LLG President Attends the Local Authorities Solicitors Bar Association in Ireland

Publish date: 02/12/2018

LLG has, over many years, retained strong links with both Ireland's and Scotland's membership bodies for lawyers working in local government. These are important relationships to retain and promote and LLG's President, Suki Binjal, was delighted to attend Ireland's Local Authorities Solicitors Bar Association (LASBA) annual conference in Dublin.

The programme for the LASBA conference was broad and informative mirroring and raising many of the issues we face within our own jurisdiction and containing elements of governance and resilience. It was a wonderful opportunity to come together and disseminate good working practices and practical innovation. LLG wishes to extend our thanks to LASBA for a wonderful conference.

Programme highlights included:-

Loose lips sink ships – Defamation and Local Authorities

John Healy, Law Agent, Dun Laoghaire Rathdown County Council

New Contracts for Sale 2019

Amanda Treacy, Senior Executive Solicitor Dublin City Council.

Public Sector Equality and Human Rights Duty

Leonora Mullett, Senior Executive Solicitor Dublin City Council

The Local Election Process and the Kerry Experience

Rosemary Cronin, Law Agent Kerry County Council

Management and Professional Hour

Teresa Casserly Senior Consultant & Director Institute of Public Administration

The Regulatory role of Local Authorities in 2018 – regulator and regulated

Conleth Bradley SC

Local Authorities and the Waste Management Act 1996 (as amended)

Tim O' Sullivan BL

People over Wind and Sweetman v Coillte- the impact on L.A Part 8 Developments

Marguerite Gallagher a/ Law Agent Cork City Council

Blog

15 February 2019

Publish date: 18/02/2019

The Local Government Information Unit published the '2019 State of Local Government Finance Survey'

this week with most council's responding that council tax increases would be inevitable alongside continual reductions in service provision. More than half those surveyed will need to utilise reserves to provide services and 1 in 20 indicated raised concerns about their ability to even meet core function provision. With most council's yearly budget release indicating a need to divert funding to support adult social care provision and identifying equality impacts on a wide-ranging class of people, the challenge continues to find ways to support the delivery of key, vital community provision. No surprise then that 4 out of 5 council's are investing in commercial developments. For those of you interested in the governance of local authority interests in companies, LLG have published model codes of guidance which members can access here

Moving from one challenge to another, Brexit continues to raise major concerns following the Commons defeat of the motion to endorse the governments negotiating strategy. LLG are continuing at pace to raise concerns and flag key areas with the Ministry, especially with the potential for a 'no deal' exit still looming on the horizon. We are currently examining the impact on vulnerable groups and emergency planning which we want the Ministry to provide further guidance and direction on. The Ministry have produced the 'Local Government Brexit Preparedness' guidance which operates by numerous hyperlinks within various fields such as regulatory and communities. It is not easily navigated to obtain quick answers and indeed requires extrapolation to identify vulnerable persons who might be affected by Brexit. LLG will keep you updated on this critical piece of work as it develops.

Bookings for the Weekend School are flooding in now so if you want to ensure you secure a place you need to act quickly. There are numerous different ways to attend and take part including day passes and non-residential attendance. With high profile speakers and a bespoke programme for Junior lawyers at low cost, this year's WES has something for everyone. To view the programme and to book click here https://www.llglegaltraining.org.uk/