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Panel members and workshop hosts announced for Annual Conference

Bold Governance and Courageous Scrutiny – Restoring Hope to Public Services, 20 March, Eastside Rooms, Birmingham

Panel members, speakers and workshop hosts include:

John Denham, former Local Government Secretary of State; Catherine Howe, CfGS Chair and Adur and Worthing Councils Chief Executive; Heather Wills, LGA, Charlotte Eisenhart, chief executive of ADSO and Diana Stirbu, London Met University, including a welcome to the city, from Leader of Birmingham City Council, Councillor John Cotton.

Our annual conference will be all about meeting the opportunity – and challenge – of a once-in-a-generation moment for local government, following the government’s announcement of sweeping devolution reforms for England.

Panels and workshops will tackle big questions and practical challenges pertinent not just for those at the vanguard of these reforms, but across the rest of the UK. And there will be – as ever – lots of practical learning and knowledge sharing.

We are expecting attendance from across England, Wales and beyond – and this year are widening the welcome to town and parish councils, given the significance of this moment for so much of local government.

The event will start with welcomes and a scene setter from our Chair of trustees Catherine Howe, our chief executive Mel Stevens, and a welcome to Birmingham from Councillor John Cotton, leader of Birmingham City Council. The programme will continue to develop, so the sessions may be subject to some changes.

Panels, include:

  • New accountability and governance systems for strategic authorities, featuring: Professor John Denham, Southampton University, and Former Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government
  • How do you know what you don’t know? featuring Jonathan Flowers, Cllr Sir Albert Bore, Birmingham City Council and Heather Wills, LGA.
  • Five steps to reorganisation: explaining the mechanics of LGR and how scrutiny’s role fits in, hosted by Ed Hammond and  featuring Cllr Leigh Redman, Somerset Council, Claire Ward a partner at Anthony Collins Solicitors and Linda Jones, Monitoring Officer at Westmorland and Furness Council. 
  • Not just the council: making governance work across a whole place, hosted by Ed Hammond and Catherine Howe, will feature: Osian Jones, Head of Corporate Strategy, Camden Council, Laura Hughes from Browne Jacobson and Hamida Ali, The Future Governance Forum.
  • Exploring and agreeing the critical elements for thriving hyper local governance across England,  hosted by Mel Stevens and with Cllr Fiona Barrows, Frome Town Council,  Jason Leman, Campaign Co-ordinator at Neighbourhood Democracy Network and Charlotte Eisenhart, Chief Executive at Association of Democratic Services Officers.
  • Telling a story of transformation: How to engage citizens in the changing state, hosted by Andrew Brightwell with Cllr Fiona Barrows, Frome Town Council and Catherine Howe, Chief Executive at Adur and Worthing Council. 
  • Who owns scrutiny? The role of community scrutiny in the scrutiny system, hosted by Mel Stevens and Manisha Patel with Dave Burn and  researcher Gloria Dawson, from Research for Action,  Simon Morrow, Co-ordindator at Lambeth Peoples Audit and Julia Cushion from Legal Services at Birmingham City Council. 
  • How councils’ financial context should inform scrutiny’s governance role,  hosted by Ian Parry and Sarah Fenn and featuring Sunita Sharma, Andy Burns and Balvinder Heran , Interim Chief Executive Officer at Dudley Metropolitan Borough Council. 

Workshops, tackling practical challenges, include:

  • Building a courageous scrutiny culture, hosted by Sarah Fenn, Heather Wills, Dave McKenna and Sunita Sharma.
  • The roadmap for scrutiny in combined authorities, hosted by Camilla de Bernhardt Lane, Natalie Rotherham, Paul Cutler and Dave Burn.
  • Beyond referral: Working with Health and the role of a Memorandum of Understanding hosted by Camilla de Bernhardt Lane, Fiona Bottrill, Daniel Webster, Joseph Bright, Natalie Rotherham  and Paul Cutler.
  • Moving beyond traditional consultation models to more meaningful engagement, hosted by Mel Stevens with Dave McKenna and Dianna Stirbu, Professor of Public Policy and Governance at London Met University. 

You can book your ticket right away:

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