With the financial situation of local government prompting rumours of more section 114 notices, this is a busy time for DSOs across the country. Councillors will be seeking information, advice and support in tackling some severe financial pressures in their councils. ADSO is here to support DSOs so please contact us if you need to. A reminder to all that our members’ forum is a good place to share experiences and seek advice.
Membership renewals
Membership renewals were issued last week and we request that you complete and return these as soon as possible. Full details of our membership offer can be found here.
ADSO Training courses
There are still spaces available on our Introduction to Company Secretarial Practice course taking place on 1 and 8 November. This course is aimed at Democratic Services Officers, or those who work in corporate roles in other sectors, who wish to develop their understanding of the role of the company secretary, the work it does and the other roles with which it interacts. For full details and to book, please click on the link below:
https://www.emcouncils.gov.uk/ADSO/ADSO—Introduction-to-Company-Secretarial-Practice/80295
Remote Meetings
The ADSO campaign to pressure a change in government thinking to allow councils to continue to meet remotely received some useful support this week from Plymouth City Council. Plymouth’s full council passed a motion which, inter alia, agreed to support the ADSO and Lawyers in Local Government petition to allow councils to use hybrid and remote meetings. The council also agreed that the Leader would write to the Secretary of State for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities calling for a change in the law for how councils can meet. The Motion On Notice can be found on the link below:
Plymouth City Council Motion On Notice – 18 September 2023
extension: pdf
We urge other councils to consider similar motions and actions in support of our campaign.
Call for bus franchising powers for councils
The LGA and Urban Transport group has called for all local authorities to have the same rights to introduce bus franchising as mayoral combined authorities. The call is an interesting area for DSOs to keep an eye on as buses are always a local issue of concern to councils and councillors.
https://www.localgov.co.uk/Call-for-bus-franchising-powers-for-councils/57991
New book – The Strange Demise of the Local in Local Government
I have a new book out with my colleague Prof Steve Leach. The book is entitled: The Strange Demise of the Local in Local Government. It explores how local government in England has, over the decades, increased in size and sets out why this is not necessarily and always a good thing for services or local democracy. The book can be found here: https://link.springer.com/book/10.1007/978-3-031-32819-0
Professor Colin Copus, ADSO Non-Executive Director