Publishing the Clerk’s Address

As recently advised, councillors’ home addresses are now redacted from the public Register of Interests. Some clerks have raised concerns about publishing their own home address, particularly where they work from home and that address is used as the registered address for certain Council services.

Using a clerk’s home address can mean their personal address is publicly available to residents and other organisations. It can also create practical difficulties when the clerk leaves, particularly where services, accounts or correspondence are linked to that address.

What Alternatives Could Councils Consider?

One practical option is for the Council to use a PO Box. Although this comes at an additional cost, it provides a Council address that can remain in place when the clerk changes.

Another option may be to use a suitable Council or community address, such as a Village Hall, where appropriate arrangements can be made for receiving and managing post.

Councils may also wish to review where the clerk’s home address is currently being used and whether it is necessary for that information to be publicly available.

Share Your Council’s Approach

If your Council has found another practical way of dealing with this issue, we would be interested to hear from you so that useful approaches can be shared with other councils.