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Annual Report 2018
Liberal Democrat GroupLocal Government Association
2
3 A message from the Leader of the LGA Liberal Democrat Group
4 LGA Liberal Democrat Group Executive 2017-2019
6 Your Liberal Democrat LGA Board Representatives
7 The 2018 Election and the LGA’s Political Balance
REPORTS:
8 Children and Young People Board
9 LGA Liberal Democrat Group Whip
11 Community Wellbeing Board
12 Culture, Tourism and Sport Board
13 Environment, Economy, Housing & Transport Board
14 Improvement and Innovation Board
15 Resources Board
16 Safer and Stronger Communities Board
17 Fire Service Management Committee and Fire Commission
18 City Regions Board
19 People and Places Board
20 Liberal Democrat Retained Peers Report
22 District Councils Network Report
23 County Councils Network Report
24 Brexit Task and Finish Group
25 Business Rates Task and Finish Group
26 The LGA Liberal Democrat Group Office
LGA Liberal Democrat Group2018 Annual Report contents
Front page: In a dramatic swing, Liberal Democrats took control ofSouth Cambridgeshire District Council this year.
A message fromThe Leader of theLGA LiberalDemocrat Group
Welcome to your annual report. Our aim is to keepall Liberal Democrat councillors in touch with thework of the LGA Liberal Democrat Group over thepast year and to ensure you can see what your leadmembers have been doing on your behalf.
The last 12 months have just flown by and we havebeen working hard both within the LGA and theLiberal Democrats to ensure our voice is heard.
Work for the LGA corporatelyWe continue to input into areas including: Britain’sexit from the EU; Devolution and funding for localgovernment; Inclusive growth, jobs and housing;Children, education and schools; Adult social careand health; Supporting councils; and a single voicefor local government.
Specifically our input into Brexit, Grenfell, andStandards in Public Life has made a substantialimpact on the final position taken by the LGA.
Work with the Liberal Democrat familyWe continue to work closely and in a co-ordinatedway with ALDC. I have a fortnightly videoconference with the Chair of ALDC (Mayor DaveHodgson). The LGA Office also has a weeklyconference with ALDC along with regular informalcontact and information sharing.
We have a joint ALDC/LGA Local Government Offerat both Spring and Autumn Conferences and wealso sponsor the Group Leaders Day along withsupport for Kickstart campaigning and the CouncillorWeekend events.
I have regular senior level meetings across theparty, including Leader, President, LocalGovernment Spokespersons in both Houses ofParliament, Chief Executive, Head of Campaigning,and Chair of English Party among others.
In addition, I hosted an LGA lunch for the team inboth Houses of Parliament, as well as holding anumber of other meetings with many of ourcolleagues.
We have made repeated and continuingrepresentation about the General Data ProtectionRegulations (GDPR) and how the Party wasinterpreting those regulations and our concern aboutthe lack of advice to councillors and members.
(continued on Page 4)
Councillor Howard Sykes MBE -on behalf of the LGA LeadershipTeam:Councillor Ruth Dombey OBE,Councillor Heather Kidd,andCouncillor Alan Connett
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Work with the Liberal Democrat LGA teamYour Leadership Team (Howard Sykes, RuthDombey, Heather Kidd and Alan Connett) meetface-to-face at least six times a year.
More informal contact is on a weekly basis viaphone, email and video conferencing. Ourevents have included Group Leader’s Day,Councillors’ Weekend and the Kickstart jointoffer.
We were pleased to welcome Stephen LloydMP, Wera Hobhouse MP and (via phoneconferencing) Layla Moran MP to LGA LiberalDemocrat Executive meetings. Their help andsupport is greatly appreciated.
We have also continued to punch above ourweight corporately within the LGA. I have goodworking relations with the other Vice Chairs,Chair of LGA and its President, Lord Kerslake,who is our guest speaker at our LGAconference dinner this year.
We promote Liberal Democrat values within theLGA on our boards and panels; chairing: FireServices (until September 2017); then Culture,Tourism and Sport; playing a lead role in areaslike Community Well Being; Resources; andEnvironment, Economy, Housing and Transport.
We have promoted local government policywithin the Liberal Democrats e.g. Housingmotion; Social Care – helping secure the 2017manifesto commitment on extra funding forsocial care; echoing a key LGA call.
We have active involvement in policydevelopment in the Party. With LGA supportHeather Kidd and Lucy Nethsingha chairedpolicy reviews on Rural Affairs and Education,as does Tim Pickstone on Local Government.
ElectionsWe beat Labour in terms of net gains in the May2018 elections, winning 78 councillorscompared to their 77.
This is an excellent result and testament to allthe hard work of colleagues, including the teamin Southwark who won 3 seats in the electiondelayed from May due to local circumstances.
Contests, especially in the north, and elsewhere,were tough going for a number of colleagues upagainst Labour. However we had our best resultsfor 15 years.
We took control of five more councils (SouthCambridgeshire, Kingston, Richmond, ThreeRivers and Portsmouth) and have influence in anumber of other authorities. We kept majoritycontrol of Eastleigh, South Lakeland, Sutton,Watford and Cheltenham councils.
We also gained seats in areas like Sunderland,Liverpool, Barnsley, Hull and Manchester.Across the country we stood more candidatesthan previously, which the LGA ‘Be A Councillor’campaign was instrumental in helping usachieve.
The re-election of a new Liberal DemocratMayor in Watford is testimony to the excellentrecord of outgoing elected Mayor DorothyThornhill and the campaigning team.Congratulations to Peter Taylor who succeededDorothy as Mayor.
Conferences and eventsOur Peer Support Team is led by Alan Connettworking with Sarah Butikofer and Lisa Smartand supported by our Peer Pool. We havepublished good practice guides on Bedford andSocial Care, and held numerous fringe meetingsat Party conferences.
