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Elections
We are just three weeks away from the next set of local elections and like me, you may well be in a flurry of leaflets and door-knocking, helping colleagues. I am enjoying seeing a good amount of your campaigning activity on social media. These set of elections are taking place in 107 local authorities across England, voters will also choose eleven Mayors including London and London Assembly members. In addition, voters across England and Wales will elect 37 police and crime commissioners. Clearly, there is everything to play for in these elections and if you are standing for re-election or election for the first time, there are support networks to assist: Independent Network, Association of Green Councillors and the Plaid Cymru Councillors Association.
As you probably know, Photo ID is needed to vote in person and the Electoral Commission provides a list of acceptable forms of ID. You can apply online for a Voter ID Authority Certificate, using your NI number before 24th April. Alternatively, residents can just get a postal vote, of course.
We are still waiting to hear when the General Election will be held. The LGA is putting our White Paper into a set of policies that candidates can support. Our Independent Group is keen to hear from members who are standing as Parliamentary Candidates, so that we can compile a database of support. Please get in touch if you are standing for MP or PCC.
Green Day
On your behalf, I spoke online at the “Green Day” for the expert groups, organised by the Council of European Municipalities and Regions this week, where I am spokesperson on climate and energy.
Elected Mayor Michael Quernez from Brittany talked about implementing the Green Deal and the importance of taking the residents with us. The Deputy Mayor of Mechelen City, near Brussels, showed how new wetlands around the city had created a significant cooling effect in summer. Pedro Dias of Solar Heat pointed out that 80% of energy needed by industry was in the form of heat and 60% of domestic energy, so we work less on electricity generation and more on direct local heating systems instead.
The European Commissioner, Lucian Panulescu faced some tough questioning and emphasized the partnership with local government and the need to prepare for a very destructive 3°C rise, now a realistic possibility, despite all our efforts. Their new report, out today, called the European climate risk assessment. shows Europe as the fastest warming continent and assesses at the risks involved.
It is clear we need to support the green transition, including energy efficiency, with adequate resources and taking the public with us. We can draw on expertise and case studies from both within the EU as the Green Deal is implemented, and other European Countries, also making progress.
Asylum
The LGA Asylum, Refugees and Migration Task Group is meeting with the Minister Simon Hoare MP next week. Let me know any updates in your situation that you feel it is important for me to raise. We are looking at the role of Councils in finding homes and essential services to support them.
Funding for LGA to support you
Earlier this week, I led another meeting of our Independent, Green and Plaid Cymru Group Council Leaders meeting online, where I was pleased to share that £19.2m funding for our 2024/25 support programme for Councils and Councillors has been confirmed by the Department of Levelling Up, Housing and Communities. This improvement work is for training and peer support to help you and your councils do the best job possible. It’s great news and I have thanked LGA officers for helping to make this happen.
Our current five key themes: Governance, Leadership, Finance, Workforce and Transformation, remain core pillars of our programme. We continue to ensure local authorities are in a better position to make change, improve and address any challenges that emerge.
It is certainly encouraging that we have received 13 new ‘Expressions of Interest’ to become an LGA Independent Member Peer and we will be holding interviews shortly. If you are still interested in becoming a Member Peer, please get in touch. We particularly welcome applications from underrepresented backgrounds.
AGM July 2024 in Harrogate
I am looking forward to this year’s LGA Annual Conference in Harrogate, from the 2nd – 4th July, with much planning and preparation being put into place. Alongside our political group sessions and plenary session, the Independent Group will also be holding its Annual General Meeting from 10am on Tuesday 2nd July. You can attend for free - just register with the Group office. Any suggested motions need to be into the office before the 18th June. All prospective motions are reviewed by the Independent Group Executive and if taken forward to the AGM, the proposer must attend in person or via a substitute to speak to the motion.
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Spotlight on Councillor Caroline Jackson, Deputy Leader of the LGA Independent Group and Lancaster City Council, Cabinet Member for Housing and Homelessness
It’s spring, the Easter holidays and here we are in Lancaster, full of good intentions as usual. It’s the end of the litter-picking year and we have done four holiday bramble bashes and litter picks. A good reminder, as I contemplate the pile of council-issue litter bags, that whatever my title, I’m a ward councillor first.
This week the looming LGA Corporate Peer Challenge has been top concern. We have had the Powerpoint briefing, the Position Statement went in before Easter and we have seen the Financial Report. There are the inevitable worries. Did we say too little and did we miss stating the obvious about our strengths? We talk amongst ourselves about the unknown ‘new style’ CPCs, the threat that ‘Oflog’ poses and the new rumoured possibility that private companies will be given the work of assessing local authorities.
Members here are clear that the LGA peer approach gives the best informed and fairest approach. But some members remember the anodyne published Peer Review we had 5 years ago and how little difference it made. The CPC works by a process of ‘triangulation’ so any concerns have to be mentioned elsewhere - if only one person puts their head over the parapet, can key things be missed? On the one hand, no-one wants criticism or to rock the boat, on the other life now is so difficult for us, as for all councils, members or officers, that the chance of a fair and informed ‘outsider view’ could make a real difference to our future. I wonder if some of those almost tragic Section 114 situations we hear of on the grapevine might have been avoided by an effective CPC.
There are practical problems to getting the CPC underway – the lovely, never-phased PA to the Chief Executive says the three days are one of the most complicated things she has had to organise. Who amongst us will be interviewed, and as part of a ‘No Overall Control’ administration how do we make sure that all parties get a fair hearing and get to listen to all comments? As Green Deputy to a Labour leader, my request to be at the evening feedback sessions is granted but I think it should automatically be offered and indeed recognise that there is another political group taking full part in this administration.
