Details: Berkshire Association of Local Councils

BALC
The Berkshire Association of Local Councils (BALC) is a membership organisation. Its purpose is to support and advise town and parish councils in Berkshire. BALC is one of 38 county associations in England affiliated to the National Association of Local Councils (NALC).

NALC covers about 8,500 local councils in England from an HQ in London. They lobby central government on behalf of their members and set national strategic policy, supported by a legal team. NALC also produces and distributes LCR (Local Council Review) and the bi-weekly DIS (Direct Information Service), which are prime sources of information relating to the local council sector.

What does BALC do?

• BALC provides guidance to its members on conducting their business lawfully, with advice available on a whole host of issues covering statutory duties and powers, correct conduct of business within the ethical framework, employment law, empowerment and a miscellany of other topics.
• BALC runs training courses for councillors and clerks through the Berkshire County Training Partnership (CTP), on a wide variety of subjects that promote good practice and governance.
  BALC provides information updates on legislative changes and consultations by email.
• BALC administers the Quality Parish scheme and encourages this sector of local government to act professionally, efficiently and inclusively.
• BALC responds to consultations on behalf of member councils and represents the interests of parish and town councils by commenting on proposals for new legislation and other statutory documents.

How is BALC funded?
BALC is currently exclusively funded by its membership. Seventy nine councils out of a possible 104 in Berkshire are members. Being a member of BALC includes membership of your district association (if there is one) and access to the services and expertise of NALC.

Each county association has developed different funding streams to finance their activities. Some receive funding from a county council, where one exists. Others value their independence from outside influences and, where there is a sufficiently large number of councils, are funded entirely by their member councils.

BALC is investigating sources of funding to enable an improved service to be offered to its members.

How is BALC run?
An Executive Committee of councillors oversees the work of the association and is responsible for deciding policy and strategy. These councillors are either elected by the district associations or co-opted by the Executive Committee. Of Berkshire’s six unitary authority areas, district associations currently exist within two of them: Wokingham and the Royal Borough of Windsor and Maidenhead. The BALC Executive provides representatives to serve on a number of outside bodies.

The Community Council for Berkshire (CCB) has been engaged by BALC to provide a service to member councils. The County Executive Officer runs the membership service from the CCB office in Reading. Contact details can be found below. Email is the preferred method of communication.

Benefits of Membership

 
Advice:
For small councils, membership of BALC can be an invaluable source of help and advice on legal, financial and procedural matters. BALC will respond to individual enquiries from the clerk or chairman. If complex legal matters are involved, the query will be forwarded to the team of solicitors at NALC. For larger councils there is direct access to NALC who have a service tailored to the needs of councils with an electorate of more than 6,000.

Regional and National Links:
Town and parish councils constitute the first tier of elected local government. BALC is part of a recognised network of county associations which come together in the South East Region County Associations Forum (SERCAF). BALC maintains  regional links in the South East through SERCAF. Since the formation of the Coalition Government in May 2010, many regional bodies, including the Government Office for the South East (GOSE) and the South East England Development Agency (SEEDA) have been abolished. Both independently and via SERCAF, BALC will develop relationships with new structures as they develop.

Access to Training:
BALC offers training through the County Training Partnership, a partnership between BALC, the Society for Local Council Clerks (SLCC) and CCB. This training is specifically designed to meet the needs of town and parish councils and includes training for new councillors, chairmanship skills, finance, planning and a variety of other topics. Unitary authorities also offer some training, usually on the Code of Conduct relating to the ethical requirements of the Standards Board. 

Updates:
Membership of BALC will provide access to email updates on central government initiatives, legislative changes, changes in pay scales and good practice and through BALC you can also access the LCR and DIS.

Further Information:
Further information is available from:
Christine Lalley, County Executive Officer
BALC, Abbey House, 1650 Arlington Business Park, Theale, Reading RG7 4SA
Telephone: 0118 961 2200
Email: christine.lalley@balc.org.uk
Website: www.balc.org.uk