Tags: Websites for local councils
We had a brilliant time at the YLCA Conference in York
Posted: Tue, 02 Oct 2018 13:30 by Ray Smith
The YLCA 2018 Conference was held in York last week, there were 75 Yorkshire councils in attendance.
We had a stand, conducted a workshop and made many new friends. The workshop was called; 'How to raise the profile of your council through good use of media and websites'. The workshop was run twice during the day with each session being very well attended.
The picture shows Councillor Keith Orrell - The Rt Hon the Lord Mayor of York alongside Tina Britt - 2commune's Managing Director.
It was great to meet you all at the stand and in the workshops. We hope to be able to welcome you 'on-board' UKLC in the near future.
New accessibility regulations for public sector websites
Posted: Fri, 17 Aug 2018 16:00 by Ray Smith
New website accessibility regulations are coming into force next year. You can read all about the new regulations on GOV.UK.
Why Web Accessibility is Important
The Internet is an increasingly important resource in our lives including: education, employment, government, commerce, health care, recreation, and loads of other things. It's important that it's accessible to everyone in order to provide equal access and equal opportunity to people with disabilities. An accessible website can help people with disabilities participate more actively in society
You can find further information about accessibility on the W3C website: "Social Factors in Developing a Web Accessibility Business Case for Your Organization".
2commune already work to the W3C Web Content Accessibility Guidelines (WCAG) and as such you can be assured that our websites will meet the new regulations. You will also need to have an 'Accessibility Statement' on your website. We will produce a generic statement and add it to our customers websites as we did with GDPR.
Devolution of services to local councils
Posted: Thu, 25 May 2017 18:00 by Ray Smith
Jonathan Owen (NALC Cheif Executive) is pictured here with Tina Britt from 2commune at the spring conference in Norfolk.
In his presentation to Norfolk parishes, Jonathan said that "results of a recent consultation conducted by NALC showed that over 70% of respondents are keen to get involved in local service delivery".
As higher tier authorities face reduced funding they won't be able to fund discretionary services. There is a real opportunity for local councils to pick up the baton and deliver new local services in innovative and exciting ways.
The public have always been confused about which tier of local government provides what services. This is only going to become more confusing as service delivery moves between tiers.
2commune have developed a comprehensive A - Z of services directory which makes it easy for members of the public to find the service they need (even if it's not provided by the parish or town council). The directory has recently been upgraded to make it easy to add, remove or modify services at any level of local government. This system links into GOV.UK to provide automated links to higher tier authorities.
Norfolk ALC Spring Conference
Posted: Thu, 25 May 2017 10:48 by Ray Smith
Ray Smith (from 2commune ) is pictured here with Russell Reeve (Norfolk ALC's County Officer).
The theme of the conference was Sustainability and was held at The Great Britain Centre in Swaffham.
It was a scorching hot day, an upbeat agenda kept everyone's attention. There were lots of questions and the main session was followed by a networking lunch.
We would like to thank all of those who were able to visit the stand. Our 'Crash Course in Digital by Default' was well received by attendees.
Finally there was a chance to take a tour of the Windmill although we heard that Helen chickened out due to the unnerving swaying sensation as she climbed the tower.
UKLC User Conference 2017
Posted: Thu, 30 Mar 2017 09:15 by Ray Smith
This year's UKLC User Group Conference was held at the King Power Stadium in Leicester on Wednesday, March 22nd.
The theme of the conference was 'Simplify, Standardise and Share'. Sessions were varied and included best practice, case studies and the use of social media. UKLC users were updated on new functionality and features. Delegates were given an opportunity to help shape the future of the product by assisting us to prioritise future developments from our 'wish list'. UKLC users will shortly be receiving a 'My Notice' which will include handouts and the results of the vote.
There were plenty of opportunities for networking including round table discussions. The added bonus this year, was a directors box being freely available throughout the day for delegates to view the pitch which proved to be a hit!
Roger Harrington - Whittlebury Parish Council said: "I thought the whole day was excellent and couldn't have been bettered. The presentations were top-notch, helpful and informative and your encouragement of audience participation right from the off was a very important part of the conference's success. There was a spectrum of competencies among the users from the new recruits like us to the very experienced, and you skilfully catered for all abilities. Of course, the networking is always such a useful part of such meetings and there was plenty of opportunity for that at coffee, lunch and tea.
The catering was of a very high standard and I couldn't fault the food and beverages. So, overall, 100% brilliant and I would encourage any UKLC website user to seriously consider attendance at future conferences which, personally, I hope will be annually."
Thank you to all that attended.
Shake Off Those Winter Blues!
Posted: Wed, 18 Jan 2017 14:33 by Ray Smith
Last night we visited the home of 'The Blues' to check out the facilities for this year's user conference. We actually got a chance to hold the premier league cup! Wow what an experience, to think of all the famous players and managers that have held it over the last 24 seasons.
