Assertion 10
The box is new. The work is not.
From 2025/26 the Annual Governance Statement asks about digital and data compliance. Councils already had to follow UK GDPR, accessibility rules, FOI and, where it applies, the Transparency Code. The Guide put those duties under one heading and spelled out a generic mailbox on a council-owned domain and a written IT policy.
What “yes” actually needs
- At least one generic clerk or office address on a domain the council owns — not a personal Gmail
- .gov.uk is best practice, not a separate statute
- A website that can meet WCAG 2.2 AA intent, with a real accessibility statement
- An adopted IT policy — a Word file in a course pack is not a policy until the council resolves it
- A privacy notice and a trail you can search
What Clerk Assist puts in one place
Domain and mail, statutory site, IT and data-protection templates with review dates, UK hosting, and an evidence pack for the internal auditor. It does not tick the box by magic. Members who refuse council mail still fail.
Parish councils reclaim VAT on this kind of supply through VAT126. That is separate. Assertion 10 is governance and how you treat the clerk.