Our new email address and the reasons for the change.

From the 1st April 2026 we have changed our email address to that of clerk@tichborne-pc.gov.uk

The reasons for doing so are outlined below.

If anyone needs any further information on what the change means then please feel free to contact Brendan Gibbs using the following contact details

Brendan Gibbs
Clerk to Tichborne Parish Council
15 The Heath
Denmead
Waterlooville
PO7 6JT

Telephone: 02392 264528

Email: clerk@tichborne-pc.gov.uk
Website: www.tichborne-pc.org.uk

Your Parish Council’s digital compliance requirements

Parish councils across the UK are facing new digital compliance requirements with the introduction of Assertion 10 in the 2025 Annual Governance and Accountability Return (AGAR).

This significant change is one of the most important updates to parish council governance in recent years.

What is Assertion 10?

Assertion 10 is a new declaration added to the 2025 edition of the Practitioner’s Guide by the Smaller Authorities Proper Practices Panel (SAPPP).

Previously covered under Assertion 3, this dedicated assertion clarifies data compliance requirements that parish and town councils must meet when completing their Annual Governance and Accountability Returns.

This assertion specifically focuses on digital and data compliance, requiring councils to demonstrate they have proper governance frameworks in place for their digital presence, data protection practices and IT management.

From the 2025/26 financial year onwards, all parish and town councils will need to be able to tick this box as part of the AGAR submission.

Why do parish councils need to know about Assertion 10?

The introduction of Assertion 10 reflects the growing importance of digital governance in modern local government. Parish councils handle increasing amounts of personal data, manage websites, and engage in many other digital communications every day.

This assertion ensures councils meet their legal obligations while protecting residents’ data and providing accessible digital services.

Assertion 10 explicitly requires parish and town councils to comply with UK GDPR and the Data Protection Act 2018, making compliance more visible and accountable than ever before.

Councils that cannot demonstrate compliance will be unable to answer “Yes” to this assertion, which could potentially trigger audit requirements and additional scrutiny.

Assertion 10 is not optional; it’s a mandatory requirement for all parish and town councils completing AGAR returns.

The assertion covers several critical areas that directly impact how councils operate.

Website legal & accessibility requirements

All smaller authorities with websites must ensure their sites meet strict accessibility standards. Your website must meet WCAG 2.2 AA compliance, which replaced 2.1 AA in October 2024.

This isn’t usually automatic so councils with existing websites need to verify their compliance has been upgraded to the current standard. It’s also essential to maintain up-to-date accessibility statements and ensure all required documents are published and accessible to the public.

Council-owned domain & professional email

Under Assertion 10, every parish council must have at least one generic, role-based email account hosted on a council-owned domain, for example clerk@abcparishcouncil.gov.uk, rather than using free services like Gmail or Outlook. This is the minimum requirement for compliance.

However, best practice goes further. All permanent staff and councillors should ideally use individual domain-based email accounts to improve professionalism, maintain transparency and increase security. Dedicated council-owned emails should be issued to councillors and staff, as communications tied to personal emails risk losing access to records and violating GDPR when staff or councillors leave their roles.

Councils should budget accordingly and work towards full coverage, ideally on a .gov.uk domain.