LGA Labour Group Elections 2020 – nominations open
Despite the COVID-19 pandemic the Labour Group officers have agreed that our annual process for group elections should take place as normally as possible. Full details of the process are on the LGA Labour Group website here and are briefly set out below:
LGA Labour Group elections
There are seven Labour Group officer positions and 10 Regional Representative positions directly elected by Labour groups:
Labour Group Officers:
- LGA Labour Group Leader
- Deputy Leaders (two positions, at least one of which must be a woman)
- Chair
- Vice Chair
- Chief Whip
- Deputy Whip
The Labour Group officers form the LGA Labour Group Executive, along with LGA Leadership Board members, lead members on LGA boards, the Welsh LGA leader, a Metro Mayor representative, and the national lead peer. For more details, see the LGA Labour Group Website
Regional Representatives:
- 10 members are elected, one from each English region and Wales: East; East Midlands; London; North East; North West; South East; South West; Yorkshire & Humber; West Midlands and Wales.
Regional representatives are members of the Labour Group, and act as a link with Labour groups and leaders in their region.
Applications for each position are made by self-nomination, and the positions are then elected by Labour Groups.
You can download the self-nomination form here. Your Group leader must consent to your nomination.
Members who are nominating themselves for Officer roles require supporting nominations from three Labour Groups, which must come from at least two different regions. You can download the supporting nomination form here.
The timetable for the election process is as follows:
Nominations open: Friday 15 May
Deadline for nominations: 5pm, Friday 29 May
Ballot papers sent to Labour Group Leaders: Monday 1 June
Deadline for ballot votes: 12 noon, Wednesday 24 June
Appointments for places on LGA Boards
The nomination process for places on LGA boards and structures will open on Monday 1 June – details will be circulated separately.
If you have any queries, please contact Martin Angus, Political Adviser, Labour Group office martin.angus@local.gov.uk
Coronavirus news from Labour councils
Labour councils and councillors have all been doing extraordinary things in recent weeks to support their communities. Just a few examples we spotted from the last week:
Croydon Council introduces new Exercise Streets to help residents keep fit and healthy during lockdown
Newcastle City Council have announced that in May 2021, a free festival for NHS workers will take place to thank them for their tireless work tackling COVID-19
Exeter City Council have awarded a grant to a charity that has set up a prescription delivery service during the COVID-19 outbreak
Trafford Council have announced ambitious plans to support safer and greener borough wide travel
Wakefield’s Conservative Opposition Leader has backed Labour’s call for more money for local government
A mile of new pop-up cycling and walking lanes will be installed every week for the next 10 weeks under new plans for the post-lockdown recovery of Leicester’s transport system.
We will continue to use this bulletin to highlight the great work that Labour councils, groups, and councillors are doing all over the country in relation to COVID-19 – so if you want your local work included, please send it through to martha.lauchlan@local.gov.uk
Coronavirus news from the LGA
LGA responds to HCLG Committee report on homelessness and rough sleeping
LGA responds to Money Advice Trust council tax report
LGA: new cultural taskforce risks losing local voice on renewal
Coronavirus: LGA statement on schools reopening plans
LGA responds to joint report on £1bn Youth Guarantee, education and employment support
LGA responds to latest ONS figures on coronavirus deaths
LGA responds to Barnardo’s report on children’s services
Coronavirus: LGA responds to expansion of testing and contact tracing announcement
LGA responds to ADASS survey on adult social care provider support
Coronavirus: LGA statement on local government funding crisis
News from Labour
Keir Starmer and Labour mayors join forces to call on Government to seize “once in a generation opportunity” to tackle rough sleeping
Nick Thomas-Symonds responds to Govt U-turn on NHS bereavement scheme
Jonathan Ashworth writes to Govt on proposals for contact tracing
Keir Starmer and Doreen Lawrence call for “swift action” from government to protect BAME communities from COVID-19
Liz Kendall responds to Robert Buckland admission that Government prioritised NHS testing over care homes
Tulip Siddiq - Under-investment in children’s services has left them ill-prepared to cope with the impact of coronavirus
LGA ‘Frequently Asked Questions’ - great resource for councillors
The LGA has set up a page to answer Frequently Asked Questions related to Covid-19, covering children and young people, housing, PPE, and supporting local communities, which you can view here.
These responses are being regularly reviewed and updated following clarification from the government.
E-Learning Modules
Our LGA e-learning modules are now available on our website and accessible without using a user and password via this link – this includes our new e-learning module on ‘Holding council meetings online’. This e-module covers chairing and managing remote meetings such as committees following the change in legislation earlier this month. Councillors will be able to evidence that they have completed the module by completing the certificate of completion.
The Co-operative Party – vote for motion 9
For over 90 years, the Labour and Co-operative Parties have worked together to build a country where wealth and power are shared. Across the country there are now joint Labour and Co-operative Councillors and Metro Mayors.
This month, members of the Co-operative Group (which you’ll probably know best from the supermarkets) are being asked to vote on Motion 9 in their AGM on whether to maintain the link between the Group and the Co-operative Party. If you shop regularly with your blue Co-op Group membership card, you might be eligible to vote, and may already have received a ballot by email or post. It’s worth checking your inbox for an email from takepart@cesvotes.com.
