Joint SLCC & One Voice Wales Agenda 2021

Richard Matthews, Client Director, Community, Came & Company Local Council Insurance

The session will include:

• Welcome From Came & Company Local Council Insurance
• Who are we?
• Financial Risk – Are you covered?
• GPOC &/or Devolved Assets – Taking on new responsibilities and assets. What to consider from an insurance perspective.

‘We are delighted to once again sponsor the One Voice Wales & SLCC Joint conference. It is a huge shame that we will not be able to meet in the traditional way, however, I think we have had more than enough practice to ensure this is yet another excellent online event. It has been an extremely difficult 12 months for everyone and this event presents a great opportunity to network and connect with colleagues in order to share experiences and continue development.

The agenda looks fantastic, with sessions on; training and development, managing financial risk and of course an insurance update from us. We would like to take this opportunity to thank the Society and One Voice Wales for organising this virtual conference and we look forward to meeting you all in May.’

Paul & Helen give a Training & Development update.

This session will cover:

• History of the current arrangements
• The principles relating to the payments for members
• Why pay members of community & town councils?
• Why review the current arrangements?
• The review process:
  • Identifying deficiencies
  • The implications of the changes in the role of Community &Town Councils
  • Examining issues around diversity of function, size and other factors and the potential impact on payments
• Consulting the sector
• Timing of the outcome of the Review
• Issues relating to taxation

Presentation on the subject of Comprehensive Registration, allowing time for questions.

• Why it is important to have effective governance and accountability and what happens when councils get it wrong?
• How councils can manage financial risks through their governance and accountability arrangements
• How audit contributes to effective governance and accountability (including the new external audit arrangements)

This session will provide an overview of the Local Government and Elections (Wales) Act 2021, with a particular focus on those areas affecting community and town councils. It will cover general power of competence, how to prepare for those powers and how the introduction of the Act will affect the well-being power and s137 of the 1972 Act.

The session will provide the latest news on the approach to developing a self-assessment framework for community and town councils.

This session will introduce the General Power of Competence for Wales and touch on some lessons learned from England where councils have been using the power for nearly 10 years.