Day 1: Monday 25 November
Plenaries
The role of a Combined Authority Mayor and the importance of governance and relationships across the constituent authorities
Richard Parker, Mayor of the West Midlands 
Richard is the recently elected Labour and Co-operative Mayor of the West Midlands and Chair of the West Midlands Combined Authority. He previously provided strategy, policy and governance advice to the public and private sector. As a Partner at PwC he helped broker the deal, working with Council Leaders, that led to the creation of the West Midlands Combined Authority in 2016. He remains passionate about devolution and is currently working on policy interventions that will improve opportunity, fairness, diversity and inclusion across the West Midlands.
Artificial Intelligence and Assistive Technology to improve outcomes for All
Nadira Hussain, Chief Executive, Socitm (Society for Innovation, Technology and Modernisation)
An established ICT and change management leader, NED and coach with 30 years’ experience, Nadira has worked primarily in local government; leading the ICT and digital service, managing wider teams including business improvement, transformation and customer services. Nadira has implemented numerous complex change programmes across shared services to deliver new operating models, efficiencies and service improvement.
At Socitm, Nadira is keen to support members shape and deliver effective public services through improved use and adoption of technologies, data and digital solutions & practices. Her key motivation is to improve outcomes for people and communities in places.
Her wider responsibilities include director for Federation for Informatics Professionals (FEDIP) advisory board, board member for the Institute of Government and Public Policy (IGPP), board member for the Solace in Business (SiB) Board.
Her voluntary and charitable work include; steering group member for the Shuri Network, the Solace EDI forum and Diversity in Local Government Leadership (DLGL) forum, co-founder and co-chair of the Socitm/UKAuthority Women in Local Government ICT network and non-executive director for the #techmums board and Executive Committee member of the Major Cities of Europe (MCE) forum.
Sam Smith, Director, Socitm Institute
Sam is a former President of Socitm and now the Director of the Socitm Institute. In that role she leads the delivery of services including policy, research, data, learning & development, and benchmarking.
Before joining Socitm, Sam spent 27 years in local government IT & Digital Services culminating in Service Director for a shared IT service working across two Councils in the East of England.
Managing shared services of different types and sizes has been a feature of her professional life and has given her an incredibly rich view of local government in England.
Throughout her career she has been keen to share experiences and collaborate across the public sector. Socitm has given her the opportunity to do this at regional and national levels
Matthew Turnbull, Democratic & Electoral Services Apprentice, Dorset Council
Over the past year at his local council, Matthew has actively participated in both local and general elections, gaining valuable insights into the electoral process. Driven by a passion for efficiency, he has been exploring how AI can optimize democratic processes and elections. By leveraging automation, Matthew believes we can significantly enhance team efficiency and reduce strain on valuable resources.
Workshops
Workshop 1:
Mary Austin, Mary Austin Associates and AFTA Thought Training Consultants
Mary is the founder and Managing Director of Mary Austin Associates and AFTA Thought Training Consultants. She has over 35 years’ experience of designing and delivering training within the public and private sector.
Mary’s passion as a trainer lies in creating training that connects minds and hearts and challenges and changes attitudes and behaviours. She believes that effective training must also have meaning and direct relevance to participants ‘lived experience’ and must make a positive difference to the way we view and interact within our day to day lives.
Mary has worked with colleagues within Democratic Services in a number of authorities to design Equality, Diversity and Inclusion training to councillors and officers that is true to life, meaningful and directly relevant to our role.
Workshop 2: LLG, CIPFA and Solace Code of Practice on Good Governance for Local Authority Statutory Officers
Philip McCourt, Legal Director, Bevan Brittan LLP
Philip specialises in local government corporate law and decision making. Having joined a local authority as a shared district and county sponsored trainee in 1988, he qualified first as a chartered secretary and then a solicitor. He has since worked for a number of authorities, first becoming a monitoring officer in 2000. He joined Bevan Brittan LLP in 2022.
Philip has led the drafting on a number of national projects on governance and standards, including:
- the LLG, CIPFA and Solace Code of Practice on Good Governance for Local Authority Statutory Officers;
- model Members’ Planning Code (described by the Supreme Court as offering sound practical advice);
- the LLG example Code for the Governance of Council Interests in Companies;
- materials and training products that made up the LGA (IDeA) Ethical Governance Toolkit; and
- the parish council governance toolkit.
He is the current author of Knowles on Local Authority Meetings, is a contributor and editor for LexisNexis and is an examiner for the Law Society’s Local Government Diploma.
Workshop 3: Out of Control?
Charlotte Cameron, Senior Democratic Services Officer, Peterborough City Council
Charlotte is currently a Senior Democratic Services Officer and has experience of working in various governance related roles, having held posts in Parliament, Lawyers in Local Government and currently, Democratic Services. She has worked in a local authority with no overall control for almost 3 years which has seen three administrations in a 12-month period.
