CiLCA Portfolio Submission Guidance

CiLCA PORTFOLIO GUIDANCE

1. PORTFOLIO SUBMISSION

• Don’t use plastic pockets for individual pages or sets of pages.
• Use an A4 ring binder and file dividers to section off your portfolio.
• Arrange the contents in exactly the same order as the schedule of core topics and skills given in the guide that follows. Number and title the items to match the schedule.
• Quality not Quantity”. Only submit the evidence as requested. Relevant pages containing relevant items should be included only.

2. GENERAL POINTS

• It is recommended that candidates use the mentoring facilities provided through the County Training Partnership.
• Read the question carefully and then answer the question!
• In criteria where a word limit is specified, stick to it.
• Bullet points can be useful.
• Everything submitted for the portfolio must be as ‘best practice’ as possible.
• Style must be formal and appropriate.
• You are encouraged to remove anything illegal or dubious from the documents you submit.
• You are encouraged to annotate documents to explain why a potentially illegal/dubious point or statement has remained and make suggestions for re-phrasing/re-drafting.
• If you/ your council does not already possess the exact material required for the portfolio, you must draft and submit a brand new suitable example.
• If you are not responsible for the production of any submitted material, annotations to show understanding and explanation are essential.
• Check the NALC website (www.nalc.gov.uk/training) regularly for updates.

3. WHERE RELEVANT

• The statutory basis should be quoted.
• Relate items to your own council (referring to size, structure, local issues)
• Justify your statements/answers (the ‘why?’ factor…)

4. WORD COUNTS

• Some candidates are blatantly disregarding the word counts and as a result are failing.
• Lead Markers will allow candidates to stray 10% over the word count but thereafter the section will fail.

5. TOP TIPS

• Set up a sectioned A4 file and write down/include things as you think of them.
• Make it a corporate report using headers and footers and page no…. of … pages
• Two-thirds to three-quarters of a page is roughly 200 words.
• If you wish include an introductory short paragraph explaining how long in post + RFO etc at beginning of portfolio.
• Answer the question.
• Look for opportunities to annotate
• Annotate by putting A,B,C,D (1,2,3,4) against the various items and include a separate list of comments or on Word you can add comment box on the actual agenda.
• Go back and read the question again.
• Demonstrate that you understand the question by giving statutory references in your answers wherever possible.
• Imagine a new Clerk is reading it.
• Presentation - Correct grammar.

6. SUBMITTING YOUR COMPLETED PORTFOLIO

• You must take a photocopy of your portfolio as they will not be returned after marking.
• You should enclose a stamped addressed envelope for confirmation of receipt by SLCC.
• At this stage, no portfolios will be accepted electronically.

7. ABOUT THE MARKING SYSTEM

All candidates will get a copy of their marking sheet, detailing fail, pass and distinction marks. That way if you fail, you will know exactly what criteria to work on for your resubmission.

8. FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS – GENERAL

Can a clerk to more than one council submit documents from more than one council in their portfolio?

YES. It might be a good idea to submit a short explanation of the names, size and makeup of the councils you work for at the very beginning so that the lead marker knows which parish is being referred to in which bit of evidence.

Can candidates use footnotes (for example to list statutes, references etc) and do these words count?

YES. Standard type footnotes may be used to quote statutes/legislation etc as long as they are not used to quote whole sentences or paragraphs. These words do not count towards the ‘word counts’ detailed.

Can a candidate produce ‘fictitious’ items for the portfolio?

Wherever possible candidates should use papers that have genuinely been produced by the clerk for council business but it is appreciated that for whatever reason (e.g. the council has never produced a newsletter before) that the item for the portfolio may need to be compiled from scratch. It may also be that certain items (e.g. agendas/minutes) may need considerable re-drafting or annotation to ensure that all issues are completely correct and lawful (so they are not the original document any more) - this is also acceptable for the purposes of the portfolio.

9. FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS – BY SECTION

Section 1: Roles, duties and responsibilities

Section 2: Employment Issues

Since the CiLCA Certificate is testing the competence of the clerk it would follow that the contract /job description/person specification should relate to the role of clerk or assistant clerk only. If you are an administration person or a councillor compiling the portfolio, you will need to draft up the suitable evidence as if you were the clerk/assistant clerk.

Must the Job Description be that of the Clerk?

Yes, examiners are looking for the JD of an employee of the council (in most cases, the clerk)

Section 3: Continuing professional development

Section 4: Public relations and communication (i)

This is a difficult section so best to decide straight away which 2 items to concentrate on. The key thing here is that you must demonstrate HOW the items you choose raise the profile of the council: e.g. Press release/leaflet/newsletter/local magazine/report for public readership
• What profile-raising topics are covered?
• How it is distributed?
• Who contributes to its production?
• How many copies are produced?
• How do you ensure it gets in local papers/ on the radio etc?
• Overall do you think it is a successful way of communicating or how could you improve things?
• If you did not actually design the item, you must annotate a copy to show how you contributed. How has the leaflet/press release/ newsletter/local magazine/report (as a medium for communication) raised the profile of the council in your local area? e.g. website home page -
• It would be best if you copy that home page and annotate it, giving a brief description to what is actually housed on the pages in the webpage.
• If you did not actually design the home page, make sure you explain how you did contribute (e.g. with the articles or ideas for design, contracting of company to design it etc) and again, explain how the web page raises the profile for the council.
• Submitting just the home page printout doesn’t let the marker know what is contained in the website and the quality of articles within it. It is up to the candidate to provide such a synopsis. e.g: letter to another authority - It must be an example of how professionally the candidate can communicate with another tier of local authority or relative organisation.
• Probably good to demonstrate how an agreement had been reached to find a solution to a common problem.
• A synopsis of how this letter raised the profile of the parish council is also essential etc.submitting the letter on its own without explanation or annotation is not sufficient.

Can 'another authority' be “English Nature”?

NO. We need a letter to another local authority e.g. another parish, District, County or Unitary
Authority.

Can a letter submitted for Section 4 be used also for Section 24 ( e.g a successful funding application)?

YES. As long as they meet the criteria. Having said that it is unlikely that a letter for Section 4 would be completely OK for 24 without amendments or annotation.

Can a candidate submit a 'before and after' copy of a newsletter (2 different copies) to demonstrate how they have improved it – i.e. 2 documents?

YES. This is a good idea….. although we wouldn't encourage lengthy versions!

Can the report of the Action Plan from the Parish Appraisal be used as the report for public readership?

I don’t see why not, as long as it is distributed to all the electorate (or they have access to it.)

Section 5: Public relations and communication (ii)

Chief Verifiers Response to Section 5

Section 5 deals with complaints procedures. With many councils having adopted the NALC Model Complaints Procedure, it is normally well answered, with very few candidates having failed it.

However one CTP has queried the marking of this section, therefore this is the stance which has been taken since the inception of the qualification, and in line with previous guidance.

Candidates may misinterpret what is meant by ‘complaint’ in the context of this question. ‘Complaint’ is defined inter alia as a ‘formal accusation’, and it is in this sense that the question is set, i.e. a formal accusation that a Council, or a Councillor or an employee of the Council has acted improperly.

Documentation to demonstrate how a Council responded to objections by electors to a planning application, or how a Council responded to a complaint that a street light was not working, are not investigations and resolutions of a formal complaint in this sense.
Ideally the candidate will demonstrate that the council has clear steps to handle a complaint
thoroughly and expeditiously; the procedure indicates the roles of various parties; and the procedure makes it clear how the complainant is informed of the process and result. In the absence of this, evidence showing how a complaint was handled should demonstrate, or explain the effectiveness of said handling.

