Somerset Parishes Conference 2024 hailed a success!
SALC held is first conference in partnership with Somerset Council last Wednesday, 13th November. Councillors and clerks representing over ninety Somerset city, town, and parish councils joined us, together with Somerset Council councillors and officers, at North Petherton’s Canalside Conference Centre, to discuss how we can collectively improve the lives of all of our communities at a time when our principal authority’s finances remain so constrained.
Delegates heard from:
- Somerset Council’s Chief Executive, Duncan Sharkey, on the unitary authority’s commitment to working in partnership with parishes
- NALC’s Chief Executive, Jonathan Owen, on examples of successful devolution to parishes in other counties, and the Civility & Respect Task Force
- SALC’s Chief Executive, Ewan Jones, alongside Councillor Theo Butt Philip, Somerset Lead Member for Transformation and Localities, who outlined our joint work towards a Charter for Somerset
Energetic interactive workshop sessions were held morning and afternoon offering practical insights into topics including devolution, community resilience, and standards in local governance.
The conference also offered an opportunity for councillors and clerks to meet and talk with some of our partner organisations, along with suppliers who are delivering services to many member councils. This marketplace halved the cost of holding the conference and feeding its attendees.
An impassioned final plenary session gave city, town, and parish councillors and clerks a forum to debate the opportunities and challenges of asset and service devolution with Sara Skirton, Somerset Council’s service director for Partnerships, Localities and Culture, and Reg Williams of the LCC Consultancy, who is supporting the unitary authority with the programme. A broadly civil and respectful dialogue enabled everyone to get their messages across.
SALC’s AGM followed where we elected six new directors, two of whom return to begin new terms, joining the six directors whose terms were not up for re-election this year.
We are encouraged that feedback responses received to date show that almost all conference attendees valued the opportunity to network with peers and exhibitors, with many highlighting the benefits of face-to-face discussions with Somerset Council officers and other professionals. If you have not already completed the feedback form emailed to you, will be be pleased to receive your response.
SALC’s board of directors
Six director vacancies were up for election at the November AGM, with the following list showing those who now form SALC’s board of directors:
Name of director
| Area represented |
| Peter CLAYTON | North (Sedgemoor) |
| Jennifer LAWRENCE | North (Sedgemoor) |
| John ROBERTS | North (Sedgemoor) |
| Judi MORISON | South (South Somerset) |
| Peter SEIB | South (South Somerset) |
| Gerard TUCKER | South (South Somerset) |
| David CRISFIELD | East (Mendip) |
| Anne HILLS | East (Mendip) |
| Andrew JONES | East (Mendip) |
| Stuart HASKINS | West (Somerset West and Taunton) |
| Janet LLOYD | West (Somerset West and Taunton) |
| Loretta WHETLOR | West (Somerset West and Taunton) |
NJC 2024/25 pay scales have been published
The 2024/25 pay scales are available on the SALC website “council as employer” page. Previous years’ pay scales are available by clicking on the “Salary Awards” pop-up box.
The pay award applies to all employees on National Joint Council for Local Government Services (Green Book) terms and conditions and should be backdated to 1st April 2024. Please note that the hourly rates now uses a different NJC calculation, as outlined in the document.
Councils should also note that the national minimum wage will increase from £11.44 per hour to £12.21 per hour from April 2025. See Gov.uk for details.
Budget setting, employers’ NICs and future fees
The recent budget introduced significant changes to employers national insurance contributions and we are working with NALC as it attempts to get clarification from the Ministry of Housing Communities & Local Government about how this will impact our sector.
Initial feedback from MHCLG officials is that parish and town councils will not be compensated for the increase in employers’ national insurance contributions announced in the recent budget because “
the policy set by the chancellor is to compensate those who are direct public sector employees funded out of public money. Parish councils are not directly funded by central government and so do not fall into this category”.It’s estimated that the 1.2 percentage points increase to 15% NI, along with the lowered earnings threshold starting at £5,000 (down from £9,100 as of 6th April 2025) could cost the sector c.£10m per year. As it stands, the NI changes alone will result in increases to precepts, with the smallest councils facing the largest percentage increase beyond the added pressures of devolution.
We are committed to representing Somerset’s member council interests and continue to work with NALC as it presses government to rethink. If your council has calculated how much its contributions increase will be, please let us know at
info@somerset-alc.org.uk so that we can provide factual evidence to inform our case for support.
