Government

Pod-on-the-Parish

by John Fagan

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Latest episodes

Forecasting, Budgeting & Setting the Precept (and Lashings of Ginger Beer)

October 14, 2026 · 48 min

Budget season is here. Hannah Driver, Head Accountant at Scribe, returns to take new clerks, RFOs and councillors through the whole cycle: forecasting this year, building next year's budget line by line, getting reserves right, and…
How to Read a Planning Application

September 22, 2026 · 26 min

A planning application lands, and the drawings may as well be in another language. Architect Tom Sykes returns to show councils how to read them: print them out, draw over them, imagine coming home, and learn why bad design is one of only…
The Journey of a Locum Clerk

August 19, 2026 · 43 min

Lee Jakeman has walked into councils cold and found nobody who knows the laptop password, the bank login, or whether the council is even quorate. Fifteen years a town clerk and now a locum, he shares what the first week really looks like…
Bonus: The Proper Practices Rewrite — What Changes for 27/28

August 17, 2026 · 13 min

The Proper Practices are being rewritten. Claire Reed of NALC sets out what's changing — a new governance assertion, a code of practice for internal audit, and an accounts form that splits your reserves in two. A short bonus extract from…
Inside the New Digital AGAR (and a Pool Party Before the Podcast)

August 14, 2026 · 50 min

The AGAR is going digital. Lance Allan of SAAA walks through the new online submission portal ahead of its 26/27 launch, and Claire Reed of NALC sets out what's changing in the Proper Practices rewrite — including the variance rules that…

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Martyn's Law, Without the Panic (and a Motorbike Trip with Dad)

July 13, 2026 · 40 min

Martyn's Law sounds daunting — but for most parish and town councils the response is far smaller than the panic suggests. Alex Jay of Little Green Button cuts through the jargon on who's in scope, the tiers, and what a proportionate…
James Corrigan on the Employment Rights Act (and a Stitch in Time)

July 10, 2026 · 41 min

Employment law's biggest shake-up in a generation is here. HR specialist James Corrigan explains what the Employment Rights Act 2025 means for parish, town and community councils — from six-month unfair dismissal rights to the rise of…
From Submission to Sign-Off: Preparing for External Auditor Queries

July 3, 2026 · 34 min

Eleanor Greene — returning from Episode 3 — on what happens after you submit the AGAR: how to navigate external audit queries, explain variances, handle Assertion 10, and come out with a clean sign-off rather than a stressful summer.
Ponies, Pigs, and Parish Councils: Life in the New Forest National Park

June 30, 2026 · 28 min

Dr Gale Pettifer — Clerk & Proper Officer at Brockenhurst Parish Council and a practicing commoner with ponies roaming the New Forest — on what it's really like to manage a council where the residents include free-roaming livestock and a…
Accounting Basics for Clerks & RFOs (and a Sideline in Playmobil)

June 29, 2026 · 40 min

Hannah Driver — Head Accountant at Scribe and an eight-year veteran of town and parish council finance — strips the jargon out of local council accounting: the cashbook that underpins everything, receipts-and-payments vs…
Talking AI and the Future of Local Councils

June 26, 2026 · 57 min

Something a bit different: a seven-strong panel on where AI takes parish and town councils over the next decade — automation, the changing clerk role, guardrails and hallucinations, data and GDPR, and keeping the human touch. Built on the…
Jamie Charters on Investing Council Funds (and a Word Called Meraki)

June 25, 2026 · 33 min

Jamie Charters — Client Relationship Manager at CCLA Investment Management and a 25-year lifer in the public-sector investment space — on what to do with the reserves. Why diversification beats a single bank account, how the Public Sector…