Special Interest Group annual report to LGA Board 2023.
Contact information
Lead Member: Councillor Sir Stephen Houghton CBE
Lead Officer: Geoff Winterbottom
Email: [email protected]
Address: PO BOX 609, Plaza One, Westgate, Barnsley, S70 2DR
Telephone: 01226 773 142
Website: www.sigoma.gov.uk
Membership
| Barnsley | Knowsley | South Tyneside |
| Blackburn with Darwen | Leeds | Southampton |
| Blackpool | Leicester | St. Helens |
| Bolton | Liverpool | Stockport |
| Bradford | Manchester | Stockton-on-Tees |
| Bury | Newcastle upon Tyne | Stoke-on-Trent |
| Calderdale | North Tyneside | Sunderland |
| County Durham | Nottingham | Tameside |
| Coventry | Oldham | Trafford |
| Derby | Plymouth | Wakefield |
| Doncaster | Portsmouth | Walsall |
| Dudley | Rochdale | Warrington |
| Gateshead | Rotherham | Wigan |
| Halton | Salford | Wirral |
| Kingston upon Hull | Sandwell | Wolverhampton |
| Kirklees | Sheffield |
Aim
To lobby central government in order to help secure sufficient, sustainable and fair funding so that our members can maintain vital services and continue to invest in improving their local areas.
Key activities/outcomes of work undertaken
Represent our members’ interests in working and steering groups, in government consultations and inquiries and in local government sector calls with DLUHC.
Analyse relevant government proposals and legislation for their impact on and fairness to our members.
Conduct in-depth analysis on Local Government Finance to highlight the significant cuts to local government since 2010/11 and the falling proportion of needs-based funding (amongst others) and use this to call on the Government for sufficient and sustainable funding for local government.
Participate in bi-monthly local government sector calls with DLUHC, other government departments and other local government sector representatives to facilitate information sharing.
Organise and host meetings of our Technical Officer and Full Members’ groups to share our research, detail the progress of our campaigns, facilitate discussion and provide an opportunity for Officers and Members to contribute their views and ideas.
Provide a regular email bulletin to keep SIGOMA Officers up to date with the latest policy developments, legislation changes, funding allocations and technical insights in local government.
Produce PR and Op-ed pieces for the national, regional, local and sector press to communicate our stance and make the case for a fairer and more sustainable future for local government.
Utilise an active and growing presence on social media to highlight the pressures on local government, provide solutions and ensure our content reaches a wide audience.
Conduct surveys and circulate queries to provide an overview to members of how other member councils are handling and managing the big problems facing the sector, such as inflationary pressures.
Our year in numbers (May 2022 to May 2023)
- Submitted evidence in 11 Government consultations and inquiries and attended five working groups.
- Attended over 30 sector calls with Government officials.
- Organised three officer meetings, including a Local Government Finance update.
- Hosted five full members’ meetings.
- Had over 100 substantive press appearances across the national press, regional press, local press and sector press.
- Daily tweets and growing social media presence
- Sent approximately 200 officer bulletins, keeping our Officers up to date with Government policy and announcements.
- Provided four on-the-day officer briefings for the Autumn Statement, Provisional Settlement, Final Settlement and Spring Budget.