A DALE grassroots government official has been elected as head of the body which represents thousands of town and parish council clerks across England and Wales.
Michael King took over as chairman of the Society of Local Council Clerks (SLCC) earlier this month.
Mr King has been clerk to Barnard Castle Town Council for the past six-and-a-half years.
“The SLCC has 3,800 members who represent 4,800 parishes of the 10,000 parishes throughout England and Wales,” said Mr King.
“It promotes professional standards and good practice and works closely with the National Association of Local Councils.”
One of the SLCC’s key roles is to offer advice to parish clerks, many of whom work alone and whose background may not be in local government.
“We provide guidance on local council practice and back that up with conferences and training,” said Mr King.
“There are three conferences a year which are effectively training events and are well attended. We also have a telephone advisory service.”
He added: “Some members have been with their councils for 40 years and worked their way to become the clerk. Then there are those who have stepped up to the plate because no-one is interested.
“At the other end we have parishes where one of the members is also the unpaid clerk.”
Prior to joining Barnard Castle Town Council, Mr King, 53, ran his own company working on a heritage project.
He has also worked as a consultant with NHS bodies and larger local councils as well as director of planning and corporate affairs at the former Prescription Pricing Authority and as head of policy at Darlington Borough Council when it became a unitary authority.
He joined the SLCC on becoming clerk at Barnard Castle and has served two years as the organisation’s vice-chairman.