We continue to provide support for GroupLeaders, Council Leaders, new councillors, andcouncil Groups across the country as well asGroup researchers.
Local Government is represented on FederalPolicy Committee and Federal Board. We aretrying to have a more co-ordinated approach tothis, led by Chris White.
In summary, your Liberal Democrat Team at theLGA is working hard to support our councillorsand promote Liberal Democracy across localgovernment. Working together, let’s keepcampaigning. Thank you.
Councillor Howard Sykes MBELeader, LGA Liberal Democrat Group
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A message fromThe Leader of the LGA Liberal Democrat Group
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Other LGA Liberal Democrat Executivemembers from 2017 - 2019:Culture, Tourism & SportCouncillor Gerald Vernon-Jackson, [email protected]
Community WellbeingCouncillor Richard Kemp [email protected]
Children & Young PeopleCouncillor Lucy [email protected]
Environment, Economy,Housing and TransportCouncillor Adele [email protected]
Safer CommunitiesCouncillor Anita LowerNewcastle City [email protected]
ResourcesCouncillor Claire [email protected]
People & PlacesCouncillor Heather [email protected]
Fire (Chair)Councillor Keith AspdenYork City [email protected]
CitiesCouncillor Abi [email protected]
County Councils NetworkCouncillor Jon [email protected]
ALDC RepresentativeCouncillor Tim [email protected]
Improvement & InnovationMayor Dave [email protected]
Group Leader(and LGA Vice Chair)CouncillorHoward Sykes [email protected]
LGA Liberal Democrat Group Executiveand Leadership Team 2017 - 2019
Group WhipCouncillorAlan [email protected]
Elected in August 2017 for two years, the Liberal Democrat Group Executive represent the politicalleadership of Liberal Democrats in local government inside and outside the LGA Group. The Executiveconsists of the Leadership Team and the lead Liberal Democrat members of the LGA Group boards andpanels, along with the Liberal Democrat representative on each of the other bodies in the LGA. TheLeadership team is listed below.
Policy Co-ordinator andBrexit working group repCouncillor Chris WhiteSt [email protected]
FPC representativeCouncillor Paul [email protected]
Audit and District CouncilsNetworkCouncillor David [email protected]
Group ChairCouncillorHeather [email protected]
Deputy Group LeaderCouncillorRuth Dombey [email protected]
LGA Boards cover all areas of a local authority’s remit and provides guidance to the LGA as it representslocal government at Westminster and advises councils around the country. Reports from lead membersare further on in this Annual Report.
Children and Young PeopleLucy Nethsingha Cambridgeshire (Lead) [email protected] Cashman Knowsley [email protected] Coleman Cheltenham and Gloucs (Sub) [email protected] WellbeingRichard Kemp Liverpool (Lead) [email protected] Huddart* Newcastle [email protected] Rotchell Cornwall (Sub) [email protected] Tourism and SportGerald Vernon-Jackson Portsmouth (Lead) [email protected] Bell North Somerset [email protected] Hodson Sunderland City (Sub) [email protected] Economy Housing and TransportAdele Morris Southwark (Lead) [email protected] Thornton South Lakeland & Cumbria [email protected] Golton Leeds City (Sub) [email protected] and InnovationDave Hodgson Bedford (Lead) [email protected] Green Kingston Upon Thames [email protected] Beath BaNES (Sub) [email protected] Hudson Mendip (Lead) [email protected] Paynter Cornwall [email protected] Shaw Sefton (Sub) [email protected] CommunitiesAnita Lower Newcastle (Lead) [email protected] Hilton Gloucestershire [email protected] Romero BaNES (Sub) [email protected] RegionsAbi Bell Hull (Lead) [email protected] Crossley BaNES [email protected] Dowling Portsmouth (Sub) [email protected] and PlacesHeather Kidd Shropshire (Lead) [email protected] Osborne Lewes and East Sussex [email protected] Collins Cumbria (Sub) [email protected] ServicesKeith Aspden York (Lead) [email protected] Bray Hinckley & Bosworth/Leics (Sub) [email protected] Councils NetworkDavid Neighbour Hart [email protected] Councils NetworkJon Hubbard Wiltshire [email protected] Co-ordinator and LGA Brexit working group repChris White Hertfordshire and St Albans [email protected] repPaul Tilsley Birmingham [email protected] Properties Board and Audit leadDavid Neighbour Hart [email protected]
Who are the Liberal Democratmembers on LGA Boards?
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The 2018 Local Elections andthe LGA’s Political BalanceAs a cross-party membership organisation, the LGA’s governance isdetermined by the strength of its four political groups.Following the local elections each year, Plymouth University’s ElectionsCentre calculates the proportionality figures using a formula that takesaccount of the number of council seats held by each group and thepopulation and type of authority that they represent.Political Balance of the LGA at the time of calculation for 2017-18 was:CON 43.4% (-0.4%)LAB 38.8% (+0.6%)LIB DEM 9.7% (+0.3)IND 8.1% (- 0.6%)(Figures in brackets show change from previous year)
This has strengthened the LGA Liberal Democrat Group representation andagain means that no group has majority control of the LGA.
Seats won in 2018
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Liberal Democrats gained 78 seats this year, more than any other party(includes deferred election of 3 seats in Southwark).
We took outright control of 4 councils - South Cambridgeshire, Richmondupon Thames, Kingston upon Thames and Three Rivers.
We retained control of South Lakeland and Eastleigh and kept the directlyelected Mayor in Watford.
We also took minority control of Portsmouth City Council following thelocal elections.
Liberal Democrats celebrate taking control ofKingston upon Thames Council in May 2018
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Last year the CYP board focused on their “BrightFutures” report, which highlighted the £2 billionfunding gap in Children’s Social Care Services, andserious issues around young peoples mental health.Work has continued on drawing attention to theseissues during this year, with a focus on research intowhy different councils spend such varied amountson social care, and on raising awareness of thefunding crisis, and the huge increase in youngpeoples mental health problems. Many many thanksto Wera Hobhouse MP for sponsoring aparliamentary exhibition.
