County Association Information Pack

About

Established in 1947, the National Association of Local Councils (NALC) is the recognised membership organisation that works with a network of 43 county associations to represent, promote and improve England’s first tier of local government in England – the movement of 10,000 local (parish and town) councils and their 100,000 councillors.

NALC lobbies and campaigns on behalf of local councils raise awareness of their work by sharing good practices and providing them with a range of services including legal, financial and HR advice to support their needs.

Local councils in England deliver community-focused services to over 14 million people and cover around 92% of the country by area. They have a proven track record of building strong communities and improving the quality of life in the places they serve.

Recent years have seen local councils changing, doing more and innovating, helping tackle challenges from health to housing, loneliness to local facilities, transport to town centres, and community assets to climate change.

NALC’s vision is for local councils to be at the centre of community effort, the natural focus of a range of public activity and service delivery, giving a democratic voice to those communities in the deliberations of other agencies. Vibrant, dynamic, and effective local councils will help communities to help themselves build strength and resilience and improve the quality of life of residents.

NALC Manifesto 2022/23: Building stronger communities sets out how the government and parliament can work with NALC to support local councils and help communities to help themselves:

• Empower communities: With more effective powers to tackle local issues and a greater say and influence in decisions that affect them.
• Diverse funding: A flexible and diverse funding framework through direct access to government grant funding, not extending council tax referendums and reform of non-domestic rates.
• Strengthening local leadership: The creation of more local councils, promoting civility and respect including strengthening the standards regime and improving links at sub-regional level.
• Build capacity and support councillors: Encourage more and diverse people to become councillors and officers, make it easier to stand and serve as councillors, and investment in training and development.

NALC has membership levels of 100% in some county areas, with an overall membership of nearly 90% of all local councils.

Governance

The Annual General Meeting (AGM) is the sovereign body of NALC and is responsible for its overall strategy and general policies. Each county association may send up to three representatives to the AGM. This is held online in Autumn each year. In this instance the county association may send a mix of councillors and county officers.

County associations are invited to submit motions for consideration at AGM. These motions must be submitted 42 days in advance of AGM.

The National Assembly comprises one councillor from each county association and is responsible for the appointment of NALC committees, as well as the management and conduct of NALC.

The dates, agendas and minutes for scheduled meetings of our committees are available on the committees and meetings webpage.

Communications channels

There are several ways to keep up-to-date with the latest NALC news, ensure you are following, signed up and have access to:

• Website
• Jobs mailing — Monday
• Events mailing — Tuesday
• NALC newsletter — Wednesday 
• Chief executive's bulletin — Thursday
• X (formerly Twitter)
• Facebook
• Instagram
• YouTube

Membership subscriptions and affiliation fee

Member councils pay an affiliation fee via their county association. The NALC affiliation fee is collected in a two-stage process each year as follows:

The first instalment is invoiced on 1 April each year. This is based on 80% of the final figures given for the previous year.

The current affiliation fee for 2026/27 is 8.6 pence per elector with a cap of £2,216 for larger councils. However, this figure varies annually, so check the latest fee. In April/May, NALC requests electorate figures and your membership list for the current year, with a return date of 31 August.

The final balancing invoice is raised in early September – this will take into account payment already made and your current electorate, as well as the capped councils.

Invoices can also have a credit balance – this will normally only happen if a county has lost members.

Events and meeting dates

Over the year we hold a number of online and in-person events on topics of interest to county associations and local councils, aimed at both councillors, clerks and council staff. Details of all events are on our Events webpage.

County officers and county association staff have one free place at each online event. The free place is automatically shown when booking an event whilst logged in using a county association staff member account.

Scheduled meetings for our committees are available on the Committees and meetings webpage.

NALC welcome being able to attend, subject to availability, and speak at your events and meetings. To request attendance, please contact us at [email protected].

Direct county association support

We know that county associations sometimes need additional support, such as the sudden departure of a key staff member, or where illness leaves a smaller county association short-staffed. NALC is happy to talk about how it and county associations can provide additional limited support and advice in these circumstances, so please get in touch with us directly.

