Supporting Councillors through Reorganisation

 For Local Government Reorganisation to work for local residents, councillors need confidence that progress is on track. That means providing effective challenge to officers, while also offering visible support in a fast-moving and high-pressure environment.

This workshop supports councillors to practise supportive challenge: focusing on what really matters, balancing the urgent and the important, and working with officers and partners in ways that strengthen delivery and lead to better outcomes.

It can be universal for all sitting councillors; focussed on Leaders/Cabinet Members during joint committee stages or shadow authority councillors 

Councillors do not forego their leadership of place role simply because their area is being reorganised. Local identity remains important to residents and needs to be recognised and reflected within LGR programmes.

This workshop helps councillors understand  leadership of place during reorganisation, addressing the feeling of losing place identity, maintain focus on communities rather than just structures, and work collaboratively across new boundaries for the benefit of the whole area.

Primarily for sitting district councillors; it can be adapted for new shadow councillors who need to understand how to fulfil their leadership of place role.

 Residents care about services, not structures. During LGR, confusion about who is responsible for what can quickly undermine trust, particularly when councillors themselves are adjusting to new roles.

This workshop focuses on communicating change without jargon, explaining uncertainty honestly, tackling misinformation, and engaging residents constructively even when councillors are not responsible for service delivery.

Designed for all (sitting and shadow) councillors and officers  wanting to actively engage with local communities.

During Local Government Reorganisation councillors need to adapt to changing roles and responsibilities. Sitting councillors need to prepare for this new role as soon as joint committees begin. Shadow councillors will have a different first year. Somewhere in the middle everything needs to come together.

This workshop is split into two variations. 

One is for sitting councillors to understand their new role in maintaining service oversight, looking at legacies but understanding their current authority will cease to exist.

 The second is for shadow authority councillors when newly elected to understand their initial focus on structure, governance, and scrutiny  to effectively shape the future council rather than service delivery.

Sitting councillors also elected as a shadow councillor can benefit from a mixture of aspects of both workshops, as they learn how to split their roles and responsibilities.