NALC/HALC
There are are TWO organisations that provide direct help and advice to Local Councils such as Hannington Parish Council.
National Association of Local Councils.(NALC)
NALC is the national membership body for local (parish and town) councils. They work with County Associations of Local Councils to support, promote and improve these councils. NALC play a role in protecting and advancing the rights and interests of member councils in the Government, main political opposition parties, Parliament, in media, private, charity and other parts of the public sector.
The major benefit to Hannington Parish Council is the issue of guidance/updates on governance documents such as Standing Orders, Financial Regulations etc. The annual fee 2016-17 was £20
NALC in Numbers:
95% of all town and parish councils in England are NALC members.
NALC represent the interests of 9,000 parish and town councils and 80,000 councilors
These councils provide employment for over 25,000 staff and their annual expenditure is in the region of £1 billion with over 16 million people (25% of the population) living in the communities they serve
Hampshire Association of Local Councils (HALC)
HALC is a member-owned association acting as a support organisation and representative body for member parish and town councils, including the 21 parish meetings, across Hampshire. Please refer to their latest Annual Review for more information. Some of the pages on their website have 'restricted use', and require password and log-in details that are only held by the Clerk and Councillors.
Hannington Parish Council has greater day-to-day contact with HALC than with NALC. HALC issue regular monthly ‘updates’ on a wide variety of issues, together with specific guidance on key issues as and when they arise. The annual subscription is £175 The main services and assistance provided by HALC can be grouped as follows:
* Representation, Lobbying and Campaigning:
* Information
* Query Service
* Clerk Recruitment
* Councillor and Officer Development
* Support and Networking
In summary, HALC helps a local council to resolve the majority of the issues, problems or tasks the Parish Council is faced with. However, if on occasion HALC are unable to help, they will put us in touch with one of their network of expert contacts to advise us further.