Leadership Essentials

This free development event aims to support new Adult Social Care Lead Members with key challenges in a rapidly changing and high profile policy and operational care and health landscape. The programme will explore the role and responsibilities of local leaders within key current challenges, including adult social care funding and reform, assessment safeguarding, health and integration. The events are member led, interactive, and provide lots of opportunities for discussion, the sharing of practice and for making valuable contacts.  The two days are delivered by LGA staff supported by high profile guest speakers from local government and partner agencies.

Fee: The cost of attending this programme is fully subsidised. This includes accommodation, meals and course materials.

As councils grapple with audit delays, financial resilience challenges and a changing local government landscape, ensuring that the Audit Committee is functioning effectively has never been more important.  Meanwhile, the pressures have grown on auditors and council staff to deliver more with less.  Given all that is going on, together with the increasingly high profile that government and national bodies are giving to local council Audit Committees, it is essential that time is taken to reflect on how such committees can contribute to ensuring the council is well governed.

Aimed at Audit Committee chairs, this programme will discuss how Audit Committees can be most effective. Drawing on the insights of regulators and practitioners it will provide space for participants to reflect on the way their Committee functions and how it can gain maximum assurance that the council’s governance arrangements are fit for purpose.

• Programme 18: Thursday 29 October - Friday 30  October 2026 
• Programme 19: Saturday 16 January - Sunday 17 January 2027 

All taking place at Warwick Conferences, Coventry CV4 7SH

Programme starts at 9.30am on the first day and finishes at 3.00pm on the second day

Fee: The cost for attending the two-day residential event is £260 per place which includes accommodation, meals and all learning materials. If members want to arrive the night before, this will be an additional £90.

This exciting programme from the LGA has been designed to meet a significant unmet need in the member development world - a course to support new and experienced cabinet members to be successful in their portfolios.  There are many courses available for scrutiny councillors but this is the first course dedicated to supporting councillors in their role as executive members. The course is equally suited to policy committee chairs at councils operating the committee system.

This interactive course examines the key aspects of being a successful cabinet member - from having a clear understanding of the legacy you want to leave, to working with your director, working with other cabinet members, making effective decisions and managing your workload.  The course is designed to produce a step change in the effectiveness of cabinet members and policy committee chairs. It is designed to support all different types of portfolio holders - and is not specific to a specific portfolio.

Who is it for?

• new cabinet members or policy committee chairs
• experienced cabinet members/chairs wanting a ‘refresh’
• cabinet deputies or assistants
• shadow cabinet members or assistants.

2026-27 Programme:

• Programme 29: Saturday 18 July – Sunday 19 July 2026      
• Programme 30: Wednesday 4 November – Thursday 5 November 2026 
• Programme 31: Thursday 4 February - Friday 5 February 2027        

Fee: The cost for attending the two-day residential event is £260 per place which includes accommodation at Warwick Conferences, Coventry, meals, and all learning materials.  If members want to arrive the night before, this will be an additional £90.

Lead Members for Children's Services are responsible for providing leadership to Children's Services in their area and hold a statutory role. This development event is funded as part of the sector led improvement programme and aims to support Lead Members with the key challenges they face in the changing policy landscape and to develop leadership capacity, share learning and provide a valuable networking opportunity. This programme is also for Chairs of Children's Services scrutiny committee.

The programme runs over two days and is delivered by member peers and LGA staff supported by guest speakers from local government and partner agencies. 

• Programme 49:      Wednesday 9 September – Thursday 10 September 2026
• Programmes 50:    Tuesday 24 November - Wednesday 25 November 2026
• Programmes 51:    Tuesday 1 December - Wednesday 2 December 2026

Fee: The fee for attending this programme is fully subsidised.

An opportunity for those in political roles that lead, influence, and shape the agenda of Children’s Services to come together and support you to drive and embed improvements in your Local Authorities.

At this in-person event means you will have the chance to hear from and have reflective discussions and workshops with, expert speakers and peers from different local authorities.

It is also an opportunity to learn about a breadth of topics relevant to our current context. 

This learning event is aimed at experienced members with the children’s portfolio, education portfolio and chairs of scrutiny, ideally having done the Essentials course more than a year ago and/or been in role at least 12 months.