The board commissioned a report from Newton earlyin the year to try to establish the key reasons whythere is so little correlation between how muchcouncils spend on children’s social care, and theirOFSTED ratings. This is important because theresponse from government to the Bright Futures wasto suggest that some councils seem to get goodresults while spending very little, and why couldn’t allcouncils.
The Newton report is due to be published in time forthe LGA conference in July, but the key finding isthat much of the difference in how much councilsspend is due to deprivation levels, with councils inareas of high deprivation spending more.
This is not a surprise, but it is helpful to havereliable evidence to support this when talkingto government. It means it is not realistic toexpect all councils to be able to cut theirspending level to that of the lowest spendingcouncils.
There are obviously other factors, such ascosts in the area, and importantly differencesin what councils classify as “children’s socialcare spend”.
The Board has just started a new piece ofwork looking into how the system for SpecialEducational Needs and Disability is working.We are commissioning work in this field, whichis likely to focus on the impact of thefragmentation of the school system onprovision for children with SEND, and on theimpact on them of cuts to local governmentbudgets. I have also been working closelywith the Lib Dem parliamentary group on thisissue, and have developed a shortquestionnaire which we hope can be sent toschools. We are hoping to make this asignificant campaign area in the autumn.
The feed-back from a number of the groupsrepresenting children with SEND is that thesystem is failing them badly. The groups saythat the intentions behind the Children andFamilies Act 2014 were good, but that theimplementation in a situation of massivebudget cuts has been dreadful.
Finally it was good to get the new Lib Demeducation policy agreed at Spring Conferencein Southport. It is a vision for education I amvery proud of, and one I think we need to beworking to publicise. Layla Moran is likely tobe setting up a new Education Commission tothink even more radically about what a greateducation system would look like.
Children andYoung PeopleBoardCouncillor Lucy Nethsingha
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Support for CouncillorsThis is my first year as your Group Whip,having taken over the role from Howard Sykeswho was elected Group Leader.
During the year, I have assisted a number ofcouncillors struggling with complaints andreferrals to councils Standards Committees.This has been particularly so for colleagueswho are the sole Liberal Democrat on anauthority or in small groups.
Support has been given, whether advice, somedrafted responses, or simply a listening ear, tocolleagues dealing with the stress of acomplaint.
We have contributed to the LGA response tothe Government’s consultation on the nationalStandards system. We made many commentsand particularly highlighted the ‘inequity ofarms’ in which a council can retain externallegal support and advice, but a councillor is leftto fend for themselves.
Is the business being done?The improvement Howard reported last yearin colleagues submitting reports on time hasbeen maintained and I am grateful toeveryone for their focus and support. In afew cases, reports have been late with good
reason, and in others we have sought todevelop the content so it offers a widerpicture of Liberal Democrat activity andsupports campaigning.
Attendance has been good and Memberscan see a summary in this year’s AnnualReport. Any absence has been forunderstandable reasons, and we haveemphasised the importance of ensuringgood notice is given so substitutes are ableto attend.
Standing OrdersThe Group’s standing orders have beenreviewed again this year and amendmentssubmitted for approval. In summary, theproposed changes would permit temporaryamendments to ensure we are compliantwith regard to Party policy arising from theAlderdice and Morrisey reports, give greaterclarity about timescales and how vacancieson the Executive can be filled.They also include reference to theengagement of the County Council Networkand District Councils Network, which werenot previously mentioned.
General mattersWorking with the Head of the LiberalDemocrat Group Office and other GroupOfficers a small number of ad-hocappointments and recommendations havebeen made.
And finally, my thanks to everyone who hashelped make my first year as Group Whipless punishing that I had at first feared. It isappreciated. I also record special thanks tothe team in the Group Office, Terry Stacy,Rob Banks and Amy Haldane for their help,support and, at times, patience.
Whip’s Report
Councillor Alan Connett
Attendance and reports, 2017-18
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The LGA Lib Dem Group workwith ALDC all year round - forexample organising the “NextGeneration” and “Be aCouncillor” programmes.Photo: Next Generationparticipants meeting atCheltenham Borough Council
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As ever this year has proved to be a challenging onefor the NHS generally and especially for those twoparts of what is considered to be the Healthcontinuum which are administered by localgovernment, Public Health and Adult Social Care(ASC).
Much of our time in the past year has been spent inthese two areas but I have continually been makingpresentations at Conferences about the fact thatCouncils control the ‘Social Determinants of Health’.Put simply the huge cuts in our day to day servicessuch as management of parks, libraries, housing,transport and other services simply reduces mentaland physical health and increases burdens on theNHS itself.
Public Health will, by the end of this financial yearhave received a 20% real term cut in spendingwithin its ring-fenced allocations from centralgovernment. This has meant huge cutbacks inthings like obesity, smoking and teenage pregnancyprogrammes. We have continued to argue atmeetings with officials and Ministers that this is afalse economy with research showing that every £1
spent on health prevention work saves £15+elsewhere in the system. We suspect that theMinisters and DoH agree with us but areunable to shake the Treasury into long-termthinking.
We have produced our own booklet at the LibDem Spring Conference with loads of ideasabout how to provide better adult social carebut none of this can be done without moremoney in the system.
Lib Dems have been very clear about this withour proposals for a 1p income tax increase.The booklet is available on the LGA Lib Demwebsite. All over the Country councils areworking hard to ensure that the maximum canbe done to improve efficiency but this stillmeans that by the need of the 2019/20financial year we will be £2.2 billion short.
The Government seems to aware of this andwe anticipate a Green Paper on this sector inthe Summer (mind you we expected it lastsummer!) ASC does not just cover the elderly,it also includes young adults whose conditionsmean that they will need care for many yearswhen previously they would have died.
