A conference designed by clerks for clerks and their councillors; this popular event continues to be filled with topics chosen by you and will take place in-person at Chesford Grange Hotel, Kenilworth.

The 2023 conference will take place over two days, Wednesday 1 and Thursday 2 February 2023 and will feature a blend of workshops with direct practical relevance to parish, town and community councils.

After the event, a recording of the conference will be available to purchase for only £100 + VAT which will cover most of the sessions in the three rooms across both days. Delegates who attend the event will be sent this within 10 days. For anyone else, please click on the button to purchase recording and choose the correct package.

#SLCCPractitioners

What’s in it for you?

  • Choose your sessions – pick from a range of sessions to develop your own learning agenda
  • Tailored content – the mix of workshops and plenary sessions will include relevant advice and guidance for clerks covering funding, planning, communications, regulations and much more!
  • CPD points – accrue CPD points to increase your knowledge as well as building your CPD log. Attend this event and log 5 points – 2.5 per day. CPD points are self-awarded.
  • Join your colleagues – meet up with your colleagues to share your experiences, learn from fellow clerks, or just meet up with friends

Date
Wednesday 1 February 2023, 10:00am – 5:30pm
Thursday 2 February 2023, 8:30am – 3:15pm

Price
Full Conference £330 + VAT for Members and £430 + VAT for Non Members
Day Delegate £120 + VAT per day for Members and £170 + VAT for Non Members

CPD Points
Attend this event and log 2.5 CPD points per day!

A closer look at your speakers...

Lee Rowley MP, Parliamentary Under Secretary of State in the Department for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities

Lee Rowley was appointed Parliamentary Under Secretary of State in the Department for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities on 7 September 2022.

He was previously Parliamentary Under Secretary of State in the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy and Government Whip, Lord Commissioner of HM Treasury between 17 September 2021 and 6 July 2022. He was elected the Conservative MP for North East Derbyshire on 8 June 2017.

Clare Mullin, Education and Engagement Officer West Midlands, UK Parliament

Join Clare Mullin from UK Parliament Outreach in her session – Get Your Council Heard Nationally:

  • Build relationships with MPs and Lords
  • Influence questions and debates
  • Link with All Party Parliamentary Groups
  • Work with Select Committees to scrutinise national policy

Suitable for all delegates from England and Wales.

Johnty Mongan, Head of Cyber Risk Management at Gallagher Insurance

Johnty is Head of Cyber Risk Management at Gallagher, which is a fast growing consultancy driven by the demand for cyber expertise globally. Johnty has delivered over 200 cyber security improvement projects from small to enterprise clients. These security projects include Cyber Essentials implementation, IASME implementation, vulnerability scanning, GDPR auditing, business continuity and disaster recovery planning and much more. Johnty has a depth and breadth of knowledge to deliver easy to understand and pragmatic advice to anybody looking to improve their cyber security posture. With a first class degree in engineering and computer science, Johnty has continued his learning to become a GDPR practitioner and ISO27001 lead implementer, this allows him to consult on all matters information security and deliver industry leading security programmes to any size of client.

Rowan Humphreys, Clerk to Farndale Parish Council

Rowan is the Clerk of Farndale Parish Council. He is also a full-time engineering undergraduate at the University of Bristol. As one of the youngest clerks in the profession, he shares his perspective on youth engagement and local government.

Patricia Marks, Founder and CEO, SBA CIC

Born on Exmoor Patricia is the CEO and founder of SBA CIC a social enterprise set up to support people to progress with their career, training, and business aspirations. A Fellow of the Royal Society of Arts (RSA), a Winston Churchill Memorial Trust Fellow and a local social business champion is keen to support community-based organisations to thrive and grow.  Patricia is an astute business professional specialising in organisational development and project management.

Patricia Marks is a highly client focused and commercially astute senior business professional specialising in business development and project management, significant experience of working with public, private and third sector organisations and a proven record of accomplishment in the successful delivery of programmes and development projects within the areas of employment, education, charity, healthcare, business, environment and agriculture.

Amanda Whitlock, Corporate Wellbeing Coach

Amanda is highly motivated, skilled training specialist and professional presenter with many years career experience in Wellbeing. She is a qualified MHFA England instructor and specialises in delivering wellbeing and mental health training and workshops. She is the owner of Total Wellbeing Matters, a company based in Dorset which offers services in promoting wellbeing. She is also a Corporate Wellbeing Coach.

Helen Watson FSLCC, SLCC Senior Advisor and Mentor Co-ordinator

Helen has 26 years of diverse local government experience, as a project manager, officer, deputy and clerk in principal, parish and town councils serving and working alongside councillors, officers, community groups and external organisations at a strategic and operational level.    Helen has been involved in the SLCC for several years, serving as a SLCC Director, Branch Chair and Mentor.  She has a varied career path involving retail business management, FE lecturer specialising in management, motivation, marketing and organisational behaviour and a teambuilding facilitator and business mentor/counsellor.  She came into the world of Parish and Town Councils later in her career and is able to understand and advise realistically from the Clerk’s perspective.

Yvonne Colverson, Executive Officer to the British Register of Accredited Memorial Masons (BRAMM)

Yvonne has had a varied career spanning the care industry, customer service, horticulture, and school business management, before discovering the world of Town and Parish Councils.  Yvonne now has over 16 years’ experience of being a local council Clerk, in which role she has also managed a cemetery.  Yvonne continues to Clerk a small Parish Council in Derbyshire and was appointed to the role of Executive Officer to the British Register of Accredited Memorial Masons (BRAMM) in the spring of 2022.

