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Membership

Membership of Wiltshire Association of Local Councils (WALC) is open to all parish, town and city (local)  councils  and parish meetings in Wiltshire and Swindon. The whole of the area is parished, so every resident lives in an area with a local council or parish meeting.

At last count, around 93% of residents in the area live in a parish where the local council or parish meeting is in WALC membership.  If you are a from a council that is not in membership of WALC and you would like to know more, contact Deborah Bourne at the WALC office. Deborah’s email address is dbourne@communityfirst.org.uk

Membership of WALC gives a council access to advice, guidance, information, interpretation of relevant legislation, updates to legislation, consultations, templates of policies and documents and training in a variety of subjects. When a council becomes a member of WALC it also becomes a member of the National Association of Local Councils (NALC). NALC is the only national body that represents the interests of 10,000 local (parish and town) councils in England. NALC provides a national voice for local (parish and town) councils across England by campaigning and lobbying on behalf of councils, providing publications, books and templates, giving access to a team of legal advisers (through WALC) and raising the profile of local councils in Government, Parliament and the public and charity sectors. You can learn more about NALC by visiting the website at www.nalc.gov.uk

Membership

Membership includes:

Access to the enquiry line – clerks and chairmen of member councils can telephone/email/write to the WALC office for advice and information on all aspects of local council work

Access to NALC legal service – membership to WALC also means membership of NALC.  This means that we can access the legal service of the National Association of Local Councils on your behalf.

Subsidised training – any training courses or conferences run by Wiltshire Association of Local Councils will be substantially cheaper for councillors and clerks of member councils than for those not in membership. In addition many courses and events are not offered to non-members.

WALC County Circular – WALC sends out ten county circulars to member councils in a year.  This contains a newsletter carrying information and news pertinent to the sector; on legislation and policy updates, training news, courses and conferences, procedural advice and information on relevant consultations.

Publications – subsidised publications. Some, such as model policy templates, financial regulations and legal updates are free of charge for member councils. Many are not available to non-members. Visit the publications page for more information.

Guidance – Both NALC and WALC have guidance for members on a wide variety of different subject matters, including around eighty NALC Legal Topic Notes giving useful, in-depth information on topics relevant to local councils.

WALC has representation on a variety of regional and local partnerships making sure the voice of local councils is heard, bringing the relevant issues to the fore whenever necessary. WALC  and NALC have successfully lobbied Government in the past on issues important and central to parish and town councils in Wiltshire and enjoys representation on the NALC National Assembly and its various committees, offering;

A LOCAL VOICE AT A NATIONAL LEVEL!