Section 6: Powers and functions of local councils

Chief Verifiers Response to Section 6

Section 6 of the Portfolio Guide is the legal knowledge question, and is one of the most commonly failed sections, in that it is simply badly answered. I have been asked to give guidance on how to answer this question. I am prepared to do so, but my guidance will be in general terms. To give an example of an answer which would definitely pass would be to give a ‘model answer’. This would defeat the object of the exercise, in that candidates would simply have to copy the model in order to pass the section. Candidates should firstly analyse the question, and break it down into its component parts. These are:

A. Word count

Approximately 200 words. Verifiers allow 10% over. To go much over 220 words would mean a fail. (The 200 word limit applies to the whole answer)

B. Explanation of what is meant by the ‘statutory power’ of a local council.

To show an understanding of the question candidates must distinguish between ‘powers’ and ‘duties’. A simple statement to the effect that ‘statutory powers’ are legal powers which enable councils to do something if they choose to do so, whereas ‘duties’ are legal powers which councils have to fulfil, would suffice. There is no requirement to explain ‘duties’ or to give examples of ‘duties’. Candidates who do this simply use up word count unnecessarily.

C. Brief account of the Local Government Act 1972, Section 137

Candidates should note the word ‘brief’. A straightforward lift from the legislation is acceptable, e.g.: S137 LGA 1972 states:’…….’

The candidate must then mention the amendment contained in S36, Local Government and Housing Act 1989. It is not sufficient to simply say the power has been amended without saying what the amendment is / the effect of the amendment.

The limitation on how much may be spent should be briefly mentioned. There is no requirement for a lengthy explanation on this point. The constraint upon the use of this power must also be mentioned, i.e. when can the power be used. The law section in Working With Your Council is an excellent reference section for this part of this question.

D. Give one example of S137 expenditure

Every Clerk must by now know that the expenditure for the Poppy Wreath on Remembrance Sunday is S137! Note, donations to Citizens Advice Bureaux are under S142, LGA 1972, not S137.

E. Give two examples of specific powers used by your council other than S137

Straight forward. E.g.: ‘S142, LGA 1972, donation to local CAB.’
‘S54, LG (MP) Act 1976, provision of local open space for recreation.’ This part is normally answered correctly. All of what is required can be comfortably written within the word limit. Too many candidates write far too much, without adding to the answer.

Section 7: New legislation and sources of advice

Useful reference material:

‘Local Council Administration’ by Charles Arnold Baker (7th Edition): ISBN 1 4057 1296 1 (Published by Butterworths)
Halsbury House
35 Chancery Lane
London WC2A 1EL
www.butterworths.com

‘The Clerks’ Manual’ by SLCC
SLCC National Services Centre
Society of Local Council Clerks
1 The Crescent
Taunton
Somerset
TA1 4EA
nsc@slcc.co.uk

‘The Local Council Clerk’s Guide’ by Paul Clayden. ISBN 0 7219 16007 (Published by Shaw and Sons Ltd)
Shaway House
21 Bourne Park
Borne Road
Crayford
Kent, DA1 4BZ
www.shaws.co.uk

‘The Parish Councillor’s Guide’ by Paul Clayden (19th Edition) January 2007 published by Shaw and Sons Ltd. Address as above.

‘Working With Your Council’ written by Elisabeth Skinner for the Society of Local Council Clerks. This is available from SLCC and also via the Cleveland and Durham County Training Partnership: Contact Mike Page (National Training Manager) ntm@slcc.co.uk or Brenda Conlon on 0191 4900155

Chief Verifiers Response to Section 7

There has been a recent trend for candidates to give District Solicitors and Monitoring Officers as a contact for giving advice on law and procedures for parish and town councils.
Previous advice on this section has said that contacts quoted should be professionally qualified contacts who are employed in positions to provide, on a regular basis, advice on law and procedures which apply to parish and town councils.

