Meet your nominees for Deputy Vice President

The following candidates have been successful in moving forward for election in the position of Deputy Vice President

You will receive an email inviting you to register your vote electronically if you are eligible to vote 

You can read a statement from the nominees below. 

Patricia Narebor – Deputy Vice President Nominee

The key reason why I wish to take on the role of Deputy Vice President of the LLG is my extensive knowledge of providing legal and governance advice in all tiers of local government in England.  My experience of twenty years in local government will enable me to engage in lawyers and stakeholders at all levels and create greater exposure and increased participation by the members in the activities of the LLG.  The benefits of membership will be promoted.  I also come with experience from private practice.

My key objectives will be to promote the role of a local authority lawyer; address career development within Legal Services and local government, staff retention and development.  Engage national, regional and international counter-parts to review best practices to facilitate the best outcomes for the LLG group; together with raising the profile of the organisation and the sector.

My oversight for Legal and Democratic Services, budget responsibility and business planning for the Services will enable me to proactively and effectively contribute to the governance arrangements for the LLG.  I have been involved in the governance arrangements of local authority wholly owned companies and other sectors, providing guidance on the duties of directors, the memorandum and articles of association, business plans, accounting requirements and the filing requirements at Companies House.

I hope that you will take the step to vote for me to represent you in the role of Deputy Vice President of LLG.

Paul Turner – Deputy Vice President Nominee

Why should I vote for you?

Well, that’s for you to decide of course, but I’m standing for this role because there’s not been a more important time to champion the lawyers working in local government and raise our profile, specifically I’d like to help:

• Support our members. LLG provides a great place for people to learn formally and informally. I want to explore how LLG can do even more to provide opportunities for members to support each other across the whole of England and Wales.  Our aim should be that any member who wants to can take part in sharing knowledge and best practice with their peers in other authorities.

• Represent the interests of lawyers working in local government. We are the people who get things done and stop things going wrong. It’s noticeable that a major failure in a local authority is often preceded by lots of changes in monitoring officers.  I want to help promote the importance of lawyers to government to ensure that what we do is recognised, enhanced and protected.   LLG is working on this already and I believe I can make a good contribution to this.

• Promote careers in local government. We all know how interesting and rewarding our jobs are, but all local authorities are struggling to recruit the people we need to promote it as a great career choice for any aspiring lawyers. Essex have recently introduced legal apprenticeships.  I would love to see more councils doing the same.

 What have you done?

I’ve spent the last 30 years working for all types of councils from Northumberland to Greater Manchester to the Eastern region (Suffolk, Essex and Cambridgeshire), from a district with a population of 31,000 to Essex which has a population of 1.5m.  I’ve been monitoring officer or deputy since 2001.  It’s been interesting and fun and I’ve met so many people who are passionate about making a difference.  I am in my third year as Chairman of the LLG Eastern Branch and work with central government to feed in the views of local authorities.  

In the last few months I’ve been working as part of the team commissioned to undertake a best value inspection of a unitary authority, which has given me some insight into the how to avoid problems.

What are your values?

I was drawn to local government because I like the idea of improving things, or at least trying to improve things.  I am approachable and empathetic and seek to be fair, respectful and treat people with kindness.  I have been trying to create psychologically safe spaces since before I knew that’s what they were called.  I try to make things engaging for people and build connections and understanding.

The nominee with the most votes will be confirmed at the LLG AGM on 29^th March 2023. You can register for the AGM by going here.

Should you have any questions please contact membership@llg.org.uk 

The Deadline for voting is 10.00am on 6^th March 2023.