30 working day period. While a longer period may be deemed beneficial, a formal objection can only be raised and considered by PKF Littlejohn if it is received within 30 working days of the commencement date that has been set.
- External auditors must remain independent so are unable to offer advice
- Please ensure they are aware of any changes in contact details, and have made it clear which email address is used for correspondence. You may need to check your spam folder for correspondence; PKF Littlejohn have no way of checking whether emails have been correctly received.
- Please let them know if you are unable to meet deadlines or require more time so they can work with you to resolve that.
- Administrative charges incurred are not set by PKF Littlejohn and they are unable to waive the fee.
- The standard fees are based on income and expenditure bandings and may increase or decrease each year depending on the band you fall into. Please see the SAAA website for a breakdown. It is a statutory fee set by the SAAA and PKF Littlejohn is unable to waive the fee.
- Please only send the documents requested.
- PKF’s policy is to process, complete and finalise files in date order of receipt and start receiving completed AGARS at the beginning of April so bear that in mind for any time delays.
- Each year, the documents are standalone, and the external auditor will not refer back to information submitted in previous years other than the previous year’s AGAR and Section 3 report. Any other information or evidence you would like them to consider will need to be submitted with the current year’s AGAR.
This is one of the key reasons for raising queries with clerks. PKF Littlejohn need narrative and quantitative information to support the explanations provided, to bring the unexplained element to within 15%. They are looking for evidence that the clerk can demonstrate an understanding for the reason why there is a variance, not just a breakdown of the numbers. A printout of the ledger for both years, or a list of all income and expenditure merely serves to support the mathematical accuracy of the figures.
Similarly, if the explanation of variance relates to the precept, it is not enough to say that the precept went up because it was increased. The external auditor will be looking for an explanation of what was in the budget that caused the precept to increase, with numbers to back this up. Please note that it is the total precept that needs explanation, not the amount payable per household.
A council who has certified as exempt will not be issued a closure documentation since no review will have been carried out by the external auditor. If you meet the criteria for exemption, but have been selected for the 5% sample for intermediate procedures, it is still possible to certify exemption.
Accounting Statements (section 2 of the AGAR)
- Where changes are made to Box 9 as a result of a review of assets which either add items previously omitted, or removes items no longer held, consideration needs to be made as to the point in time this became applicable. i.e. if the assets were acquired during the 2022/23 financial year but not included in the fixed asset register until the 2023/24 financial year, the comparative figure for the 2022/23 financial year would need to be restated to reflect the correct position at that time.
- Similarly, a change in valuation policy (not just a change in valuation as a result of application of the fixed asset valuation policy) will require the prior year’s figure to be restated for consistency.
- In 2022/23, Box 11 was split into Box 11 (a) and Box 11 (b). Box 11 (a) requests confirmation of whether or not the council acts a sole managing trustee. Box 11 (b) requests confirmation of the statement ‘the figures in section 2 do not include trust fund transactions’.
- In 2022/23, part of the intermediate procedures involved supplying a bank statement for 31 March 2023 to support the bank reconciliation and Box 8 figure. Where the bank statement was not a year-end statement or didn’t straddle the year-end, this would not have been sufficient.
New guidance on financial assistance to the church
New guidance on financial assistance to the church – the Levelling-up and Regeneration Act 2023 has amended the Local Government Act 1894 to clarify the powers of a parish or town council to fund church repairs or improvements.
Section 82 of the Levelling-up and Regeneration Act came into force on 26 December, inserting a new section 19A into the 1894 Local Government Act. This new section amends the legislation to clarify that the 1894 Act does not affect the discretionary powers of parish councils in England to fund church repairs or improvements, or property held for an ecclesiastical charity.
What does this mean for our council?
This means that you can now use your discretionary powers for some financial assistance to the church including those of other Christian denominations and non-Christian faiths. So it might apply in the following circumstances:
- Where the council has a specific power to fund works such as the power to repair a clock fixed to church property (Parish Councils Act 1957 s.2) or the maintenance of open churchyards (Local Government Act 1972 s.214).
- Using general powers to fund works where works are not covered by a specific power such as section 137 or the General Power of Competence (GPoC). Standard restrictions on the use of these powers will still apply.
What will we need to consider when we get a funding request from the church?
You will need to treat requests for funding in respect of church property or property held for an ecclesiastical charity as you would any other funding request. You are not under any additional duties as a result of the amendment so will need to consider whether the council has a discretionary or general power they can use to offer funding.
We do recommend councils have a Grant Awarding Policy which specifies how the council will handle any funding requests and how an organisation (church or others) can apply. We don’t have a template, but councils without a policy may be able to find one elsewhere which they can adapt for their council.
