The local government family is here to support all councils
We’ve all been there. There is an issue in your council, and you need some help so as not to reinvent the wheel. You know someone else out there in local government land can help, but where to start?
As they used to say at the beginning of that iconic 1980s TV show: “If you have a problem, if no-one else can help, and if you can find them, maybe you can hire the (LG)A Team…”
Well, the good news is that the LGA gives you access to a crack team of local government experts, with a range of backgrounds and experiences, just waiting to swing into action to support good people in need of a little help – whether it’s through a Corporate Peer Challenge (CPC), mentoring, or training and development.
The recent LGA Member Peer Conference in Sheffield saw more than 100 peers gather to share advice and keep abreast of the ever-changing landscape around local government.
Along with sessions for new peers and on how the CPC is evolving to match current challenges, we had the opportunity to hear from Max Caller CBE, Government Strategic Adviser, and Pat Ritchie CBE, former Chief Executive of Newcastle City Council, on the challenges facing local government – and how the LGA’s sector-led improvement (SLI) offer is uniquely placed to contribute towards addressing them.
We were also joined by Stephen Baker, Chief Executive of East Suffolk Council, who shared his experiences as an officer peer, including how to have difficult conversations and get the best from CPCs.
As the local government landscape evolves, our needs as councils continue to change. Keeping the SLI offer fresh and relevant is key to ensuring we can help members in the most appropriate ways.
While a CPC isn’t an assessment or inspection, it is increasingly part of government’s performance framework, and a good way of testing how well your council knows itself and its development.
The principles of SLI remain the same – that while you’re responsible for your council’s performance and are accountable to your local residents, the local government family shares an interest in maintaining our overall performance, and the LGA stands ready to help you with the tools and support to drive improvement.
As part of this, member peers from all four LGA political groups are available to help with every aspect of this, and our offer is continually being developed to match the needs of the sector.
CPCs provide a useful measure of progress and performance with comprehensive feedback and follow-on support, delivered by an in-person team of officer and member peers who provide a practitioner perspective and act as ‘critical friends’.
A recent poll of councils found that 98 per cent felt their CPC had positively impacted their performance.
There is also an ongoing need to refresh our pool of member peers, both by encouraging peers to keep their training and profiles up to date, but also expanding the pool of those who put themselves forward as peers.
LGA political group officers can provide more details around not just the requirements but also the opportunities for peers in taking part, alongside the support available.
Meanwhile, plans for next year’s Member Peer Conference to be bigger and even better are already under way. As, the A-Team’s Hannibal Smith used to say: “I love it when a plan comes together!”