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The Japanese Local Government Centre (JLGC) was one of the many exhibitors at this year’s Local Government (LG) Group annual conference. The organisation ran a series of events and programmes for local government professionals to learn about the role...

Councillor Marianne Overton, Lincolnshire County Council and North Kesteven District Council, has been elected the new Independent Leader of the LGA. We caught up with her at this year's LG Group annual conference to hear what have been the highlight...

This was an excellent fringe session on culture, libraries and the Big Society. Andrea Stark (Arts Council England) began by outlining the new responsibilities the Arts Council has taken on in museums and archives. Andrea was clear that, despite these ...

Gauge the views of conference delegates who listened to a speech made by the Secretary of State for Health on day three of the LG Group Conference. First up is Chris Hayward, Cabinet Member for Libraries and Localism. Second is Susan Johnson, Chief Exe...

In a lively session, chief executives met with American community organiser Jim Diers from Seattle. Jim spoke about the way Seattle has used existing powers, such as planning laws, and community led initiatives to address city wide problems such as lan...

New health and wellbeing boards are to get £1m for training, online tools and support for councillors, health secretary Andrew Lansley announced today (weds). Speaking at the Local Government (LG) Group’s annual conference in Birmingham, he said:...

Work is the answer to getting problem families back on their feet and contributing to society, delegates at the Local Government Group’s annual conference were told today (Thurs). Emma Harrison, founder of A4e, a social purpose company helping peo...

As the European Commission kicks off a major EU review on the procurement rules, and we anticipate new legislation, this session looked at how the LG Group has seized the opportunity to push for change and bold simplification, so that future rules enab...

The reputation surgery session provided an opportunity for delegates to discuss how to improve the image of their councils with communications experts.  The session started with some key facts about what people think about their councils: - It�...

The scale of the spending cuts facing local authorities is too great for efficiency savings alone to bridge the gap. The Local Government Group and councils are taking the lead on exploring new ways of working that will protect front line services. Cou...

 Ben Page, Chief Executive of Ipsos Mori,  set the scene for this plenary session by asking what is different about the most effective organisations? The answer based on research: - good performance management - listening to staff - telling peop...

This session provided a brief introduction to the LG Group online offer and showcased the potential for these tools to help councils save money, time and share best practice. There were contributions from peers active in engaging with new online techno...

This morning’s breakfast session – held in the bowels of the ICC in Hall 11 – launched a new publication ‘Help for helping your residents: Working with the Citizens Advice service: a guide for councillors’. Speakers included Teresa Perchard (...

  Ed Hammond from the Centre for Public Scrutiny kicked off this well attended session by outlining the proposed role of the new Police and Crime Panels (PCPs) to be established under the Police Reform and Social Responsibility Bill, scheduled for...

Helen Rutherford, Marketing Director of 2e2, talks to the LG Group on how 2e2 can add value to councils and help them save money. She also explains how she thinks 2e2 fits in with the localism agenda and what made them decide to sponsor the LG Group an...

Sir Merrick Cockell talks about the LG Group annual conference in his new role as LG Group Chairman. He talks about his highlights from the conference so far and how he plans to use this experience in planning future LG Group conferences. [yframe ur...

  This very interesting plenary session explored how councillors can play a role as catalysts of social enterprise in their areas. We heard about three different examples from councils that are genuinely engaging with their local communities in dif...

  The Local Government Challenge plenary session on Wednesday 29 June started with a bang. We watched a short film of the highlights of the series so far! If you’ve not seen any of the films yet, check out www.policyreview.tv/lgchallenge Th...

  Housing is a key priority for councils and with reform of housing finance currently on the agenda, now is an opportune time to consider how authorities will secure investment for the future. The Local Government Group has long called for refor...

  Taking place almost exactly half way through the LG Group’s 2011 conference was a fringe which looked both backwards and forwards – back at the July 7 (7/7) London attacks in 2005, and forwards towards the impact of the 7/7 inquest, parti...

  Chief Executive George Garlick at Durham County Council and Councillor Jill Shortland from Somerset County Council unveiled the prototype of Local Government Inform. LG Inform is the LG Group’s practical response to the sector's call for gre...

