Council Meeting 14 January 2021

Review of Council Policies

1. This is the penultimate report in the series which the Council has considered
on a monthly basis since September 2020. This report presents four policies
which have been reviewed by the Vice-Chairman of the Council and the Clerk
and which are submitted for approval and adoption.

2. Publication Scheme (ICO and Schedule)

The current policy comprises the Information Commissioner’s Office (ICO)
Model Publication Scheme together with the ICO Schedule which has been
tailored to fit the circumstances of the Council. Apart from some minor
updating of the schedule, the policy remains appropriate and the amended
version, attached, is recommended.

3. Publication Scheme (Freedom of Information Act 2000)

This policy sets out the Council information which is publicly available and of
which copies may be taken. In reviewing the policy, amendments have been
made within the categories of information available to extend public access,
for example to include the Neighbourhood Plan and all supporting documents
and the Neighbourhood Plan Working Group agendas and documents. The
amended version, attached, is recommended.

4. Privacy Notice

Under the General Data Protection Regulation and the Data Protection Act
2018 the Council is required to publish a Privacy Notice setting out what
personal information it holds, why it holds it, how it processes the information,
for what purposes and how long it holds it. Rights of data subjects are
specified.

The Council’s current policy contains all the necessary detail but the
reviewers did not find it particularly user friendly and not written in wholly plain
English. In consequence the Privacy Notice has been re-written and whilst the
new version contains all the appropriate detail, it is set out in a much plainer
and more attractive style. The amended version, attached, is recommended.

5. Equality and Diversity Policy

At its meeting in September 2020 the Council resolved unanimously to add an
Equality and Diversity Policy to its suite of policies. The reviewers have looked
at a wide range of such policies which have been adopted by Parish Councils
and concluded that rather than adopt any particular one it would be more
appropriate to devise our own policy having regard to best examples
available. In the course of this consideration, Councillor Hurley has been
included being the Council’s lead on the subject. The policy now presented
strikes a balance in that it includes appropriate content whilst maintaining a
modest length and therefore easily accessible to the public. The policy,
attached, is recommended.

6. Recommendations

It is proposed that the following policies be approved and adopted:
Publication Scheme (ICO and Schedule),
Publication Scheme (Freedom of Information Act 2000),
Privacy Notice,
Equality and Diversity Policy.

Graham White
Parish Clerk
7 January 2021