Judging from my ADSO email in-box, it seems a bit quieter this week leading up to Easter. I hope that’s because many of you are having a well-earned break from work. When I began writing this, the sun was shining here in the North West but sadly it didn’t last long. What a difference it made for two days when you could open your windows and doors and enjoy the warmer temperatures – and paint the garden fence as John Lynch and I have been doing this week – different fences about 250 miles apart I should add. But we are back to normal as the temperature has dropped, although the biggest bee I’ve ever seen has been flying around my kitchen sounding like a helicopter!
Regional Meetings
I have attended a number of regional meetings recently and it’s great to see the increasing numbers of people attending – some for the first time. We also have our highest number of regional representatives supporting you in your areas and my thanks to them for all their work.
Remote Meetings – High Court Proceedings
Clearly our focus at the moment is on the remote meetings court proceedings. There is much we would like to say about the Government’s position as articulated in the Minister’s recent letter to Leaders, but as Peter Sass said last week, we have to be careful given the court hearing. I can now say that this will take place on 21 April. I am advised that it’s highly unlikely that we will know the outcome on the day itself but hopefully (given the looming deadline) it will follow shortly afterwards. I feel we have a very good case and we are supported by both the Local Government Association and the National Association of Local Councils who combined are representative of local government across all tiers. You never know with court hearings, but rest assured that we will give it everything we’ve got. Thanks again for all your messages of appreciation and support. It means a lot.
letter to Council Leaders from Luke Hall
extension: pdf
The letter above from Luke Hall MP, Minister of State for Regional Growth and Local Government, to Leaders announced a call for evidence on the use of the current arrangements and to gather views on the question of whether there should be permanent arrangements and if so, for which meetings. Please read this letter and encourage your authorities to respond, supporting the need for remote meetings to continue as an option for Councils going forward. If the ADSO/LLG proceedings fail, it is so important that the Minister sees a united local government on this issue.
ADSO Awards
Peter also flagged up last week the survey we are currently undertaking into this year’s awards. Before we make a final decision as to their frequency and format, we want to hear your views. As he said, feedback from all of the regions is vital before we make such a decision and whilst we’ve received some feedback already, we want to hear more. If you’d like to submit views about the future for our awards, please complete this short survey: https://forms.gle/jFXiH8REyQsCZnGX7 by no later than Friday 9th April. It’s important that you have your say.
Training
Please note the dates for the ADSO interactive, virtual training course ‘Law and Practice of Local Government’. The course will be delivered as two workshops held virtually on the dates below . Delegates will be required to attend both dates.
Part 1 – 25 May 2021
Part 2 – 28 May 2021
This course is aimed at Democratic Services Officers who wish to develop their understanding of the legal framework within which councils operate and the practical application of this to the range of work areas undertaken by democratic services teams. The course content will be relevant both to those who are relatively new to democratic services and officers with a few years’ experience. The content is also linked to the Law and Practice module of the ADSO Certificate so it will help learners with their research for this module. See the ADSO website (Training) to book your place.
ADSO Forum
As always, there are some interesting posts on the forum this week. These include:
- Plan B for remote meetings post 6 May 2021
- Meetings in person before 17 May
- Members Access to Information about residents
- By election in May
- New DSO Induction Plan
IIMC Elections – Regional XI Director
You should have received voting papers for the above election. If you haven’t voted already, please do so. Through the hard work of ADSO and the Regional XI Directors, IIMC is more relevant than ever and is opening up opportunities internationally that we didn’t have before. We are able to share experiences and knowledge with like-minded local government colleagues throughout many parts of the world including North America, South Africa and Europe.
Have a good week everyone.
John Austin, Chair