IN THIS ISSUE...

It’s my honour and privilege to take on the role of ADEPT President. I’m only three days into the role and so far, so good! I’d like to thank ADEPT’s outgoing President, Neil Gibson, for his work: his commitment, ambition and energy towards the sector and for ADEPT have been inspirational.
 
My key priority is to bring together ADEPT with the other local authority professional bodies, ensuring we speak with one voice to government. This will create a powerful, unified force that we can use to ensure resilience for our communities, to safeguard the most vulnerable, and sustainably grow our economy and infrastructure. I will be talking to the Presidents of ADASS, ADCS and ADPH over the next couple of weeks and hope we can agree a common narrative in relation to the forthcoming spending review.
 
My other objectives include implementing the new ADEPT business delivery model; to focus on the ADEPT membership; and to champion diversity and inclusion across the sector. Many of you attended the Spring Conference last week, and engaged in conversations about the Association’s new strategic priorities. We received many positive responses to the survey we ran prior to the conference asking for your feedback on the new delivery model (full results available here). It was great to see many of the Leadership Development Programme participants at the conference too. I was really pleased that we started the conversation about the diversity and inclusion of our sector at the conference. It was only time I could recall such a large section of our membership openly discuss this important agenda and it made me feel really positive about the work we have ahead of us. 
 
I am always mindful that this is a membership body which relies on volunteers, and it genuinely is a team effort to deliver. Can I take this opportunity to thank Mike Ashworth, who has stood down as chair of the Transport Board, for his many years of dedicated service to the Association. I look forward to working with the members of the Leadership Team to ensure that ADEPT continues to represent ‘leaders in the place’ space, and welcome to Laura Church as the new 2^nd Vice President. See here for the new Leadership Team line up.
 
Finally – I really enjoyed the Annual Dinner and President’s Awards. The place sector is a beacon of innovation and ambition and these awards highlight this. It is wonderful to celebrate the amazing work happening across the country, creating great, sustainable places for people to live, work and thrive. My congratulations to the winners! And thank you once again to our sponsors.
 
The next big event will be the ADEPT Autumn Conference on 21^st and 22^nd November in Bath - put the dates in your diary now!
 
As always, any queries please do get in touch.
 

SAVE THE DATE!
 

ADEPT AUTUMN CONFERENCE 21/22 NOVEMBER
APEX HOTEL BATH
 

The Autumn conference is a highlight of our calendar. Full details will be released soon, but in the meantime put the date in your diaries!
 

PAST PRESIDENTS' LUNCH
 

As a result of the Shared Intelligence research undertaken in Autumn 2018, the Leadership Team made a number of recommendations to the membership via a consultation. The proposed changes will enable the Association to better prepare for the future needs of members and provide a framework in which to develop strategic priorities for Place, in a rapidly changing world.

The consultation, Refreshing the ADEPT Business Model, looked at:

• Reframing the ADEPT business delivery model around 4 key functions
• Restructuring some of the Subject Boards to reflect the changing landscape
• Focusing influencing activities across three new strategic place-shaping priorities

The consultation went out in late May and early June and the response from members was very positive. Thanks to all of you who responded to the consultation and took the time to leave constructive comments. The results can be found here.

Further information on these changes and what they mean for ADEPT members can be found on the Frequently Asked Questions page.

HCLG SELECT COMMITTEE
 

On 10 June Ian Fielding, Chair of the ADEPT Waste Group, gave evidence before a HCLG select committee enquiry into the implications of the waste strategy for local authorities.

Read the transcript of the meeting or watch it here.

ADEPT has published two policy positions this month, as well as a good practice guide for local authorities.

The Digital Connectivity policy position deals with the coverage and quality of broadband and mobile signals and explores delivery impact, the role of Local Industrial Strategies and the importance of inclusive connectivity.

The Climate Change policy position outlines the key messages and how ADEPT intends to tackle the challenges of climate change going forward.

Linked to this is Preparing for Climate Change: a good practice guide for local government, which is designed to assist local government to prepare for the impacts of change adaptation.

ANNOUNCING THE EXCELLENCE IN PLACE LEADERSHIP PROGRAMME
 

ADEPT is proud to launch its new Excellence in Place Leadership programme in partnership with Amey.
 

• Purpose: to bring together forward-thinking ‘thought leaders’ from across ADEPT, to consider the key issues and opportunities affecting our sector.
• Key outputs: thought pieces that can genuinely shape the way ADEPT members do business.
• Objective: to facilitate a forum for like-minded individuals to tackle issues of strategic interest – this will create an environment for change, driving thinking and influencing strategy across the industry.

 
A flyer and an Expressions of Interest template will be mailed out to all members later this week.

Members will be aware that ADEPT launched its own Leadership Development Programme (LDP) earlier this year, delivered in partnership with SOLACE. The programme has proved a great success, with 25 participants drawn from local authorities across the country.
 
Building on this membership offer, we would like to introduce a mentoring scheme. This is aimed at both aspiring place directors (and not just those attending the LDP) and newly appointed (including interim) place directors. We will provide mentoring training before matching mentors with mentees, taking any preferences into account. We would expect both parties to commit to a certain number of hours over the period of one year. To be an eligible mentor, we would ask for members with at least 2 years of experience in a substantive place director post.
 
If you are interested in volunteering to become a mentor, please email the COO Hannah Bartram as soon as possible (hannah.bartram@eastsussex.gov.uk).

View From Westminster

There’s nothing quite like a leadership election to get the pulse pumping. We geeks love this stuff and we particularly enjoy it when a contest rolls around that will have a profound impact not just on the direction a political party might take, but also the way the country will be governed. In the hierarchy of leadership contests, this one is right up there at the pinnacle.

But enough about Sir Edward Davey vs. Jo Swinson. The focus for those that dwell in SW1 has been on the bruising battle engulfing the party that scored a whopping 9% in the recent European elections and which has shed just north of 1,200 councillors. Read more...

• York has the best mobile phone reception in the UK, whereas Stockport has the worst
  (http://bit.ly/307gXMq)
• 90% of households in the UK have internet access, with 98% of those households primarily using fixed broadband to access the internet
  (http://bit.ly/2XiVm1T)
• 94% of homes and businesses are in areas where superfast broadband is available, but only 45% of homes subscribe to the services (http://bit.ly/2YrYh9z)
• The fastest broadband speeds in the UK are not where you may think – a 2018 survey found that Wray in Lancashire, the Cherwell Valley and Epping Forest enjoy the fastest connections (http://bit.ly/2XLFrNI)

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