Partners

We are extremely grateful to our partners who play a vital role in supporting the work we do, providing specialist products, services and support, and working on behalf of our members to help save them time and money. Like us, our partners are committed to improving local areas and helping communities help themselves.

We provide four main types of advisory services to councils: communications and compliance, finance, HR, and legal. Any council wanting to access these services needs to contact their county association in the first instance, who will either handle the query themselves or refer it to one of the advisory services for more specialist support.

The core documents and guidance we produce for members are Model Standing Orders, Model Financial Regulations, Employment contracts, and the Practitioners’ Guide.

NALC recommends adopting the Local Government Association Code of Conduct.

Communications and compliance advice

We have partnered with Breakthrough Communications to provide a free and confidential advisory and support service on council communications and compliance. This includes support on handling Freedom of Information requests, Subject Access Requests, data protection/UK GDPR, community engagement and crisis communications. Many of the Breakthrough Communications team have also served as councillors or clerks, meaning they have unique insights into the communications and compliance challenges facing parish and town councils. They work with the majority of county associations to support them in more depth with data protection and communication matters. They also work with hundreds of local councils, creating communications strategies and carrying out surveys, consultations and data protection reviews.

County associations are able to access up to two support sessions per year for free, with a support session including up to 1.5 hours of support, whether provided via Zoom or email and including any time taken to research relevant matters and providing a written response. Breakthrough Communications also offers discounted bespoke training sessions for county association staff. County associations can also refer their member councils to Breakthrough Communications on a similar basis, for up to two support sessions per council. As with other support services, councils will need to contact their county association first to discuss their query.

County associations and councils, where they have been referred to by their county association, can submit advice requests on the Breakthrough Communications website.

Finance advice

Parish and town councils are expanding their roles, delivering various responsibilities and services to their communities. While these efforts bring significant benefits, they require effective financial management and compliance with complex regulations and legislation. The careful handling of funds, particularly those raised through local precepts, is crucial for maintaining essential services and activities.

Our members can access financial advice from professionals specialising in parish and town council finance through their county association. This support comes from our financial advisers or through local arrangements managed by county associations.

How to submit a finance advice request

NALC produces and regularly updates the Model Financial Regulations for local councils. We also produce financial briefings on specific topics. Other financial representations and organisations we work with:

• Smaller Authorities Proper Practices Panel (SAPPP) — NALC hosts and provides the secretariat for SAPPP. NALC publishes the Practitioners' Guide.
• Smaller Authorities’ Audit Appointments (SAAA) — NALC representatives sit on the board. SAAA currently procures, appoints, manages, and quality assures external auditors for all smaller authorities, including all local councils.

HR advice

We have partnered with WorkNest to provide free and confidential advisory services to parish and town councils. WorkNest is a powerhouse of employment law, HR and health and safety support services, weaving pragmatic advice with powerful technology platforms. They provide high-quality and professional advice and support. Their services, whether working alongside internal teams or providing a fully outsourced solution, help employers proactively solve their employment, safety, and well-being challenges, ensure compliance, and achieve their strategic objectives. Over 40,000 UK employers across 45 vertical sectors now seek their help on some of their most sensitive issues. Recognised by The Legal 500 as a leading employment law firm, WorkNest's legal team comprises solicitors, barristers and chartered legal professionals whose combined experience of supporting organisations is unrivalled, so you can be sure you're safe.

Through this partnership, all county associations and member councils have access to an employment law and HR advisory service, giving them access to free, confidential advice from leading legal and HR specialists. Any member council wishing to access advice from this service must contact their county association, which can submit requests to [email protected].

The partnership also includes a range of template HR policies and how-to guides.

Legal advice

Our legal service offers specialised legal expertise tailored to parish and town councils. They possess in-depth knowledge of parish and town council legislation and provide bespoke advice tailored to their needs. The team handles requests for advice on parish and town council powers and duties in varied areas such as common land and village greens, allotments, burial grounds and employment law. Our solicitors work closely with other parts of our organisation, county associations, and stakeholders to provide holistic solutions considering all council operations.

