BALC offers training to parish councils. Please contact us for further information about our training programme.

• Up to date information on budgeting and the Council Tax Veto in the Localism Bill/Act
• VAT issues
• Transparency Code of Practice
• Electronic banking
• Governance failures
• Future of Audit and recent frauds

Cost:

BALC members £25

Non-members £45

There is a bursary scheme for smaller councils which will continue until March 2012. The forms are available to download from the NALC web site  The policy remains:

• Bursary limit is 50% of the cost of the training course, to a maximum bursary of £100. 
• The bursary scheme is aimed at smaller councils: any clerk or administrative assistant who works for a council with a turnover (i.e. annual budgeted income) of under £25,000
• Providing all of the required information has been received, the bursary should typically be confirmed within two weeks of the receipt of your application; payment will be made within three weeks of approval.
•  If a clerk or administrative assistant works for more than one council, they are eligible if any one council comes within the £25,000 criteria. 
• Only one bursary can be given per council per financial year
• The event or training course may start on the day this form is signed but must start/take place within 12 months of bursary confirmation
•  The event or training course cannot be claimed for retrospectively
•  Support towards the Certificate in Local Council Administration (CiLCA) registration fee can be claimed if the training is linked to courses or events that directly support its completion.

There are a wide number of training opportunities for clerks and councillors:

• Courses delivered by BALC on behalf of the County Training Partnership
• Working with your Council, a modular learning package undertaken at home or with a mentoring group more details from SLCC
• Cilca, Certificate in Local Council Administration a more advanced qualification necessary to attain qualified clerk status and Quality Council status more details from SLCC
• Degrees:

1. BSc (Hons) Sustainable Rural Development degree delivered online through the University of the Highlands and Islands.
   The wholly online course has been designed to maximise flexibility of access and participation for professionals and practitioners involved in the rural sector, who have limited time, but are keen to formalise and enhance their qualifications and skills.
2. Community Governance and Engagement, University of Gloucestershire. This course develops skills, knowledge and confidence for working with local communities. The aim is to promote sustainable communities and effective governance and service delivery, responding to local needs through citizen empowerment and partnership working. The course is taught using a blend of distance learning, face-to-face events, online support and mentoring by practitioners. The good news is that you learn actively in the workplace, using ‘live’ work issues as the basis for assignments that gain you academic credit. You will gain important insights about the practice and theory of working with and for communities.