Pod-on-the-Parish

John Fagan
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  • Government
  • Updated Weekly

Practical advice, real stories, and a bit of fun for everyone working in parish, town, and community councils across England and Wales.

  1. From Submission to Sign-Off: Preparing for External Auditor Queries

    9h ago

    From Submission to Sign-Off: Preparing for External Auditor Queries

    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.

    34 min
  2. Ponies, Pigs, and Parish Councils: Life in the New Forest National Park

    3d ago

    Ponies, Pigs, and Parish Councils: Life in the New Forest National Park

    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 thousand years of ancient land rights.

    28 min
  3. Accounting Basics for Clerks & RFOs (and a Sideline in Playmobil)

    4d ago

    Accounting Basics for Clerks & RFOs (and a Sideline in Playmobil)

    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 income-and-expenditure, VAT and Form 126, the asset register, and getting your reserves right.

    40 min

  4. Jun 26

    Talking AI and the Future of Local Councils

    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 ERNLLCA AI article series.

    57 min

  5. Jun 25

    Jamie Charters on Investing Council Funds (and a Word Called Meraki)

    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 Deposit Fund handles security, liquidity and yield, and why 'safety first' doesn't have to mean 0.5%.

    33 min

  6. May 16

    Tom Sykes on Procurement (and a Bit of Magic)

    Tom Sykes — architect, founder of Common Works and former Head of Design at Transport for London — on getting positive outcomes from procurement. Thresholds, finding suppliers, writing the brief, scoring quality, and why you should never just take the cheapest bid.

    47 min

  7. May 13

    Unlock the Power of the Big Yellow Book

    Julie King on how to actually use the Big Yellow Book — Arnold-Baker on Local Council Administration, 14th edition. A practical workshop episode: have the book open in front of you and follow along through quorum, register of interests, churchyard grass cutting, and the six-month rule for councillor absence.

    47 min

  8. May 6

    Surviving the Year-End Crunch

    Beckie Whitehouse on managing stress, mastering your mindset, and getting through audit / year-end with energy to spare — from a parish clerk who's also a qualified life coach.

    33 min
See All (13)

About

Practical advice, real stories, and a bit of fun for everyone working in parish, town, and community councils across England and Wales.

Information

  • Creator
    John Fagan
  • Years Active
    2K
  • Episodes
    13
  • Rating
    Clean
  • Copyright
    © 2026 John Fagan
  • Show Website
    Pod-on-the-Parish