As part of the Transparency code for smaller authorities, issued in 2015 by the Department for Communities and Local Government, parish councils are required to publish their financial data, meeting agendas & minutes and other information "...on a website that is publicly accessible free of charge".

Parish council website must also be compliant with the accessibility requirements contained in the Public Sector Bodies (Websites and Mobile Applications) (No.2) Accessibility Regulations 2018.

Carruthers Solutions has produced a 'template' for parish council websites that complies with the Transparency code and is already used by several Nottinghamshire parish councils.  The template uses the Spanglefish 3 content management system (CMS) which conforms to Web Content Accessibility Guidelines (WCAG) and uses a fully "responsive" design, which means that the sites can be viewed fully on smaller screens, such as tablets and mobile phones.

We created several websites for local parish councils to enable them to meet the transparency and accessibility requirements. These include:

• Plumtree Parish Council;
• Normanton-on-the-Wolds Parish Council;
• Stanton-on-the-Wolds Parish Council;
• Widmerpool Parish Council.

The websites have now been handed over to the respective council's parish clerk for future maintenance.

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Additionally, in our spare time and as a bit of fun, we design, develop and maintain the Big Ted Online website.