Welcome to the Northern Region of LLG
We cover local authorities in:
Here you will find information on what is happening in the Northern area.
To join any of the regions go to "My LLG" hub and "My regions" tab where you can also see the regions that you are a member of.
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LLG wish to provide meetings and events which reflect the wants and needs of our membership. Please click the link below and complete the short survey to give us an insight into our Northern Region. Thank you.
Board update
The Board met on the 26th July just before the summer break to conduct the board business but also to hear the initial findings and recommendations from the governance review which we have been undertaking internally.
Amongst discussion as to the arrangements and location of the Governance Conference (of which you will hear more of in September) and Spring Conference, I am also delighted to announce the appointment of Isabelle Alajooz, Legal Manager & Deputy Monitoring Officer at North Herts Council as the new Housing & Regeneration National Lead for LLG. Many congratulations to Isabelle who I welcome to the team with grateful thanks. Housing is of course high up on both the central and local government agenda and the Lead role is incredibly important as a result. The Board also determined to formally adopt the Shared Services Group as a formal National Lead group and advertisements for that position will go live in September. Of course, all National Leads are currently eligible to stand for the National Lead Board Director position when it becomes vacant in 2026.
In terms of the governance review, it was both pleasing and reassuring to hear that our governance is good, but we are presently considering some recommendations to determine how we move from good to great. Its vitally important as with your own authorities that governance is never taken for granted; and this temperature check was really welcomed. We will be considering options at our strategy day in the autumn, and we then be in a position to involve you, the membership, in a period of consultation to help shape our trajectory and future ambitions.
May I take this opportunity to wish you a lovely summer. Whilst the work doesn’t stop, we all need to take time to look after ourselves and recharge where possible. I very much hope you are able to take the time to do just that,
Best wishes
LLG team
Northern Regional Update
Dear Northern Members
The Board met on 26th April and was kindly hosted by Weightmans at their London office.
The day started with a training session by William Sharpe from Weightmans on the Roles and Responsibilities of LLG Board Directors which was extremely informative not only for our new directors, but as a useful reminder for existing directors.
The LLG Board then heard from CEO, Deborah Evans, on the operational activities at LLG. This included the Monitoring Officer roundtable, the Code of Governance, the Statutory officer development programme, the expansion and impact of Work Experience Week 2024 and the finalists for the LLG Awards 2024(click for shortlist).
Board members were presented with a summary of feedback received on the Code of Practice on Good Governance for Statutory Officers consultation. LLG have discussed the main themes from the feedback with Solace and CIPFA and hope to launch the Code at the Spring Conference in June. Incidentally the Board also received the programme for the Spring Conference and you can read about the impressive line-up here. Additionally, if you are a Junior (less than 5 years PQE), applications are open for LLG’s Junior Bursary Scheme, which you can apply for here.
The Board went on to discuss the establishment of a professional body for Monitoring Officers. This continues from initial discussions at previous meetings. We can happily share that progress is being made and the working group have reached agreement on the fundamental principles of the professional body. We will be sharing our thoughts through consultation with the membership in the coming months.
Following on from the success of LLG’s Inspire programme, LLG are now turning its attention to how it might assist Junior lawyers or those new to local government law to develop more fully in their understanding of the legal landscape. This is an exciting new development, and I will report more as this workstream progresses.
If you are interested in getting involved in the work of LLG – please do contact me via the membership email – membership@llg.org.uk
Best wishes
Nylah Clarke-Mills
Regional communications from LLG's latest Board meeting
Dear All
Please find below an update from the LLG Board meeting on 23 February.
The meeting received the quarter end finance report for 2023 together with the budget update.
Following on from the previous Board meeting in December 2023, the finalised version of the strategic plan for 2024-2027 was shared, which was supported by the Board. The five agreed strategic objectives are as follows:
LLG’s CEO, Deborah Evans, reported progress against these strategic objectives along with an operational update which was welcomed by the Board. The operational update covered further work on the role and responsibilities of the Monitoring Officer following on from the LGIU & Browne Jacobson research paper on the changing role of the MO, guidance published to members within LLG’s position statement on practicing certificates, publication of the Members Planning Code of Good Practice , the launch of Work Experience Week 2024 and LLG’s upcoming LLG Awards.
The Board considered a report about progress with LLG Becoming a professional body. That’s certainly a lot of work and we have now set up a sub-committee to consider it.
Elections Conference
In view of the upcoming local and Police Commissioner elections, LLG are holding an online elections conference on 1st March 2024. This interactive event will run from 9:30-4pm and you will hear from specialist speakers who delve into the second wave of Election Act changes. Throughout the day you will also have the opportunity to ask questions and share your own experiences.
