The Government Digital Service (GDS) has published new guidance for parish councils in moving their websites to a gov.uk domain name.
This follows the provision of funding by the Cabinet Office in April of last year to help parish make the move.
The GDS guidance outlines benefits including having a trusted brand name attached to their websites, increased transparency and security for email accounts, continuous central government monitoring for potential security vulnerabilities, and better legal protection as the domain is based in a UK jurisdiction.
It presents steps including getting council approval to buy a gov.uk domain and checking the services needed, such as web hosting and email addresses for each councillor and any permanent staff.
These should be followed by the clerk of the parish understanding their role as registration, choosing a registrar to buy the services, and ensuring that staff follow an IT policy. GDS has provided a template for the latter.
