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Dear colleague,
Following the Government reshuffle earlier this month, I am delighted that Robert Jenrick was re-appointed as our Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government and that Luke Hall remains the Parliamentary Under Secretary of State.
I would also like to congratulate Simon Clarke and Christopher Pincher on their respective appointments as Minister of State and Minister for Housing at MHCLG.
I have written to all the MHCLG Ministers to congratulate them on their appointment or re-appointment, and I am especially looking forward to meeting the new Ministers to discuss how the LGA can support them in their new roles.
I would also like to take this opportunity to congratulate Rishi Sunak, who, just a few months ago, was an MHCLG Minister, on his appointment as Chancellor of the Exchequer.
Having only been elected in 2015, Rishi has enjoyed a truly meteoric rise to one of the great offices of state in less than five years. The Conservative Group had a very good relationship with Rishi when he was at MHCLG, and has also written to congratulate him on his new promotion, I look forward to working with him ahead of next month’s Budget to secure the best possible deal for local government.
Finally, I am looking forward to attending the CCA Conference tomorrow and on Saturday. I will be there with the group office staff so please do come and say hello if you are attending the conference.
Best wishes,
Cllr Izzi Seccombe OBE
Leader, LGA Conservative Group |
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For all the latest news from the LGA Conservative Group please follow us on Twitter at @LGACons
Local Government Finance Settlement
The Final Local Government Settlement for 2020/2021 was published earlier this month. It was confirmed in a written ministerial statement and the associated documents can be found on the MHCLG website.
As we said in our response, we are pleased the Government has acted on our call for extra funding for councils to meet the pressures that they face. The extra money for social care and the continuation of key grants was particularly good news for councils.
Budget Submission
Ahead of the Budget on 11 March, the LGA has submitted our representation to HM Treasury.
Brexit
Following the UK’s exit from the EU, the LGA published a briefing which explains the impact of the Withdrawal Agreement and outlines key issues for consideration during the transition period.
UKMBA
The first UK Municipal Bonds Agency (UKMBA) bond has been launched to the market. It is a £350 million floating bond on a five-year term for and guaranteed by Lancashire County Council.
Work is already underway on the second issue, which will aggregate borrowing from a number of councils.
The UKMBA aims to allow councils to borrow and invest in capital projects at lower rates than the Public Works Loan Board (which recently announced a rate increase).
For more information, please email CWall@ukmba.org
County Lines: LGA events
The LGA is holding a conference on County Lines on Tuesday 24 March at Nottingham Trent University.
This all-day conference is free for councillors and officers. Details are available on the LGA website and please do contact rachel.phelps@local.gov.uk if you require further information.
The LGA is also holding a County Lines Masterclass on 31 March.
This is a one-day training course for elected members to learn about tackling county lines and wider criminal exploitation.
If you would like further information about this event, or to book your place, please email rachel.phelps@local.gov.uk
Conservative Home
Conservative Home, Britain's leading Conservative blog for news, comment, analysis and campaigns, is keen to include more articles from Conservative councils and councillors.
Any examples of best practice from Conservative councillors would be welcome, but they would particularly welcome articles focusing on housing (including the promotion of innovative design and measures to reduce living costs for lower income groups) as well as the environment and climate change.
More generally, they would also welcome articles highlighting defections to Conservative council groups and examples of successful election campaigning.
If you would like to contribute an article please email Harry Phibbs: harry.phibbs@gmail.com
Sign up to the Conservative Home daily email.
LGA Conservative Group's 'Be a Councillor' programme
Increasing the pool of talent from which councillors are elected is a key task for all of us involved in local government. We need different kinds of people to stand for election so that parties get a choice of high quality candidates: people who are capable, energetic and engaged, with a commitment to local people and a passion for change.
It is for this reason that the LGA runs its ‘Be a Councillor’ campaign.
The campaign has two elements: a corporate, cross-party strand which is run by the LGA’s Leadership and Localism team, and a party political strand which is run individually by the LGA’s political groups.
Looking ahead to May’s elections (and, if you are already planning ahead, to the 2021 elections), the LGA Conservative Group is keen to offer you any help that you may need in terms of candidate selection and the training and development of selected candidates.
We would aim to be as bespoke as possible, but examples of previous support include:
- financial support for introductory events for people interested in becoming a councillor, for example, a coffee morning or informal drinks reception.
- formal training in group sessions for people who have been selected, for example, on the role of the councillor, legal aspects of the campaign, dealing with the media.
- supporting groups/associations having trouble attracting or who would like to attract a more diverse range of candidates (for example, via advertising campaigns in the local newspaper).
If any of the above would be helpful to you, or indeed if you think we could help in another way, please do let us know by emailing the team at lgaconservatives@local.gov.uk
LGA Councillors' Forum
The LGA holds a regular Councillors' Forum. This is a cross-party meeting which discusses topical issues related to local government.
In addition, the Conservative Group holds a political meeting before the Councillors' Forum where we often welcome topical speakers. These meetings provide an opportunity to discuss important political issues in closed session.
All Conservative councillors are welcome to attend the Councillors' Forum and the group meetings. If you wish to do so please email lgaconservatives@local.gov.uk or call us on 020 7664 3264.
The current Councillors’ Forum dates for 2019/2020 are as follows, starting with a group meeting at 11am and then the Councillors’ Forum from 12.30pm:
- Thursday 12 March 2020
- Thursday 4 June 2020
- Thursday 16 July 2020
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LGA 'first' magazine
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'first' is LGA's membership magazine and is received as a hard copy by over 18,000 councillors and 400 Chief Executives.
In a response to feedback, it has been made easier to read online through the creation of a dedicated website where you can read all of its articles, interviews and opinion pieces.
Visit the first website
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