The next user group conference will be held on March 22nd, 2017 at the King Power stadium. Have you booked your place yet? If not why not book it now and have something to look forward to? It will be a great day, with plenty of time to meet us and to network with other members of the UKLC family. There will be loads of interesting topics and a chance to vote on new features to be included in the product.
Book your place and shake off those winter 'blues'. If you are a UKLC user and have not yet received your invite then please contact us for further details.
What a Difference a Year Makes, Merry Christmas & Happy New Year
Posted: Tue, 20 Dec 2016 18:00 by Ray Smith
This time last year we had just completed our tender for the contract to continue to supply local council websites in Leicestershire & Rutland. We were tentatively waiting to hear how we had got on. It wasn't until February 2016 that we finally heard that we'd won the contract. We're delighted to say that we now have well over 100 Leicestershire & Rutland parishes back 'on-board'. Thank you all so much for staying with us.
This year we've continued to welcome many new, parish and town councils to the UKLC family. A considerable proportion of these have been 'smaller councils' most having received transparency funding to cover the cost of their sites.
Norfolk Association of Local Councils joined the growing number of CALCs using UKLC. It was great to meet them and a large number of member councils at their November conference.
Our 'Digital by Default' roadshow continues to truck on with the most recent one being held at the Suffolk Association's office only a few weeks ago.
We have lot's of exciting things in the pipeline for 2017 which already promises to be another fantastic year. The next UKLC Conference will be on March 22nd 2017, we hope to see you all there. If you've not received your invite yet then please contact us.
Our office will close at 5:00pm on Thursday, December 22nd and reopen on Tuesday, January 3rd 2017. Should you need any assistance during this period, please raise a technical support ticket or leave a message on the office answer machine and we will respond as soon as possible.
With the X Factor, Strictly and Apprentice finals over we've still got the Dr Who Christmas special to look forward to on TV. And then it's New Year!
A massive 'Thank You' to all of our customers old and new.
We wish you all a Very Merry Christmas and a Happy and Peaceful New Year.
Here's to a great 2017!
Best Wishes,
From us all at 2commune
Writing For The Web
Posted: Wed, 21 Sep 2016 11:55 by Ray Smith
A recent study has identified that 82% of local government websites (district & county councils) do not meet target readability standards.
Long sentences are common and often contain more than 25 words.
Do you use plain English on your website?
This article contains more information about the study along with links to some useful resources.
People read differently on the web than they do on paper. This means that the best approach when writing for the web is different from writing for print.
2commune wins Leicestershire Framework Contract for a further 4 years.
Posted: Wed, 24 Feb 2016 09:00 by Ray Smith
We have been working with Parish and Town councils in Leicestershire and Rutland for well over 10 years now and are delighted to announce that we have been awarded the new framework contract by Leicestershire County Council.
This sole supplier framework runs for 4 years and replaces the one previously held by 2commune which was established in 2013. Parish and Town Council's procuring websites under the framework benefit from a guaranteed fixed cost over the lifetime of the contract which has been reviewed by the County Council's legal department.
The contract was signed on February 16th 2016 and lasts until February 15th 2020.
Thomas Barker (Policy & Assurance Manager at Leicesteshire County Council) said: "We are pleased to announce that 2commune have won the contract for the new framework. Their bid offered the best value based on cost and quality over the life of the framework, as well as a product specifically designed for parish councils".
Councils in Leicestershire and Rutland wishing to find out more about the contract should contact us direct.
Merry Christmas and Happy New Year from 2commune
Posted: Wed, 23 Dec 2015 16:00 by Ray Smith
Is it really the end of another year? It hardly seems like 5 minutes since we were writing our last Christmas message.
It's been a fantastic year and we've enjoyed a huge amount of success & innovation driven by our users. Normally things start to slow down at this time of year, however this December has been our best month ever.
We launched our new 'mobile optimised' templates and 'custom' design option at the 2015 user group event. The 'custom' design offers a rich, crisp new look and feel. Here's a few examples Duffield, Huntingdon, and Newtown Linford. Whilst our 'classic' template continues to be our best seller.
This year we have established ourselves as the major supplier in the local council sector. UKLC has raised the bar and is setting the industry standard for parish and town council websites across the UK. Our customer base now stretches from Cheshire to Cornwall, we now have 7 CALCs on-board.
Tina (our managing director) became a member of the Leicestershire & Rutland Local Council Award Scheme accreditation panel.
Ray (our strategy & development director) was re-elected as a parish councillor for Glenfield at this years election and now chairs the finance working party.
Our offices are now closed until Monday 4th January 2016. Should you need any assistance during this period, please raise a technical support ticket or leave a message on the office answer machine and we will respond as soon as possible.
That just leaves us to wish you a Very Merry Christmas and Happy and Peaceful New Year from all at 2commune. We look forward to working with you all next year and to welcoming many more new customers 'on board' UKLC.
Thank You!
