The inaugural Cheshire Branch conference, held Thursday 28th September 2017, has been hailed a ‘great success’ by the organisers. The full day training event, which took place in Middlewich, attracted over 50 delegates, many attending their first ever SLCC event.
The day included a mixture of plenary and breakout sessions on a number of topics, delivered by specialist speakers and experienced clerks. The sessions covered:
Where we are now – Town Clerk to Council of the Year 2016, Oswestry Town Council, opened the conference by setting the scene and sharing his thoughts on where the sector is going.
Planning – what’s the point? – Chief Planning Officer of Cheshire West and Cheshire Council, Nial Casselden, gave an introduction to the planning system
VAT – SLCC Finance Advisor Crispin Taylor gave a run down on all matters VAT, helping ensure you knew your exempt from your zero rated and your input tax from your output tax
Risk Management – Vicky Jacomb of Came and Company Insurance leds a session on Risk Management providing a number of tips to prevent your council from coming unstuck
Agendas and Minutes – They are an essential part of every clerk’s role and Branch Secretary Adam Keppel-Green gave a whistle-stop tour through the do’s, don’ts and probably shouldn’ts
Community Engagement – Crewe Town Council’s Hannah Marr shared her experience in engaging the community of Crewe since the new Town Council was established
Finance Crispin lead a second session, this time answering your questions on all local council finance matters
Employment Law – General Secretary of ALCC and head of SLCC Advisory Services provided an update on Employment Law and ensured your council is fully compliant
Social Media – David Trott of Impact Business Advisors shared his tips on social media and took questions on how to maximise its effectiveness for your council
Strategic Planning – David Preston told the story of Oswestry’s strategic plan and how it has helped keep the council focused
Your Society – Adam Keppel-Green led a small discussion on how the society can better serve its members.
“We’ve received some fantastic feedback on the event from attendees, speakers and exhibitors. It was a great success and we were delighted it was able to provide a training event for clerks to councils with small training budgets” said Branch Secretary, Adam Keppel-Green.
The committee are already beginning to plan for 2018!