Reorganisation decisions, £9,000 heat pump grants and heritage funding

Good morning. Here is your 90-second briefing for the week: 14 local government reorganisation decisions, a heat pump grant worth up to £9,000 for eligible off-gas-grid properties, three funding routes open to councils, and the dates worth putting in the diary.

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This Week's Essentials

Local government reorganisation: decisions for 14 areas. Ministers have confirmed plans for 14 areas, from Kent and Devon to Hertfordshire, Nottinghamshire and Warwickshire. Across this round, 134 existing councils are set to become 38 unitary authorities. Decisions on West Sussex and Cambridgeshire and Peterborough will follow later, so the national map is not complete yet. Surrey's two new councils are already legislated to go live in 2027. Why it matters: if your council sits in an affected area, the principal authorities you deal with are changing. Start tracking local transition plans, particularly any discussion of neighbourhood committees, assets and services. See the decisions.

£9,000 towards a heat pump for eligible off-gas-grid properties. From 21 July, the Boiler Upgrade Scheme offers £9,000 towards an air-to-water or ground-source heat pump for eligible properties in England and Wales that are off the gas grid and replacing oil or LPG heating. The temporary uplift runs until 31 March 2027. Leaflets are landing on around 200,000 eligible doormats. Why it matters: many rural parishes have a high share of off-grid homes, so this is a concrete, timely thing to signpost to residents through your newsletter, noticeboard or website. Read the announcement.

Have your say on the Model Standing Orders. The National Association of Local Councils, the membership body representing England's parish and town councils, has commissioned a review of its Model Standing Orders, the template most councils build their own governance rules from. It is asking clerks and councillors to help shape the next version. Why it matters: standing orders are a document you use constantly, so this is a rare chance to feed in the practical fixes you would like to see before the next edition is written. Read more and take the survey.

Funding Radar

National Lottery Heritage Fund: Heritage Grants (£10,000 to £250,000). Parish and town councils are named as eligible applicants for projects connecting people to local heritage, from historic buildings and parks to landscapes, nature and community heritage. There is no deadline: you can apply whenever you are ready, decisions are made monthly, and the aim is to give a decision within eight weeks of a complete application. Details and how to apply.

War Memorials Trust: Grants Scheme. With Remembrance approaching, this is a good moment to plan any repairs to a war memorial in your care. Councils that own or look after a memorial can apply, and grants usually cover around half of eligible costs, up to £5,000 for non-freestanding memorials or up to £20,000 for freestanding ones. Applications are accepted at any time, starting with a short pre-application form. Details and how to apply.

Woodland Trust: Free Trees for Schools and Communities. Not a cash grant, but a genuinely free way to green a space: town and parish councils can apply directly for tree packs at no cost. Applications are open now for delivery in November 2026 and are expected to close in August. You will need landowner permission and a six-digit grid reference for the site. Check eligibility and apply.

Deadline Watch

Free Resource

ICO publication scheme resources for parish councils. The Information Commissioner's Office keeps free resources to help smaller public authorities publish the information people should be able to find routinely. The page links to a parish-council template guide to information, the model publication scheme, sector definition documents, and guidance on minutes and agendas. It is a useful compliance refresher and free to access with no login. Get the resources.

Clerk's Corner

A square metre for pollinators: West Dean Parish Council. West Dean Parish Council, in the Forest of Dean, runs a simple idea called Bee Squared: it asks every household to plant just one square metre of wildflower seed to help bees, butterflies and other pollinators. The appeal is that it costs the council almost nothing, gives residents an easy, visible way to take part, and adds up quickly across a parish. It also helps a council quietly meet its biodiversity duty under the Natural Environment and Rural Communities Act. The lesson for any council: a small, clearly explained ask can achieve more than a big scheme that never gets off the ground. Pick one modest action, make it easy to join, and let numbers do the work. See the project.

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