Our advisory services also include:

• Advice notes — Information and commentary in the advice notes do not constitute legal advice for any individual case or matter. For specific advice on your circumstances, we strongly encourage you to seek tailored legal advice.
• Legal bulletin — We send a dedicated bi-monthly newsletter to county associations that typically includes information on examples of cases, changes in law, updates to documents, and team statuses.
• Visits — Our solicitors frequently visit county associations at annual general meetings and conferences to provide legal updates, participate in panels, and answer questions.

Dealing with requests from individual councils submitted by county associations or the Direct Access Scheme councils. Requests can be on anything a council is involved in, e.g. employment of staff, ownership of land, or meeting procedural questions. Our remit is advisory. We cannot act for councils in legal proceedings.

There is an agreed protocol with county associations and a formal admin process with a request for advice form to be completed, a formal acknowledgement memo that goes back to them, and a specified response time (15 working days unless urgency is specified, when we will endeavour to respond faster). We generally respond before the 15 working-day deadline. We cannot advise individuals, and requests must come from the county officer or staff member.

Some county associations and Direct Access Scheme councils request advice by phone, and we respond where we can.

How to submit a legal advice request

There are a number of legal resources on many different topics, which we update and review periodically.

Job adverts

If you or a council are looking to advertise a job vacancy, NALC offers two packages (standard and premium) that use a range of platforms, including our website, social media channels, and e-marketing, to help you share the vacancy. If you are advertising for a position within your county association, you are entitled to the premium package for free!

Advertise your job

Direct Access Scheme for larger councils

The Direct Access Scheme was introduced to complement support from county associations and existing guidance, and speed up requests for advice, usually of a technical nature and requiring assistance from NALC. It is delivered in partnership with county associations who agree direct access councils and is aimed at larger councils in membership with either an electorate of over 6,000 or an annual budgeted income / spend over £250,000.

Councils receive direct access to NALC's staff in the legal, policy, and communications teams on a wide range of subjects. We have found that over the years, most councils that are in the scheme still continue to work directly with their county associations in the first instance.

Improvement and Development

We also manage the Improvement and Development Board (IDB), which we set up in 2013 with the Society of Local Council Clerks (SLCC) to oversee the sector's improvement and development initiatives strategy. It includes representatives from county associations, the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government, the Local Government Association (LGA), the Association of Democratic Services Officers, Lawyers in Local Government and the Smaller Authorities' Audit Appointments.

The IDB's core aims are to support county associations, SLCC branches, and county training partnerships by providing strategic direction and a forum for discussion, consultation, and collaboration on improvement and development initiatives. Engage with government departments, the LGA and stakeholders on improvement and development issues affecting parish and town councils. Promote and maintain quality and consistency, and develop a sustainable funding model for sector improvement and development initiatives

The IDB oversees key programmes such as the Local Council Award Scheme, Certificate in Local Council Administration (CiLCA), and local councillor training packs.

County Associations provide CiLCA training for which they need to complete, at the start of each year, an annual service level agreement, which is submitted to SLCC. This service-level agreement will need to list the recognised CiLCA trainers for each county association. If you would like more information or support to increase the interest in CiLCA in your county area, then NALC would be happy to help.

NALC hosts online courses that county associations can access and provide to their members. These courses cover a range of subjects with new content being regularly added. Hundreds of councillors have already used this e-learning opportunity.

Parish Council Domains Helper Service

The Government Cyber Unit provides a service to support and encourage councils moving to .gov.uk domain names. They have a helpful page on moving your council to a .gov.uk domain name, which explains the benefits of moving, a list of approved registrars who offer an enhanced service to parish and town councils, and basic advice on cyber security and IT policy. In most cases, an approved registrar will be able to answer your questions and guide you through the process of setting up and using your .gov.uk domain name. However, you can email [email protected]  if you need any impartial advice. You can also sign up for a 45-minute workshop for more information on moving to a .gov.uk domain or a free cybersecurity workshop.

Local Council Award Scheme

The Local Council Award Scheme (LCAS) has been designed to celebrate the successes of the very best local councils and to provide a framework to support all local councils to improve and develop to meet their full potential. The scheme offers councils the opportunity to show that they meet the standards set by the sector, assessed by their peers, and to put in place the conditions for continued improvement.