Charlotte has assisted with the delivery and implementation of a governance review at her authority and is part of the team the supports the Centre for Governance and Scrutiny’s County and Unitary Officers network.
Helen Mitchell, Senior Governance Consultant for the Centre for Governance and Scrutiny
Helen has spent the last 16 years in a range of governance, policy, strategy and change related roles across Local Government, the NHS and the Civil Service. Her most recent roles are as Senior Governance Consultant for the Centre for Governance and Scrutiny, working alongside Councils such as the Greater Manchester Combined Authority, Salford, Thurrock and Teignbridge to strengthen their governance arrangements and as Director and Monitoring Officer at Derbyshire Dales DC.
Helen is also Vice Chair of the Board of Trustees for Twycross Zoo – a growing and inspirational conservation charity on the Leicestershire / Warwickshire border.
Workshop 4: Professional Development Planning for Senior DSOs
Susan Biddle is ADSO’s Director of Training. Susan has been on the Board at ADSO for 5 years and has spearheaded the conversion of the National Training Programme to online delivery. This year she has been focusing especially on developing proposals for a Senior DSO Programme.
Susan has well over 30 years’ experience as a Training and Organisation Development Consultant, Coach and Mentor and has worked at local and national level for Local Government as well as freelance.
Day 2: Tuesday 26 November
Q&A Panel:
Chair: Peter Stanyon, Chief Executive, Association of Electoral Administrators (AEA)
Peter is Chief Executive of the Association of Electoral Administrators. Alongside his daily responsibilities, he works as an examiner for the Association and is an accredited trainer.
He previously worked for two London Boroughs (including alongside John Austin for too many years to mention!) and two district councils. He was also seconded to the Electoral Commission on two separate occasions to advise on guidance and law.
In addition to managing the electoral process, he has been responsible for the delivery of Democratic Services, Overview and Scrutiny, Mayoralty, Political Group Offices and Births, Deaths and Marriages. He was formerly a member of ADSO. He is a strong advocate of those who deliver democratic services, whether in electing individuals to public office or ensuring good governance of the decision-making process.
X: @AEA_Elections
Panel members:
Helen Bennett, Executive Director of Policy & Governance, Lawyers in Local Government (LLG)
Helen is the Executive Director of Policy & Governance at LLG. With extensive experience as a lawyer in local government, she has first-hand knowledge of legal best practice.
She is responsible for the delivery of the highest quality outcomes, ensuring LLG has influence, adapting focus with trends; driving for change externally to deliver real, tangible value to the membership. She helps LLG deliver positive change for the good of its members and the communities they serve, influences policy development, process change, and guidance on best practice on an organisational, sector and national scale.
Charlotte Eisenhart, ADSO Chief Executive Officer
Charlotte Eisenhart is Chief Executive at the Association of Democratic Services Officers. Her previous roles include being Head of Member Services at the National Association of Local Councils, Head of Engagement at the Royal Society for the Encouragement of Arts, Manufactures and Commerce, and Adviser at the Local Government Association.
Throughout her career she has been passionate about supporting people’s efforts to make change in their communities, whether through leadership development programmes for councillors, national initiatives for parish councils, or engaging people in social change work. She is also a trustee at the perinatal mental health charity PANDAS.
Dr Thom Oliver, Senior Lecturer, University of the West of England (UWE)
Dr Thom Oliver is a Senior Lecturer in Politics at the University of the West of England, Bristol (UWE Bristol), with expertise in democratic governance, political theory, and public administration. With over 15 years of academic experience, his research explores the intersection of democracy, political representation, leadership, and policy development.
Thom serves as the principal investigator for the Qualitative Election Study of Britain, a long-running analysis of voter attitudes and electoral participation since 2007. He also co-leads the Bristol Civic Leadership Project, examining the evolving governance of Bristol, and is actively engaged in a cross-European study on the role of councillors.
A frequent commentator on local democracy for media outlets at the local, national, and international levels, Thom has published extensively on elections, city leadership, party politics, and elected mayors.
X: Dr Thom Oliver (@Thomoli) / X
LinkedIn: Dr Thom Oliver – LinkedIn
Councillor Keith Stevens, Chair, National Association of Local Councils (NALC)
Cllr Stevens was elected chair of the National Association of Local Councils (NALC) in 2021. He is also currently the chair of Wartling Parish Council in East Sussex and the East Sussex Community Voice. He was previously chair of the East Sussex Association of Local Councils.
Before entering public service, he was a private banker for 32 years with Coutts & Co, specialising in taxation and medical finance. He was also a non-executive director of the Royal National Throat, Nose and Ear Hospital.
