The CALC is a not for profit membership organisation representing the parish and town councils of Cornwall. It provides information about the operation and powers of parish and town councils, and parish meetings. It works to enhance communication with everyone within the Parish Council network, ranging from the National Association (NALC), through our Association at county level, to all those parish councils, town councils and parish meetings who form the grass roots tier of local government. As a membership association it is unable to deal with queries from members of the public, but is happy to make general information available through this website.

Corporate membership is open to any parish or town council or parish meeting in Cornwall which pays an annual subscription to the Association. The subscription is calculated on an electoral roll basis.

Executive Officer: Sarah Mason
Assistant County Officer: Isabelle Risner
Administrative Assistant: Julie Calleya

CALC is constituted to support local councils and parish meetings in the delivery of services to their communities. As it is not a statutory body it has no powers or duties to intervene in the operation of individual councils.

• Advice and information to member councils for them to use as they deem appropriate, on a range of subjects affecting local councils including: HR, Governance, Finance and access to the NALC Legal advice service.
• Telephone helpline
• Opportunity to network through CALC events
• Advice - Free advice across a range of local council services.
• Training - The Association runs a regular programme of local training courses to equip clerks and councillors.
• National affiliation - Membership of the Association can also provide affiliation to the National Association of Local Councils (NALC) which seeks to represent local councils at national level as well as providing advice on legal and procedural matters, national publications and regular information bulletins.
• Local Council Award Scheme - We support local councils in obtaining their LCAS accreditation.

Services available to members at a cost include:

• Training Courses
• Consultancy
• NALC Publications
• Structural Review
• On site Councillor Development Programmes

All queries from member councils should initially be placed with CALC by e-mail, telephone or post, and this should be done through the council Clerk. CALC staff are available to not only answer queries, but also to deliver training where their specialised knowledge is required.

Funding
CALC is funded by member council subscription, training fees and contract funding from Cornwall Council.

Membership
Almost 90% of parish councils in Cornwall are in membership of the Association. This means that their voice is heard on local issues and at national level. It is hoped that all local councils will join the Association to avail themselves of the support available to them in these changing times for local government.

CALC sustains positive working relationships with the Society of Local Council Clerks (SLCC) and the National Association of Local Councils (NALC). For further information on these organisations please click on the links below.