District Solicitors

When answering this question, candidates, and those training them, should bear the following in mind:
a. Legislation governing parish and town councils is not identical to that which governs district
councils.
b. District solicitors and their staff are employed by their district council to advise said district council, not to advise parish and town councils.
c. Would the candidate’s local district solicitor be willing to give advice to parish and town council’s? In some places this may be the case, but this is by no means universal.
d. If the candidate contacted the local district solicitor, and was given advice, would the advice
actually be given by the solicitor, or by a member of staff who may, or may not be, legally qualified in the area of parish and town legislation?
e. Does the candidate’s local district solicitor have professional indemnity insurance for advising parish and town councils?

As it would appear that there are increasing numbers of candidates saying that they obtain advice on law and procedures for their parish and town councils from their district councillors, if a candidate, having taken into account my comments at sub paragraphs (a) to (e) above, states that they do receive advice from their district solicitor, and gives contact details, including the solicitor’s name, address etc., then I am prepared to accept that they do, and for the purposes of this exercise only, allow the district solicitor to be an acceptable contact.
By way of supplemental to the Training Briefing I have just issued, I must draw your attention if you will, to Sections 7 and 19 of CiLCA.

It is perfectly fine to use information for the SLCC Advisors for CiLCA on both Sections 7 and 19 of CiLCA. Obviously, this is with the proviso that correct reference is made to the appropriate Finance or Legal advisor. More information than just “SLCC Advisors” would be needed.

Monitoring Officers

s. 5 Local Government and Housing Act 1989 provides that it is the duty of every relevant
authority ( defined as county council, county borough, district, London borough council ) to
appoint one of their officers as a monitoring officer.

The 1989 Act provides that MOs are required to report to their authority on any decision,
proposal or omission by the authority , its committees, or officers which has given rise to or is likely to give rise to any contravention in law, maladministration ( which Local Government Ombudsman / Public Services Ombudsman for Wales would be entitled to investigate) or
injustice.

They also have specific duties in arising from the code of conduct for members – these duties
are laid out in the Local Government Act 2000 and secondary legislation there under. As such they would not be expected to give general legal and procedural advice to parish and town
councils. As they would give advice on the operation of the code of conduct, I am prepared to accept them as a source for the purposes of this exercise.

Is the new Good Councillors Guide a book or leaflet when using it as a reference point? Can the books include the SLCC handbook?

The Good Councillors guide is a book (proper text book) rather than a leaflet. Yes, the SLCC handbook is certainly considered a text/ publication. We want to try and dissuade candidates from citing newsletters/monthly journals in this section (e.g. LCR/ The clerk/ Clerks & Councils direct/ DIS etc). Just imagine a clerk saying to his council that he would rather use DIS instead of Charles Arnold Baker to reference advice at a meeting?!

Section 8: Agenda setting and meeting procedures (i)

Can the Agenda state Report Appended to the Minutes, if so should the report be included in the Portfolio with the minutes? If so does this include a copy of the adopted code of conduct for the Annual Parish Meeting?

Firstly, do you mean the annual meeting of the parish council?! An easy mistake to make…..
There isn’t really any point including all the reports as all it does is thicken up the portfolio and adds to the markers time. The Code of Conduct is not necessary for this section. It is covered in section 12 so putting it in section 8 is unnecessary repetition.

If any document submitted includes the name of a councillor can the name be changed (to protect the innocent!)

Yes, changing names to preserve anonymity is absolutely OK. But bear in mind all these papers should be in the public domain (Freedom of Information Act) so “protecting the innocent” shouldn’t be an issue.

Candidates are asked to highlight and annotate the agendas and minutes to demonstrate their understanding of meeting procedures including: Convening meetings; the importance of apologies; rights of the public to attend meetings; disclosure or declarations of interests;resolutions.

Many candidates are highlighting the requisite items, but their annotations are not explaining the reasons for such procedures. For example, a common error is to highlight 'apologies' and say 'apologies are on the agenda'; or 'apologies are recorded'. This does not tell the marker that the candidate understands the importance of accepting/not accepting apologies and of formally recording them.