Programme 11: Saturday 24 October - Sunday 25 October 2026

Fee: The fee for attending this programme is fully subsidised.

As a leading councillor you play a pivotal role in raising awareness of your local area and organisation through the media. We’re running an intense five-hour virtual masterclass to develop and enhance interview skills. 

The session will be run by Scott Chisholm, who advises some of the country’s top politicians and the world’s most influential corporate executives. You will learn:

• how to be in control of any encounter with any journalist
• how to prepare and present
• how a journalist thinks
• what makes news, news
• your rights
• how to exploit difficult questions
• how to influence, rather than merely inform
• the 3 ‘R’s of damage imitation and crisis management.

Programme 41: Friday 17 July 2026 
Programme 42: Thursday 10 September 2026

All held at Warwick Conferences, Coventry

Fee: The cost for attending the one-day event is £105 per place which includes meals and all learning materials. If members want to arrive the night before, this will be an additional £90.

The LGA and Arts Council England ran a one-day fully funded face-to-face programme, specifically for elected members with responsibilities for culture and library services.  The programme took place at Warwick Conferences, Coventry, CV4 7SH starting with a dinner at 7.00pm on Tuesday 21 October, with overnight accommodation provided, followed by a full day’s programme on Wednesday 22 October finishing at 4.00pm.

The programme is suitable for councillors with cultural and library services responsibilities for scrutiny, opposition and boards.

This free-to-attend popular programme supports portfolio holders for culture, and councillors with a strategic interest in culture, to develop essential skills and networks to support your role as a councillor to advocate for cultural services, take confident decisions and work with partners to help contribute to your council’s priority outcomes. The programme supports councillors to:

• be exceptional leaders of place
• unlock the power of cultural services to contribute to cross-cutting council priorities, such as reducing health inequalities, developing vibrant places, supporting local communities and economic growth
• hear case studies and share good practice taking place by councils and expert speakers
• develop networks and work collaboratively with officers
• consider the contexts councils are facing, including devolution, local government reorganisation and financial pressures.

Fee: The cost of attending this programme was fully funded by Arts Council England. This includes the pre-night accommodation on the 21, meals, course materials and tuition.

The Leadership Essentials: Effective Scrutiny two day programme is for new or aspiring scrutiny chairs or task-and-finish group review lead members covering: 

• leading and managing a scrutiny review
• ensuring impact of scrutiny recommendations
• increasing participation by members and the public
• chairing scrutiny meetings in all their forms.

Drawing on experts in their field, the programme will also offer the opportunity to focus in depth on the hot topics that are currently most relevant to your work, whether that is children’s safeguarding, welfare reform, changes in health services or pressure on budgets driving major changes in how services are delivered or commissioned.

• Programme 29: Thursday 24 September - Friday 25 September 2026 
• Programme 30: Saturday 30 January - Sunday 31 January 2027          

Fee: The cost for attending the two-day residential event is £260 per place which includes accommodation, meals and all learning materials.  If members want to arrive the night before, this will be an additional £90.

This two day residential programme will help leaders and finance portfolio holders get to grips with the financial challenges facing their authority.  The course discusses setting longer term strategies for sustainability as well as balancing the budget on an annual basis and how to work with officers to ensure that the Council is making the most of its opportunities.  

Programme 36: Wednesday 16 September - Thursday 17 September 2026

Programme 37: Saturday 24 October - Sunday 25 October 2026 

Programmes start at 9.30 and finishes with lunch at 1.00pm

Fee: The cost for attending the two-day residential event is £260 per place which includes accommodation, meals and all learning materials. If members want to arrive the night before, this will be an additional £90.

This exciting new course will de-mystify the financial elements of your portfolio or the policy committee that you chair. While all councillors understand the current financial pressures and their importance, many councillors – including cabinet members and policy committee chairs - find local government finance difficult to understand and hard to navigate. Too often financial leadership is left to the cabinet member for finance or relevant committee chair but all leading members need to understand finances and be comfortable with their financial roles. 

