Gloucestershire Clerks & Councillors

We are a membership organisation that supports the county's Parish & Town Councils. We advise and train them to represent their communities to the best of their abilities. We specialise in Council law and procedures, and advise on a host of issues from burial grounds to warm spaces. Your membership to GAPTC entitles you to a seat at the national table through our membership of the National Association of Local Councils (NALC).

Chris Haine, CEO

Chris is an advocate of life learning through development opportunities. Having worked in central government for the better part of three decades, he is a skilled HR, personnel and people practitioner, with a strong emphasis on development, policy, training, wellbeing and mediation. Most recently Chris worked as Town Clerk at Coleford Town Council gaining invaluable experience and understanding in the day-to-day challenges and activities of clerking. Chris loves to mooch around second-hand book stores, loves sport, and is happy to be challenged to a game of Scrabble.

Kerrin Wilkinson, Strategic Support Officer

Kerrin was raised in the Johannesburg Zoo in South Africa. Keen on journalism she started her career writing for community newspapers but was soon swept into the world of book publishing as a marketer. Kerrin's strengths are communication, digital marketing and relationship building. She is responsible for working closely with Chris and the staff team, as well as the Executive, to ensure the organisation's strategic objectives are met. Kerrin is a keen ultra runner and can usually be found outdoors, preferably up a mountain with dogs, bikes and kids.

Ruth Waller, Senior Advice Officer

Ruth started her career in early childhood education and managed a Day Nursery. She moved to Gloucestershire in 2014 with her family; that is where her journey in Local Council administration started. While clerking to four small councils she completed her CiLCA qualification and joined the GAPTC team of internal auditors. Ruth enjoys parachuting into councils as a locum clerk, helping the council to get its processes in order, steadying the ship, and then recruiting a permanent clerk to take over. Ruth was born in Cardiff and is proud of her Welsh heritage.

Services we provide to our member councils ...

  • ADVISE  on Town and Parish Council law and procedures

  • TRAINING for Councillors and Clerks

  • MENTORING for CiLCA, the clerks' professional qualification

  • the latest  INFORMATION  and  GUIDANCE from government and other authorities

  • a comprehensive website with  job VACANCIES, MODEL DOCUMENTS and essential guides to good practice

  • SIGNPOSTING on specialist subjects including employment, grants and VAT

  • SUPPORT to councils experiencing difficult times by providing unbiased mediation

  • LOAN APPLICATION processing

  • INTERNAL AUDIT service

  • the opportunity for clerks and councillors to NETWORK at courses, webinars and the AGM

  • the opportunity at the AGM to have your council's MOTION DEBATED

  • three NOMINATED REPRESENTATIVES per district to serve on the GAPTC Executive Committee, including a Clerks' representative

  • AFFILIATION  to the National Association of Local Councils (NALC) and access to its services e.g. Civility and Respect Project

  • PARTNERSHIP with other County Associations which provides an information exchange, best practices and influence at NALC

  • LOBBYING to MPs, district councils and central government on topics that concern councils

  • ENGAGEMENT with districts and the county on issues affecting your parishes and towns

  • LOCUM clerks