In respect of highlighting and annotations, if a candidate highlights as required, and then
demonstrates understanding by annotating on a separate sheet of paper, which is properly crossreferenced to the highlighted agendas and minutes, then this would be acceptable. Due to the nature of agendas / minutes it is recognised that there is not always enough room on those papers to give a clear, legible annotation.

Agenda for the Annual Meeting of the Council

Regardless of local custom or practice the legal position is that the first item on the agenda is the election of the chairman, who must then sign an acceptance of declaration of office if present. Until the chairman is elected the meeting is not lawfully constituted, items such as apologies, declarations of interest, farewell speeches, valedictory speeches come after the chairman’s election.

Would a candidate fail for mentioning names in minutes? It is not illegal and sometime unavoidable.

NO a candidate would not fail for naming names but it is best practice to avoid doing so. If you keep mentioning names it begins to become ‘verbatim’…..Such minutes should be annotated showing why it was necessary in certain circumstances to name names.

Section 9: Agenda setting and meeting procedures (ii)

Section 10: Agenda setting and meeting procedures (iii)

Section 11: Standing orders

Section 12: Conditions of office (i)

The question asks for either a copy of the minute or some other appropriate evidence. It would follow that the minute is the best evidence but you will not fail if you provide another source of appropriate evidence. Therefore the Pass criteria ‘evidence not submitted in the form of a minute’ is incorrect and should be ignored.

Section 13: Conditions of office (ii)

Candidates only need to submit one form (for one councillor) not forms for all councillors on the council. Some candidates are worried about submitting this for fear of getting into trouble but this is a public piece of information. If in doubt, include a form for a councillor who has very little to declare and use it with the councillor’s consent!

This refers to a one page copy. Most Register of Interest forms run to 4/6 pages. Will entrants be penalised for submitting a complete register?

No they will not be penalised. Obviously a blank page would not be acceptable - the page must have the relevant entries on it.

Section 14: Accounting and statutory guidance (i)

The last sentence of the question should probably read ‘There should be a mid-year extract’ rather than ‘This should be a mid-year extract.’

This is a difficult area for a clerk who is not the RFO. The advice is get the RFO to sit down with the clerk and take them through the example to be submitted. The clerk should then explain/ annotate that they do not prepare the accounts but show that they understand how it works (e.g. giving brief annotations / definitions of column headings etc).

Most Councils work on an income and expenditure basis rather than receipts and payments. What should they submit?

Even if the accounts are done on a computer there should be a record of receipts and payments (money in and money out). That is simply what should be submitted. Markers will certainly not be looking for evidence of trial balance!

NALC confirms that candidates who use computerised accounts may submit those accounts as part of their portfolio.

Section 15: Accounting and statutory guidance (ii)

Section 16: Budgeting, precept and income

Section 17: Internal and external audit processes

If you are not the RFO, then you should annotate the annual return to demonstrate you understand each section fully.

Section 18: Insurance

Section 19: Sources of advice on financial matters

Governance and Accountability in Local Councils in England and Wales – A Practitioners’ Guide. Order form available from CALC but obtainable through SLCC.

Chief Verifiers Response to Section 19

This question is similar to section 7. Once again contacts quoted should be professionally qualified contacts who are employed in positions to provide, on a regular basis, specialist, expert advice on financial matters applying to parish and town councils. Again district council finance officers are not employed to advise parish and town councils, although some may do so, therefore my comments at section 7 stand. However, if a candidate says they receive financial advice from their local district council finance officer, for the purposes of this exercise only, I will accept that.

Commercial companies which provide software packages for accounting systems, are not acceptable contacts for this question, as their business it that of providing a tool to assist the compilation of accounts, it is not to give expert advice on the financial regulations which govern parish and town councils.

Section 20: Best Value

Section 21: The planning framework

NB: Bullet Point 4 should be replaced with “Strategic plans currently appropriate to your parish (e.g Regional Spatial Strategy, minerals and waste plans, the core strategy from the local development framework.)