We have maintained good relationships withthe Parliamentary Party in particular withNorman Lamb in the Commons and BaronessJudith Jolly in the Lords. My thanks also to CllrDoreen Huddart who also serves on thecommittee and to Rob Banks who does somuch to assist our work inside and outside theLGA.
Community WellbeingBoard
Councillor Richard Kemp CBE
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It’s now nine months since I took over as Chairof the Culture, Tourism and Sport Board. I'vetried to run things a little differently and I hopethis has worked. I organised that at our firstmeeting the board members looked at whatareas of work we would prioritise.We chose three.
1. To look at where cultural led regeneration hadworked, and how other councils across thecountry had done projects so drive economicgrowth, so that these could be replicated in othercouncil areas.
The initial push had been to look at cities ofculture, but there are so few of them so itseemed more sensible to do work wherecouncils of all sizes and locations could findsomething useful to use. The proposal is tolaunch this report in Newcastle/Gateshead withthe Minister in the summer.
2. We are looking at how both industry sectorsand localities can survive Brexit. This isparticularly true of the visitor economy and theBoard is doing work on the skills agenda to
skill up people to take over the jobs which arecurrently done by EU nationals.
The Board is working closely with other LGABoards and with industry groups on this.
3. Finally the area of work where we have notgot as far is a workstream on extending thevisitor economy season in rural areas so thatthere are more permanent jobs, as seasonaljobs equals poverty.
We have also been looking at other areas ofwork including organising joint conferenceswith the Football Association and theCommonwealth War Graves Commission.
During the year I have moved one of theBoard meetings out of London, and we met inthe new Birmingham Library. We have alsorun the LGA Culture, Tourism and SportsConference in Hull and we are looking athaving a board meeting in Sheffield to againget away from London.
Culture, Tourismand Sport BoardCouncillor Gerald Vernon-Jackson
I took over as Liberal Democrat lead member in2017, and am joined on the board by PeterThornton. My thanks to my predecessor, KeithHouse, for all his work – particularly on housing,which continues to dominate our agenda.
At Autumn Conference I spoke about homelessness.This year the Government has introduced theHomelessness Reduction Act, which puts a duty oncouncils to help prevent people becoming homeless.
The LGA has continued to push the government tore-think Right to Buy and lifting the borrowing cap,and has continued with the Housing AdvisorsProgramme which helps councils find ways to getmore homes built. Across the LGA boards we havediscussed the tragic Grenfell Tower fire, which hasled to a significant and much needed review into thesafety of our buildings.
In November I spoke about air quality at twoparliamentary committees. We had success withDEFRA, who agreed the role out of the lane rentalscheme where utilities companies pay more to digup the busiest roads at peak times.
Another environmental issue on our agendathis year has been the impact on councils’waste services of China’s decision to restrictthe import of plastics and card from the UK.Alongside this has been a national mediafocus on reducing single use plastics,something we support as a party.
The board received a thought provokingpresentation on Future Transport. Peter isparticularly keen on exploring this further withthe party, as electric and autonomous vehiclesare definitely happening and we need to beplanning ahead so that our communities andour infrastructure are ready for it.
I co-wrote the Lib Dem local governmentgroup’s response to the revised PlanningPolicy Framework (NPPF) outlining ourconcerns, including: the focus on numbersrather than appropriateness or quality ofhomes built; decision making processes andclimate change. The Environment, Economy,Housing and Transport board heard fromOliver Letwin MP, who is conducting a reviewinto why housebuilding stalls after planningpermission is granted. We have queried whythe NPPF still says councils will be punishedfor not delivering their required housingnumbers, when his interim report shows it isn’tcouncils holding up the process. I havecontinued on the board of the PlanningAdvisory Service, which is working withreduced funding whilst still delivering highquality planning training and advice forcouncillors and officers.
If you want to know more, please contact meon [email protected]
Environment, Economy,Housing and TransportBoardCouncillor Adele Morris
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The changing nature of Local Governmentsupports the importance of councils being giventhe help they need to innovate and improve theirperformance. The IIB recognises the need forthis help.
The Board offers improvement assistance andsets a strategic framework for LGA activitydesigned to help and support councils drivetheir own improvement and strengthen localaccountability and transparency.
The core building blocks of the work are:
Improvement – including peer challengeThis is the theme under which the vast majorityof LGA peer support and peer challenge work iscovered. Whilst most support offers will beuniversal, some councils will sometimes requiremore bespoke support.
LeadershipThe political leadership programmes providedirect support to improve the skills of councillorsand senior managers across local government.The programmes include Leadership Academy,Leadership Essentials, Next Generation and“Be a Councillor”, and have provideddevelopment opportunities to over 700councillors.
Efficiency & productivityThe programme provides a range of supportcovering, procurement, commercialism,financial advice and this year, work to raise theprofile of cyber security.
Accountability, transparency & sharing goodpracticeThis includes our work to support local transparency,promote open data standards and the on-goingdevelopment of LG Inform, the LGA’s on-linecomparative data and benchmarking service.
InnovationWork with Councils, the Design Council, BehaviouralInsights Unit and others to support innovation. Plusthe Innovation Zone at the LGA Annual Conference.The final end of year position on deliverables issummarised below (Source: MoU 2017/18):
Key highlights in performance include:
l Almost 800 councillors attended LGA leadership courses – a record number;l 115 peer challenges deliveredl Tailored peer support for 77 councilsl LG Inform - received its millionth hitl Provided financial advice to 40 councils through LGA Finance Advisersl Productivity experts deployed in 25 councils, helping them to save almost £40 millionl Agreement has been reached with Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government about this year’s (2018/19) Memorandum of Understanding with an agreed total grant of £20 million - a £1 million reduction on 2017/18.
