As warned in the LGA Liberal Democrat Group election guidance, the June 2025 meeting of the main LGA Board passed a number of governance changes, including changes to the names and responsibilities of some of the LGA policy Boards.
What are the key changes?
- All Boards will be re-named Committees.
- The People and Places and the Cities Boards – will be scrapped. Two new Committees contain most elements of their present remit – Growth and Public Sector Reform will be created. The Growth Committee will cover areas including, economy, skills, jobs, housing and homelessness.
- The Public Sector Reform and Innovation Committee will include digital and the future of local government/local government re-organisation, public sector reform and devolution.
- The Local Infrastructure and Net Zero Board, will become the Neighbourhood Committee and keeps over 50 per cent of the present LINZ remit.
What was the LGA Liberal Democrat Group’s response to the proposed changes?
- The LGA Liberal Democrat Group made it very clear it was against the LGA re-organising its policy boards, as the Lib Dem Group felt they should continue in their present form and expressed our opposition to the time scale of these changes and there clash with our group elections – but Labour and the Conservative Groups voted for these changes so they were approved.
- Following a Liberal Democrat proposal, the LGA will require all committees to look at the implications of all decisions on rural and urban areas, just as it now does for equalities and financial issues.
What happens now for those Liberal Democrats standing for election for Cities and the People and Places Board?
Across the new committees there are the same number of places for Liberal Democrat Councillors as there were under the old Board structure (six places in whole). So all those successfully elected to the old two Boards will be offered places on either the Growth or Public Sector Reform and Innovation Committees, including the appointment of lead members for both of these board. I have asked the LGA office to oversee this process.
What about the Local Infrastructure and Net Zero Board?
In addition to this, the LINZ Board (Local Infrastructure and Net Zero) will be changed, with over 50 per cent of its areas of responsibility going into a new Neighbourhood Committee which will include street scene, licensing, waste, green spaces and Net Zero. Again, the Liberal Democrat Group retains its three members - so successful Liberal Democrat candidates for the LINZ Board will be put forward onto this Committee.