Blog: 7th June 2024 - Dennis Hall, LLG Bulletin Editor

Aneeka Muneer, LLG President, got our Spring Conference under way in Leeds with style… 

She opened the Conference at the auspicious Leeds Met Hotel with her engaging style, welcoming exhibitors, speakers and guests with warmth. Aneeka is looking forward to a productive and busy year supporting members and focussing upon grass roots membership, developing good governance and being an example to others in particular.

Guest speaker Cllr Abigail Katung Lord Mayor of Leeds was an inspirational speaker whose emphasis was on the need for diversity and inclusivity…her key message:” Diversity is a fact, inclusion is a choice.” 

The LLG Leeds Conference was the platform for the launch of the Code of Practice on Good Governance: the results of extensive collaboration from all the key players: LLG, SOLACE and CIPFA. A ‘must have’ for all Monitoring Officers and Governance specialists providing in a single reference point all that practitioners need on both key principles and best practice. A must for every local authority. Presenter Philip McCourt encapsulated the key ingredient of the statutory roles: think ethically always and speak truth to power. 

Turning to income generation initiatives for Councils, Deborah Evans, LLG Chief Executive, chaired a popular panel format that embraced all strategic options for budget deficit reduction, a dilemma that faces all local authorities.  Members gained refreshing insights on this ever-topical question from a range of experts who spanned reorganisation, shared services and income generation through debt recovery. 

Next up, Board Director John Purvis chaired a timely session on the Procurement Act 2023, as procurement and commercial lawyers grapple with the emerging issues that stem from the latest round of policy and legislative changes. 

Knowledgeable, practical and eminently useful, this carefully blended session paved the way to an in depth understanding of the impact of all the key changes that are coming forward and due to be implemented on Go Live Day 28 October. 

Later in the day the Conference will cover a range of diverse topics; ‘Burn-out’, what to watch out for with AI and new technologies and what to do, and Climate Change and environment. There’ll be a quick canter through the General Election and what our sector hopes will change. 

More topics of conversation were covered in the series of breakout sessions throughout the day.