NALC runs a national accreditation panel, but a number of county associations also operate their own local panel.

Get in touch with us if you want to find out more about how accreditation works and how we could help promote the scheme in your county.

Star Council Awards

NALC's Star Council Awards are the only awards that recognise the achievements of the local (parish and town) council sector. The awards celebrate the positive impact that councils, county associations, councillors and clerks have on their communities.

Corporate Peer Challenge

The challenge is currently paused due to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government funding.

We are working with the Local Government Association (LGA) to offer the largest parish and town councils the opportunity to take up the Corporate Peer Challenge. It is available to members of the super councils network (parish and town councils with an annual precept exceeding £1 million or an annual turnover surpassing £1.5 million) or those large councils (councils with an electorate over 6,000 and/or a budgeted income of £600,000 or more) who have also achieved the Gold Award in the Local Council Award Scheme.

The Corporate Peer Challenge is free, a crucial improvement tool for principal authorities, and highly regarded by those participating. It is now available yearly to the largest parish and town councils. The Corporate Peer Challenge involves peers from the sector spending time with a council to review how they work, share their learning and provide challenges where necessary. It aims to highlight areas of good practice and identify areas for improvement and ongoing support.

We welcome hearing from councils who would like a corporate peer challenge and county officers who would be interested in taking on the role of a peer.

Civility and Respect Project

Throughout the sector, there are growing concerns about the impact bullying, harassment, and intimidation are having on local councils, councillors, clerks and council staff and the resulting effectiveness of local councils. NALC, One Voice Wales, the Society of Local Council Clerks and county associations have responded to this by setting up a Civility and Respect Working Group to oversee the Civility and Respect Project. This includes the Civility and Respect Pledge, which has been signed by over 1,500 councils in its first year.

We are a powerful national advocate for the parish and town councils. We achieve this primarily through our policy, political, and parliamentary initiatives. These efforts establish a framework for policy determination, gather information and evidence on parish issues, and work to influence government and other key decision-makers. These efforts include responding to government consultations, engaging in parliamentary debates, meetings with MPs, peers, and shadow ministers, contributing to Select Committees, and submitting written and oral questions.

Consultations

Consultations are processes by which the government seeks input and feedback on proposed policies, legislation, or other significant decisions. These consultations are crucial to the democratic process, allowing the government to gather insights, opinions, and evidence from various stakeholders, including individuals, businesses, non-profit organisations, and other interested parties. They allow us to play a proactive role in shaping national policies and legislation to reflect the interests and priorities of parish and town councils and the communities they serve.

Engaging with parliament and political parties

Our parliamentary engagement and lobbying efforts highlight the vital role of parish and town councils to parliamentarians, aiming to enhance and protect their reputation and advocate for changes to policy and legislation. We build relationships with Members of Parliament (MPs) and Peers throughout the year through meetings, Select Committees, and written and oral questions on issues impacting parish and town councils and raising the profile of parish and town councils. We maintain connections with political parties and their groups within the Local Government Association, interest groups, and think tanks.

Policy motions

We must be regularly informed of the issues affecting county associations and parish and town councils’ ability to support their communities so that they can take appropriate action. These issues are typically identified by parish or town councils and referred to the county association. In some cases, these issues are also raised through regional groupings of county associations.

The main route for these motions should be through the Policy Committee, which has been delegated responsibility from the National Assembly to oversee our policy positions. They meet frequently and can consider motions flexibly and in a timely way. In certain cases, these motions will be referred to the National Assembly or, more rarely, our Annual General Meeting (AGM).

All motions submitted will be published on the website and included in regular reports to the National Assembly as part of our corporate performance indicators.

Handling and submitting motions

Unadopted motions

Westminster Forum

Our Westminster Forum champions the interests of parish and town councils in parliament. It forms a grouping of parliamentarians and advocates passionate about local government, creating a unified and influential voice. Reforms to local government, particularly the devolution agenda, make it essential for the sector's voice to be represented and amplified at the highest levels. The Westminster Forum will help secure meaningful engagement and ensure parish and town councils are at the heart of decision-making.

