Say Hello to the New JPAG Guide (2025 Edition)!

Or should we say… SAPPP? 🧐

Let’s start with the obvious: what on earth is SAPPP and where did JPAG go?

Good question! Don’t worry, you’re not losing your marbles. The guide you’ve always known as the “JPAG Guide” has had a bit of a glow-up. It’s now called the SAPPP Guide – that’s the Smaller Authorities’ Proper Practices Panel.

Same great content, just a clearer name to match what it’s really about. But this isn’t just a rebrand. The 2025 edition brings in some smart, practical updates that’ll help town and parish councils do their job even better with more clarity, consistency, and a decent sprinkle of common sense.

Let’s break it down.

🧠 Why This Update Matter

Let’s be honest. Governance can be dry. But this update is:

✅ More modern (email and accessibility, yes please!)
✅ More secure (hello GDPR and .gov.uk)
✅ Easier to understand (thank you plain English)
✅ More realistic about what councils actually face

We tip our collective hats to the SAPPP team. This isn’t just paperwork; it’s a real boost for transparency, trust, and professionalism in local councils.

🎯 So, What’s Changed and Why?

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📌 First, some wording and style updates:

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• Chairman → Now just Chair
  
  
• Parish Council → Now Smaller Authority
  
  
• Councillor → Just Member
  
  
• “Should” has become “must” in the sections that lay out the proper rules (hello accountability!)
  
  
• Plus, updated hyperlinks and department names
  
  

Why? Because language matters. This refresh makes the guide more inclusive, legally precise, and easier to follow. Big kudos to the authors it now feels more 2025 and less 1995.

Scenario 1:

Old guide: “The council should do XYZ.”
Some folks read that as “optional.”

New guide: “The council must do XYZ.”
Now there’s no excuse. Simpler, stronger, safer.

Scenario 2:

A new councillor reads the guide and sees the term "Chairman." She assumes only men can hold the role. Fast forward to 2025, she reads "Chair" and realises, "Oh! I can do this!" Inclusion isn’t just about niceties, it shapes who steps forward.

💸 You Can’t Be the Boss and the Banker

New rule: The Chair of the council or Finance Committee should NEVER be the Clerk or RFO.

Why? Because it’s like asking the referee to also be the striker in a football match. 🚫 Too much power in one person’s hands = a big no-no.

Scenario 1:

Your Chair is also the Clerk. They raise an invoice, approve it, pay it, and file it. Who’s checking for errors or fraud? Nobody. And that’s a huge risk.

Scenario 2:

Your RFO goes on sick leave. The council panics and says, “Let’s just get the Finance Chair to sign everything until they’re back.”
Sounds efficient, right? But it’s a shortcut straight into a governance ditch.
Better fix? Ask a separate member to help temporarily, with oversight and audit trails.

🧑‍💻 Say Hello to Assertion 10: Digital and Data Compliance

This one’s a biggie and deserves a drumroll 🥁.

We now have a whole new Assertion 10 to make sure councils are staying safe, secure, and accessible online. It won’t hit the AGAR until 2025/26, but you’ll want to get on top of it early.

Your digital basics, done right:

✅ Use a proper council email (like clerk@dayworthtowncouncil.gov.uk) – no more Hotmail horrors
✅ Website must be accessible (WCAG 2.2 AA standards)
✅ Follow GDPR and Data Protection laws
✅ Have an IT policy so everyone knows the rules

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See Why Every Parish and Town Council Now Needs an IT Policy for more details

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Scenario 1:

Still using a personal Gmail to run the council? What if the Clerk leaves? Boom, you’ve just lost half your audit trail and potentially breached GDPR. Yikes.

Scenario 2:

You get an FOI request about meeting decisions. But the decisions are scattered across WhatsApp and personal inboxes. Now you’re digging through screenshots and memory lanes.
With official council email and IT policies? It’s all where it should be neat, safe, and audit-ready.

🏛️ Trust Funds: Tick Yes, No or N/A (but don’t guess!)

If your council manages a charitable trust, the new guide is super clear:

• If you’re a sole trustee and doing it properly → tick Yes
  
  
• If you’re a sole trustee but not managing things right → tick No
  
  
• If you’re not a trustee at all → tick N/A
  
  

Scenario 1:

You’ve inherited an old playground fund but didn’t file accounts for it. In the past, you might’ve just... not mentioned it. Now? You tick ‘No’ and fix it before it becomes an audit problem.

