The Parish Council Domains Helper Service has now allocated over 70% of the funding available for councils moving to a .gov.uk domain in this financial year. If your council is thinking about doing the same, they urge you to act soon to avoid missing out.
At the time of writing, projections show that they will reach 100% allocation of funds by mid February next year. However, over the last few months they have seen an increased demand from councils which could mean reaching their full allocation sooner. As a reminder, it is highly unlikely that funding will be available in future financial years.
Who can claim funding and how
The £100 + VAT government funding is available to councils that are:
Moving to a .gov.uk domain
Already have a .gov.uk domain but are purchasing additional services such as .gov.uk emails for the first time
Funding is allocated on a first-come, first-served, once per council basis
It can only be accessed via the Parish Council Domains Helper Service’s shortlist of Approved Registrars.
What to do next
Their aim is to communicate at each significant funding milestone – the next update will be when they reach 90% allocation.