Greetings!
CEMR Leaders Summit 2024 – A Crucial Post-Election Gathering for Local Government, Brussels
I write to you this week from Brussels, where I am representing the Local Government Association at the Congress of European Municipalities and Regions (CEMR) Leaders Summit. It marked the first gathering of CEMR Leaders with the new EU Parliament and the agenda included sustainability initiatives, territorial cohesion as well as urban-rural linkages. A key moment in the discussions was when asked about the key issues for us in Europe over the next five years, one hundred leaders across Europe said, ‘climate change’.
Being in the critical decade, the last chance to save the planet as we know it, and a General Election has produced remarkably few commitments from both Labour and Conservative, whist Independent, Green and the Climate party are strong on implementing fair and effective policies; Reform UK being the exception. Just this week the EU passed the legislation giving greater protection to nature. Latest calculations show that to keep within a 1.5 degree rise, we need to get our emissions down 68 per cent by 2030. Using less with energy efficiency would be the most cost-effective start! Other key issues were security, peace, migration, popularism/extremism, democracy, and social cohesion.
Local Government White Paper
Our Local Government White Paper continues to gain traction and provides a useful informative tool for the next government about the key asks from local government to central government, which include resetting the relationship between the two. The LGA are currently working on ‘100 key asks’ within our five priorities for change and we welcome your contributions on what might be the key legislative asks for the new government. The five emerging themes of the white paper are:
- An equal, respectful partnership between local and national government
- Sufficient and sustainable funding
- Backing local government as place leaders
- A new focus on prevention and services for the wider community
- Innovation and freedom from bureaucracy
If you would like to send your suggestions, please contact the Group Office with your ideas.
General Election hub
Don’t forget the LGA has produced a dedicated ‘General Election Hub’ detailing the manifesto promises of each of the main parties, including Greens, regarding local government. The LGA Independent Group will also be publishing its key asks of a new Government, based on the collective discussion of our members at the weekender event held at Warwick Conferences.
LGA Independent Group Annual General Meeting
Our Independent Group Annual AGM will take place online this year (due to the General Election) on Tuesday 2nd July from 10.00am until 11.30am, via Zoom. This year will see a shorter agenda as it’s online. Please register your attendance with the Group Office.
LGA General Assembly
As you already know with the General Election being called, the LGA Annual Conference has been postponed until 22-24 October, still in Harrogate. The shorter version of the LGA Annual Assembly will still be taking place online from 11.45am on Tuesday 2 July. The agenda for the meeting will be available two weeks before the meeting. All member authorities will now have been invited to appoint their representatives to the General Assembly for 2024/25.
New Date for Annual Conference
The LGA has announced that the LGA Annual Conference has been rescheduled to 22-24 October still in Harrogate. If you can make these dates, then your booking will be transferred and there's nothing for you to do. However, if you would like to cancel you can do so via the ‘My booking' tab and clicking ‘Amend my booking’ on the Annual Conference event website. We hope everyone who could attend in July can continue to do so for the new dates!
LGA National new councillors welcome event
A new date has now been confirmed for new councillors, Tuesday 16 July from 5pm to 7pm online. If you are a new councillor, please attend this information session which will introduce you to the LGA and the ongoing support it can give you. The Independent Group will be holding its own session immediately afterwards for new Independent, Green and Plaid Cymru Councillors to meet and network online.
Congratulations Councillor Kevin Etheridge OBE!
Finally, I send my warmest congratulations to Caerphilly Independent Councillor Kevin Etheridge who was awarded an OBE in the King’s Birthday Honours. Kevin is a fine example of what selfless service is all about and has a proven track record of 40 years of community action and success which include: improved road safety, better local hospital transport links and fighting intrusive building projects. Kevin continues to raise awareness of bowel cancer and often shares his advice and the importance of early screening at free sessions run by Bowel Cancer UK. We are all incredibly proud of you Kevin and thank you for your continued service and dedication to your residents and the local community.