Perception survey2017/18 was the sixth year that the LGA hasundertaken a perception survey. Overall results werepositive with respondents having a high level ofawareness. The issue of engaging frontlinecouncillors remains a challenge for the LGA and isaddressed in the action plan.The Sector-led improvement offer remains wellregarded, with an increase in the proportion whothink that a sector-led improvement approach is rightin the current context, and in the proportion sayingthat LGA improvement support has had a positiveimpact on their authority.
Improvement andInnovation BoardMayor Dave Hodgson MBE
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Total Green Amber Red
Deliverables 60 56 4 0
Adam Paynter (Cornwall), Simon Shaw (Sefton) andI have continued to actively engage in all aspects ofthe Resources Board.
Key themes from the Resources Board 2017-18
Workforce• New refreshed Workforce Strategy ‘Great People
for Growing Places’.• Changes to the local government pay spine.• Decision to implement the 2 year 2% pay increase,
when councils were expecting 1% caused someconcern.
• Sleeping-in payments continue to be an issue withthe LGA intervening in legal cases.
• Recent report on the gender pay gap in localgovernment.
Finance• The LGA submitted a response to the Fair Funding
Review.• Local Business Rates retention pilots underway –
government did overpay by some £38m in 2017/18and will not claw back but will be reviewingpayments for this, next year.
• New guidance on Local Governmentinvestment.
• The Local Government Mutual is movingahead.
• The LGA has published a report on thefunding gap in local government stretching to2024/25.
• Work on retention and recruitment of adultsocial care workers continues with a scopingexercise being undertaken to run a nationalrecruitment campaign.
EU Funding - key issues in 2017/18• There is still lack of clarity to funding post
Brexit.• Due to this there has been some caution in
giving out existing funds.
Welfare Reform• The board has been looking at the
cumulative effect of welfare reform.• The LGA has been very clear with
government that items cannot be consideredin isolation and housing and employmentsupport, as well as links to public health andfinancial inclusion need to be considered.
• Concerns about the significant increases indebt and arrears and the impact on supportfor vulnerable claimants.
• The need for an effective local safety net• Campaigning for Local Govenemnt to have a
substantial role in Housing Benefitadministration.
ResourcesBoard
Councillor Claire Hudson
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The Board adopted an ambitious work plan atthis time last year, in the wake of a spate ofterrorist attacks, which would have been morethan enough for the officer team to deliver.
The tragedy of Grenfell Tower, and thesubsequent need to put additional support intoMinistry of Housing Communities and LocalGovernment (MHCLG), and offer support toKensington & Chelsea, then placed significantadditional pressures on the team.
In the twelve months that followed, numerouspieces of work have been started in connectionwith Domestic Abuse, Counter Extremism,Modern Slavery, Violent Crime and recentlyKnife Crime has been added to the agenda.
The joint project with Barnardos to tackle FGMwas awarded funding for another 3 years whichwill allow the centre to continue to expand itswork. We have been successful in securing asession in the Innovation Zone at Conference.
We were disappointed that our work on Deathsby drowning was not put on the agenda forconference, as more people die from drowningevery year than from cycling accidents.
We have been looking at issues around BREXIT,including a visit to Port of London to see first-handimport restrictions and how they deal with them.
I have been involved with the All Party ParliamentaryGroup to look at the reduction of stakes for FixedOdds Betting Terminals (FOBTs), this has beensuccessful in securing a reduction in the stake from£100 to £2 and hopefully this will feed into improvingfamily life by reducing debt and related health issues.
There is a lot of discussion currently regardingsupported housing for victims of domestic violence, Irecently met with representatives from Number 10,Home Office, MHCLG, Department for Work andPensions, key second tier sector organisations, localgovernment representatives, representatives withfrontline experience. To discuss one model putforward by Woman’s Aid, the LGA will be consideringthis before we respond to the consultation.
There have been several conferences this yearincluding CTSI (Chartered Trading Standards Institute),CIEH (Chartered Institute of Environmental Health),Prevent, PCC association, Public Space Protectionorders to name a few.
The board continues to work well together. Newtopics coming forward are County Lines, Modern DaySlavery and Dangerous Dogs.
Safer and StrongerCommunities BoardCouncillor Anita Lower
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The past year has been very busy for the LGA FireServices Management Committee (FSMC) and theFire Commission. During the year we:
l Responded to the Grenfell Tower tragedy,including through the Hackitt Review. Thisincluded ensuring that the impact of therecommendations on fire and rescue serviceswere clear.
l Lobbied against Police and Crime Commis-sioners ‘taking over’ Fire and Rescue Author-ities, including supporting affected fireservices with professional advice.
l Baroness Kath Pinnock, as our new partyspokesperson for fire and rescue services,spoke at the LGA Fire Conference and hastabled parliamentary questions to governmentministers.
l Started occasional E-Bulletins on fire servicesissues, to be sent to our fire spokespeopleand fire authority members. If you would liketo receive a copy please send me a message.
l Published a new fire vision, which out-lines ‘What does the 21st Century fireand rescue service look like in 2025?’
A small group of us met in May 2018 withBaroness Pinnock and we have started to draftsome Liberal Democrat ideas and policies forFire and Rescue services, following the motionpassed at party conference last year on build-ing regulations. We will continue to work on thisas a fire services team in advance of the 2019LGA Fire Conference.
As we approach 2019, our priorities at the LGAwill focus on governance, transparency andstandards, workforce, collaboration, procure-ment and value for money, funding and GrenfellTower. I would welcome any input or questionson these priorities that councillors have.
I would like to thank all those that have beeninvolved with fire services issues, including allLib Dem members of the Fire Commission thisyear. In particular thanks goes to Cllr RogerPrice, our representative to the Firefighters’Pensions Board.
Fire Services
Councillor Keith Aspden
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The City Regions Board has met six times sincethe End of Term Report in June 2017 andcontinues to be chaired by Cllr Sir RichardLeese, the Labour Leader of Manchester CityCouncil.
