Apr
20
Wed
ADSO Webinar – Levelling-Up: The Implications and Opportunities for DSOs @ via GoTo Webinar
Apr 20 @ 11:00 am – 12:00 pm

The Levelling-Up White Paper, while aimed at addressing economic inequalities across the country and stimulating economic growth, sets a framework within which further devolution to local government will operate. It also raises the prospect of local government reorganisation, the creation of more combined authorities and additional elected mayors and/or directly elected county leaders. It is these areas that have the most implications for Democratic Services Officers.

The webinar will focus on those aspects of the levelling-up agenda that will affect the work and activities of DSOs across the country. It will explore the following themes of relevance to DSOs:

  • The role of local government in the levelling-up agenda
  • The role of DSOs in facilitating the work of councillors and councils in addressing the aims and objectives of levelling-up
  • Local government reorganisation and DSOs
  • New forms of political governance and decision-making
  • DSOs working across organisational and council boundaries
  • Developing new forms of communication with the centre
  • The change in member roles and perspectives
  • How councillors and DSOs will contribute to levelling-up and in shaping the levelling-up agenda

The webinar will also examine how the policy, research and support functions of DSOs will be influenced by the expectations of the white paper and the levelling-up agenda generally.

Target Audience
Democratic Services Officers in all types of local authority as well as Councillors and Officers involved in the levelling-up agenda.

Learning Outcomes
At the end of the session participants will be able to:

  1. Identify and understand the main aims of the levelling-up white paper and the general levelling up agenda as it is relevant to DSOs
  2. Understand the implications for DSOs of the white paper’s proposals
  3. Appreciate the way the white paper will affect the work of councillors
  4. Understand the potential changes to DSOs work and workloads of the white paper and its proposals
  5. Recognise the new support and services councillors will require
  6. Understand the governance implications of the white paper and its proposals

Speaker
Colin Copus is an Emeritus Professor of local politics at the Department of Politics and Public Policy, De Montfort University and a Visiting Professor at the University of Ghent. His academic interests are central-local relationships and the constitutional status of local government, devolution, localism, local party politics, local political leadership and the changing role of the councillor. Colin has worked closely with policy-makers and practitioners in central and local government. He was an academic advisor to the Political and the Constitutional Reform Committee and the Communities and Local Government Committee on its inquiry into the role of the councillor and he is currently the academic advisor to two All Party Parliamentary Groups.  He is a member of the Council of Europe’s group of experts on the Charter of Local Self Government.

He has published widely in academic journals. Colin’s latest book is entitled: In Defence of Councillors, published by Manchester University Press.  Colin was the editor Local Government Studies 2001 to 2013 and has also served as a councillor on a London Borough council, a county and a district council and three parish councils.

To book, click on the following link:  https://attendee.gotowebinar.com/register/3137367791467332368

Please note that you will need to be able to login in to GoTo webinar in order to access the webinars.  If you are logging in from your workplace, you will need to ensure that GoTo has not been blocked by your organisation.  Otherwise you can log on from your mobile.

Apr
22
Fri
East of England Regional Meeting @ Via Zoom
Apr 22 @ 2:30 pm – 4:30 pm
Apr
29
Fri
East Midlands Regional Meeting @ via Microsoft Teams
Apr 29 @ 10:00 am – 11:00 am
May
20
Fri
ADSO Webinar – The New Model Code of Conduct @ via GoTo Webinar
May 20 @ 10:30 am – 11:30 am

This ADSO webinar will be presented by Paul Hoey from Hoey Ainscough, authors of the New Code.  It will look at some of the more complex and significant parts of the Code and supporting guidance and discuss how they might apply to members in meetings. In particular it will focus on the area of disrespect and bullying and the need to declare interests.

The webinar will be of particular interest to Officers who work with members and support them at meetings and in their everyday role and aims to inform attendees on:

– Understanding how to interpret key parts of the Code of Conduct

– Understanding the supporting guidance

– Considering the boundaries between robust challenge, disrespect and bullying

– Understanding the different types of interests that need to be declared

Paul Hoey is co-director at Hoey Ainscough Associates Ltd, which supports councils on standards. issues.  Since being set up in 2012 they have worked with 400 councils on training, investigation work and more detailed governance reviews.

To book, click on the following link:  https://attendee.gotowebinar.com/register/6297938155073450508

Please note that you will need to be able to login in to GoTo webinar in order to access the webinars.  If you are logging in from your workplace, you will need to ensure that GoTo has not been blocked by your organisation.  Otherwise, you can log on from your mobile.

The webinar is sponsored Astech (CMIS) (https://cmis.uk/cmis/).  CMIS is a web-based meeting and governance management solution that facilitates paperless meetings and can manage the entire process of a meeting’s life cycle, helping businesses of all types and sizes streamline operations and facilitate decision-making. The solution is designed to help any organisation achieve tangible cost savings and reduce the time and effort required to report and explain decisions.

