I am not sure where to start, so I guess a “hello” would be polite! I hope you are all well and weathering the storm, both Darcy and the one we have been working in over the last year. I know I am really starting to feel the challenges of a busy day job, plus election and induction planning and the exploration of our first council meeting face to face after the election at an alternative venue. This is all whilst trying to sell my home, the chain has collapsed twice, and with two children running around at home, one who was 10 weeks into reception when we shifted to home learning…. I know many of you are facing challenges and some I am sure are more difficult than mine, but it really is tough. Please try to look after yourself amongst all this, it really is important.
Remote meetings
In terms of remote meetings, I know many of you are planning to hold your AGM remotely in advance of the expiration of the sunset clause and others like Essex CC are exploring venues that will mean we are not disenfranchising our newly elected members. You have hopefully seen the release on what ADSO partnered with our colleagues at LLG are doing in relation to finding a solution for remote meetings to continue after 7 May 2021. If you have missed it, please see below and share with colleagues who may not be members of ADSO or LLG.
LLG & ADSO Obtain Legal Opinion on Virtual Meeting Provisions
extension: pdf
You can also read the news stories on our website. I know many local authorities have sent letters to the Secretary of State and are gathering evidence. John Austin is keen to see any quantifiable or tangible evidence you may have of the benefits of remote meetings that could assist our case in enabling local authorities to hold remote meetings after 6 May 2021 and to have the choice once social distancing is eased for council’s to choose whether to hold some meetings remotely. Please email John with any evidence you have to offer.
ADSO Webinars
The second ADSO webinar on the LGA model code of conduct took place on Friday and was again well attended. For those who were unable to attend, you can view the recordings here and see our programme of webinars. These are free to members and will be recorded and made available to you after the sessions. You can now also book for the next webinar titled Come into my Parlour! – demystifying the management of civic office taking place on Wednesday 10 March. For more information visit ADSO Webinar – Civic Support – ADSO.
ADSO Awards Winners
A number of colleagues who were learners or shortlisted award winners at the 2020 ADSO Awards will be featuring in future newsletters. We haven’t forgotten about you but the newsletters have been packed in the last few weeks. We look forward to sharing some of these with you over the year. If anyone is interested in getting involved or in providing case studies on your career history please let me know Joanna.boaler@adso.gov.uk
Regional meetings
I am looking forward to attending the South East Regional Meeting on 24 February. For more information on this event or future events please visit the ADSO regions page or the calendar. I know that the East Midlands meeting that took place on Friday was well attended too. Our thanks to East Midland Councils for hosting the meeting.
School Appeals
Moving into March, for those of you involved in the planning of school appeals, the City of Wolverhampton Council is holding a forum for those who may be interested in sharing experiences and ideas. For anyone interested in finding out more or getting involved, please contact Trevor Salmon.
Carl Whistlecraft, Kirklees Council
We have been advised that Carl Whistlecraft from Kirklees Council is retiring this week. Kirklees Council as many of you will know has been a leading authority on democratic engagement for many years and Carl played a significant role in developing and implementing those progressive policies. This included the Kirklees Democracy Commission which deservedly received a special ADSO award a few years ago. Carl was also one of the organisers of the excellent Notwestminster Conference which we have been proud to sponsor for a number of years. We wish him well in his retirement and we hope that he will stay involved with ADSO in some way.
I will close now, as at the time of writing it is getting late and I have a busy day tomorrow, first up the er phoneme, followed by using a tens frame and at some point I need to also attend some election planning meetings, a meeting on the LGA Model Code of Conduct, a scrutiny committee and I have some interviews. The tens frame is a new one for me! Take care for those who have half term this week, I hope you get a rest from the juggling and I look forward to seeing some of you at the South East regional meeting soon.
Best wishes,
Joanna Boaler, Director of Communications