THE IMPORTANCE OF WHAT WE DO
Two weeks ago, I gave a speech at the retirement party for a long-serving colleague and fellow ADSO member, Graham Collins. Graham began his career in Lambeth in 1970; the year Ted Heath first became Prime Minister. He moved onto Wandsworth in 1984 and has been there ever since, so in total an unbroken career in Democratic Services of some 48 years. Graham told me many stories of his time in local government – walking round a long table hand-collating agendas and reports on despatch day; the three-day week; sitting in his office in an overcoat and gloves during the winter of discontent; and playing the piano during quiet moments in polling stations! Whilst at Wandsworth, Graham led on the agreements required to subsume powers delegated following the demise of the former Inner London Education Authority (ILEA) and the Greater London Council (GLC) and has played key governance roles in major regeneration schemes including the former Battersea Power Station. Two things struck me about Graham’s departure. Firstly, that effective succession planning is vital to ensure that our teams can continue to excel and grow long after experienced colleagues retire – something ADSO works hard to support through its training and qualifications; and secondly, a timely reminder that Democratic Services Officers will always remain at the corporate centre of Councils – nothing happens in local councils without the keen eye of a Democratic Services Officer giving the ‘OK’ to a draft report or helping a senior officer navigate their way through the decision-making process. Our work is essential to the smooth running of local authorities. Wandsworth Council will miss Graham very much and we wish him a long, happy and healthy retirement.
GDPR
The Chair, Vice Chair and I had a conference call this week to double-check our preparedness for the implementation of GDPR. We believe our approach is robust and proportionate. The Board will be asked in July to endorse the GDPR implementation plan. In the meantime, we have updated our GDPR data policies for both us as an organisation and our website. These are now live so please see that attached. You will our data policy covers the storage, how we use it, retrieval and security of your personal membership data, as well as what you can expect from us and how to change your preferences. As the policy states, please do get in touch if you have any queries or concerns.
ALL CHANGE AT THE LONDON BOROUGH OF RICHMOND
Following the local elections earlier this month, Richmond-upon-Thames Council is now Liberal Democrat controlled (from Conservative). The new Lib Dem Administration has wasted no time in approving changes to the structure of overview and scrutiny within the Council and has also set up a cross-party Constitution Working Group to review decision-making more widely. This could mean a return to the Committee System or something else. My team faces a huge challenge to deliver these changes whilst ‘keeping the lights on’ with the current system. We are looking forward to the challenge! I feel a conference workshop session coming on…
GETTING OUT AND ABOUT
And finally, I am being allowed out this year and looking forward to meeting more ADSO members in the regions. I’m running a ‘Just a Minute’ training course in Exeter on 15th June; ‘Effective Scrutiny Officer’ training in Ealing on 29th June; and I’m attending an Eastern region meeting in November. I’m looking forward very much to these events.
Have a good week.