A peer challenge is helping the LGA further improve its support to councils
Practising what we preach, the LGA invited an esteemed cross-party political and officer team to undertake a corporate peer challenge (CPC) of the LGA in December 2022.
As is the case in councils, the challenge was tremendously valuable, highlighting very many positive things, along with some helpful suggestions about how we can further strengthen our work for councils and local government overall.
“If the LGA didn’t exist, we’d have to invent it” is a quote from the recently published CPC report that captures how many of our partners and stakeholders feel about the LGA and the vital role it plays in the local government sector.
It found that the LGA remains a ‘strong organisation’ and has continued to improve since its last CPC in 2015, citing evidence including higher membership levels, strong support for our sector-led improvement approach, our influence on issues facing the sector, recognition as the key partner in the relationship between central and local government, and our “remarkable” ability to gain political consensus.
“The LGA remains a strong organisation and has continued to improve since 2015”
However, with local government again in a period of significant change, the report says the LGA will need to continue to develop how it operates in the months and years ahead.
The report recommends building a closer working relationship with combined authorities and new county devolution areas, and discussions are already under way with the mayoral combined authorities, the M10 group of chief executives and mayors, and the new devolution areas to explore what they need from the LGA.
The requirements of sector support and challenge are also changing. The peer team felt it is important that the LGA not only changes with this, but also leads the change on behalf of the sector.
So, in our action plan, we commit to working with the sector to develop a support and assurance framework for local government, mapping the wide range of current support and assurance mechanisms.
We agree with the peer team that it will be helpful to lead a conversation to provide clarity about what those mechanisms are, as well as considering whether there are improvements to the framework that could be made.
Additionally, many of those in the LGA’s membership want to see the LGA develop more forward-thinking positions on behalf of the sector, looking out more and scanning the next horizon – and this, too, has been incorporated in our action plan.
Other areas where we are responding to the CPC’s report include refreshing the development and induction offer for members involved with the LGA’s boards, and considering how to better use analysis from international networks to support our work on behalf of local government.
The peer team notes strengths we can build on to deliver the CPC action plan – including a strong and well-established senior management team, highly motivated staff who are passionate about what they do, and strong recognition externally of the LGA ‘brand’ and the influence it is able to have.
Building on these strengths, we can continue to improve and, in doing so, we can continue to make a big difference to councils and the communities they serve.