Weekly message from John Austin, ADSO Chair

Local Lockdowns
Many of us are now the subject of local restrictions of varying degrees. Are they necessary? Most people would probably say yes. Certainly I think it’s the case in my area of Merseyside where, to be frank, sections of the community have been acting as if Covid was a thing of the past. Is this the second wave or a continuation of the first? Your guess is as good as mine.  I think we just have to trust the advice and information we are getting from the Government. Put our trust in Boris? Now that’s something I never thought I would say!

This Weekly Bulletin
Thanks again to those of you who have responded to my post on the forum. We have received really good feedback. But it has been quality over quantity so far.  I would like more responses please. We will keep the thread open for a couple more weeks and then consider all the comments received. So if you haven’t responded please take the time to do so. Your views are valued and will be considered.

We have already taken on board comments about the length of the legal update that we purchase from Lawyers in Local Government. The general view is that the update is helpful but too bulky. I have gone through this week’s edition and have subjectively deleted many of the entries which I feel may be of little or no interest to DSOs. Please take a look and see if it’s better from your point of view. Let me have your comments on the forum thread.

Extension of Remote Meeting Regulations
You will be aware that ADSO has been working with the LGA and other partner organisations to lobby Government to extend the remote meeting regulations beyond May 2020.  Joanna Boaler and I attended a meeting with the above on Friday 2 October to discuss the draft letter to go to the relevant Secretary of States. Given the current situation with Covid and the local lockdowns referred to above, we all agreed that the Government is likely to be more amenable to at least extending the regulations beyond May. Nonetheless the lobbying letter will be sent, arguing the case for Councils to have the flexibility to hold remote meetings on more of a permanent basis according to local needs and preferences. We accept in the letter that face to face meetings are more appropriate in certain cases once circumstances allow. We also raised the issue of School Admission Appeals and the earlier expiration of the regulations on 31 January. We emphasised the urgency of agreeing an extension. The LGA accepted this point and undertook to raise it with the Government through their Childrens’ Services colleges. We will keep you posted.

Electoral Administration Bulletin
Those of you involved in the elections in 2021 may find the following link to the Electoral Administration Bulletin of 30 September useful:

 ADSO AGM and Awards Ceremony
Now, here are two important events for your diary. Firstly, the Association’s Annual General Meeting, will take place at 5.00pm on Thursday 26^th November followed at 5.30pm on the same evening by the much-anticipated 2020 Awards Ceremony, where we will find out who has won the Learner of the Year, Rookie of the Year and Team of the Year Awards as well as celebrating with our 2020 certificate and diploma achievers. Both the AGM and the Awards ceremony will take place on Zoom and we will be sending out invites to all Members in due course.

Members’ Forum
Susan Biddle as Director of Training has recently posted on the forum to seek views about a possible ‘Introduction to Democratic Services and the Officer Role’ training course or webinar. We have received a couple of helpful comments already but other views would be welcome.

There is also a post in relation to the public attendance at remote meetings. Please take a look at that and respond. The LGA has asked us to collate that information from our members to support the lobbying of the Government regarding the continuation of remote meetings beyond May 2021. So it is important that we provide good evidence.

John Austin,  ADSO Chair