Parish Council IT Readiness Checker
Answer ten quick questions to see whether your council has the basics in place for secure email, document storage, backups, account control and public information requests.
Council IT checklist
Choose yes, sometimes or no. The score updates instantly.
Your result
Your council may be relying on informal systems that are hard to manage, hard to secure and difficult to hand over cleanly.
Recommended next steps
- Create individual council accounts for clerks and councillors instead of relying on shared logins.
- Put documents into a managed cloud system with automatic backup and sensible permissions.
- Agree basic IT policies for devices, email, file sharing, FOI, SARs and councillor changes.
Why parish councils need proper IT systems
Parish councils handle public money, resident correspondence, meeting papers, planning comments, staff records and sensitive requests. Even a small council needs reliable systems so information is secure, searchable, backed up and not dependent on one person's laptop or inbox.
Good IT also makes council work easier. Clerks and councillors can find the latest documents, keep a clean audit trail and respond more confidently when residents, auditors or regulators ask for information.
The problem with shared inboxes and basic webmail
Shared inboxes and basic webmail often look cheap, but they create practical risks. Passwords get passed around, old councillors may retain access, mobile setup can be awkward and it becomes harder to prove who sent, received or deleted a message.
Named accounts, clear permissions and multi-factor authentication give councils better control without making everyday work more complicated.
Benefits of Microsoft 365 for parish councils
Microsoft 365 can give a parish council professional email, shared calendars, Teams meetings, SharePoint document libraries, OneDrive storage, security controls and simple device access in one managed platform. Google Workspace or similar services can also work well when configured properly.
The important part is not just buying licences. Councils need the setup shaped around real workflows: agendas, minutes, committee folders, councillor joining and leaving, FOI and Subject Access Requests, backups and access reviews.
How SharkyWeb can help
SharkyWeb can review how your parish or town council currently handles email, documents, backups, account access and policy basics. Our parish council Microsoft 365 services are designed around those practical needs. From there, we can recommend a setup that fits a small public-sector organisation rather than a large corporate IT department.
The goal is simple: fewer shared passwords, fewer missing documents, safer access, cleaner handovers and a calmer IT setup for clerks and councillors.