This half day course will look at practical issues relating to local authority companies. It complements Local Authority Companies: The Law, Key Roles and Risk (previously called Local Authority Company Masterclass) which provides a comprehensive review of all the legal issues involved in LA companies, as well as Local Authority Companies and Insolvency: Revitalising, Restructuring and Rescuing.
This course takes time to explore a number of the practical aspects of setting up and running local authority companies. It will be delivered by highly experienced lawyer, consultant and trainer Bethan Evans who, during her 40 year career in the law and local government, has been involved in the establishment and operation of numerous LA arm’s length bodies including trading companies, Teckal companies, LLPs and Children's Trusts. Beth was also a non-exec director of a council-owned energy company for two years.
The course will assume that delegates have a grounding in the basics of the law and governance relating to the setting up and operation of council companies. We will build on this knowledge by taking time to reflect on three particular aspects of this (sometimes) challenging topic. We will focus on:
The issues to consider and highlight when your council is considering setting up new entities such as companies - the business case, the governance questions and the important considerations which must be tackled
The conflicts of interests and governance tangles which can be problematic in the operation of council companies
What to do if things go wrong - this could stem from a failure to deliver the business plan, a change in market conditions, a loss of political support etc.
In all these situations we will use practical mini scenarios to look at what needs to be addressed, what we can learn from recent reports on problems with corporate entities in the public sector and the role of the legal officers in ensuring probity and good governance.
The course is aimed at Monitoring Officers, DMOs and any legal officer involved in the setting up, running or review of LA corporate bodies.
Bethan Evans Governance Training and Consultancy
Beth is a recognised expert in local authority governance, having worked in the field for over 35 years. She worked as an in-house lawyer for nearly 20 years at four different councils in England specialising in housing, education and social care. Beth then moved into management posts, culminating in roles as a County Solicitor and a Director of Corporate Services in a unitary authority.
Beth led the Welsh Local Government Agency responsible for improvement and development in Welsh local government for three years. In 2001 she joined Bevan Brittan LLP as a partner where she led the local government team for 17 years, four of which she spent as senior partner.
Beth acted as secretary and chair of a branch and then as national chair of the (then) Local Government Group in 1998/99.
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09:30 - 12:30
Online
