Minutes:
The Chairman invited the following Board representatives to discuss their reports:
a) City Regions Board – Mayor Marvin Rees (Chair)
· Mayor Rees introduced himself as the new Chair of the Board and said he was looking forward to working with colleagues at the LGA.
· He welcomed the Secretary of State’s attendance at the Forum and for offering his perspective on levelling up which was a vital issue for councils moving forward.
· The LGA was working to influence the Skills and post-16 Education Bill, introduced to Parliament in May. The bill, currently in the House of Lords, designates new employer representative bodies (ERBs), seeks to make it a legal requirement that ERBs and colleges collaborate to develop Local Skills Improvement Plans (LSIPs), introduces new Secretary of State powers to intervene when colleges fail to deliver, and puts in place provisions for a new Lifelong Learning Entitlement.
· The LGA was looking to host an annual urban leadership summit.
b) Improvement & Innovation Board – Cllr Judi Billings (Deputy-Chair)
· The Board had been stepping up its programme of support to councils on climate change ahead of the COP26 summit in Glasgow in November.
· The launch of the Be A Councillor programme (www.local.gov.uk/be-councillor) which works to attract a diverse group of potential candidates and supports councils with a toolkit to help reach outside of established networks to encourage new people to stand for election – particularly from under-represented groups.
· With the easing of Covid-19 restrictions in July, face to face support offers have been able to resume, including the Corporate Peer Challenges. However, as part of a hybrid approach, remote peer support remains available, including recovery and renewal panels, remote corporate health checks and bespoke remote peer support. This situation would remain under review over the autumn and winter as the course of the pandemic becomes clearer.
c) Safer & Stronger Communities Board – Cllr Mohan Iyengar (Vice-Chair)
· The Board has responded to the second part of the Government’s Review into the role and remit of Police and Crime Commissioners in respect of Community Safety Partnerships and the responsibility and accountability of PCCs.
· The team successfully delivered two Governance and Leadership workshops for our Fire and Rescue Authority members with another planned for November 2021. The bi-annual Fire Leadership course, held virtually this year, attracted a large number of delegates.
· Lead members wrote to all licensing authorities to raise awareness of the National Register of Licence Revocations and Refusals and to encourage authorities to use the database.
· The LGA has been participating in the Domestic Abuse Commissioner’s strategic reference group on domestic abuse perpetrators, with the most recent meeting focusing on quality standards for perpetrator programmes. The LGA has also been invited to be a representative of the National Steering Group, which will oversee the new statutory duty in the Domestic Abuse Act, to deliver domestic abuse accommodation-based support and services.
· The Police, Crime, Sentencing and Courts Bill continues in Committee Stage in the House of Lords and the LGA continues to lobby on the serious violence duty and wider issues.
Decision:
Councillors’ Forum noted the LGA Board Chair reports.