The course is aimed specifically for non-finance portfolio holders/policy committee chairs, supporting their financial roles by:

• Increasing non-finance cabinet members’ understanding of the contemporary local government finance system and likely future developments in the system.
• Providing tools and practical advice to enable cabinet members to navigate their own authorities’ financial systems and controls.
• Increasing the confidence of cabinet members in developing constructive relationships with key financial managers (including the section 151 officer).
• Enabling participants to identify and specify the financial management elements of a portfolio’s role. Enabling participants to better integrate financial information with non-financial service performance information.

Interactive, practical and engaging – and high accessible for cabinet members less comfortable with the financial aspects of their portfolio.

Who is it for?

• non-finance portfolio holders
• non-finance deputy/assistant cabinet members
• shadow cabinet members
• non finance Committee chairs from committee systems.

Programmes take place at Warwick Conferences, Coventry, CV4 7SH

• Programme 11: Friday 23 October 2026 
• Programme 12: Friday 20 November 2026

Fee: The cost for attending the one-day event is £105 per place which includes meals and all learning materials. If members want to arrive the night before, this will be an additional £90.

This event will provide councillors with the new ideas, strategies and techniques for achieving more effective communication with both internal and external audiences. Participants will learn how to:

• influence others towards achieving mutually beneficial objectives
• adapt their communication style to convey messages more persuasively to people who have a different communication style
• be more effective when delivering and managing bad news
• develop a more authoritative communication style
• Build and promote their own personal brand
• target the right message at the right audience and establish trust and credibility and build relationships
• overcome barriers to effective communication
• select the best tools and methods for delivering messages.

The programme takes place at Warwick Conferences, Coventry

Programme 12: Saturday 16 January - Sunday 17 January 2027

Fee: The cost for attending the two-day residential event is £260 per place which includes accommodation, meals, and all learning materials. If members want to arrive the night before, this will be an additional £90.

Local Government Reorganisation (LGR) is the most significant structural shift in local governance in a generation. This programme will provide leadership training on LGR to give councillors the confidence, capability, and awareness to lead the LGR agenda within their local authorities and in their local areas. 

The programme will offer a comprehensive introduction to Local Government Reorganisation (LGR), outlining key milestones and examining the various roles councillors will play in supporting its implementation within their councils. It will also consider the governance structures necessary for effective delivery. Participants will reflect on their own leadership challenges in the context of LGR and develop the skills and confidence needed to plan, lead, and guide the process. They will learn to collaborate effectively with fellow LGR leaders; communicate and translate core LGR activities to fellow councillors, communities, council staff, and other stakeholders; and harness LGR as a catalyst for transformational change.

The programme is primarily aimed at leaders, deputy leaders and relevant portfolio holders/committee chairs from those councils who are part of the Devolution Priority Programme. However, if space allows, opposition leaders, deputy leaders and relevant portfolio holders/committee chairs from councils in later LGR phases are also welcome to attend.

Fee: The cost for attending the two-day residential event is £250 per place which includes accommodation, meals and all learning materials. If members want to arrive the night before, this will be an additional £85.

These sessions will help councillors who are chairs/vice chairs of planning committee understand the key characteristics of a good committee and develop their skills as a chair. The programme will also look at:

• the current challenges and agendas in the planning process such as Biodiversity Net Gain, new performance regimes, housing numbers and delivery.
• The latest government proposals for reform of planning committees.

 The sessions will be useful to both new and experienced planning committee chairs and vice chairs.  The two-day residential course will be delivered in person, and we'll be holding an online warm-up for those who are attending.

Programme 7: Saturday 10 October – Sunday 11 October 2026
Programme 8: Tuesday 19 January – Wednesday 20 January 2027

Fee: The fee for attending the 2-day residential event will be £150 per place which includes accommodation on the main night, meals and all learning materials.  Cost for pre-night accommodation is £90.

Please Note: All the Planning programmes start at 9.30 on first day and finishes with lunch at 1.00pm on second day.

As part of our 2026/27 Leadership Essentials Planning offer, we will be running 2 two-day events for Council Leaders, Portfolio Holders and Local Plan Leads at Warwick Conferences, Coventry, CV4 7SH. Please note: These sessions are only for local authorities planning under new local plan system that will shortly replace the current system.

