Search this site

Previous Next Jonathan Werran Chief Executive, Localis Prior to running Localis - an independent think-tank dedicated to issues related to politics, public service reform and localism - Jonathan worked in consultancy, communications and journalism. After five years as a reporter, commentator and features editor for The Municipal Journal (The MJ), in 2015 he became the first strategic communications officer for the District Councils’ Network. Prior to The MJ, he edited an online government property and public estate magazine and helped run communications and marketing for anti-poverty charity Elizabeth Finn Care. He began his career in online publishing and developed the groundbreaking ‘Wired-Gov’ service to repackage central government press releases. 15:30–16:30 North West Breakout: Connected Devolution: Implications for Local Government Leadership Breakout View Session Speakers: Emma Foy , Industry Lead for Local Government, TechnologyOne Jonathan Werran , Chief Executive, Localis

Previous Next Claire Trickett Workforce and Organisational Development Consultant, Blackburn with Darwen Council Claire is a Workforce and Organisational Development Consultant at Blackburn with Darwen Council with experience developing effective people strategies, strengthening workplace culture, and navigate complex people challenges. She specialises in developing and delivering leadership development programmes, enhancing organisational capability through learning initiatives and coaching, and implementing practical solutions that drive employee engagement and performance. 13:30–13:40 Rewiring the State Blackburn with Darwen: The Trojan Horse of Leadership Development Showcase View Session Speakers: Claire Trickett , Workforce and Organisational Development Consultant, Blackburn with Darwen Council Sue Featherstone , Solace Associate and Director, Developing Success 09:50–10:00 Rewiring the State Blackburn with Darwen: The Trojan Horse of Leadership Development Showcase View Session Speakers: Claire Trickett , Workforce and Organisational Development Consultant, Blackburn with Darwen Council Sue Featherstone , Solace Associate and Director, Developing Success

Previous Next Victoria Derbyshire Journalist and BBC Topical News Presenter Victoria Derbyshire is a well established journalist and BBC topical news presenter. First working for a local radio, Victoria Derbyshire was a keen journalist and clearly was passionate about media and communications. Derbyshire then joined BBC Radio 5 Live in 1998 as a co-presenter for the breakfast show, which also featured Julian Worricker. In 1998 and 2002, the programme won Gold Sony Awards . Shortly after this, Worricker left the breakfast show and Derbyshire was partnered with Nicky Campbell. After a spell of maternity leave, Derbyshire then took over the news programme in 2004. An extremely trusted and collected person, Derbyshire's relationship with viewers was something that nobody had ever seen before. Some very personal and dark experiences were shared with Derbyshire on air. One memorable example of this was when an alcoholic GP called Rachel, described her descent into alcoholism as she opened a can of beer live on air. Derbyshire has also worked on multiple television news and political programmes including Newsnight, This Week, Watchdog and regularly on the BBC News channel. Additionally to this, Derbyshire hosted a sports chat show on Channel 4 on Saturday mornings called SportsTalk. Since joining 5 Live, Derbyshire has been sent to cover some of the biggest global news stories there has been. This includes 9/11, The Paris Concorde Crash, General Elections, World Cups and also Olympic Games. Derbyshire's programme was the first to broadcast a show live from Zimbabwe, in 2009 following President Mugabe's lifting of restrictions on international journalists. Derbyshire's programme made radio history when it became the first to broadcast live from an abortion clinic in 2012, and later that year broadcast from an animal testing laboratory. In October 2011 Derbyshire made her debut on Have I Got News For You . In autumn 2013, under the new editorship of Ian Katz, Derbyshire began occasionally presenting Newsnight while continuing to present her daily 5 Live programme. Her final Radio 5 Live show was broadcast on 5 September 2014. Her current affairs programme began airing on 7 April 2015 on BBC Two and the BBC News Channel. Most recently, she appeared on the 2020 series of I'm A Celebrity... Get Me Out Of Here! . 10:30 Main Stage Conference Commences Compere View Session Conference Compere: Victoria Derbyshire , Journalist and Topical News Reporter, BBC 10:55–11:45 Main Stage Stronger Standards, Stronger Leadership, Stronger Places Keynote View Session Speakers: Kath O'Dwyer , Solace Group Board Chair Cllr Hannah Dalton , Leader, Epsom and Ewell Borough Council Rachel McKoy , Executive Director, Association of Monitoring Officers (AMO) 11:45–12:45 Main Stage Local Choices, National Consequences: What May’s Elections Tell Us About Britain’s Democratic Future Keynote View Session Speakers: Sir John Curtice , British political scientist and professor of politics at the University of Strathclyde Sam Hartley , Director of Policy, Research and Voter Engagement, The Electoral Commission

