FAQs about the next meeting of the LGA's General Assembly, which will be held on Tuesday 7 July 2026 in Bournemouth.
The meeting is held once a year, usually at a national venue, to coincide with the LGA Annual Conference. This year, the meeting will take place on Tuesday 7 July 2026 at the Bournemouth International Centre (BIC).
The General Assembly is a formal meeting which is part of the LGA’s political governance structure. It meets annually and takes place alongside the LGA’s Annual Conference. Membership of the General Assembly is restricted to elected members. Individual authorities in LGA membership directly appoint members to the General Assembly.
The LGA Annual Conference is the biggest event in the local government calendar and one of the most well-attended political conferences of the year. The event is essential for Council Leaders and Chief Executives, senior officers, lead members and policy makers across all services provided by local authorities. The conference regularly attracts high numbers from our partners across the wider public sector, the private and voluntary sectors.
The meeting is held before lunchtime on the first day of the Conference and precedes the formal opening of the Annual Conference. It usually lasts about an hour. The 2026 meeting will take place at 11.45am on Tuesday 7 July 2026.
The General Assembly acts as both the 'parliament of Local Government' and as a formal annual meeting (similar to a council annual meeting or a company AGM). It considers formal business such as the appointment of Office Holders of the Association and the annual accounts and can also discuss strategic policy issues of national significance to local government in England and Wales.
The General Assembly is the only LGA decision-making forum which all authorities in full membership are eligible to attend and to vote. Its responsibilities include:
- appointing the President, Chair and other office holders of the Local Government Association.
- approving changes to the LGA’s Articles of Association.
- noting Vice-President appointments.
- receiving the audited accounts of the Association.
- receiving an Annual Report from the Audit Committee.
- debating motions submitted by local authorities in membership of the Association.
In March or April each year, an e-bulletin is circulated to Local Authority Leaders, Chief Executives and Democratic Services inviting them to appoint their representative/s to the General Assembly by submitting an online form.
Local Authorities MUST complete the online booking form, in order to be able to vote.
All authorities in voting membership are entitled to a minimum of one vote and to appoint at least one (maximum of four) elected representative to the General Assembly. The basis for calculating this is set out in the LGA Articles of Association and Governance Framework.
Only nominated member representatives will be able to speak or vote at the meeting so if your authority wishes to be represented at the meeting, it will need to nominate someone. However, attendance is at individual authorities’ discretion.
Yes. Records are kept for up to two years. Contact [email protected] for information.
Determining how appointments to the General Assembly are made and deciding how votes are allocated between representatives, is entirely at the discretion of individual councils. However, as a cross-party organisation, the Association encourages those authorities entitled to three or four representatives on the General Assembly to allocate one of those positions to Minority Group Leaders.
Yes. observers can attend in addition to the main representative(s).
Authorities can change their representatives up until five days before the meeting. After that point, changes can only be made in exceptional circumstances with the agreement of the LGA’s Chief Executive. If you need to change your representative, please contact the LGA’s Member Services team [email protected]
Yes. There is no charge for members attending just the General Assembly meeting. But you will not have access to the rest of the conference activities.
Booking and payment for the Annual Conference are made separately via the LGA Annual Conference.
The tenure is one year, beginning at the Annual Meeting in each year and ending immediately before the Annual Meeting in the following year, or ending with immediate effect if the individual ceases to be a councillor of a local authority, or if his/her authority ceases to be in membership of the Association.
You only need to nominate directly to the LGA General Assembly. All appointments to our other governance structures are made by the LGA’s political groups.
Any accommodation should be booked by yourselves.
No. The LGA does not hold indemnity/insurance cover for personal liability other than for its directors.
LGA General Assembly: [email protected]
LGA Annual Conference: [email protected]