Workshops
Workshop 5: Working in a Modern Democracy
Carl Whistlecraft, ADSO Non-Executive Director
Carl has over thirty years’ experience of working in local government. At Kirklees Council he worked in senior roles with a focus on strategic policy development, governance, citizen engagement and place-based working. He has extensive experience of working with councillors across the political spectrum, and in a variety of roles and responsibilities. Particular achievements include strategically developing and leading the Kirklees Councillor Development Programme (winner of the Municipal Journal Awards) and leading on the nationally acclaimed Kirklees Democracy Commission.
Carl retains his passion and belief in local democracy as demonstrated by his role in establishing Notwestminster, a national network where people can share ideas for improving local democracy.
Diane Sims, ADSO Director of Communications
Diane is a strong advocate for local democracy who has worked in local government for over 20 years. Her work at Kirklees Council has focussed on democratic innovation and citizen engagement.
Diane had a significant role in the landmark Kirklees Democracy Commission (ADSO special award winner for outstanding work promoting local democracy). She has led on the development of Shaped by People, working with citizens to create a shared strategic goal for active citizenship in Kirklees. She is also proud to have developed the pioneering Democracy Friendly Schools programme (a Democracy Pioneers Award Winner), which helps young citizens to learn about – and be actively involved in – local democracy and civic life.
Diane is co-founder of the Notwestminster network, creating connections between people who are working to improve our democracy. She is also a member of the UK Democracy Network Steering Group. Diane became an ADSO Director in February 2024.
Workshop 6: Public Abuse and Intimidation of Members and Officers: A Strategy for DSOs
Professor Colin Copus, Emeritus Professor of local politics at the Department of Politics and Public Policy, De Montfort University, Visiting Professor at the University of Ghent and ADSO Non-Executive Director
Colin Copus is an Emeritus Professor of local politics at the Department of Politics and Public Policy, De Montfort University and a Visiting Professor at the University of Ghent. His academic interests are central-local relationships and the constitutional status of local government, devolution, 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 academic advisor to the Political and the Constitutional Reform Committee and the Communities and Local Government Committee on its inquiry into the role of the councillor and he is currently the academic advisor to two All Party Parliamentary Groups. He is a member of the Council of Europe’s group of experts on the Charter of Local Self Government.
He has published widely in academic journals and his most recent publications include: In Defence of Councillors, Manchester University Press; Local Government in England: Centralisation, Autonomy and Control, Palgrave Macmillan, Basingstoke; A Manifesto for Councillors, published by the Local Government Information Unit, and, with colleague Steve Leach, The Strange Demise of the Local in Local Government, Palgrave Macmillan (2023).
Colin was the editor Local Government Studies 2001 to 2013 and has also served as a councillor on a London Borough council, a county and a district council and three parish councils.
Workshop 7: Fit for the future? Rethinking scrutiny and scrutiny support
Dave Mckenna, Independent Scrutiny Consultant
Dave is a dedicated scrutiny practitioner providing external support for parliamentary and local government scrutiny including training and development sessions, workshops and independent reviews. He has ten years’ experience as manager of Swansea Council’s scrutiny team. Since 2017, he has worked as an independent consultant.
Dave has recently been working on the Councillors and Care research project looking at how councillors can help shape adult social care, as part of a team based at the Institute of Local Government Studies, University of Birmingham. He also recently contributed to the Local Government Association’s updated Local Leadership Framework for councillors.
Dave is an associate with the Centre for Governance and Scrutiny and, as a Tpas associate, Dave provides training, support and research for tenant scrutineers.
Blusesky: @drdavemckenna.bsky.social
Workshop 8: Present Tense: Renewing and Modernising Local Governance
Paul Dossett, Partner and Head of local government, Grant Thornton UK LLP
Paul is a CIPFA qualified accountant who started working in local government audit in 1986 and has been with Grant Thornton since 2007. He has worked with many local authorities over the past 38 years, including half of the London Boroughs and a number of county councils as well as unitary authorities. Paul has been Head of Local Government for the firm since 2011 and authored a number of articles on the sector and its financial challenges as well as the important of sound governance in local authorities.
Guy Clifton, Director, Grant Thornton UK LLP
A CIPFA qualified accountant and Fellow of the Institute who started his local government career in 1990, Guy joined Grant Thornton in 2007 where he has held a number of senior consulting, advisory and assurance roles, including four years as Head of Local Government Advisory. Before joining Grant Thornton, he was a Managing Consultant within RSM Robson Rhodes public sector advisory practice for 5 years. Prior to this he spent 12 years in local government holding a number of operational roles, including Head of Finance of a London Borough.
In 2022 he took up a new role as Local Government Value for Money Director, overseeing the company’s VfM audit work for over 180 local government and related body audit clients. He continues to lead on engagement with local government intermediary body relationships, such as SOLACE, CIPFA, CCN, Treasurer Societies and the LGA.
ADSO Conference 2024
ADSO Conference 2024
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