1. Jonathan Owen Chief Executive NALC ‘Bringing the “Local” into Democracy’ AVON ALC AGM OCTOBER 2016

2. Thanks and Congratulations! My Chairman, Ken Browse and myself would like to thank you all for the work you do and support over the last year. Deborah White, Mike Drew (Finance Committee), fantastic supporters and champions of Avon Well done! £33,000 secured for smaller councils to comply with transparency requirements Well done! Local Councils Award Scheme Training going from strength to strength Membership – 90% of councils in membership

3. NALC at a glance Partners with 43 county associations 10000 councils across England – very diverse 85% in membership of county association and NALC 80,000 Councillors Work with LGA, DCLG, Locality, CPRE, SLCC etc £1m budget 6.6p per elector affiliation fee 109 Great Russell Street 8 committees (including AGM)

4. Governance – Councillors and County Associations in control! Annual General Meeting National Council Officeholders- Chair and Vice-Chairs Committees (Exec, Finance, Scrutiny, Largers, Smallers, Policy) Task and finish groups (eg parish 2025, affiliations fees) (Improvement & Development Board) Supported by: Corporate Management Team (County officers forum)

5. Services to you! £5m transparency fund, national procurement of your audit – SAAA 100 legal topic notes, briefings and financial briefings including standing orders and financial regulations 6-700 legal and financial queries dealt with per year (only 8 from Avon) Resources, toolkits, advice - 325,000 web page views, 6.5m twitter reach Publications and events: LCR, LCE, DIS, annual conference, digital councils, councillor horizons. Reputation management. Good councillors guides – employment, planning, social media. CILCA, Local Council Award Scheme Lobbying Government, civil servants,

6. Historic Opportunity 15 years ago government talking about abolition Now at forefront of Neighbourhood Planning Discretionary services Devolution – including devo deals (40% mention parishes) Cross Party Support, LGA, county councils network, district councils network Parishes alive and flourishing and changing fast

7. Parishes are changing, fast! 10,000 parishes covering 40% England – 150 community campaigns for new councils : Crewe, Kidderminster, London, Ashford, Swindon, Sutton Coldfield. 80,000 councillors, £400m precept (doubled in 10 years) £2bn community investment Driving neighbourhood planning – 90% of 1600 plans are parish led

8. Delivering new services – supporting principal councils Economic Development: Sevenoaks(theatre, cinema/orbital bus service); Frome (local regeneration); Cockermouth (supporting High Street after flooding). Health and wellbeing: Feock (transport for older people); Forest Row (community Café); Newland (OS refs for remote housing); Campbell Park (building social capital) Housing and neighbourhood planning: St Ives (second homes); Newport Pagnall (additional 30% housing); Uppingham (housing allocation to post 2026).

9. Working with principal councils on decentralisation and devolution Falmouth & Cornwall – Library, youth service, toilets, parks and beaches Buckinghamshire – highway functions, education and health Kent – creating communities where people can design their own services Gloucestershire – parishes role in active, healthy communities

10. How do we seize this opportunity? Make sure we are all well run and efficient – audit, transparency, local council award scheme Encourage more people to engage and get involved Celebrate our successes, tell the public and MPs what wonderful work you do Work with your principal councils on devolution and new services Precepts and other investment Work together across the sector

11. A year is a long time in politics! Fresh start, new Government Rt Hon Greg Clark MP, Secretary of State DCLG, Tunbridge Wells Marcus Jones MP, Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State (Local Government) Nuneaton Rt Hon Mark Francois MP, Minister of State (Housing) Rayleigh and Wickford, Essex James Wharton MP, Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State (Northern Powerhouse), Stockton Baroness Williams of Trafford (Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State DCLG) Rt Hon Oliver Letwin MP, Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster (Cabinet Office) West Dorset Brandon Lewis MP, Minister of State, Great Yarmouth. Rory Stewart MP, (Parliamentary Under-Secretary (DEFRA). Penrith and the Borders New MPs too! And shadow teams

12. Fresh start, new Government Rt Hon Sajid Javid MP, Secretary of State DCLG, Bromsgrove Gavin Barwell MP, Minister of State (Housing and Planning) Croydon Central Marcus Jones MP, Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State (Local Government) Nuneaton Andrew Percy MP, Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State (Northern Powerhouse), Brigg and Goole - former parish councillor Lord Bourne of Aberystwyth (Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State DCLG) Rory Stewart MP, (Minister of State at department for international development) Penrith and the Border Brandon Lewis MP (Home Office Minister of State for Policing and the Fire Service) Great Yarmouth And new shadow teams too!

14. Devo Local 38 Devolution Deals being discussed – 10 agreed/in pipeline Government wants these to include devolution to town and parish councils Government encouraging parishes to get involved and partnership with councils and county associations will be key James Wharton MP, Minister for the Northern Powerhouse “Devolution won’t be done to anyone. The worst that will happen is that it will be done without you” Being reviewed? Mayors?

15. NALC activity Pushed for double devolution Joint event with LGA Power to the People published at LGA conference Publicity in local government press Local Government re-organisation? Toolkit and website Parishes must pro-actively get involved

17. Neighbourhood Planning NALC welcomes the Neighbourhood Planning Bill, which will build on measures in the Housing and Planning Act, to give more weight to plans earlier in the process, make it easier to modify plans and neighbourhood areas and require planning authorities to publish the support they will provide Meeting with Gavin Barwell, APPG session planned and meeting with Planning Inspectorate

18. NALC wants to see the Bill strengthened to provide emerging plans with proper weight in the planning system; a continuation of funding and support for neighbourhood planning a requirement for all planning authorities to have Community Infrastructure Levy (CiL) regimes in place by end of 2017; the share of CiL for local councils with an adopted neighbourhood plan to increase from 25% to 35%; a share of New Homes Bonus for local councils with an adopted neighbourhood plan; new powers for local councils and communities in the planning system including the introduction of a statutory ‘right to be consulted’ and ‘right to be heard”; measures to accelerate the creation of local councils in unparished areas including the introduction of a community ‘right of appeal’ within the community governance review process. What else?

19. Autumn statement (23/11)and budget preparation 5% Share of business rates Relief from business rates on public conveniences Funding for new councils Continued support for parish councils to meet transparency requirements – transparency fund Council tax support funding No extension of referenda principles Share of community infrastructure levy; New Homes Bonus and underground exploration funding

20. Council tax referendums Localism Act 2011 power to the secretary of state NALC opposed & lobbied against Referendum principles not extended so far – successful advocacy by NALC and sector 2016/17: Band D precept is £57.40, an increase of £3.28 (or 6.1%) on 2015/16; total precepts are now £445 million, £36 million more than in 2015/16 (£409 million); Last 3 years increases went down: +5.2%, +4.3%, +3.3% - spiked to 6.1% this year Impact of LCTS, devolved services, growth in role DCLG consulting on extending referendum principles (2% or £5) to larger, higher spending councils (£75.46 band D & £500,000 total precept) and ALL councils We need your help! Write to your MPs!

21. How does this feel to you? What’s happening in Avon? How are the changes going? How do residents perceive you? Are you keeping your residents better informed? Are you embracing devolution? What would you like NALC to lobby on?