Weekly update from John Lynch, Director of Finance

I attended the SE Regional meeting today and it was good to catch up with colleagues and there was a useful exchange of information.  The session followed a Modern Gov User Group to make best use of peoples time. Given the large area the region covered it was felt that it would work better and enable easier attendance if it was split in two, with one are covering Surrey, Hampshire and Buckinghamshire and the other area covering Kent and Sussex.  My thanks to Kent CC for hosting the meeting.

I’m pleased to say we have appointed Dr Colin Copus from De Montfort University, as a non-executive Director on the ADSO Board. His academic interests are central-local relationships and the constitutional status of local government, localism, local party politics, local political leadership and the changing role of the councillor. Colin has worked closely with policy makers and practitioners in central and local government. He was an advisor to the Political and Constitutional Reform Committee and recently chaired the Councillors’ Commission and well as publishing widely in academic journals.  He will add real value in terms of Board support, increased contacts and bringing in new ideas, plus we will benefit from his experience and influence as well as providing a creative contribution to our work through independent oversight and constructive challenge.

We also had Mike Bridges from the Cabinet Office attend our Board to discuss the project on Democratic Engagement. They are keen to work with ADSO along with the AEA and other interested parties and I attached further details of the project, workshops they are running and information they have available for authorities to tap into.

ADSO DIPLOMA

The next cohort of Diploma learners is due to start in October and there are still a few places left. The programme starts w/c 7th October and concludes in October 2021 – full details of the timetable, structure of the qualification and prices can be found on the ADSO website: https://www.adso.co.uk/adso-training/diploma-in-local-democracy/

If you would like to register your interest in the qualification, please email Sue Crosland at SW Councils: sue.crosland@swcouncils.gov.uk with the following information:
Name, job title and Authority, contact telephone number and email address, reasons for wanting to undertake the qualification and a CV providing an overview of experience in Democratic Services. We will take expressions of interest on a first come, first served basis as places are limited due to Assessor capacity.

Don’t forget to book onto our National Conference on 21^st and 22^nd November which is being held in Bristol this year. Book before 1^st September to get the early bird rate.  See link for programme and booking https://www.adso.co.uk/annual-conference-2019/