We are delighted to announce that our annual Monitoring Officer Conference will now be held as a hybrid event, taking place both in person at etc.venues, Chancery Lane, London, and remotely via Zoom, on Friday, 11 July 2025.
This conference is a key LLG event for Monitoring Officers, providing a valuable platform to investigate the key issues and challenges faced in public sector governance. The conference will focus on the most relevant topics covering areas such as governance, accountability, compliance, scrutiny, and leadership, all of which are essential to the effective functioning of a local authority.
The conference will offer an opportunity for delegates to connect, learn, and share insights on issues impacting the ever-evolving role of the Monitoring Officer.
Delegates attending in person will be welcomed with a breakfast on arrival, followed by a provided lunch and refreshments available throughout the day, ensuring a comfortable and engaging experience from start to finish. The conference will be recorded and made available to delegates in the weeks following the conference. The attendance fee does not include accommodation.
The event is aimed at Monitoring Officers and Deputy Monitoring Officers, as well as those interested in progressing to these roles. Full details of the programme and session specifics will be available shortly.
Please note spaces for this event are limited and come on a first come, first served basis.
FAQs
1. How can I get to the venue?
The venue is easily reachable by public transport.
By underground:
By train:
By bus:
Parking:
2. Will there be catering and if so, what should I do about dietary requirements?
Delegates attending in person will be welcomed with a breakfast on arrival, followed by a provided lunch and refreshments available throughout the day.
Please advise LLG of any dietary requirements if booking an in-person placement at your earliest convenience.
3. Is there accommodation nearby?
If you're planning to attend the Monitoring Officer Conference at etc.venues Chancery Lane, you'll find a variety of accommodation options nearby to suit different preferences and budgets. No accommodation is included within the admission tickets.
Helen trained as a solicitor in Local Government and has nearly 20 years’ experience in working at both district and unitary level. Helen initially specialised in civil and criminal litigation, obtaining Higher Rights of audience in the criminal courts. Since becoming a Deputy Monitoring Officer and subsequently a Monitoring Officer, Helen has specialised in all aspects of local authority governance but has a particular interest in the Standards Regime.
Helen is currently Head of Legal & Democratic Services and Monitoring Officer, Durham County Council.
Joining local government in 1988, Philip is both a chartered secretary and solicitor and was first a monitoring officer in 2000.
He is a past president, long been involved with LLG(ACSeS) and has assisted in leading the drafting of a number of model publications, including the Code on Good Governance for Local Authority Statutory Officers and the Members’ Planning Code. He is the current author of ‘Knowles on Local Authority Meetings’ and editor for LexisNexisPSL on local authority governance.
Philip joined Bevan Brittan in 2022, where he specialises in governance, constitutional drafting and providing support on monitoring officer issues.
Equipped with over 20 years of in-house experience, Claire advises local authorities and their companies on regulatory governance matters, reviews constitutions, governance arrangements and decision-making. She is in high demand to undertake standards investigations and is well regarded for providing member training. Her depth of experience across county, district and unitary local councils has shaped her extensive knowledge of local government challenges. Claire is able to guide authorities across the country on what they can accomplish and more importantly how to go about doing it.
Deborah Evans is the Chief Executive of LLG. Having started her career in local government at Dudley Metropolitan Borough Council, she has since gone on to work in senior roles across the legal sector, including the in-house legal team of a major retailer; as a Practice Director of a law firm; in management at the Legal Aid Board; Chief Executive of the Legal Complaints Service, and Chief Executive of the Association of Personal Injury Lawyers.
With a strong focus on good governance, she takes a creative approach to improving and modernising services with a view to making organisations, lean, effective and providing excellent value for money. At LLG, she has introduced a national work experience week to encourage law graduates to consider local government, delivery of LLG Inspire – our leadership development program – and aiming to deliver a full suite of membership services in an easily accessible way at low cost in order to give the members everything they need to do their jobs to the best of their ability, grow in their careers, and better service their local communities.
With experience of top table discussions in parliament and with major decision makers in the legal sector, Deborah is raising the voice and influence of LLG to the highest level in order that the members experience and expertise can shape policy for the public good.
Outside of work, she leads a full life with husband, two sons and a dog the size of a small horse. She organises village fetes, runs a choir, and writes and stars in the annual village pantomime. Originally the pantomime princess, she now has to settle for roles more suited to her age, being cast firstly as the ogre and more recently, the hag.
