Provision of IT equipment for Parish Clerk

Question

I am unsure if our parish clerk has up to date IT equipment necessary to perform her job. As a parish counsellor, I would like to advocate that we as an authority purchase some up to date equipment for her. This would include a laptop and a printer/scanner and a subscription to an accounting software package. Is this normal practice for an authority to provide equipment like this or should it be left to the clerk to provide such equipment herself. Our Parish Clerk only works part time for us for approxmately

Answer 1

Yes, it's normal for the Parish Council to provide this. If your Clerk uses her own equipment, what happens when she leaves? How do you ensure that you have control of the Council's records? A simple handover of the laptop and a password change on an email account makes for a seamless transition. Some Councils also provide IT equipment for every Councillor, although this is less common, as it may not be such a good use of public money.