The new Local Government Yorkshire and Humber organisation stages its first annual conference in Leeds this week. Carole Hassan explains how it came into being Leaders, trade unions and councillors from across Yorkshire and Humber are meeting to take on the challenges facing councils in the region. Up to 200 delegates are expected to attend the first annual conference of Local Government Yorkshire and Humber in Leeds on 14 July at the Royal Armouries. It is just over two years since some councils in the region were about to walk away from the regional assembly. This was, in part, because of a lack of focus on local government issues. Council leaders of Wakefield City Council, Cllr Peter Box, and East Riding, Cllr Stephen Parnaby, forged a cross-party alliance to create a new regional organisation ‘fit for purpose’, Local Government Yorkshire and Humber. It includes the former regional employers organisation and Yorkshire and Humber Association of Local Authorities, and is separate from the regional assembly. Local Government Yorkshire and Humber is the regional partnership of local authorities, which enables them to work together and collaborate on issues of common purpose. It brings together local authorities within the region to discuss, debate and share learning on key issues affecting local government, and agree a strategic response on these issues. It covers all 22 councils in the region, including the fire authorities. It offers network opportunities, expert advice on employment issues, improved co-ordination of the improvement agenda and maximising the Capability Building Strategy. Reducing costs by half to £800,000 and refocusing on local government, the new bodies are streamlined and designed to create real partnerships in the region. Feedback from recent surveys at LGA conferences show people think positively about Yorkshire and Humber as a place, but think the councils in the region ‘do not punch their weight’ in terms of influence. Yorkshire and Humber’s leaders are among the most respected in the country. In last week’s poll by The MJ and Ipsos MORI of who council leaders and chief executives most admired, Sir Robert Kerslake topped the chief executives’ poll. Cllr Steve Houghton came second in the poll on leaders and mayors. And joint third and top woman leader was Cllr Margaret Eaton, former leader of Bradford City. The conference is to make sure we translate this respect into influence and create a basis for increased working across councils in city regions and rural areas. This can only be done through creating trust and respect among all councils in the region. Trust needs to be at the heart of developing collaboration in the region. From running shared services to tackling the regional challenges of improving transport infrastructure, in tackling congestion to managing housing supply and promoting sustainable development, councils need to work together. Key themes of the event will be: l working together on the improvement and efficiency agenda l developing effective neighbourhood working and neighbourhood devolution l improving customer service and delivering e-government. Keynote speakers will include Dave Prentis, general secretary, Unison; Chris Leslie, New Local Government Network; Cllr Ian Mearns, LGA executive board; and Martin Horton of the IDeA. Chief executives from across the region will come together in a workshop on the issue of governance of place. The whole event will enable the region to respond to the forthcoming White Paper proposals and the Lyons review. n Carole Hassan is chief executive, Local Government Yorkshire and Humber and former chief executive of Trafford MBC
