NALC's October fringe event

Championing the first tier

The Sixth Annual Assembly of Standards Committees took place on 15 and 16 October at the International Conference Centre, Birmingham. The Standard Board for England's (SBE) annual conference focused on the Local Government and Public Involvement in Health Bill's proposals for local regulation of the ethical conduct expected of councillors. Sessions dealt with the future enhanced role of standards committees and monitoring officers and related resource issues plus the impact of the revised Model Code of Conduct.

Parish councils enjoyed a heightened profile at the conference, resulting not only from interest in their current statutory roles but because of implications of the Local Government and Public Involvement in Health Bill.

NALC hosted a fringe event entitled, 'Parish Councillors: Community Champions'. The purpose of the fringe event was to showcase first tier councillors as the bedrock of local government and community champions leading the good work being done by parish and town councils for their communities.
 
The fringe heard from some winners of CRC's Community Empowerment Awards 2006. There were presentations by a member of Dunstable Town Council who discussed their older peoples' healthy living project, a member of Eastwood Town Council who discussed their garden service for disabled and elderly people. And finally a member from Martley Parish Council presented their efforts to secure close partnership working with their community to further the affordable housing debate.

Other representations at Conference indicated that some parish councillors had failed to attend training in respect of the Code of Conduct, which had been organised by their standards committees, and or monitoring officers. New and experienced parish councillors alike are urged to attend such training sessions so they may make the most of the simpler and more proportionate revised Code.