Blog: Friday 18th October 2024

Our President, Aneeka Sarwar, had a desire on appointment to encourage ‘Governance for All’ – to encourage members at all stages in their career to take ownership of governance within a local authority and realise the part that their advice, actions and decisions play in the wider context of good governance.

So, what better time to tell you about the LLG Governance 2024 – our flagship conference bringing together legal and governance experts, personal development professionals, policy makers, and thought leaders for a deep dive into current issues and showcasing solutions available.

We will be running four simultaneous plenaries, breakouts and workshops throughout the hybrid day on December 13th in London to give you maximum opportunity to update your thinking, generate new ideas and approaches, and take time for self-development - for example, learning how to manage toxic conversations in the workplace. Monitoring Officers will have the opportunity for safe space discussions around particular topics vexing you at the moment, whilst those at earlier stages in their career will appreciate round tables around career journeys and break out sessions on soft skills.

A further remote day providing opportunity for an in depth look at specific topics *for example – lessons learned from the general election’ (with respect to the management of the process rather than the politics!).

A problem shared is a problem halved. And the problems in local government are real. The recent riots demonstrated that our communities may not be as cohesive as we thought. 

Consequently, our Islamophobia panel discussion will talk about what can be done within our workplaces and our community to ensure inclusivity and ensure we keep people safe. 

Underfunding and the resulting financial pressures within local authorities are squeezing resources and driving unwise decision making. Grant Thornton and Localis look at what can be done by local authorities without extra intervention and investment and ponder what a more pragmatic form of governance could look like. 

An opportunity discussed can be inspirational and change the course of people’s lives.

Our goal is simple. We aim to show you how you can play your part in strengthening governance in your local authority to better serve your community. We aim to equip you to facilitate better governance. 

Networking is, as we know, one of the best opportunities there to catch up with your local government family and friends, talk about life, problems you may be wrestling with, or opportunities you are thinking about grasping. At the end of the day, we hope to raise a glass to a member of our LLG family that sadly is no longer with us, Suki Binjal, and share some words about her life and legacy. Suki was never phased by any situation within local government and fought hard to instill good governance wherever she worked.

Do join us, whether you are a Director of Law and Governance, a Head of Legal, a Monitoring Officer, a mid career lawyer or a junior lawyer, we would love to see you. We also welcome the aspiring monitoring officers on LLG Inspire, and some of our regions may be offering a number of bursaries to members in their area. 

As Aneeka says, Governance is for all.

You can find out more and book your place at the conference here.