NALC publishes its quarterly activity report  

We have published our quarterly activity report covering October to December 2024.

The quarterly activity report details progress in delivering our strategic plan, including information on critical internal issues, parliamentary and government affairs work, events, finances, media coverage, publications and legal advice. It features updates from our chief executive and the policy and communications, member services, and finance and administration teams.

This quarter's report summarises the organisation's strategic direction and significant milestones during the reporting period. Key highlights include:

• The government published the English Devolution White Paper. It includes many items we have been pressing for, such as a strengthened standards regime with sanctions, improvements to the audit regime, hybrid meetings, and a reset of relations between the tiers of government.
• Our chair, Cllr Keith Stevens, penned an open letter reflecting on a year of significant outcomes and setting out some priorities and challenges for the year ahead. Cllr Stevens also welcomed developments from the white paper and thanked parish and town councils, councillors, clerks, and council staff for their hard work.
• We have changed how we take event bookings. For events scheduled from April 2025, users can book and pay directly on the website. We will continue with card and invoice payments. However, from April 2026, we will only accept card payments.
• We launched a comprehensive resource to support parish and town councils in enhancing community safety. We published an anti-terror checklist developed by the Martyn's Law Steering Group. We endorsed the Mumsnet campaign encouraging public sector organisations to publish their parental leave policies openly and published our complete Staff Handbook. We also supported White Ribbon Day 2024 and delivered initiatives to mark the day, which included launching a brand-new digital White Ribbon Toolkit, participating in the 16 Days of Activism on social media and publishing a blog.
• Knutsford Town Council in Cheshire took part in the latest Corporate Peer Challenge, and Houghton Regis Town Council in Bedfordshire held its one-year review. We also offer several online courses, and this quarter, 34 enrolments were made. The most popular course being Introduction to Local Councils.

The subsequent report covers January to March 2025 and will be published in April 2025.