Hi everyone and best wishes for midsummer, I hope you are enjoying the sun but wearing the sunscreen/hat. I have a number of different things to tell you about this week so let’s start with the good news.
Good News
We are delighted to announce that James McLaughlin (Director of Corporate Services at Derbyshire Dales District Council) has been appointed Assistant Chief Executive at Sandwell Metropolitan Borough Council. James overcame a strong field and a very challenging recruitment process to be offered the position and many congratulations to him. He is a long standing ADSO member, and it is great to see colleagues with democratic services backgrounds reaching such important positions within local authorities. James is a great role model and we hope that his success will inspire others.
At ADSO we have been having a number of discussions about how our more senior and experienced members can move beyond Governance into senior roles so this announcement feels timely. It’s something we will be touching on at the conference this year as we think about how we can craft a training offer that supports development for senior ADSO members – wherever they see themselves heading in career terms.
Changes to Building Safety Rules
We were approached recently by LABC, the membership officer for local authority building control teams about the way The Building Safety Act is changing the way Building Control works in both England and Wales. New Operational Standards Rules and the Building Inspector Competence Framework will have implications for local authority building control teams and the LABC came to us with an offer they wanted us to send to you.
We are quite picky about what we send to you from other bodies but this seemed useful either for you to pass on or for member training if you are involved in organising that.
LABC has created a document (https://publuu.com/flip-book/7672/400844) outlining the top 10 things you need to know and is also offering FREE information sessions for local authority senior leaders and new/existing elected members to provide further insight into the building control system and the changes and implications on your local authority of the Building Safety Act.
Contact LABC to book your session (execteam@labc.co.uk)
Upcoming new training
We are in the last stages of development of a new course for our National Programme. This is an Introduction to Health Governance and is aimed at Democratic Services Officers working with Health Scrutiny and keen to know more about how NHS Governance works, those interested to explore a career in the NHS or existing NHS staff at Band 5-8.
The course is designed to help you understand the key questions, drivers and decisions driving health service governance aiding working together. It will also demonstrate how your local authority governance skills can be applied in another setting to aid career development.
The workshops will provide an overview of NHS governance including:
- Its structure and functions
- The law and guidance that surrounds it
- How leadership and culture are vital to its success
- The roles and responsibilities of an NHS board
- The difference (and similarities) between the NHS and local government
The virtual workshops will be led by two experienced NHS governance professionals and former Democratic Services Managers in local government:
- John Thorpe, Foundation Trust Secretary at Chesterfield Royal Hospital NHS Foundation Trust and formerly Democratic Services Manager at Leicester City Council.
- Matthew Kane, Associate Director of Corporate Affairs at Sheffield Children’s NHS Foundation Trust and formerly Governance Manager/Deputy Monitoring Officer at two district councils in north Derbyshire.
Keep an eye on our website and these newsletters for information when we have agreed a delivery date.
In the forum – what’s being discussed
I was fascinated to see an emerging discussion on Good Practice in the members forum when I logged in this morning. Quite lively! Do join in if you have something to share with Roslyn who posted it https://www.adso.co.uk/forums/topic/good-practice/
Kara has posted asking for views on setting up an internal councillor training programme. Some good advice already being shared so again, join the discussion if you have something to offer. https://www.adso.co.uk/forums/topic/councillor-training-programmes-2/
Enjoy the midsummer sunshine.
Susan Biddle, ADSO Director of Training