Paul is the President of LLG. He is the Director of Legal and Assurance and Monitoring Officer at Essex County Council. He has spent the last 30 years working for all types of councils from Northumberland and 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. He has been a monitoring officer or deputy since 2001. Paul has been a Chairman of the LLG Eastern Branch for three years and previously held the title for Regional Director Position for Eastern. Of his work at Branch level, Paul says “It’s been interesting and fun, and I’ve met so many people who are passionate about making a difference”.
Victoria is an administrative lawyer who specialises in public law, the environment, and planning. She advises public bodies on the lawful discharge of their statutory functions, duties and powers, constitutional and administrative matters, vires, decision making, and judicial review risk.
Having worked in the Civil Service for more than a decade before joining Browne Jacobson, Victoria is deeply committed to and a passionate advocate for the public sector. Victoria’s clients benefit from her unique insight into the sector’s priorities, ways of working and culture and her ability to provide pragmatic advice that reflects the particular challenges they face.
Victoria has a particular passion for, and specialism, in environmental law. She regularly advises central and local government, statutory nature conservation bodies, arms’ length bodies and NDPBs, registered providers of social housing, and developers on their environmental obligations. Victoria has particular expertise in the Habitats Regulations, environmental assessment, nature conservation and biodiversity.
Victoria is a natural litigator, and her broad contentious practice includes judicial review, procurement challenges, public inquiries, and statutory appeals. She has acted for clients in the courts up to and including the Supreme Court.
Victoria is recommended by The Legal 500 for administrative and public law, local government, and planning.
Kerren has over 20 years’ experience in all aspects of employment law, with particular interest in matters of strategic and organisational importance including restructures, mergers, executive terminations, high profile and sensitive matters, disputes and governance issues. Kerren is recognised as a leading individual in Legal 500. The published feedback was that she has a “fantastic knack of getting to the nub of an issue and then follows it up with clear advice” and is also described by clients as “exceptional”.
Kerren supports the firm’s national Government team and given her expertise, Kerren also advises on highly confidential public sector investigations including the investigations in respect of senior employees and statutory officers’ conduct.
Henry has over 20 years' experience in advising public sector bodies. He specialises in social care claims, highways, human rights, occupiers' liability, employers' liability, stress, public rights of way and 'power and duty' cases. His work includes recovery of indemnities under outsource contracts and contributions from abusers, with experience in CSE (Child sexual exploitation).
Chambers & Partners describe Henry as "an experienced personal injury solicitor with comprehensive knowledge of litigation concerning public sector bodies", while The Legal 500 notes that he is known for "his expertise in social care work involving historic abuse and deprivation of liberty".
Jonathan is a solicitor, and a regulatory and public sector partner at Wilkin Chapman Rollits, a top 200 law firm with a national local government practice. He has worked in, or for, local government for over 30 years and was a Monitoring Officer for 6 years.
Jonathan has investigated many hundreds of cases of the alleged misconduct of local government councillors, including many of the most complex and politically high profile. Jonathan was a member of the core drafting team for the modular constitution for English councils and undertakes a range of public, administrative and regulatory law advice for local authorities, academies, NHS bodies, charities and also companies in the chemical, logistics and offshore renewables sectors.
He has been an Independent Person and is also a Deputy Monitoring Officer in two local authorities and a Monitoring Officer to a national park authority. He was an advisor to the Committee on Standards in Public Life in relation to its 2019 report on Ethical Standards in local Government and was a co-author of the LGA model code and guidance.
He is an independent lay member of the Standards Committee of a Welsh County Council.
Siân advises regularly on public and administrative law including local authority powers and duties, governance arrangements, schemes of delegation, decision-making and related public law matters, particularly in the context of complex, multi-disciplinary transactions. Siân previously held the post of Head of Legal Services and Deputy Monitoring Officer at Bournemouth, Christchurch and Poole Council, having supported and advised two of the predecessor unitary authorities throughout local government reorganisation and beyond. She also acted as the Council's Interim Director of Law and Governance.
Sarah previously held the post of Monitoring Officer at Guildford Borough Council and managed a team of lawyers across a range of disciplines. Sarah specialises in complex projects and due to her extensive local government experience, she is able to offer advice which is firmly rooted in her personal experience of the competing priorities, conflicts and political backdrop that is often present in planning.
50-52 Chancery Lane, London, WC2A 1HL
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08:00 - 16:30
etc.venues 50-52 Chancery Lane, London, WC2A 1HL