Beginning the session with a side note, the Deputy Prime Minister told delegates that tomorrow’s planned strikes will not help public sector workers, trade unions or the country as a whole, stating that the only way to resolve the dispute over public...

The debate about elected mayors is a big subject of the moment, not least because the Localism Bill will allow the Government to force cities across England to hold referendums on mayors  in May next year. So today's debate was both timely and well-p...

  Wednesday (29 June) has also seen detailed debate take place around the subject of climate change and specifically how councils can use the low carbon agenda to develop their local economy. This event followed in the footsteps of work whic...

  Responding to the announcement that the Coalition will move to localise business rates, Sir Merrick Cockell, LGA Chairman, said: "It is encouraging that the Deputy Prime Minister has acknowledged that the current system of local government...

  Bus passengers will be hit with years of fare hikes and cuts to services unless Government gives local people more say on where billions of pounds of public money is spent, council leaders will warn today. The Local Government Ass...

  Responding to the announcement of the extension of community budgets for families with complex needs, Sir Merrick Cockell, LGA Chairman, said: “Giving local areas greater control over the delivery of services to families with complex nee...

Responding to the announcement of two single budget pilots by Deputy Prime Minsiter Nick Clegg, Sir Merrick Cockell, LGA Chairman, said: “The announcement of two single budget pilots is an important step toward unlocking the savings and improvemen...

  At an event chaired by Cllr Mehboob Khan (Chair, LG Group Safer & Stronger Communities Board), leaders of community safety gathered early on Wednesday morning to discuss the serious issue of domestic violence and the need for protecting t...

  Exploring the work of Defra bodies to improve the natural environment and manage flood risk by embracing Localism and the Big Society and improving customer focus on local government and communities. Chair: Cllr Robert Light, LGA Deputy Ch...

  When Peterborough sought to find the best private partner for service contracts, its approach was both unusual in approach and enlightened in its thinking. What made it so unusual and enlightened was that the political and executive leadersh...

Taylor Wimpey and Jones Lang LaSalle discussed how they are adapting to influence of the Localism Bill and ideas from Big Society, working with local communities to ensure sustainable homebuilding. Philip Hirst from Jones Lang LaSalle spoke about th...

Barry Quirk’s new book entitled ‘Re-imagining Government: public leadership and management in challenging times’ was launched today at the LG Group conference at an event sponsored by the LG Group and London Councils. The book, free copies ...

LG Group Conference delegates were given a sneak preview of the powerful new LG Inform tool at a fringe event on sector led improvement tonight. George Garlick, Chief Executive of Durham County Council, explained that the online start-of-the-art databa...

Councillors grouped together at the LG Group conference today to discuss how local government services can be successfully shared for the benefit of the communities they serve. Speakers included Cllr Gary Porter in his capacity as newly elected Vice-C...

  In this workshop, Cllrs Ed Turner and Clare Curran addressed the significant changes to the planning agenda that mean different ways of working with local businesses and communities. Getting a local plan in place is critical to prevent in...

Prime Minister addresses conference David Cameron's address to the conference was generally well received, albeit with some dissenting voices in the hall speaking up. He started with his thoughts on local government, saying that councils are doin...

  Tuesday 28 June Councils a ‘force for good’ The LGA’s new chairman pledged a “renaissance of local government” in his maiden speech to councillors at the Association’s annual general meeting in Birmingham. Sir Merrick Coc...

  After accepting Chairmanship of the LGA, Sir Merrick Cockell gave a speech outlining his vision. Below is his full speech: Conference - it is with a deep sense of responsibility, humility and, of course, pleasure that I accept your nominat...

Responding to the Government's view that reform of pension schemes should not be uniform across all parts of the public sector, Sir Merrick Cockell, LGA Chairman, said: “The LGPS is unique in the public sector due to its £140 billion worth of ass...

  Part of the current localism agenda is for local communities, charities and businesses to get more involved in shaping the way public services are delivered.  With all the talk about the ‘Big Society’, now is the time that local authorit...

  The details of how Whitehall departments spend tens of millions of pounds of taxpayers’ money is shrouded in mystery because the disclosure threshold is 50 times higher for central government than in local government. Government departme...