NALC Response to Section 21

Candidates are required to select and then list the planning documents that are most important for their area. Amongst others the list must include the ‘three most significant planning statutes or statutory instruments for your parish’.

Some candidates have been quoting the Local Government and Rating Act 1997, Section 21, as the legal authority for consultation on planning matters. This is not the case, for the reasons outlined. Part I of the Act legislates on Non Domestic Rating; Part II of the Act legislates on the Establishment and Review of Parishes and Parish Councils; Consultation; and Supplemental Issues; Part III gives Powers; and Part IV states General Provisions.

Section 21 of the Act legislates on the duties of principal authorities vis a vis consultation with Parish Councils. This section cannot be taken in isolation. It is a section of Part II of the Act which is about the Establishment and Review of Parishes and Parish Councils, and clearly refers to consultations about proposals under sections 9 to 20 of the Act.

The relevant legal authority for consultation on planning issues is the Town and Country Planning Act, 1990, Schedule One, Section 8. Therefore for the purposes of this question The Local Government and Rating Act 1997 is not an acceptable answer.

Candidates are also required to give details of the most important Local Development Control
Policies for their area. Candidates are still failing on this part of the question. Please refer to recent advice on this part of the question.

Chief Verifiers Response to Section 21

A number of candidates have been failing this section on bullet point three. Local Development Control Policies are still in existence, and this part of the question requires candidates to list those which they think are the most important for their Town or Parish. Those that pass this section, which are the majority, structure their answer using the policies produced by their district/county council planning department.

Additional Chief Verifiers Response to Section 21

In January 2005 bullet points 2 and 4 of question 21 in the Portfolio Guide, the Planning Framework, were amended.

Regarding point 2, the question was changed to give candidates the option of listing either PPGs or Planning Policy Statements, both of which exist. It is entirely a matter for the candidate to decide which PPGs or PPSs are the most significant for their parish.

Regarding point 4, this was altered to: 'Strategic plans currently appropriate to your parish (e.g. The Regional Spatial Strategy, minerals and waste plans, the core strategy from the local development framework).' All that is required here is a demonstration of awareness of strategic planning. Verifiers are not looking for an in depth knowledge of these plans, merely the fact that candidates know they exist, and which ones are important to their parishes. It is up to the candidates to decide which plans are important.

This question is not badly answered, with few candidates failing it. Where the fails occur it tends to be on point 3, Local Development Control policies. Candidates fail on this point because they think that Local Development Control policies no longer exist, presumably because of the move to Local Development Frameworks and the similar terminology. Local Developmental Control policies do exist and have to be adhered to.

Section 22: Effective observations on planning applications

In the letter supporting a planning application, is it ok for the candidate to give some
conditions on consent being granted?

YES. As long as the conditions they mention are legal and appropriate to the application.

Section 23: Partnership in local government

Section 24: Funding sources

The question ought to read ‘Give details of three funding sources from which, in the last two years your council has requested financial support for a specific project or projects’. The issue here is that the candidate gives information of at least 3 funding sources, rather than trying to prove they’ve implemented several projects. Similarly, the last bullet point in the pass criteria should be altered to read: Not attempting to provide information on three future funding sources for a project or projects.

Do Loans qualify as funding sources?

No. What we are looking for is funding as a GRANT. We are looking for other sources of
income/finance other than the precept. A LOAN is borrowing money and that is not a funding source – that is a council going into the red!

3 projects/ 3 sources? All very confusing. What happens if they’ve only sourced funding for one project before?

The idea is that the candidate must prove they have done (or plan to) source funding for 3 projects. The advice given is to get candidates who have only done one project (but sourced funds from 3 different sources) to detail that information and also add a bit about two other projects they plan to undertake in the future and where they might be able to access suitable funding.

Section 25: Active groups in the community

If only a few organisations are represented, it is a good idea to give an explanation for the brevity of the list (ie, only a small parish, 2000 electors etc). Contact details must be comprehensive.