My thanks go to Cllr Iain Roberts from StockportCity Council who stepped down as my Lib Demcolleague at the last group election. Welcomeand thanks to Cllr Paul Crossley from Bath andNorth East Somerset who now joins me on theCity Regions Board with Cllr Ben Dowling(Portsmouth) as our substitute.
The past year has had two distinct themes;fiscal devolution and the skills agenda.
On fiscal devolution we have focused onpushing the LGA to highlight possibilities offiscal devolution and ensuring the agendaproposes radical solutions.
The LGA has commissioned work on modellingand messaging around the subject and one ofthe challenges that we highlighted was thefocus groups on fiscal devolution could bedifficult as members of the public may not havean understanding of how local government is
currently financed and what it does and doesn’thave responsibility for.
We have also ensured that the LGA is mindful of theimpact Brexit will have on devolution and have beensuccessful in getting useful briefings produced.
With regards to the skills agenda the Board isextremely focussed on the responsibility and thefunding being devolved to local government.
Local government is best placed to link theeconomic needs of a place with the development ofthe skills agenda.
The Board has been developing evidenced basedarguments to support this.
Other work has included looking at ways to tacklehomelessness, city centre and high streetmanagement, gender representation in localgovernment and responding to the IndustrialStrategy.
City Regions Board
Councillor Abi Bell
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The Lib Dem group on the People and Places Boardnow have only 2 members since the 2017 elections.Cllr Sarah Osborne – Lewes – continues to work onrural transport issues especially around home toschool transport for 16-18 year olds.
She also represents us on the Rural DigitalConnectivity working group. We continue to makeour voices heard in a sea of blue but which has aremarkable amount of consensus.
We have reinstated meetings with our ruralrepresentatives in Parliament, Tim Farron MP andBaroness Cathy Bakewell. These meetings prior tothe Spring Conference concentrated on the RuralPolicy paper going to Conference.
I chaired the Rural Policy paper and it was adoptedat Conference. Other conclusions drawn from thatprocess was that the method of selecting membersof the working group was perhaps flawed?
Sarah and I are now concentrating on working withour Parliamentarians on issues hitting rural areasand on legislation going through Parliament.
Raising the LGA’s rural board profileI have posted Facebook adverts in Lib DemCampaigners but have received littlefeedback. This needs to be built on regularly.Each Board’s work needs to be highlighted toLib Dem Campaigners if the LGA is to berecognised and valued by our membership.
Major issues for the Board continue to be:
l Broadband and mobile phone signal
l Rural housing
l Brexit and its impact on the ruraleconomy.
l Food, farming and the Environment and a green rural Brexit.
l Shrinking rural transport
l Skills and employment
l The Industrial Strategy.
Major issues for your Lib Dem People andPlaces Board members is also raising thegroups profile and engaging with ruralCouncillors and Campaigners.
Heather
People andPlaces Board
Councillor Heather Kidd
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SummarySupport is available to Liberal Democrat councilgroups and Group Leaders, ranging from justtaken control and need some back-up, to anevent to look at a particular issue or futureplanning, along with general advice and toshare a problem with.
We have three members of the team: Cllr AlanConnett, National Lead Member Peer, (DevonCounty Council & Teignbridge District Council),and regional lead members Cllr Sarah Butikofer,Norfolk County Council & North Norfolk DistrictCouncil), and Cllr Lisa Smart (StockportMetropolitan Borough Council).
LGA leadership offerWe have been actively promoting the LGAHighlighting Leadership offer such as theLeadership Academy and LeadershipEssentials. These programmes, many of themfree to book, are excellent ways to keep up todate with ‘lessons to be learned’ that can helpcouncils, whether we are in control oropposition.
Support for ALDC & Party ConferenceWe work closely with ALDC, supportingbespoke training and other events forcouncillors and groups across the country.
The team, along with LGA Group Leader HowardSykes, have also led formal training sessions atParty conference and the popular Kickstartprogrammes organised by ALDC.
Member Peer PoolWe are looking to increase the number of LiberalDemocrat Member Peers, who undertakeassignments supporting council groups, or workingwith LGA officers on particular programmes.Interest would be particularly helpful from women,young councillors and councillors with goodexperience in planning, adult and children’sservices, finance and housing. If you would like toknow more, contact Cllr Alan Connett([email protected]) or Amy Haldane, in theLGA Liberal Democrat office([email protected]).
We are also asking existing Member Peers toupdate their profiles. Up to date profiles help ensurewe can direct work to the most appropriatecolleagues!LGA Improvement & Innovation BoardOur lead members on this Board are Mayor DaveHodgson (Bedford) and Cllr Liz Green (Kingtonupon Thames). Cllr Connett attends as an observerand also attends the Performance Support Panel.
Co-ordinating our workAlan, Sarah and Lisa co-ordinate their work throughscheduled telephone meetings, and additionallyliaise with ALDC and especially its regional supportstaff. Alan is also a member of the ALDCManagement Committee which has helped tomaintain the connections.
Contact details:Cllr Alan ConnettE: [email protected]: 0784 301 3705
Cllr Sarah ButikoferE: [email protected]: 07968 897235
Cllr Lisa SmartE: [email protected]: 07803 892025
Lib Dem RetainedPeers ReportCouncillor Alan Connett
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Support to Councils/GroupsNorth East LincolnshireWatfordKingstonRichmondCornwallHart DCCheltenhamStockportThree RiversMaidstoneYorkWorcestershire CCCornwallNorth NorfolkDerby CitySouth CambridgeshirePortsmouthMole ValleyTraffordColchester
Other Peer workSutton EqualitiesEastleigh Chairing SkillsCheltenham chairingGloucester City Corporate Peer ChallengeWalsall Chairing SkillsWatford CPCLeadership Academy facilitatorCornwall CPCMilton Keynes Scrutiny reviewNational Graduation Development ProgrammeNew Councillors event North WestSouth Somerset CPCHart District Council CPCGloucestershire CPC
Groups/Councils directly helped andsupported via Peer SupportDetails are in regular Executive reports, but include:
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From Calderdale (above) to Richmond (right), LiberalDemocrats won seats from both Labour and the Tories this year,and we retained the directly elected Mayor in Watford (below).
