Truth about Local Government

.Today with Co Presenter Amy Cox, we interviewed Nikki Davies, Chief Executive of Meeting Place, a nationally recognised expert in providing strategies to developers and property owners on how to communicate their projects and their social and environmental impact.

We explored with Nikki:

• What her current role and remit was at Meeting Place?
• What has been her journey to get to be Managing Director?
• How she measures social impact?
• How do you achieve social impact through the built environment?
• What are the challenges in the sector?
• What are the opportunities in the sector?
• What does the future hold for place and these sort of initiatives?

Today we sat down with David Thompson, Assistant Director - Planning at North East Derbyshire District Council. We discussed issues around the supply of new planners joining the profession, embracing IT to find innovative ways to engage with the community and where David's passion for planning comes from.

It was fantastic to sit down with Paul Dossett, Partner and Head of Local Government at Grant Thornton discussing financial sustainability in local government at the present time.

Paul answered the following questions:

- What is the current picture of financial sustainability in local government?

- While councils cannot go ‘bankrupt’, they instead issue section 114 notices and we have seen significantly more of these issued over the past couple of years. Are these section 114 notices the right answer to solving financial sustainability issues?

- Commercial investments have increased in the sector over recent years. Why is this and what is the risk associated with these alternative investment approaches?

- Demand is increasing across many services for councils, notably in adults and children’s services and homelessness – is the sector’s financial position sustainable enough to manage these increasing demand led pressures?

- Good governance is key to good financial management of public funds. What constitutes good governance within a council?

It was fantastic to sit down with Alison McKenzie-Folan, Chief Executive of Wigan Metropolitan Borough Council. We discussed how on an ethos of kindness and compassion, coupled with innovation and continuous improvement has helped deliver the Wigan Deal and is driving through the New Era for Wigan. Alison is conscious that they build on the successes of the deal and learn from the mistakes. Wigan is definitely a council evolving and embracing the opportunities that exist to tackle the challenges they face.

It is an incredibly exciting time for the West Midlands Combined Authority, with the new settlement agreement that will streamline their ability to invest into projects that will have the greatest impact on the region over the next two years. Great to speak with Ed Cox, Executive Director for Strategy, Economy and Net Zero to understand the role of the Combined Authority, the aspirations the WMCA has and why he joined and continues to work for this important institution.

It was fantastic to sit down with Julia Smith, the Chief Executive of Blaby District Council to discuss her journey, the exciting things taking place in the Blaby District at the moment and the opportunities that exist for those who join the Council's leadership team.

Cllr Terry Richardson is first and foremost a fair man. His passion, authenticity and honesty over his nine years as leader, has helped shaped and progress Blaby. We discussed his journey into politics, the fantastic officers and senior leadership team that he works in partnership with and what the future holds for Blaby.

Great to speak with Adele Gritten, Chief Executive – Local Partnerships LLP.

Today we explored the challenges that local authorities are facing and how Local Partnership LLP is supporting councils with their journey, to overcome these challenges with innovative solutions.

Great to sit down with Phil Mayall - MD of Muse Developments, to discuss development, partnership and the challenges facing the sector at the moment. What struck me in our recording was the authenticity and genuine care that Phil has for the partnerships he and Muse enter into and how as partners, the potential of developments can truly be realised.

Great to sit down with Jack Boyce - Director of the Midlands region for DevComms. They specialise in political and community stakeholder engagement in the built environment. A really fantastic ambassador of trust being the secret ingredient to successful developments.