The Westminster Forum will facilitate meetings bringing together MPs, Peers, and others to discuss priority issues for parish and town councils. It will provide a platform for dialogue between us and parliament, strategic briefings and updates on legislation affecting parish and town councils, opportunities for ministers, MPs, and sector leaders to engage directly, and mobilisation of parliamentary champions to advocate in debates, questions, and legislation.

Through the Westminster Forum, we'll strengthen our position as the authoritative voice for parish and town councils, build and deepen relationships with the government and parliament, ensure parish and town councils' concerns are heard and influence the legislative process, and support the sector's priorities, including devolution, service delivery, and community empowerment.

We will recruit supportive parliamentarians and sector leaders to become parliamentary champions for parish and town councils. If you are a parliamentarian or sector leader interested in joining the Westminster Forum or learning more, please get in touch.

Working with MPs

County associations and local councils play a vital role in helping NALC maintain and increase the sector’s influence with government, civil servants and parliamentarians, especially talking to MPs and telling them about the great things you are doing and getting them to support the changes we are calling for on your behalf. Contact NALC's policy team at [email protected] if you would like help and support in doing this.

We also have the Engaging Parliament Toolkit that will help parish and town councils confidently champion our priorities and strengthen their engagement with parliamentarians.

NALC has agreed a number of key themes and projects to focus its work including:

• Becoming a councillor
• Creating your own council
• Engaging with young people
• Health and wellbeing
• Improving civility and respect
• Making banking work
• Navigating the cost of living
• Tackling climate change
• Utilising the planning system

Through these projects NALC aims to highlight the work of local councils, sharing good practice and encouraging more local councils to take action. The projects provide up-to-date information and guidance on how councils can help. NALC is also pressing government to reduce barriers and increase powers and funding to help local councils do, even more.

NALC produces a wide range of publications and resources to support parish and town councils. The publications include:

• The Good Councillor's Guide
• The Good Councillor's Guide to Community Business
• The Good Councillor's Guide to Cyber Security
• The Good Councillor's Guide to Employment
• The Good Councillor's Guide to Finance
• The Good Councillor's Guide to Neighbourhood Planning
• The Good Councillor's Guide to Transport Planning
• The Good Councillor's Guide to Website Accessibility

NALC holds professional indemnity insurance to cover the advice it provides to county associations and member councils. County associations should ensure that their insurance has similar cover. Any advice provided to member councils where that advice has originated with NALC is covered under NALC’s own professional indemnity insurance even if the enquiry has come via a county association. For details of the latest policy, please contact NALC at [email protected].

All county officers have access to an Employee Assistance Programme (EAP) provided by Health Assured. The EAP provides a complete support network with expert advice and compassionate guidance covering a wide range of issues.

The main point of access to the service is via the Wisdom App, which takes a few seconds to download and set up a user account. To set up the account, you will need to input the following code: MHA302527. The app will show the services and support available to you and your partner, and how to access the service.

If you do not wish to use the app, there is a 24/7 helpline 0800 028 0199, or they will take any enquiry via [email protected].

The package that NALC has chosen is called Complete, with a session cap of six per individual issue, but there are no limits on the number of issues that you can refer to Health Assured. The EAP also provides support such as legal assistance and financial assistance.

If you do use the EAP, we would really welcome feedback on your experience of using the service, both positive and where you feel the service could be improved.

The service is totally confidential. NALC is only provided with a report that gives details of the number of people who have used the support. 

NALC and county association meetings

This is a fortnightly meeting held for an hour on a Wednesday morning at 11 am on Microsoft Teams. All county officers, or a nominated representative, are invited to attend. The meeting is a way for NALC to update county officers with important changes, key issues, or campaigns they should be aware of. It also allows county officers to raise any issues they would like NALC to take up or represent on their behalf, along with swapping best practices. Some meetings also involve external partners, allowing them to provide useful briefings to officers.

The meetings are organised by the member services team. If there are topics you would like covered, please contact NALC at [email protected].

County Officers Forum

County Officers Forum (COF) is a vital support network for county officers and NALC, and we would encourage you to attend. COF is chaired by Mel Woof from the Buckinghamshire and Milton Keynes Association of Local Councils, and she will be in touch with further details and to line you up with a buddy if you require one.