Scenario 2:

A councillor insists, “We used to run a charity, so we’d better tick Yes.” But you're no longer involved in managing the trust.
Ticking ‘Yes’ when you shouldn’t could land you in hot water.
New rule: Only tick Yes if you're actively managing the trust now.

🧾 New Clarity for Accounting Lines

Lines 8, 9, and 11 in the AGAR got sharper definitions:

• Line 8 (Cash & Short-Term Investments) = Only money you can grab immediately or within 12 months. If you can't cash it out right away or it's locked away for more than a year, it doesn't belong here!
• Line 9 (Assets) = The whole kit and caboodle of what your council owns – buildings, land, equipment, those longer-term investments, and any loans you've given out that won't be repaid for a while
• Line 11 (Trust Funds) = Now with extra instructions and a spotlight

And remember: you can't explain variances inside the AGAR anymore, you must provide a separate explanation.

Scenario:You have £10k in a 3-year bond and another £10k in your current account.Old guide: Shrug, chuck it all into Line 8.New guide: Only the current account goes in Line 8. The bond? Line 9, where it belongs.

Retry

Claude can make mistakes.
Please double-check responses.

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Scenario:

You have £10k in a 3-year bond and another £10k in your current account.
Old guide: Shrug, chuck it all into Line 8.
New guide: Only the current account goes in Line 8. The bond? Line 9, where it belongs.

📋 And Don’t Forget Internal Audit!

Internal auditors now check more than your receipts and meeting minutes. They’ll also:

• Confirm loans are properly recorded
  
  
• Review your IT policy and digital setup
  
  
• Ensure trust fund activities are recorded separately from council business
  
  

Scenario:

You approve a grant from a charitable trust during a council meeting.
Oops! That breaks the new clarity rules. Trust business must be separate.
Now, you’ll need to minute that decision in a trustee meeting, not a council one.

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SAPPP 2025 Update Checklist

Language:

☑️ Update "Chairman" to Chair in all council documents
☑️ Refer to the council as a Smaller Authority (not just “Parish Council”)
☑️ Use Member instead of “Councillor” (in line with the guide)
☑️ Replace vague “should”s with clear “must”s where rules apply

Digital & Data Compliance:

☑️ Use official council email addresses (e.g. clerk@yourtown.gov.uk)
☑️ Ensure your website meets WCAG 2.2 AA accessibility standards
☑️ Create and adopt an IT Policy (covering devices, passwords, data handling)
☑️ Be fully GDPR and Data Protection Act compliant

Roles & Responsibilities:

☑️ Ensure the Chair or Finance Chair is NOT also the Clerk or RFO
☑️ Have a backup plan for RFO/Clerk absences that maintains role separation
☑️ Review job descriptions and delegation policies to avoid role conflicts

Trust Funds:

☑️ Check if your council is a sole trustee of any charitable trust

• Yes – if you’re managing it properly
  
  
• No – if you’re a trustee but not managing it correctly
  
  
• N/A – if you’re not a trustee at all
  

☑️ Keep trustee meetings separate from council meetings
☑️ File accounts and reports for trusts as required

AGAR & Financial Reporting:

☑️ Line 8 = Cash & Short-Term Investments (immediately spendable)
☑️ Line 9 = Long-Term Assets (property, long-term investments)
☑️ Line 11 = Trust Funds (with correct disclosure and treatment)
☑️ Prepare separate variance explanations (don’t put explanations on AGAR itself)
☑️ Ensure loans are correctly recorded and disclosed

Internal Audit:

☑️ Trusts managed separately and correctly
☑️ IT Policy in place and followed
☑️ Digital security, GDPR, and data management practices
☑️ Accessibility compliance (for public-facing digital stuff)
☑️ Segregation of duties is respected

Practical To-Dos (Now & Over the Year):

☑️ Brief the council on the changes
☑️ Update standing orders, financial regs, and policy documents
☑️ Start working on digital compliance before the 2025/26 AGAR kicks in
☑️ Make internal audit preparations early (especially around IT and trust handling)
☑️ Schedule time to review assets and accounting line classifications

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