LGC Award 2024 shortlist
Many congratulations to those councils, whether our members are in control or coalition, shortlisted for an LGC Award in the following categories:
Campaign of the Year
London Borough of Havering
Community Involvement
Lancaster City Council
Digital Impact
East Suffolk Council
Lancaster City Council
Diversity & Inclusion
London Borough of Tower Hamlets
Health & Social Care
Isle of Wight Council
Bournemouth, Christchurch & Poole Council
Large Team of the Year
Bournemouth, Christchurch & Poole Council
Medium Team of the Year
London Borough of Tower Hamlets
Net Zero
Lancaster City Council
Public/Private Partnership
Lancaster City Council
Small Team of the Year
London Borough of Tower Hamlets
And finally…
Good luck to anyone standing in or supporting candidates at the General Election. It is vital we get voices heard from local Independent, Green, Plaid Cymru and smaller parties, properly connecting our communities to decision-making at all levels. Thank you for all you are doing.
Have a great weekend everyone!
Planning Leadership Essentials
The Planning Advisory Service (PAS) are delivering one of our LGA Leadership Essentials councillor training residential sessions at Warwick Conferences on 20 and 21 July 2024 which will help councillors who are chairs of planning committee understand the key characteristics of a good committee and develop their skills as a chair. PAS will be trialling access to an online warm-up to those who are attending. For more information on availability, please contact Grace Collins.
Finance Leadership Essentials
This two-day programme will help leaders and finance portfolio holders get to grips with the financial challenges facing their authorities. Facilitated by experienced local government finance practitioners, we will discuss how councils can set longer term strategies for sustainability as well as balancing the budget on an annual basis and how to work with officers to ensure that the Council is making the most of its opportunities. It is an opportunity to focus on financial management and governance ahead of the final stages of the 2024/25 budget process, but also to look longer term at what the strategic options may be for the Council and its local area.
The following dates are currently available for you to book on to:
- Programme 30: Saturday 21 September – Sunday 22 September 2024
- Programme 31: Thursday 24 October – Friday 25 October 2024
- Programme 32: Saturday 2 November – Sunday 3 November 2024
Financial governance
Good governance starts at full Council and every councillor has a role to play, but what does good financial governance look like? These two online sessions will explore this question.
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Session 1: Introductions, what is meant by good financial governance? Roles and responsibilities - councillors, officers and auditors.
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Session 2: An in-depth look at financial governance; budgeting and financial control, new project evaluation and control.
The following dates are currently available for you to book on to:
- Programme 5 (session 1): Wednesday 9 October 2024
- Programme 5 (session 2): Wednesday 16 October 2024
- Programme 6 (session 1): Thursday 23 January 2025
- Programme 6 (session 2): Thursday 30 January 2025
For more information or availability on any of these Leadership Essentials programmes please contact: Grace Collins
LGA & Arts Council England Culture and library peer challenges
If you are about to begin new strategic work, a peer challenge could be a valuable opportunity to gain expert insights from a peer team and your stakeholders and partners. The peer team works to your brief, providing practical recommendations and information. With several dates available to December 2024, peer challenges can be tailored to a wide range of themes including hub models, community engagement, heritage, income generation. For more information visit the LGA’s Arts, culture and libraries web page.
LGA Solutions hub
We are excited to introduce the LGA Solutions Hub which has been designed for the sector, working collaboratively with councils, to help you achieve your ambitions. LGA Solutions provides a range of chargeable and part-funded services, all delivered by proven professionals dedicated to strengthening local government. The hub offers resources for comprehensive support in strategic and policy matters and the day-to-day operations of councils and combined authorities, such as workforce, leadership development, data and benchmarking.
Dates for the Diary
Wednesday 10 July, 2.00pm - 3.40pm
As part of the LGA’s support for councillor safety, we are offering this session tailored specifically for newly or recently elected councillors to build confidence around personal safety. Built around the role of the elected member, the session is full of practical advice and guidance.
Thursday 11 July 2024, 1.00pm - 3.00pm
When making decisions, it is important to do against a basis of good evidence. This webinar aims to show you how to use the numbers to tell an effective story, so that everyone can understand what you want to achieve.
Tuesday 16 July 2024, 10.00am - 11.45am
The roundtable will highlight how local government can utilise its community-based connections to transform the outlook and vision of a local place. We will explore the importance of how councils can engineer service design that incorporates key stakeholders by embracing collaboration and consultation techniques and tools.
Tuesday 16 July 2024, 10.30am - 12.00pm
This webinar will explore the opportunities to increase the climate change and wider environmental sustainability knowledge and skills of local leaders, by showcasing training LGA has been delivering, hearing from delegates who have benefited from the courses, sharing new LGA resources now available to all councils, and making the case for cascading training locally.
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