In the meantime, we recommend councils asses the financial implications for them in the current round of budget setting.
SALC/ NALC 25/26 affiliation fees increase
Can we please remind member councils that, while they develop their 2025-26 budgets and precept demands, they should budget for a significant increase in SALC affiliation fees (a tiny percentage of overall budgets) owing to the greater demands on our support services as we collectively navigate the ongoing transformation of local government in Somerset. Please contact the team if you would like to discuss this further.
NALC has agreed to 8.34 pence per elector affiliation fees for 2025/26, capped at £2,137 for larger councils.
Training: Gathering evidence of need for health & wellbeing projects & services
This FREE interactive training explores how Somerset’s city, town, and parish councils can gather the evidence they need to secure funding and ensure the success of their health and wellbeing projects.
Date: 6th December 2024Time: 10:00 – 12:00Where: OnlineRegister your interest in attending by emailing
hwbadmin@somerset-alc.org.uk And visit our website
www.somerset-alc.org.uk/health-wellbeingWhy attend?- Discover methods for gathering and using evidence to secure funding.
- Learn how to assess need and measure benefits for lasting success.
- Get tips on presenting your case to funders, organisations, and communities.
- Gain insights into overcoming challenges in real-time information collection.
- Benefit from expert guidance by the Lincoln Institute for Rural and Coastal Health, University of Lincoln.
- Enjoy real-world examples, group activities, and plenty of opportunities for discussion and Q&A.
- Strengthen your funding applications for success!
Who should attend? Councillors and clerks seeking to enhance their council’s role in health and wellbeing projects.
Don’t miss this chance to gain valuable tools for your council’s future. Contact Hayden Bird at
HaBird@lincoln.ac.uk for more information or to share your ideas.
Community Flood Action Fund opens
Somerset Rivers Authority (SRA) will launch its Community Flood Action Fund on Tuesday 10 December.
Grants of between £3,000 and £20,000 for works that will reduce flooding are available to incorporated community organisations including city, town, and parish councils.
One of the main themes in the SRA’s new Strategy 2024-34 is working with communities. Does your community have good local knowledge of flooding problems, and can you propose a scheme that will take practical actions with obvious benefits that can be achieved quite quickly.
What kind of works can attract grants?
- Works must be in Somerset, in the area covered by Somerset Council.
- Works must accord with the first of the SRA’s five objectives, ideally more.
- Works might include maintaining flood defence features, making improvements to flood defence features, or creating flood defence features.
- Grants may be used for getting permits or doing surveys essential for a project to happen.
- Works must be started and completed within a reasonable timescale.
Applications for Community Flood Action Fund grants will need to satisfy the SRA’s core purpose of “reducing the risks and impacts of flooding”.
The SALC team has experience of working with the Somerset Rivers Authority to deliver flood management schemes, so please do get in touch if you have practical ideas that your council would like to develop into a grant application.
Call for evidence – New Towns Taskforce
The Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government New Towns Taskforce is an independent advisory panel established in September to support the government in the creation and delivery of new towns. It has launched a call for evidence to advise ministers on appropriate locations for significant new communities, including large-scale urban extension and regeneration schemes
“The taskforce is ‘interested in proposals that are regionally significant for both housing numbers and economic growth. The unifying principle will be that each of the new settlements will contain 10,000 homes, at the very least, and that most, if not all, will be far larger in size.”
The call for evidence is open until Friday 13 December 2024. Read more and complete the submission.
Consultation – Hybrid meetings
The Ministry for Housing, Communities and Local Government is seeking responses to its consultation on the detail and practicalities of allowing remote and hybrid attendance and proxy voting at local authority meetings (including parish and town councils) in England.
The consultation is open until Thursday 19th December 2024. Read about it on the MHCLG pages and respond online.
VE-Day commemorations 2025
Following on from the enormous success of D-Day 80 on 6th June 2024, which commemorated the 80th Anniversary of the D-Day landings in Normandy 80 years ago, the Pageant Master, Bruno Peak, is focusing his efforts on celebrating the 80th Anniversary of VE Day, on 8th May 2025.
Please read the letter,
here, for details about the current
Guide To Taking Part, which is also available to download from the
VE Day 80 website