If the council is relying on a general power, such as section 137 or the GPoC then we would recommend consulting Legal Topic Note 31E or the Knowledge Bank pages linked above to check the requirements; section 137 requires the expenditure to be commensurate with the benefit brought to the area, and you will need to be aware of the annual limit on expenditure.
What is NALC’s advice?
The previous legal briefing on financial assistance to the church (L01-18) has been withdrawn. LTN 31E has been amended to update the advice in accordance with the amendment. A new legal briefing has been issued, and we would recommend councils read the briefing (below) for guidance on the changes.
Do we have to support the church?
No, there are no additional duties created as a result of the amendment. It will be up to each council to decide whether they would like to offer financial support when they receive a request.
Where else can we get advice?
Our Knowledge Bank contains more information about the council’s powers and duties. Please also contact our Advice Service for any more information, including guidance on what powers the council may be able to use.
Fire Safety
Guidance on fire safety legislation which came into effect on 1 October 2023, and which has an impact on the duties of the responsible person in residential and non-residential premises.
Essential changes in fire safety legislation came into effect on 1 October 2023, and affect the duties of the responsible person in residential and non-residential premises.
The new requirements (implemented by s.156 of the Building Safety Act 2022) apply to all non-domestic premises, such as where people work, visit or stay, including workplaces, and the non-domestic parts of multi-occupied residential buildings. For local councils, the relevant changes are those which will affect non-residential premises.
You are a ‘responsible person’ if you are an employer, have control of the premises or are an owner of a premises. If this applies to you, then you do now have additional duties around what needs to be done, how that work is recorded, how you co-operate with other responsible persons, and how you provide information to new responsible persons. Worknest have put together some guidance which contains a guide to everything that has been brought in and what you now need to do.
To help you meet the requirements, Worknest have also created a Fire Safety Compliance Matrix which goes through some of the requirements step by step with details of what might need to be checked, and when it will need to be checked, along with space to fill in dates of the last inspection and by whom it was carried out.
Changes in fire safety legislation
Changes in fire safety legislation came into effect on 1 October 2023, and have an impact on the duties of the responsible person in residential and non-residential premises.
Essential changes in fire safety legislation came into effect on 1 October 2023, and affect the duties of the responsible person in residential and non-residential premises.
The new requirements (implemented by s.156 of the Building Safety Act 2022) apply to all non-domestic premises, such as where people work, visit or stay, including workplaces, and the non-domestic parts of multi-occupied residential buildings. For local councils, the relevant changes are those which will affect non-residential premises.
You are a ‘responsible person’ if you are an employer, have control of the premises or are an owner of a premises. If this applies to you, then you do now have additional duties around what needs to be done, how that work is recorded, how you co-operate with other responsible persons, and how you provide information to new responsible persons. Worknest have put together some guidance which contains a guide to everything that has been brought in and what you now need to do.
To help you meet the requirements, Worknest have also created a Fire Safety Compliance Matrix which goes through some of the requirements step by step with details of what might need to be checked, and when it will need to be checked, along with space to fill in dates of the last inspection and by whom it was carried out.
Elections and Coronation guidance in our Knowledge Bank
We have updated our Elections guidance and created an Elections FAQs to help guide you through the upcoming council elections. We’ve also created a Coronation webpage to gather ideas and advice for celebrating the Coronation!
Devon has local council elections coming up in May 2023, which can be a bewildering process for anyone new to councils and even those who have gone through the election cycle before. In addition to our Preparing for Elections training, we also have updated our elections guidance in our Knowledge Bank to help you understand what might be coming up.
We’ve also created an Elections FAQs, covering just some of the questions we get asked about the elections, so you can find a quick answer to any query you may have. As always, if you can’t find an answer on our website or need any further help, then please don’t hesitate to contact our Advice Service.
Putting yourself forward for election can also be a confusing time, so we’ve created this Elections Guide for Candidates for any potential election candidates this year whether you’re a returning councillor or completely new to local councils – please feel free to share the guide in your communities as you promote the elections!
Coronation 2023
This year, the Coronation being held on Saturday 6 May, is also having an impact on local election timelines. We have created a dedicated webpage with guidance on the plans laid out by the palace, some suggestions for organising different events, and a breakdown of what various councils in Devon are doing to celebrate. We hope this will be a useful resource for your council, and will build a picture of how Devon is celebrating.
If you haven’t yet told us how your council is celebrating the coronation, then please do take a moment to complete this short survey; it’s really useful to know what councils are planning!