Advice and guidance for local (parish and town) council councillors and clerks
County associations are the representative body for local councils in your area. They are your first point of call for advice and guidance. NALC supports county associations to provide the best and most up-to-date guidance to members. Find your local county association
The NALC member's area serves as a one-stop-shop for all briefings, consultations, advice and guidance, topic notes and other information provided by NALC. Contact your county association to request a username and password.
NALC legal advice is available to all local councils in membership through their county association. Members of the Direct Access Scheme can find further information on requesting advice. Please note that NALC is only able to give advice and guidance to the member council as a whole, we are unable to advise individual councillors or clerks.
Public enquiries
NALC is a membership body, providing support and assistance to local councils in membership. Other local authorities (county, district, borough, metropolitan, unitary and London borough councils) are represented by the Local Government Association (LGA).
Further information about the work of NALC and local councils can be found on this website, find out more about our work, publications and the latest news.
NALC is not a statutory body and does not monitor or regulate the activities of local councils. If you have a complaint about a local council, NALC suggests you contact the local council concerned in the first instance. Further information is available in the Local Government & Social Care Ombudsman’s fact sheet.
We are only able to give advice and guidance to our member councils; we are unable to advise individuals.
If you have a query about election law or the election process for a parish or town, please contact the local returning officer at the district, unitary or London Borough Council or the Electoral Commission.
Interested in setting up a local council
You are able to access our Create a Council resource for further support, please contact your local county association or if you are located in a London borough please contact NALC at or 020 7637 1865.