Trainer photo - Yvonne Colverson

Becky Walsh, Comedic Personal Development Trainer

Becky Walsh is a comedian bringing her humour to subjects of personal development and mental health. Smart, funny and insightful.

Becky presented an agony aunt style phone in radio show on LBC Radio. She is the author of four self help books including ‘You DO Know – Learn to act on intuition instantly’ which is published in four languages, published by Hay House. She is also the author of ‘Intuitive lovers’ published by O books. She presented on BBC Radio for five years and had her own TV show ‘Anything goes with Becky Walsh’.

Becky is a sought-after speaker and has appeared at the world-renowned seminar ‘I can do it’, as well being a senior curator, coach and script editor for TEDx Bristol. Becky has a degree in Interdisciplinary Studies from California Institute of Integral Studies in San Francisco and is a qualified life coach.

Becky is also a communications and marketing officer for Town and Parish Councils.

Becky is speaking in two sessions at Practitioners’ – the first is called How to Create an Anti-Racist Council.

@beckywalshcom

Becky Walsh, Comedic Personal Development Trainer

Becky Walsh is speaking in two sessions at Practitioners’ – the second is called Emotional and Mental Health in Leadership.

Andrew Towlerton, SLCC National Planning Advisor 

Andrew will examine the most significant planning developments over the last year that will have practical and strategic implications for clerks and the sector in more general.  It will cover important reforms that have already taken place as well as those in the pipeline. 

Andrew Towlerton, National Planning Advisor

Karen Ainley, Mosaic Publicity

Karen Ainley is the lead trainer and CEO of Mosaic Media Training. Karen is a former newspaper journalist and BBC radio and TV reporter. She has more than 20 years’ experience of training hundreds of organisations, from government departments and local authorities to blue-chip companies and charities. She supports many well-known organisations with their crisis communications providing both strategic advice as well as 24/7 call-out support. Karen’s husband is a county council leader and borough councillor.

David Preston, NABMA

David has spent his entire career working with local councils, communities and markets.

He retired from his employment with Oswestry Town Council in 2019 after completing 44 years of service, with 35 years as Town Clerk.

David has a long association with NABMA, acting for over a decade as the SLA Manager of the successful contract between NABMA and Oswestry. He attended his first NABMA conference in 1976.

David is a respected voice in the local council sector. He led his Council to the title of NALC Council of the Year on two occasions and was awarded an outstanding achievement award by the National Association of Local Councils in 2017.

David has been an influential voice in the Society of Local Council Clerks and has been a presenter and contributor to many conferences and publications. He was proud to be the President of the Society in 2017/18.

Markets have been a consistent in his life. He was qualified by examinations by the Institute of Market Officers and was the Institute President in 1999.

In October 2019 David became Chief Executive of NABMA continuing to help the association promote markets to the widest audience alongside professional development.

Away from work David is a long time member of the famous Fron Male Voice Choir, often recognised as the oldest boy band in the world.

David Preston, CEO, NABMA

Linda Larter MBE, BA (Hons), FILCM 

Linda Larter has been a Parish / Town Clerk for over 25 years working with councils varying in population sizes from 250 to 70,000 plus. Linda has a related degree and is a Fellow of the Institute of Local Council Management.  In 2000 the Millennium Commission nominated Linda for an MBE for a Community Centre project.

Linda is married with two sons.

Linda Larter, SLCC President 2019/20

Roger Taylor, Hedleys Solicitors

Roger Taylor is the Senior Partner of Hedleys Solicitors, a firm based in Surrey which has an extensive practice dealing with Parish and Town Councils in England.  He lectures on subjects such as Common Land, Village Greens and Charitable Trusts for the SLCC and on other matters relating to the practice and procedure of Parish and Town Councils for a number of County Associations.

Roger Taylor, Wellars Hedleys

Helen Ball, Town Clerk to Shrewsbury Town Council 

Helen began her parish and town council career in 1997 working part-time for a small rural parish council in East Yorkshire looking after a cemetery, village hall, playing fields and allotments.  In 1999 she was appointed Town Clerk to the newly established Beverley Town Council – one of the first new parish councils created by referendum under the Local Government and Rating Act.  With an electorate of 17000 and a budget of £46k it grew quickly organising major events in the town.  During her tenure in Beverley she took the SLCC Working for Your Council Course and went on to study for the Local Policy Degree at Gloucestershire University achieving first class honours in 2007.

In 2009 she was appointed the Town Clerk of Shrewsbury Town Council; a newly established parish council as part of the creation of a Unitary Council for Shropshire.  Covering a population of 72000 residents, employing 100 staff and with a budget of £4m, it is one of the largest Councils in the Country.

Locally she is a co-opted member on the Shropshire Association of Local Councils, Secretary of the SLCC Shropshire Branch and sits on various external boards and partnerships in and around Shrewsbury.  Helen has represented the sector at the International Institute of Municipal Clerks (IIMC), spoken at various national conferences, lobbied government on parish council matters and is currently an SLCC Board Director.

Helen Ball

Feedback from the 2022 delegates

‘The conferences just get better and better. I’m always sad when they finish but I also feel refreshed, inspired, and informed.’

‘Probably the best content yet for Practitioners. Congratulations and grateful thanks to all involved, and I look forward to attending next year.’

‘An excellent and informative event.’

‘Thank you to the team for putting together a really exceptional programme. The sheer amount of content was amazing. I found it very useful and really liked that there was not only work related content but personal development content as well. It was well organised and welcoming.’

96% of delegates said that the conference met or exceeded expectations
99% of delegates said they would recommend the conference to a friend or colleague

Practitioners’ Conference 2023 is generously sponsored by Gallagher Insurance.

For expert advice visit www.ajg.com/uk