Ep 27. National Association of Local Councils - Changing the landscape, Jonathan Owen and Sue Baxter

Public Sector Executive Podcast

On this week’s episode of Public Sector Voices we are joined by two key members of the National Association of Local Councils, Chief Executive, Jonathan Owen and Chair Sue Baxter.

NALC has been supporting town and parish councils since 1947, by lobbying Government, advising councils and improving and developing the sector, but their challenges now are perhaps greater than ever.

Sue and Jonathan approach their roles from different angles giving a rounded account of the landscape of local councils, from their relationships with Ministers to local business owners.

With around 10,000 parish and town councils across England, their size, and diversity vary greatly, but the pandemic has shown that the importance of having these councillors on the ground, responding directly to the public is making the sector “as relevant as it has ever been, if not more than ever.”

The pandemic has accelerated what was already happening in the sector, which is that councils are doing much more, raising much more funds to support their local communities, getting involved in things they might not have got involved with in the past and Jonathan believes that local councillors should be at the centre of building back stronger and more resilient local communities.

Devolution, digital development and desires for a restructure, Jonathan and Sue covering everything from the perspective of the first tier of local government.

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