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.