The District Councils Network has taken forwardmany initiatives over the last year including:
Launching the first report of the All PartyParliamentary Group for District Councils oncollaboration and devolution.
The report attracted the previous minister for localgovernment, Marcus Jones MP, as its champion andwas also the subject of an adjournment debatewhich further raised the profile of the importance ofdistrict councils in the current local governmentlandscape.
The DCN also hosted its National Conference on the8-9 February ‘Better Lives and Stronger Economies”that attracted over 200 attendees.
This high profile and successful two day eventfeatured the Secretary of State, Ministers, seniorgovernment directors and officials.
As a cross party organisation, all parties areincluded to speak on the conference programme,both leading Liberal Democrat members Cllr RicPallister and Cllr Paul Smith spoke at the 2018conference.
The DCN also launched the new ‘transformation inlocalities’ toolkit with Grant Thornton.
This unique piece of work was designed to help ourmembers understand collaborative opportunities andenable them to navigate their economic, health andlabour geographies effectively in order to inform trulylocalised service delivery and partnerships.
The member board played an instrumental role insteering this piece of work and had the opportunity
to put forward good practice from their localarea to feature in the publication.
The DCN has increased its parliamentaryengagement and has had some real lobbyingsuccesses, Cllr Pallister has represented theDCN at meetings with both MPs and Ministersand the previous leader of Colchester BoroughCouncil, Paul Smith gave evidence to anAPPG inquiry into district council financesearlier this year.
Examples of issues we have successfullyinfluenced include:
l Securing the ability for district councils to increase planning fees by 20%
l Additional £42 million Disabled Facilities Grant funding, which came directly to Districts.
l Pressed for a commitment to review negative RSG which affects three quarters of our members, the consultation is due imminently.
Note: Due to change in our grouprepresentation at the District CouncilsNetwork at the time of this report beingwritten, this update was submitted by theDCN office. Our thanks go to Councillor RicPallister and Paul Smith for their workrepresenting the Group. Since the reportwas written Cllr Dave Neighbour (Leader atHart DC) has been confirmed as our newlead member on the [email protected].
DistrictCouncilsNetwork
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The County Councils Network is the voice ofEngland’s 37 county authorities. A cross-partyorganisation, CCN develops policy,commissions research, and presents evidence-based solutions nationally on behalf of thelargest grouping of local authorities in England.
In total, the 27 county councils and 10 unitarycouncils that make up the CCN represent 26million residents, account for 41% of England’sGVA, and deliver high-quality services thatmatter the most to local communities.
The Liberal Democrats are represented on theCCN Council and Executive, led by Cllr JonHubbard from Wiltshire Council, who is also theLib Dem Vice-Chair of CCN.
CCN commissions and produces reports as akey strand of its advocacy and policy-makingwork, putting forward a strong evidence base toaddress the challenges and opportunities forcounties. Its ground-breaking study on localcare markets in county areas was highlyinfluential in leading to the postponement ofPart 2 of the Care Act, and paving the way forthe social care precept, reprioritisation of New
Homes Bonus, and the Government’s £2billionsocial care announcement in March.
Its County Devolution report helped change thenarrative, helping to secure the first devolutiondeals, whilst a recent CCN-commissionedreport on local government reorganisation hasbeen held up by Ministers as a strong piece ofwork that adds a lot of value and evidence toongoing structure debates.
Publications launched so far in 2018 includepapers on Home to School Transport, RuralBroadband Speeds and a special joint report byCCN and Grant Thornton titled Capitalising onthe Industrial Strategy. Copies of all the reportsfrom 2018 and previous years can be foundonline athttps://www.countycouncilsnetwork.org.uk/advocacy/publications-and-research.
The CCN year culminates each year with theCCN Conference. This year we saw speakersincluding the then Secretary for State, SajidJavid MP, the Shadow Secretary of State,Andrew Gwynne MP together scores of leadingfigures from across local government andindustry.
County CouncilsNetworkCllr Jon Hubbard
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BrexitThe Task and Finish Group of four members, plus ahost of officers and colleagues from Scotland andNorthern Ireland, continues to bat for localgovernment and communities on a number of fronts:l Providing a voice for local government: the
formal voice for local and regional governmentprovided by the Committee of the Regions is tobe lost as EU powers are centralised atWestminster and Whitehall. There has beensome progress in resolving this.
l Securing funding currently sourced from the EU:this is of critical importance to some regions,especially Cornwall, after 2020 when currentarrangements run out.
l Workforce: the loss of EU nationals is likely tohave a large impact on local governmentservices like social care as well as on certainindustrial sectors like agriculture.
It is difficult to be optimistic given that theGovernment has yet to finalise its own negotiatingposition and the impossibility of resolving the Irelandborder issue to the satisfaction of the EU withoutchanging the map of the UK. The possibility of a hardBrexit is real. Of particular concern to councillors andcampaigners is the fact that the Government has noidea what will happen to EU citizens currently on theelectoral register or EU nationals currently serving as
councillors. The Secretary of State fondlyimagines that these are issues that can bedealt with by bilateral agreements with 27 othercountries between now and May 2019.
Refugee and Migration Task GroupThis group meets intermittently, most recentlywith the new Immigration minister.The following concerns are constant:l Geographic concentrations of refugees
and migrants: 40 wards in Yorkshire take10% of the country’s asylum seekers
l The government’s ‘hostile environment’policy is damaging community cohesion
l The so-called ‘No Recourse to PublicFunds’ policy causes rough sleeping
l East and South East regions arestruggling to find properties in the rightprice range
l Tier 2 visas being turned down for peoplewho have jobs in the NHS or schools.
