Helping councils to deliver
Astonishingly, by the time you read this, we will already be half-way through the general election campaign.
Astonishingly, by the time you read this, we will already be half-way through the general election campaign.
All of us will welcome the additional uplift in funding announced in the final local government finance settlement, while acknowledging that much more support is necessary.
The past few weeks have been a whirlwind for local government, not least because of the announcement of the provisional finance settlement, but also because of the outstanding work that our colleagues across the sector have done in response to the flooding and damage caused by recent storms (including Henk, Isha and Jocelyn, as the February edition of first was going to press).
I would like to wish everyone across the local government sector, officers and councillors alike, a very prosperous new year.
The peer support package offered by the LGA continues to be the cornerstone of the sector support programme for our membership.
Party conference has enabled Conservative local leaders to come together to share ideas and contribute policy.
Ahead of the Conservative Party Conference in October, the LGA Conservative Group has been working hard to bring together our manifesto publication to launch at the conference.
In my first column for first, I want to reiterate my thanks to the Conservative local government family for supporting my nomination to be the new Leader of the Conservative Group at the LGA.