Pod-on-the-Parish

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.

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.

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.

Mark Tomkins returns to show how to turn your council website from a legal tick-box into a genuine community engagement tool — signposting, social media, forms, and navigation that actually work.

Millie Manton explains why councils are getting it wrong with outdoor spaces for tweens and teens — and shares the research-backed design principles that actually get young people active.

Eleanor Greene shares practical advice on getting through your internal audit — covering remote vs face-to-face audits, Assertion 10, governance pitfalls, and the Daily Mail Test.

Nigel Hayes and Keira Lake share how Dorchester Town Council made apprenticeships work — and map out the full career pathway from entry-level qualifications through to CiLCA and a degree.

Mark Tomkins breaks down what Assertion 10 of the Annual Governance Statement really means for parish and town councils, covering the key updates in the 2025 Practitioners' Guide.