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Government invites parish councils to join .gov.uk

Guidance published for parish council clerks on how to set up and move onto a .gov.uk domain 

As part of wider initiatives to improve accountability, efficiency and transparency, three government departments have produced new guidelines to help parish councils set themselves up with .gov.uk website and email addresses. 

Close-up of the guidance on moving your parish council to a gov.uk domain on the government website

The guidance, published by the Government Digital Service, the Department for Science, Innovation and Technology and the Central Digital and Data Office, begins by laying out the range of benefits from making such a switch. 

Chief among them is that people already recognise the trusted and professional .gov.uk brand. Then there’s the value of increased transparency and security compared to personal email accounts, and the ability to manage accounts, whether accessing staff accounts to fulfil freedom of information (FoI) requests or removing staff when they leave.  

Other benefits include continuous central government monitoring for potential security vulnerabilities and better legal protection since gov.uk is based in a UK jurisdiction. 

See the full government guidance: Moving your parish council to a .gov.uk domain 

Once a council approves the switch to .gov.uk, the new guidance explains how to proceed. There are sections on checking the services you need, understanding your role as a registrant, choosing a registrar to buy your services, what to do when you’ve set up your domain and who to contact if you need help. 

As the guidance says, once a parish council makes the switch, all permanent staff and councillors must use individual .gov.uk email accounts rather than free personal email accounts. In doing so, councils will improve professionalism, maintain transparency and increase security within the parish council sector.

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Simon Guerrier
Writer and journalist for Infotec, Social Care Today and Air Quality News
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