LGiU Fortnightly

Three quarters of English councils have elections in May – so what better time to give the tyres of our local democracy a kick? From the basics of publishing candidate names and polling station locations, to stamping out fake news in political discourse, we explore the ways councils can bring their citizens into local decision-making. We hear from UCL's Constitution Unit, Democracy Club and the Lewisham Democracy Review. Plus our regular roundup of LGiU's Daily News stories and member-only policy briefings. Guests: *Michele Palese, research officer at the UCL Constitution Unit, discusses her recommendations for strengthening our democratic functions in the context of misinformation and disengagement in politics. *Joe Mitchell and Sym Roe from Democracy Club update us on their work to crowdsource candidate data and polling station locations to improve the visibility of local elections, and invite you to join one of their election data parties ('as fun as Fortnite'). *Cllr Kevin Bonavia, Cabinet Member for Democracy at Lewisham Council, tells us about engaging hard-to-reach citizens through the Lewisham Democracy Review. Hosted by Jonathan Carr-West and Ingrid Koehler.

1st March: Irish mayors and Scottish welfare by LGiU Fortnightly

Councils are facing unprecedented financial pressure and core services are creaking. How did we get here and what needs to happen? In this week’s bumper episode we speak to council leaders, the LGA, SOLACE and experts from the NAO, IFS and CfPS about their reaction to the findings of LGiU’s State of Local Government Finance survey. A fascinating exploration of how councils across the country are dealing with ongoing budget cuts, the impact on their residents and the path to a sustainable funding model. We cover everything from tax devolution to commercialisation, how to make business rates and council tax fit for purpose to the problems with getting our message out to residents and Government. Essential listening for anyone who wants to see local government thrive in the future. Guests: Cllr Michelle Lowe, Deputy Leader of Sevenoaks District Council (0:10:30) Cllr Roger Lawrence, Leader of City of Wolverhampton Council (0:14.52) Cllr Paul Carter, Leader of Kent County Council & Chair of the County Councils Network (0:17:31) Cllr Doina Cornell, Leader of Stroud District Council (0:19:48) Cllr Abdul Jabbar, Deputy Leader of Oldham Council (0:23:05) Aileen Murphie, Director of MHCLG & Local Government Value for Money at National Audit Office (0:31:45) Piali Das Gupta, Director of Policy at SOLACE (Society of Local Authority Chief Executives) (0:53:37) David Phillips, Associate Director leading on Local Government Finance at the Institute of Fiscal Studies (0:57:10) Jacqui McKinlay, Chief Executive of the CfPS (Centre for Public Scrutiny)(1:09:00) Cllr Richard Watts, Leader of Islington Council & Chair of the LGA Resources Board (1:14:37) Hosted by Jennifer Glover and Jonathan Carr-West, with interviews by Ingrid Koehler.

Bins – a perennial doorstep issue for voters, a frequent headache for councils. Following the launch of the Government's new Resource and Waste Strategy, this week we're talking trash. We speak to Dr Peter Maddox, Director of WRAP, about DEFRA's new proposals, targets and consultations that will have major impact on how councils run their waste and recycling operations. From 'polluter-pays' rules for packaging manufacturers and tough new laws on fly-tipping, to universal food waste collection and new consistent categories for recycling, there's a lot to chew on. Plus highlights from our member-only Daily News service including overspend on SEND services, natural flood defences and Chinese-funded fireworks in York. Hosted by Jennifer Glover and Ingrid Koehler.

What does 2019 hold for local government? Is this the year councils finally get the clarity they desperately need on social care and funding? Although Whitehall is distracted by Brexit, there are some glimmers of hope that other policies are still on the agenda - including the NHS 10 year plan and the Waste Strategy. And we muse on the opportunity afforded by the lack of attention on local government for grassroots place-based thinking. We also bring you a roundup of the highlights from our member-only Daily News emails and policy briefing service, including targeted public health campaigns, the new Immigration White Paper, the details of the Air Quality Strategy and the drastic decline in library spending. Plus the best of local news in And Finally, featuring knock-off sushi from a living room 'restaurant' and an unpleasant pheasant terrorising the community. Hosted by Jonathan Carr-West and Ingrid Koehler.

With Christmas just around the corner, we break from our own accidental tradition of reporting gloomy local government news and bring you some festive cheer from around the country! Loneliness can be particularly rife over this season and we hear about several excellent projects to tackle it, including MensSheds, tea dances in Tower Hamlets, free Christmas dinner at a local pub and Merton’s wellbeing plans. Ingrid speaks to Cllr Denise Jones about helping the elderly and vulnerable in Tower Hamlets at Christmas, to Cllr Stephen Alambritis about Merton’s work supporting wellbeing in the community, to Chris Lee, a trustee of Men’s Sheds and founder of The Repair Shed in Hemel Hempstead about the impact that community projects can have on isolation, and Mick Dore, landlord of the Alexandra pub in Wimbledon which opens its doors to the lonely on Christmas Day. Plus other stories about Christmas bells, decorated bollards and seagull burglars! Hosted by Jen Glover and Ingrid Koehler.