Find out more about the vote
Check my eligibility
Building a Co-operative recovery
Jo Platt and Cliff Mills, members of the Greater Manchester Co-operative Commission, have written about how we can build a co-operative recovery. You can read it here.
Making referrals through the GoodSam app
Councillors are able to make referrals through the GoodSam app to request help for a vulnerable resident from an NHS volunteer. If you want to know how to do this, you can read the “how to” guide here.
Support to councillors on governance and scrutiny
The Centre for Public Scrutiny have been asked by the LGA to be available to assist with questions and issues arising on scrutiny and governance for the duration of the crisis. This “helpdesk” function may include assistance in drafting new standing orders and systems to account for remote working, the provision of training and support to specific groups of councillors and helping councils to design and deploy approaches to scrutiny which make an active and positive contribution to the way that authorities are handling the crisis. A summary of this support can be found on their webpage.
They have published a range of guides (accessible via the above page) for councillors and councils on
- cultural and behavioural issues relating to remote meetings;
- carrying out overview and scrutiny in a targeted and proportionate manner;
- ensuring that councillors have access to information;
- how councillors can understand how their councils are supporting vulnerable people (with a particular focus on Care Act easements and the new children’s services Regulations).
A fifth guide, on councillors’ need to use scrutiny to understand and act on council financial challenges, is being published next week.
They are holding webinars for Chairs, and Committee Members, on skills relating to working in remote meetings and overcoming the associated behavioural and cultural challenges. These will be held on the mornings of 15 and 19 May respectively and, again, full details can be found here
Call for evidence and information from The Children’s Society
Call for evidence: local welfare provision and responding to CV-19
The Children’s Society has been researching local welfare provision since responsibility for providing crisis support was devolved to local government in 2013 and ring-fenced funding was removed in 2015. During this time of national emergency we believe that government should ensure that local authorities have the resources they need and the systems in place to provide crisis grants to vulnerable individuals and households, at a time when unexpected bills or emergency purchases may be much harder to cover.
We are therefore calling for evidence from local authorities on the impact that the coronavirus pandemic has had on existing local welfare provision, and would welcome responses to the survey questions below.
Since the beginning of the coronavirus pandemic:
- Has your authority seen any change in the number of applications being received for local welfare assistance?
- Has your authority allocated additional funds, staff or resource to your local welfare assistance scheme? If possible, please provide details.
- Has your authority modified any elements of its local welfare assistance scheme (for example the size or nature of awards made, the eligibility criteria, or applications process)?
- Do you have any additional comments to make about the impact of CV-19 on local welfare provision in your area?
Responses can be shared directly with Toby North, Senior Public Affairs Officer at The Children’s Society: toby.north@childrenssociety.org.uk
We are currently calling on government to suspend the ‘No Recourse to Public Funds’ (NRPF) condition during the coronavirus pandemic to enable migrant families to access vital support from the social security system. As the responsibility for supporting families subject to NRPF often falls on local authorities through children’s social care responsibilities, we are asking local councillors and authorities if they would be willing to support the campaign by writing to the Home Office and requesting that they suspend NRPF during these unprecedented times.
You may have seen in the media in the past couple of weeks that this is a demand that Labour’s frontbench team is also making of government during these unprecedented times. However, we would be very grateful if you could share details of the campaign. I can also share a policy briefing for local government on the topic, as well as a sample letter to the Home Office, if this would be useful.
Looked After Children and the EU Settlement Scheme: a guide for local authorities
As you may be aware, local authorities have a responsibility to identify European children who are in their care or have recently left care, and to ensure they have made applications to the EUSS to secure their future status. However recent research by The Children’s Society has found that only eleven percent (11%) of the identified European children, either in the British care system or who have recently left it, have so far been awarded the right to stay in the UK via the EUSS. We are therefore extremely concerned that many of these children and young people could become undocumented once the EUSS closes in June 2021.
We’ve therefore produced a guide (available to download here) for elected members in local authorities which outlines:
- What Brexit means for the immigration status of many looked after children and care leavers.
- What the EU Settlement Scheme is and what it involves.
- What the local authority is responsible for in relation to the EUSS and what steps should be taken.
- Examples of best practice already taking place within local government.
- Scrutiny questions which elected members can ask on the topic.
The latest advice on COVID-19
The Department for Education has published guidance on safeguarding in schools, colleges and other education providers, with further information for schools who will be allowing more children to return in June, and the LGA has outlined changes to local authority powers and duties resulting from Coronavirus Regulations 2020.
The Care Quality Commission has published their insight into adult social care during the pandemic, which explores data on outbreaks by region, the availability of PPE, staff wellbeing, and the financial viability of adult social care services.
The Office for Product Safety and Standards has updated its guidance on how it will support businesses and local authorities and protect consumers.
The Department of Health and Social Care has provided responses to frequently asked questions on tracking and tracing.
The Home Office has announced an extension to the bereavement scheme for families and dependents of NHS support staff and social care workers who have died as a result of Coronavirus.
The Ministry for Communities, Housing and Local Government has published supplementary guidance to local authorities on feedback of local shielding outcomes, to inform a ‘soft launch’ of data collection.
The Government has released the allocations for each local authority area for ringfenced support for care homes’ infection control.
Future COVID-19 updates
If there are issues you think we should try to include in future COVID-19 specific emails then please let us know – just reply to this email.
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