HAVE YOUR SAY - Councillors Only

Question

I have been sent this link today, so of you may have had it as well. If not then it is worth completing and forwarding to others.

Many on here are unhappy with NALC and the local associations and this is a good way to provide some feedback to an independent.

https://www.surveymonkey.co.uk/r/FWTKPTF

Answer 1

Do you know who is behind this Chloe?

Comments

Hi Dave,

Not exactly sure but think it’s an old colleague in Devon. I can try and find out if there’s a specific reason and see if I can get a contact?

---

No, just curious.

---

OK, yeah sorry I can’t be more helpful. What are your thought though I’d be keen to hear.

Answer 2

Why can't this be open to knowledgeable residents? We pay precepts that ultimately fund NALC.  My Local NALC body did a poor job in awarding Quality Council status to a Council that didn't meet the tests, and I saw no evidence that they verified the responses given by the Council.

Comments

Very good point Graeme_r
My instinct tells me that this is stage 1 of getting Councillor feedback which can then be branched out.

I think it’s good for the public though because if they know they’ll get proper support and training it may encourage them to become Councillors.

---

Our Clerk copied the documentation from another PC and we got Quality Status even though we never had any intention of following any of it
By the way we are currently  fighting with our Clerk to get the password to access the NALC website

---

Jules, the Dorset Association of Parish & Town Council website has a members area:  It says "
Access to this part of the website is by use of the details already issued by DAPTC. Access is restricted to clerks and councillors who are members of DAPTC"   So a Local County Assoc beleives that Cllrs as well as Clerks should access their and persumably the main NALC website.  However it also says "Please email DAPTC if you have forgotten your user name and/or password. This information will only be given to the clerk to the council."!!

---

The Clerk has been asked
1 where in Council regulations she can prevent access
2 did she consult the chair
3 what do NALC say
Why do many Clerks and Councillors believe that the public and in my case Councillors’s shouldn’t have full access to all information subject of course to GDPR?
I can’t get anything out of my Council without using the FOI even when a lot of the information according to our own regulations should already be in the public domain

---

Jules I think you need to raise a complaint with the Information Commissioner about these practices, not just live with them, and copy your complaint to the Monitoring officer of the Principal Authority.  It almost seems like the Chair and Clerk are seeking to create work that is unnecessary to give the Clerk something to do.