Jul
1
Fri
North East, Yorkshire and Humberside Regional meeting @ Microsoft Teams
Jul 1 @ 10:00 am – 12:00 pm

For Microsoft Teams link and passcode, please contact michael.robson@northtyneside.gov.uk  or katherine.harclerode@rotherham.gov.uk

 

Jul
5
Tue
South East Regional Meeting
Jul 5 @ 10:00 am – 12:00 pm

For further information, please contact your regional reps as follows:

Eastern (Kent and Sussex)

Matthew Archer (Canterbury City Council)

Email: matthew.archer@canterbury.gov.uk

Western (Hampshire and Surrey)

Sally Prior (Test Valley Borough Council) and Kevin Greenhough (Hampshire County Council)

Email: SPrior@testvalley.gov.uk
Email: kevin.greenhough@hants.gov.uk

Jul
15
Fri
ADSO Webinar – The impact of abuse and intimidation of councillors @ via GoTo Webinar
Jul 15 @ 2:30 pm – 3:30 pm

Abuse and intimidation of councillors is an increasing concern in local government and emerging evidence indicates that this is happening all too often and beginning to influence local democracy. Debating and disagreeing with one another has always been, and will continue to be, a healthy part of democracy, but abuse and intimidation only serves to silence democratic voices and deter people from engaging with politics.

To better understand the issue of abuse and intimidation of councillors by the public, the Local Government Association (LGA) launched a call for evidence in October 2021. The LGA has now published a report of the findings of that call for evidence and proposed recommendations to begin addressing these issues and improving the support available to councillors. You can access the full report through the following link:

https://www.local.gov.uk/publications/debate-not-hate-impact-abuse-local-democracy#detailed-examination-of-the-responses-to-the-call-to-evidence

Our speaker is Jess Norman, Senior Policy Adviser at the Local Government Association who will present the findings and recommendations in the report and answer questions from attendees.  The webinar presents an opportunity for attendees to hear about the real experiences of councillors and the impacts of abuse and intimidation on councillors and local democracy.

Attendees will also hear about good practice the LGA has identified under the Civility in public life programme and have the opportunity to ask questions and make comments about good practice they are aware of in their areas, thereby sharing good practice.

The webinar will be particularly suited to Democratic Services Officers who support councillors with issues of abuse and intimidation.

To book, click on the following link:  https://attendee.gotowebinar.com/register/2391862625035580940

Please note that you will need to be able to login in to GoTo webinar in order to access the webinars.  If you are logging in from your workplace, you will need to ensure that GoTo has not been blocked by your organisation.  Otherwise, you can log on from your mobile.

Jul
20
Wed
East of England Regional Meeting @ Via Zoom
Jul 20 @ 2:30 pm – 4:30 pm
Sep
20
Tue
ADSO Webinar – The Councillor: from whom much is expected; little is often given – except from DSOs @ via GoTo Webinar
Sep 20 @ 10:30 am – 11:30 am

Councillors operate in a fragmented, often chaotic and differentiated world with different demands on their time, resources and efforts. They face not only the formal demands of council work in cabinet, scrutiny, various committees and full council, but also a series of demands made by the public and community and by the government. In addition, councillors are ever more interacting with an array of organisations outside the council of which they are a member and which they seek to influence on both an operational and strategic level.  Then there is the party and party group and the expectations they have of councillors.

DSOs are the eyes and ears of the councillor and often those to whom councillors turn to for advice, support and assistance and not just for the practical stuff – for emotional support, a shoulder to lean on.

The aim of the webinar is to provide a further insight for DSOs into the demands, expectations and life of the councillor. It will also explore some contemporary issues and how they have affected the councillor such as virtual meetings and continuing demands for more stringent ethical and behavioural standards.

It will explore the following themes of relevance to DSOs:

  • The differentiated roles of the councillor
  • The expectations councillors face from the council, the public, the media and the government and how they respond
  • The levels of support provided and those needed for councillors
  • Interacting with external agencies
  • The effects of council membership of councillors’ social, private and working lives
  • Behaviour and ethics
  • Centralization and devolution and the councillor

The webinar will focus on what the DSO needs to know about the life of the councillor and is particularly suitable for; Democratic Services Officers in all types of local authority; Councillors; all officers who work with councillors; and Officers who wish to know a bit more about what it’s like to be a councillor.

Our speaker is Colin Copus, Emeritus Professor of local politics at De Montfort University and a Visiting Professor at the University of Ghent. Colin has worked closely with policy-makers and practitioners in central and local government and is currently the academic advisor to two All Party Parliamentary Groups and a member of the Council of Europe’s group of experts on the Charter of Local Self Government.

Our webinar is sponsored MVI AudioVisual https://www.mvi-audiovisual.com/Connect/ who provide standard software for automatic camera controlname displaying and voting automation in council chambers. MVI’s products are widely used around Europe, including the UK.

To book, click on the following link:   https://attendee.gotowebinar.com/register/2429717711376338192

Please note that you will need to be able to login in to GoTo webinar in order to access the webinars.  If you are logging in from your workplace, you will need to ensure that GoTo has not been blocked by your organisation.  Otherwise, you can log on from your mobile.

Oct
7
Fri
East Midlands Regional Meeting @ via Microsoft Teams
Oct 7 @ 10:00 am – 11:00 am