What to Expect:

• Finding your way around New Style Local Plans: Learn about the new 30-month plan-making system and your role
• Placemaking Mastery: Learn how to become a champion of placemaking and lead the local plan.
• Actionable Strategies:  What steps and actions do you need to take to ensure local plan success and what does this practically mean for your council's plan-making and decision-making.
• Strategic Planning is back: find out about new strategic plans and how they’ll interact with your emerging local plan. 

Programme 7: Saturday 10 October – Sunday 11 October 2026
Programme 8: Tuesday 19 January – Wednesday 20 January 2027 

Fee: The fee for attending the 2-day residential event will be £150 per place which includes accommodation on the main night, meals and all learning materials. Cost for pre-night accommodation is £90.

What is the role of elected members in the risk management process? Can’t this be left to the Audit Committee? What should we do with the risk register that the officers report to us?

There is truth in the cliché that the greatest risk for councils in the current climate is to take no risk. Consequently, every council has had to develop strategies to transform the way they deliver services, whilst ensuring that the council’s finances remain resilient. However, recent government and audit reports written where such strategies have run into difficulties have highlighted that elected members are not as engaged as they should be in ensuring that risk is effectively managed throughout the authority.  

This seminar will enable participants to develop their understanding of how risk should be identified, assessed, and managed throughout the council. Please bring a copy of your latest risk register with you to the seminar as there will be plenty of time for you to reflect upon the risk management process at your council.

Programme 11: Friday 6 November 2026

Warwick Conferences, Coventry CV4 7SH

Fee: The cost for attending the one-day event is £105 per place which includes meals and all learning materials. If members want to arrive the night before, this will be an additional £90

The LGA and Sport England are running two fully funded residential programmes taking place on 15-16 November 2025 at Warwick Conferences, Coventry and 28-29 January 2026 at Newcastle. Both programmes are two-day residential programmes starting with dinner at 7.00pm on the night before, finishing around 3.30pm on final day. The two programmes are for portfolio holders with responsibility for sport and physical activity and councillors with a strategic interest in physical activity – this includes shadow and board roles, and wider community portfolios. 

This free-to-attend programme supports portfolio holders for leisure and sport, and councillors with a strategic interest in sport and physical activity, to develop essential skills and networks to support your role as a councillor to advocate for sport, physical activity and active wellbeing, take confident decisions and work with partners to help contribute to your council’s priority outcomes. The programme supports councillors to: 

• Be exceptional leaders of place
• Unlock the power of sport and physical activity to contribute to cross-cutting council priorities, such as reducing health inequalities and improving quality of life for local communities, developing vibrant and inclusive places and local economies, supporting local communities and developing skills and opportunities for young people
• Hear case studies and share good practice taking place by councils and expert speakers
• Develop networks and work collaboratively with officers
• Consider the contexts councils are facing, including devolution, local government reorganisation and financial pressures

At a time when public sector leisure is facing significant pressures, don’t miss your opportunity to connect with peer councillors and hear transferrable good practice that can help to support your council’s priorities and your local communities. 

Fee: The cost of attending any of the above programmes is fully funded by Sports England. This includes the two nights’ accommodation [pre-night and main night], all meals, tuition and course materials.

As a councillor, you’ll always be hearing about the need to make efficiencies and savings – and you’re probably told that 'transformation programmes' are the way to make this happen. But what does that really mean? There's no doubt that local authorities need to change how they work to adapt to meet the constantly evolving needs and aspirations of the people they serve. The Transformation Leadership Essentials is primarily aimed at senior councillors, including leaders, chairs of scrutiny, cabinet members, and committee chairs, but is also open to councillors with general interest in transformation, this programme will help demystify transformation and provide you with tools and skills to help you and your council.

By attending this course you will have increased confidence in understanding what is meant by 'transformation' in local government; increased skills and capability to shape and lead transformation and explore topics such as:

• transformation at different levels and approaches to delivering them
• different types of roles councillors play in supporting transformation in their council
• skills and capabilities councillors need to successfully lead and steer transformation
• different roles officers and councillors hold in this space
• skills that councillors need to confidently promote, communicate and translate transformation activities into their communities
• tools and techniques to scrutinise, challenge and champion transformation
• the latest thinking around the role of councillors in delivering transformation programmes.

Fee: The cost for attending the two day residential event is £250 per place which includes accommodation, meals and all learning materials.

If members want to arrive the night before, this will be an additional £85.