Did you know there are now over 500 million people using Facebook worldwide? More and more people are accessing social networking websites like Facebook, LinkedIn and Twitter. The LG Group online offer session at the conference will explore how using o...

Behind the scenesDate: Thursday 23 June 2011 Time: 11:30 am Location: 3rd Floor, Local Government House Status: Hectic!!! In the final countdown to the LG Group Conference 2011, our in-house communications team is a hive of activity.  Colleagues...

Improving performance has never been easier with the launch of our new data comparison service. Why not attend our launch reception of Local Government Inform (LG Inform) at the LG Group Conference to find out more? LG Inform is a new service fro...

At last! The finalists in this year’s Local Government Challenge competition have been revealed. You can watch the fifth challenge at Kent and Essex County Councils and the battle to reach the final on the Policy Review TV website. Our congratulat...

Kevin Maguire, Associate Editor (politics) at 'the Daily Mirror', reflects on the coalition government's first year in power ahead of his role as a panelist at Localism Works Plenary 1: The government one year on - what has it meant for local governm...

One of this year’s hot topics is the changing role of councillors in our communities. To coincide with this, we will be running a plenary session entitled ‘Councillors: the social entrepreneurs of our communities.’ Below are viewpo...

Councillor David Sparks OBE, Leader of the LGA Labour Group, explains how he sees his own political party taking forward the localist agenda. The eagle-eyed among you will notice that the title of this year’s LG Group Conference is ‘Localism Wor...

My last post looked broadly at shared services and whether the model will ever really find a home in the public sector. To explore the issue more closely, we commissioned our own study with the independent research house IpsosMORI. The study, performed...

Cllr Richard Kemp CBE, Leader of the LGA Liberal Democrat Group, tell us why he is looking forward to the challenges (and opportunities!) that the Localism Bill will bring to planning in local councils. For some reason that I cannot understand...

With the Government’s Local Government Resource Review (LGRR) underway, Dr Andrew Povey, leader of Surrey County Council, gives his views on 'financial freedom' for local authorities. Councils want more financial power and the good news is that W...

Ben Page is Chief Executive of Ipsos MORI and will chairing at the ‘Leading the workforce of the future’ plenary at this year’s conference. He believes that it takes great passion from leaders to ensure their council performs at its best. Why ...

2e2 is an IT solutions company for both the private and public sector.  Adam Kamruddin, Strategic Engagement Director, 2e2, explains why it is important that shared services in the public sector are maintained by the latest technology. Last week�...

Mike MacAuley, Knowledge Hub Project Manager, gives an exclusive " behind the scenes" view on building local government's definitive online knowledge environment. When I took the job of Project Manager on Knowledge Hub I knew it would be immersiv...

Charles Fraser, Chief Executive of homelessness charity St Mungo’s, says local government can play a big part in including more vulnerable people within society generally. As this year’s Local Government Group conference delegates consider ...

The Local Government Challenge competition gives staff with the drive and determination to reach the top, the opportunity to demonstrate their individual and team-working skills. Open to employees in the Local Government Association’s (LGA’s) m...

This year’s conference will see the Local Government (LG) Group launch a new integrated online offer to councils. It will continue our commitment to support, promote and improve local government. And it aims to help councils tackle their challenges a...

Cllr David Shakespeare OBE, Leader of the Conservative LGA Group, explains why it is good to decentralise. The theme of this year's Local Government (LG) Group conference is Localism works, which is particularly appropriate since the Coalition...

Cllr Keith Ross OBE, Leader of the Local Government Association (LGA) Independent Group, explains why the Localism Bill is significant when it comes to representing communities 'Localism works' is a great title for the LG Group Conference this ye...

To celebrate her last year as Chairman of the Local Government Association, Baroness Margaret Eaton gives her thoughts on this year's annual conference. The following video clip highlights what she thinks will be the big issues at the Localism works co...

Mike Burton is the editor of the MJ, who are one of this year's conference sponsors.  Below is his take on the outcome of the recent  alternative vote (AV) referendum. Turnout for the AV referendum on May 5 had been predicted to be so dire, as low...

Welcome the LG Group annual conference and exhibition 2011 blog. Here you will find commentary about various topics in the lead-up to and during the event. With this year’s LG Group Conference ‘Localism works’ just weeks away, let’s take ...