For more information and for booking information click here
https://llg.org.uk/book-event/?id=c18d4635-e694-ee11-be37-002248c8ed56
LLG Board update
There will be a vote for next year’s Deputy Vice President and I would encourage you all to exercise your vote to make sure you get the people you want to represent you on LLG.
You are encouraged to attend the LLG AGM which will be held online 12 Noon on 17 April. It would be good to have as many of our members as possible there.
Kind regards
Nylah Clarke-Mills
Executive Assistant Regions
Scheduled Northern regional meetings:
Regional Communications from LLG's Board Meeting - 8/12/23
The LLG Board met on Friday, 8th December, in the heart of London, to set the budget for 2024. Finding the right balance between maintaining affordability for our members amidst challenging financial times for councils, and ensuring LLG’s long-term viability to continue delivering the benefits of membership and a strong national voice was a key focus of the discussion.
The Board adopted LLG’s 2024-2027 strategy and workstreams, emphasising our commitment to promoting exemplary governance, building a sustainable profession, fostering an inclusive and welcoming community, encouraging regional engagement, and using our voice to shape national debate.
The Board received a paper on elections at LLG and will shortly be announcing exciting opportunities to contribute to LLG’s growth and success. These include positions such as Deputy Vice President, Junior National Lead, and Regional Director for Eastern. If you’re interested in exploring any of these roles, please feel free to contact Helen McGrath, LLG Executive Director of Policy & Governance, for an informal and confidential discussion. Helen@llg.org.uk
Following the resounding success of our Governance Conference in Sheffield, the Board has voted to bring our Spring Conference to Leeds in 2024. Stay tuned for further announcements regarding the location of our 2024 Governance Conference.
The Board meeting was held alongside the LLG Juniors Day, which proved to be a tremendous success as it allowed attendees the opportunity to connect with like-minded professionals from all different stages of their careers. We would like to extend our thanks to Womble Bond Dickinson for hosting both events, especially in such spectacular offices with a view of Tower Bridge and the Tower of London.
Kieran McGaughey, Regional Director for the North, said:
“It was great to see lots of our junior LLG members in London earlier this month. With recruitment continuing to be a struggle for many authorities, I would encourage our members to look at bringing in graduate and entry level roles. With such a vast talent pool at this end of the market, for me this is a great way to ensure the sustainability of our profession. We also had a very productive LLG board meeting. Whilst much of the discussion focussed on the positive elements listed above, we did make the difficult decision to raise basic membership costs by 10% next year. Unfortunately this is necessary to reflect the cost increases we face in various other areas of the organisation (staff, event costs etc). Please rest assured these decisions are not made lightly and I am acutely aware of the budgetary pressures many of you and your councils face. If you can then please do consider our new MembershipPlus offering, which for an additional fee includes “free” attendance at a range of LLG conferences throughout the year. For many authorities this is realising an overall saving throughout the year and proving excellent value for money. Speaking of conferences, we look forward to hosting another “in-person” conference here in the North in the Spring. I hope to see many of you there in Leeds! In the meantime, wishing you and your families a very Happy Christmas. Do take the time to put your feet up after another busy year at the coal face. Best wishes, Kieran”
From all at LLG we wish you a Merry Christmas and we look forward to reconnecting with you in the new year.
John Purvis - Northern Regional Director
Wiktoria Penar - Junior Regional Lead (North)
In 2023, Wiktoria qualified as a solicitor via the SQE route within a private sector in-house environment. She has joined Leeds City Council as a Procurement and Commercial Lawyer in April 2024. The type of work which Wiktoria is involved in includes providing commercial and procurement advice to various directorates in the Council as well as reviewing and drafting a broad range of contractual documents. Wiktoria is passionate about building and maintaining meaningful networks for junior lawyers to allow them to flourish early in their careers.
Vicki Bates - MO & Governance Regional Lead (North)
In 2018 Vicki joined Stockport Metropolitan Borough Council as its Monitoring Officer and Assistant Director of Legal and Democratic Governance (including Electoral Services and Information Governance). Vicki is also the council’s Chair of the Wellbeing Steering group, its Senior Responsible Officer for the Armed Forces Covenant, its Deputy SIRO and its Prevent Lead.
Vicki became the Regional Northern Lead for the MO and Governance group in October 2024 and is looking forward to building connections and networks for LLG members, its Monitoring Officers and Deputy Monitoring Officers across the Northern Region.