From the point of view of being Independent Deputy, I am concerned that the stress and angst we are experiencing in Lancaster must be reproduced across most of us preparing for a CPC and is especially intense if you are part of a No Overall Control administration. I have already suggested that we should take some time at LGA Conference to share learning from our Corporate Peer Challenge experiences. Maintaining that balance between evidence- based challenge and giving credit to the achievements of the administration seems to me the nub of this process. Currently the CPC is more aligned to the inspection regime beloved of OFSTED yet by strange irony, the results have a reputation for being less than rigorous.
I look forward to some lively discussion at conference and sharing the experience with other Independent group members not just for our benefit but also to make sure that the Corporate Peer Challenge process evolves in a way that takes in our unique perspective.
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Councillors as corporate parents to care leaders
All councillors in unitary, county and district councils are corporate parents to care leavers – but what does good corporate parenting look like in practice? As part of the LGA’s Step Ahead campaign, supporting young people leaving care, we are curating a series of short blog posts from councillors of all parties, responsibilities and backgrounds about their role as a corporate parent. Looking after and protecting children and young people is one of the most important jobs that councils do. We want to share both inspiring stories and simple everyday examples from our members to shine a light on what being a good corporate parent means in practice, and the difference it can make to young people’s lives.We are looking for submissions of up to around 400 words, which will be published on our website and promoted with councils. If you have a story you’d like to share, then please do get in touch.
Leadership Essentials Sports and Physical Activity
An introduction to physical activity and sport for new and developing portfolio holders – Thursday 27th June, 10am – Friday 28 June, 4pm - Warwick Conferences, Scarman House, Coventry
Join us in Warwick for the launch of a new 2-day residential event! In partnership with Sport England, the LGA are pleased to announce a programme that will support 30 new portfolio holders with the responsibility for Sport and Physical activity. The programme will introduce Councillors to explore dynamic approaches to systems leadership to encourage development in their role to become better leaders and tackle barriers to sport and physical activity in their place. The cost of attending this programme is fully subsidised, accommodation and meals are included. To book a place, please email Grace Collins.
‘Elect Her’ – Join their Independent Councillor Focus Group
Over the past year, Elect Her, in partnership with 50:50 Parliament, has been creating party handbooks as a resource for women to utilise when they step forward as candidates for local, regional, devolved or national elections. With the help of our friend, Councillor Cathy Lisles, we now want to create an Independent guide for those women who choose to run as an Independent.
We are looking for a diverse group of female councillors from different backgrounds and lived experiences to share their knowledge and expertise on standing as Independent candidates with us. If you have the capacity to volunteer just one hour of your time to join one of our focus groups, we’d love to learn from you as we create our Independent Handbook. Plus, you'll get to meet other cool Independent councillors in the process.
The dates and times for the focus group will be as follows:
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Tuesday 30th April, 7- 8 pm Wednesday
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1st May, 11 am -12 pm
If you are interested in joining one of Elect Her's focus groups, please get in touch with the Elect Her Community Team
Net zero - strategy and support
National Buildings Database
The National Buildings Database have asked whether any public sector organisations would like to include their buildings in their project which will develop a detailed inventory of all the buildings in Great Britain. They are looking to undertake free energy audits of these buildings (conducted by Verco), with the report outputs shared with both the project and the participating organisation. To express interest please complete this form or contact Catherine.
Social Housing Consumer Regulations and Rents 2025/26
On 1 April 2024, the Regulator of Social Housing commenced its new approach to ensuring quality of social homes following changes by the Social Housing (Regulation) Act 2023. The Regulator has introduced routine inspections and gradings of large social housing providers and landlords, with those not meeting the new regulations facing a range of potential sanctions, including appointing new management or unlimited fines. Further, the Government has confirmed the existing social housing rent settlement will be rolled over by a further year until April 2026, so annual rent increases will continue to be capped at Consumer Price Index (CPI) plus one percentage point for 2025-26.
Dates for the Diary
Best practice in tackling domestic abuse where children are a victim (virtual event)
Thursday 18 April 2024, 2.00pm – 4.00pm
This event being held on the Zoom platform will focus on best practice where children have been subject to domestic abuse. This event will include presentations from the Domestic Abuse Commissioner and the Children’s Commissioner on why supporting children within safe accommodation is important and will give participants a chance to feedback on what works well and key challenges.
This virtual session will provide councillors with practical ideas and advice about how to be a good corporate parent. Hearing directly from young people with care experience, it will also cover the type of support care leavers want to see and best practice in delivering a local offer of support for care leavers.
A national recruitment campaign for local government has been co-produced with local authorities and Solace: ‘Make a Difference, Work for Your Local Council’. This event will present the campaign, the findings from a pilot delivered in the North East, and the ambitions for a national roll-out.
This virtual event, funded by UK Government, will take a look at the busy and changing world of the local councillor. It will discuss how to deal with the ever growing and varied time pressures placed upon councillors and the stress points that can occur, such as being new to the role of a councillor, taking on additional or leadership responsibilities or the challenges of being a ‘multi hatter’. It will provide ideas and suggestions for the effective prioritisation of tasks and time, how to decide between ‘important’ and ‘urgent’ tasks, deal with concerns and set out some coping strategies. This is a virtual event run on the Zoom platform.
Join us in Harrogate for the biggest event in the local government calendar, where we’ll be discussing the latest issues affecting local government.
Have a great weekend!
And finally…
Got an issue? Need to ask a question? Does your council require help and bespoke support on areas such as governance, financial planning and changes in political leadership?
Meet our Regional Lead Peers!
Together, these groups of experts provide challenge, advice and support to help councils and councillors address their priorities.
Get in touch now!
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