Locum cover — for councils without a clerk, or about to be
Clerk Assist provides locum Clerk, Proper Officer and Responsible Financial Officer cover to parish and town councils in Norfolk and across England — for a single meeting, a period of absence, or the whole gap until a permanent appointment is made. Norfolk-based, able to travel, and able to work remotely. Cover can be as limited or as complete as the council needs, and the three roles can be taken together or separately.
Most enquiries come from a Chair or a councillor rather than a clerk, because the clerk is the person who has gone. None of these is unusual, and every one of them has a workable next step.
The notice period ends before a successor can start, or there was no notice at all.
Sickness, bereavement, maternity or other absence, with no date for a return.
The agenda is out, or is due, and nobody is in place to prepare papers, attend and take the minutes.
Payments, reconciliations, VAT, the budget or the annual return are due and the finance role is empty.
Email, website, banking or records sat with someone who has left, and nobody is sure what the council still holds.
The post has been advertised, perhaps more than once, and the council has to stay lawful and working meanwhile.
Grievance, disciplinary or suspension matters where an independent officer keeps the ordinary business moving.
The appointment has been made, the previous clerk has gone, and the records need putting in order before the start date.
Not a vacancy at all: a backlog, a project or a difficult period. That is council support.
The council is not forced into an all-or-nothing appointment. The scope is matched to the actual gap.
Agenda, notices, attendance, procedural support and minutes — for one meeting or a run of them.
Temporary Proper Officer duties and governance continuity while the council has no clerk.
Payments, bank reconciliation, VAT, budget, audit preparation, AGAR and the financial record.
Day-to-day administration, advice to members, correspondence and statutory work: the full role.
Experienced support next to a deputy, an RFO or an office team that is still in place.
Records organised for the incoming clerk, recruitment administration, and short-term support after appointment.
Where a larger or urgent assignment needs more than one person, additional experienced clerks are brought in and coordinated, so the council is never dependent on a single diary.
There is no price list. Fees are quoted according to the role, the council and the level of support required, following an initial consultation and discussion of the council’s specific needs.
The initial consultation and scoping discussion are free. It costs nothing to find out whether we can help and how the work would be structured.
The scope and the rate are then confirmed in writing before any work begins — as hours, days or a fixed fee for a defined piece of work, whichever suits the council.
Clerk Assist support is delivered by practising parish clerks and local-government practitioners, coordinated from Norfolk. Between them: current clerking and locum work for village and town councils; former service as parish councillors and chairman; legal qualifications and a background in legal research and teaching; and experience of employing and managing staff in a commercial business.
Where a matter needs specialist employment, data-protection, litigation or accountancy advice, we say so and work alongside the council’s appointed specialist. Good interim support includes knowing when a matter sits outside ordinary clerking and governance.
Tell us what has happened and the date of the meeting. Then find out who currently holds the council’s email, website, banking and records, because that decides what can be done quickly. Agendas and notices still have to be issued correctly when there is no clerk; we will tell you how that is done for your council and can prepare the papers if there is time.
Yes. Councils routinely bring in a locum for absence, a vacancy or extra capacity, by resolution of the council. County associations keep locum registers for the same reason. Clerk Assist is an external, contracted service: the council contracts with Clerk Assist for an agreed scope of work, and its resolution names the person supplied as its Proper Officer or RFO for the period. We will tell you what the council needs to resolve and can supply the wording.
It depends on the diary and the scope, so we do not promise a fixed number of days. What we do promise is a quick answer on whether we can help, before anything else is discussed. Short notice and meeting-only work are welcomed.
Yes. Clerk, Proper Officer and Responsible Financial Officer functions can be provided together or separately, depending on who the council still has in post. A council may need a Proper Officer while its own finance officer remains, or an RFO while another person handles meetings.
Both. Clerk Assist is Norfolk-based and travels where attendance is needed. Much routine administration, finance and correspondence can be done remotely, which keeps the cost of distance down for councils further afield.
There is no price list. Fees are quoted according to the role, the council and the level of support required, following an initial consultation and discussion of the council’s specific needs. The initial consultation and scoping discussion are free — it costs nothing to find out whether we can help and how the work would be structured. The scope and the rate are confirmed in writing before any work starts.
Access to the council’s email, the website, the accounts and bank arrangements, the minute book and records, passwords, and any handover notes that exist. If some of that has gone with the previous clerk, say so: recovering access is often the first job and we know the usual routes.
Yes. An interim period is the right time to define the role the council actually needs, prepare the job description and person specification, support interviews, organise the records and give the incoming clerk a structured handover with short-term support afterwards.
Yes, the same people — and no, you do not have to use it. Locum and support work does not require a council to use the Clerk Assist system, and using the system does not require locum support. Where we provide extended cover we may suggest, or choose, to run a temporary Clerk Assist seat for the council for the period, because it makes the work so much more efficient. There is no extra charge for that, and the council is under no obligation to continue with it after the cover ends. It is decided situation by situation.
Parish and town councils in England, of any size — from a village council needing a few hours a week to a town council that needs separate Clerk, Proper Officer and RFO capacity. The size band quoted for the software does not apply to locum and support work.
Email [email protected] with a phone number and a good time, and we will ring you. Say which council, what has happened and when the next meeting is.
Do not worry if the answer to most of these is “we are not sure”. That is often why a council needs cover.
Still have a clerk? Extra capacity, reviews and projects are a separate service.
Council supportPage reviewed 16 October 2026.