Please read on for the legal update from NALC:
Further to our last update on publishing councillors’ addresses in the register of interests, we have been asked about the practice of publishing the clerk’s address. This may be an issue where a clerk works from home, and the address is the registered address for service. For example, for Freedom of Information and Subject Access Requests. A practical solution where the clerk understandably does not want their home address published, and there is no council office, is to have a PO Box (Post Office Box). However, this comes at an additional cost. Parish and town councils may have other solutions, and please feel free to share them with us at legal@nalc.gov.uk
We recently had a charity law question on how a parish or town council sole trustee can sell land in compliance with Section 27 of the Law of Property Act 1925. Section 27 (2) provides that the proceeds of sale or other capital money shall not be paid to or applied by the direction of fewer than two persons as trustees. We are aware of councils as sole trustees selling land. How they do this in practice is not an area in which we have expertise. Our research suggested that solicitors dealing with such transactions find a practical “workaround” to do so.
New requirements on complaints handling came into force in June 2026. We have given advice, and also commissioned our communications and compliance partner, Breakthrough Communications, to produce guidance. The requirement now is that parish and town councils (as data controllers) must have a process in place for handling data protection complaints. It is not as daunting as it may first appear. If a council has an existing complaints procedure, it may already cover much of what is needed. Breakthrough Communications’ guidance states, “The key is making sure individuals can raise concerns about how their personal data has been handled, and that your council has a clear way to acknowledge, investigate and respond to those concerns”. If the existing process meets the requirements, then there is no further action needed.
We’ve had questions recently about issues arising from councillors negotiating with or contacting third parties outside of their parish or town council’s authority, causing problems for the council and, in some cases, considerable surprise and expense when the council finds out a contract has been entered into. The requests raise the doctrine of ostensible authority. Councils can be bound contractually by individuals, including councillors, who purport to act for the council and enter into contracts with third parties who are acting in good faith. It is unlikely a court would deem a contract to be void, particularly where the third party has already relied on the agreement, such as by spending sums of money, performing works, or other obligations under the contract. Councils can have policies and procedures in place that confirm who has the authority to approach parties and negotiate contracts to try and avoid such scenarios arising.
We have commissioned the Association of Democratic Services Officers (ADSO) to update our Model Standing Orders. ADSO’s involvement reflects their expertise in procedural matters, and we will be working with them on the legal aspects. ADSO has an open survey on what you would like to see in the new update, which closes on 31 July 2026. We plan to publish the resource by the end of the fiscal year.
Our legal manager and senior solicitor, Jane Moore, delivered a legal update for the Surrey Association of Local Councils on 2 June 2026. Jane also attended the Lincolnshire Association of Local Councils Summer Conference on 14 July 2026*, the Lawyers in Local Government Spring Conference on 5 June 2026 and the Association of Monitoring Officers’ inaugural Monitoring Officer Conference on 17 July 2026. The latter two events provide a unique opportunity to meet with senior principal authority lawyers and discuss parish and town council-related challenges.
If you have any queries relating to the legal update, please do reach out to us.
*Jane will also be joining the DALC Conference on 7th October to give a legal update.