Currently we have had assurance that there isto be a review of funding streams and that theminister is talking to other departments.
Liaison with the Federal PartyI have been tasked with ensuring a co-ordinated approach between our reps onFederal Party bodies, working with ALDC.On policy-making:l Richard Kemp and I have challenged the
current way in which policy is made andin particular the way the manifesto is puttogether (basically an assembly ofexisting policy rather than a usablecampaigning document). Richard hasbeen especially active in persuadingparliamentarians and (seemingly) thehierarchy of the Federal PolicyCommittee of the possibility of change
l The LGA group will be taking the initiativeon producing material to fill gaps in policy(especially planning policy)
l ALDC and the LGA Group have workedtogether to produce motions andamendments – this was especiallynoticeable at the Spring Conference.
In other areas:l Various of us have raised concerns about
the lack of Federal Party guidance onGDPR (thankfully this has been lessalarming than it looked a year ago)
l Senior councillors participated in theselection of a new Party Chief Executive.
There remain concerns about how seriouslythe Federal Board will take the numerousconcerns about the 2017 General Electioncampaign raised by Gerald Vernon-Jackson inhis hard-hitting [email protected]
Brexit, Refugeesand party liasonCllr Chris White
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The original remit of the group has beenclarified to explicitly include the Fair FundingReview as well as increased Business RatesRetention.
This year the main focus of work has been onand around the Fair Funding ReviewGovernment Consultation. The consultationended in March and we await the governmentresponse.
The consultation proposes a high levelapproach to calculating “need” and “resources”that will then be fed into the process for retainedbusiness rates. The aim is to make the formulasimpler to understand, up to date and moretransparent.
The needs element is proposed to consist ofone foundation formula (based on population,deprivation and sparsity) coupled with specificformulas for Adult Social Care; Children’sServices; Highways Maintenance and PublicTransport; Waste Collection and Disposal; Fireand Rescue Services; and Historic SupportedCapital Borrowing.
I have pushed for some specific changes thathave fed into the LGA response, includingaround the needs of adults with learningdisabilities.
Other issues raised by the LGA includePopulation Density, non-HRA Housing Costsand Education functions.
Attention is now turning to examining the“resources” that will be taken into account.
This covers Council Tax equalisation but alsodiscussion on whether to include an authority’sability to raise funds through other income,fees and charges.
The LGA will shortly be releasing models thatwill allow authorities to test the impact ofdifferent scenarios for themselves.
Whilst there has so far been widespreadagreement on the broad approach of whatelements should be in the formula, the crunchpoint is approaching when the relativeweightings will need to be discussed. This iswhat will determine who the winners andlosers will be.
Business Rates Taskand Finsh GroupCllr Michael Headley
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The Liberal Democrat Group office provides direct support and advice to Liberal Democratcouncil groups and councillors whilst also acting as the day-to-day voice of the LiberalDemocrats within the LGA.
We currently have three full-time members of staff. Terry Stacy, the head of office, Rob Banksand Amy Haldane. They all have experience as Liberal Democrat Councillors.
We help the Group to achieve its political objectives within the LGA and the party, workingclosely with LGA officers, Liberal Democrat HQ, our parliamentarians in both the House ofCommons and House of Lords and with our colleagues at the Association of Liberal DemocratCouncillors with whom we organise joint events as well as sessions and fringes at both springand autumn party conferences.
In addition to supporting the LGA Liberal Democrat Group we are also the first port of call forLiberal Democrat councillors in relation to a variety of policy, governance or legal issues.
We do weekly joint emails with ALDC to all councillors and ALDC members on a range ofissues, news from the Liberal Democrats, local government news, good practice from councilgroups and councillors, highlight lobbying successes and details of events for councillors andcampaigners. We also use twitter to keep our followers up to date, follow us on@libdemlocalgov.
Terry - [email protected] - Head of the Group Office - Terry isresponsible for the operation of the LGA Liberal Democrat Group. He alsoprovides specific support on housing, welfare, fire and culture.020 7664 3295
Rob – [email protected] – Political Adviser – provides support for:environment; economy and transport; community well-being; and safercommunities.0207 664 3204
Amy – [email protected] – Political Assistant – provides supportfor children and young people; culture tourism and sport in addition toimprovement /peer work.0207 664 3293
The LGA Liberal Democrat Group Office
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The Battle for BedfordThis booklet looks at the hard work carried outby our excellent team on Bedford BoroughCouncil which has included winning andretaining the directly elected Mayor.
What future for Adult SocialCare?We look at the challenges in social careprovision, what a Liberal Democrat vision forAdult Social Care services could look like andpresent some key “asks” of local and nationalgovernment.
Stand for what you believe in:be a Liberal Democrat councillor -Women’s Suffrage centenary editionThis guide contains information about howcouncils work and the role of a councillor.Four women from different local councils sharewhy they are Lib Dem councillors and why it isimportant to them to represent their communities.
Liverpool: A study of Liberal fortitudeThis booklet charts the changing fortunes of theLiberal then Liberal Democrat Group onLiverpool City Council, and how resilience andhard work is leading once again to electoralsuccess.
Publications available on our website include...
www.local.gov.uk/lga-libdem-group/our-publicationsPublished by the Liberal Democrat Group at the Local Government Association, 6th Floor, Local Government House, Smith Square, London, SW1P 3HZ.
Printed by Bishops Printers, Walton Road, Portsmouth, Hampshire, PO6 1TR.
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Contact Us
Liberal DemocratGroup OfficeLocal GovernmentAssociation18 Smith SquareLondon SW1P 3HZ
020 7664 3235
www.libdemgroup.lga.gov.uk/
@libdemlocalgov
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