Weekly message from Peter Sass, Vice-Chair

So, July has arrived. Those colleagues with elections this year have done their Annual Meetings, re-calculated proportionality, appointed new Mayors, Chairmen, Committees etc, inducted new Members and, no doubt, are supporting brand new Members to navigate their way through their first few formal meetings. In addition to that, all of us have been getting to grips with the return to ‘in-person’ meetings and the challenges that brings. Hang in there, colleagues. Hopefully it’s not too long now for you all to take a well-deserved break from all of this, rest and recuperate.

ADSO Awards
Nominations close on 30th July for this year’s awards: ADSO Awards 2021 – ADSO

Get those nominations in and let’s all celebrate the huge talent we have in our sector.

LLG webinar on the return to physical meetings
Our chair, John Austin, took part in the LLG webinar on the return to physical meetings last week. The star billing was the chair of the LGA, Cllr James Jamieson and John took the opportunity to offer his firm views about the MHCLG. It’s a good watch, here’s the link: https://www.adso.co.uk/adso-training/webinar-programme/

Lawyers in Local Government (LLG) awards 2021
We are delighted to let you know that the Democratic Services team in Dudley Council are finalists in the Democratic Functions and Governance category for the LLG Awards 2021. It is unusual for a Democratic Services team to be shortlisted for these awards, which are primarily aimed at local government legal teams.

Dudley – many congratulations. We’re right behind you and will be cheering you on at the ceremony on 16th July. Good luck from all of us.

https://www.lawyersinlocalgovernment.org.uk/news_articles/llg-awards-2021-finalists-announced

ADSO Qualifications Manager
At the ADSO Board meeting on 2nd July, we agreed to invite expressions of interest to take over from Sue Keogh as the Qualifications Manager. This is a remunerated position and aimed at colleagues who have either completed one of ADSO’s qualifications or been an assessor (preferably both).

After over 10 years of leading on our two professional qualifications, Sue Keogh has decided to step down from the role of Qualifications Manager. We are sorry to lose Sue and we thank her for everything she has done for ADSO since we began. This however presents an exciting opportunity for somebody else to take over and develop our qualifications moving forward. There are many changes happening in the world of local government and it’s important that the content of both the Certificate and the Diploma keep up with those developments and for them to be linked closely to our training programme. The Qualifications Manager will have full access to and support from the ADSO Board and will work closely with South-West Councils who administer the qualifications. The position receives an annual allowance of £2,000 paid quarterly. Appointment to the position will be by application and interview. If you are interested, please contact John Austin in the first instance: john.austin@adso.co.uk

Equality and Diversity
The Board’s approach to promoting equality and diversity was also discussed at the Board meeting in July. The Board agreed to seek external training for board members and good progress is being made on a policy statement and accompanying action plan, which will ensure that equality and diversity continues to be at the heart of everything we do.

ADSO conference 2021
At the Board meeting on 2 July, we received an update from our Finance Director, John Lynch, on the preparations for this year’s annual conference, which will take place as two virtual half-day sessions on 25th and 26th November. The programme is really coming together well and further details and booking instructions will be on the website soon.

Peter Sass, Vice-Chair

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