LGiU has been covering the Brexit negotiations from a local government perspective for the last two years – as the finish line approaches, what have we learnt and what should councils be doing to prepare for the impending change? And following the second meeting of LGiU's Homelessness Commission, we discuss how homelessness is impacting upon young people. Plus coverage of recent member-only briefings on dog fouling, housing & planning and loneliness, as well as news stories about care home quality, mental health and 'how GDPR stole Christmas'. Hosted by Jonathan Carr-West and Andrew Walker. https://www.lgiu.org.uk/2018/11/30/lgiu-fortnightly-30th-november-brexit-and-local-government

Answer: They all tell a story about public trust, our pet topic for 2018! We look at Daily News stories and recent LGiU work through the lens of trust, from overzealous parking enforcement and fractious community relations during estate regeneration projects, to the spectre of 'fake news' and how Russian bots wrought havoc of the Star Wars franchise. Ingrid also speaks to Paul Simpson about our joint workshop series on engaging communities in estate regeneration projects and the importance of building a resilient and longterm foundation of trust. Plus other stories about Gove's new recycling plans, ziplines in the Lake District and oddly expensive leather chairs. Hosted by Jen Glover and Ingrid Koehler.

LGiU held its ninth annual Cllr Achievement Awards on Tuesday, to celebrate the shining stars of local government! In this special edition of LGiU Fortnightly, we run you through the evening in case you couldn't be there, telling you a bit about each of the shortlisted councillors and hearing from our award winners and Lord Porter, who spoke during the ceremony. You can also follow #CllrAwards18 on Twitter for the coverage and read about the awards in our blog: https://www.lgiu.org.uk/2018/11/08/lgiu-ccla-cllr-achievement-awards-2018-the-winners/ Hosted by Ingrid Koehler and Jonathan Carr-West.

Pleasantly surprising or deeply disappointing? Cause for optimism or despair? Welcome extra cash or hush money? Listen to Jen and Jonathan lay out their very different views on the Chancellor's Budget announcements this week – from potholes to social care, high street regeneration to business rate reliefs. We also bring you highlights from our member-only Daily News emails, including councils using satellites to fight pollution and structural faults in tower blocks, and some of our member-only briefings, covering the IoG/CIPFA Performance Tracker and childhood obesity. Hosted by Jen Glover and Jonathan Carr-West.

We live in changing political times and many observe a decline in trust in politics. Meanwhile there is now an unprecedented collection of personal data by public and private organisations. What does it mean to be transparent in the public sector in this context? We speak to Dr Ben Worthy of Birkbeck University on his research on the impact of FOI in local government and the importance of narrative when publishing data. We also report from the first Homelessness Commission meeting on the use of data in tackling homelessness, our recent briefing on artificial intelligence in councils and thoughts from our visit to Brent Council's Question Time event. Plus our regular roundup of news from the past two weeks including the DWP sickness benefit scandal and Universal Credit rollout. Hosted by Jen Glover and Jonathan Carr-West, featuring Ingrid Koehler and Dr Ben Worthy.

Party conference season isn't ALL about Westminster politics. LGiU brings you the local government view from Brighton, Liverpool and Birmingham. From Theresa May lifting the HRA cap to Emily Maitlis challenging Liz Truss on council finances, big words from Andrew Gwynne on community empowerment and Lib Dem plans to tackle one-party-state councils, there was a lot for councils to chew on. Plus an update of recent LGiU projects and our regular roundup of news from the past two weeks. Hosted by Jen Glover and Ingrid Koehler, featuring Jonathan Carr-West. More info: https://www.lgiu.org.uk/2018/10/04/lgiu-fortnightly-5th-october-partys-over-folks-the-council-view-of-conference-season

What does it mean to 'trust' political institutions? And how can local government play its part in raising the level of political discourse? This week, we focus on transparency and accountability in the democratic process with highlights from our recent event on trust and briefings on the DCMS Civil Society Strategy, proposed new electoral laws on social media and the Carillion collapse. Plus our regular roundup of news from the past two weeks including Sadiq Khan's new knife crime unit, tackling county lines gangs and some lighter stories involving ravens and wheelie bins in our 'And Finally' section. Hosted by Jen Glover and Jonathan Carr-West.

After the never-ending summer, we catch you up on the latest big news from local government and what to expect from LGiU this Autumn. Plus a special focus on the future of cities, with highlights from the Cities on the Rise Conference in Cork and a Future Cities Catapult workshop on city data sharing. We finish with our favourite news stories in 'And Finally'. Hosted by Jen Glover and Jonathan Carr-West. Feat. interviews with Sam Markey and Ed Parkes from Future Cities Catapult. City X Conference discount code: https://www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/cityx-the-future-cities-expo-cityx2018-tickets-47911784437?discount=LGIUDiscount

As Parliament grinds to a halt, we reflect on the situation in local government left by the vacuum of policy strategy on social care and funding, as well as the impact of a No Deal Brexit on councils. Plus we launch our #LocalGovReads campaign, asking what local government is reading over the summer, and some of the more silly highlights from our Daily News emails.