Breakout 11:30–12:30 Breakout: Cyber Resilience in Transition: Securing Public Services Through Reorganisation and Digital Disruption North West Kurtis Toy, Chief Executive, Cyber Centre of Excellence (iESE) Read More Previous The session opens with an update on the cyber threats facing councils and what reorganisation means for them. The LGR timetable has moved back, which gives councils more time to prepare, but the challenge and risks are still the same. Combining councils means bringing together different systems, suppliers, teams and ways of making decisions, often while people are stretched and attention is elsewhere. This is when organisations are most exposed and open to cyberattacks. Drawing on the CCoE’s work with councils across the UK, we'll look at where the weak points usually appear and what leaders can do now, while there is time, to make sure security is built into both the current organisation and the new organisation from day one. The rest of the session is an interactive workshop on what happens when the technology stops. It is built around Analogue 72, the CCoE’s green paper on how the country would cope through the first three days of a major nationwide outage. Working together, participants will consider which services their council could still provide, how decisions would be made, how they would keep residents informed and which partners they would rely on. You will leave with a clearer sense of what matters most when everything else fails, and practical steps you can take now, before a crisis – rather than during one. Next

Previous Next Pam Smith Chief Executive, Newcastle City Council and Solace Policy Lead for Economic Prosperity Pam joined Newcastle City Council as Chief Executive in January 2022 having been Chief Executive at Stockport Council since 2017. Prior to that, she was Chief Executive at Burnley Council and has also worked for the Audit Commission and in the private sector. Pam is the Solace lead spokesperson for Economic Prosperity and a Fellow of the RSA. In April 2024 Pam was appointed Visiting Professor of Practice at Newcastle University, within the School of Geography, Politics & Sociology. Pam is known for building strong teams that deliver for residents. She led the University Town transformation in Burnley and the £1bn regeneration and transformation of Stockport including being a champion of the Mayoral Development Corporation which accelerated growth and opportunities for its residents. Working collaboratively across Newcastle and the region, Pam is now leading on a £6.7m city centre redevelopment and delivering a new approach to neighbourhood regeneration; building resilient communities across the city. Pam is also leading the city through the new Green Industrial Age as it becomes a global exemplar for clean energy and sustainable growth. Pam is focused on tackling inequalities and ensuring Newcastle is the best place for residents to grow up, grow older and live their best life. 14:00–15:00 West Room Economy: The Current Landscape and the Impact on Our Place Sub Plenary View Session Speakers: Pam Smith , Chief Executive, Newcastle City Council and Solace Policy Lead for Economic Prosperity (Chair) Danielle Gillespie , Executive Regional Director, North West, Homes England

All Speakers Vicki Bates Assistant Director, Governance and Monitoring Officer, Stockport Metropolitan Borough Council Vicki Bates joined Stockport Metropolitan Borough Council as its Monitoring Officer in October 2019, having spent 17 years as a solicitor and senior leader in private practice law firms in Manchester.   Vicki joined Stockport Metropolitan Borough Council after advising the council during 2018 and 2019 on the collapse of Carillion.  Vicki’s remit now covers Legal Services, Democratic and Electoral Services and Information Governance.   Since arriving in Stockport Vicki has overseen the strategic upskilling and investment to save into the legal team, growing it to 50 plus colleagues, leading to a reduction in spend on external legal advisors and a better retention and recruitment rate and reduction of locum spend.  Vicki has also led on the implementation of a trainee and paralegal programme in the legal team, the introduction of a work experience programme (now consistently oversubscribed) and were the first legal team in Greater Manchester to offer T Level placements to two under 18 year olds.  The legal team were highly commended in the Legal Team of the Year, Lawyers in Local Government Awards (LLG) 2024 and won the LLG Award for Excellence in Training Award in 2025.   In 2021 Vicki led the successful integration of the Democratic and Electoral Services teams into one shared service team increasing resilience and efficiency.  In 2023 Vicki took over the lead of the Information Governance team and also became the council’s Deputy SIRO.   Vicki won the LGC Workforce Head of Service Award in 2024 for her approach to culture change and workplace wellbeing.  Vicki is a non-executive Director for the council’s public realm company, the council’s strategic lead on Wellbeing, Prevent and our Armed Forces Covenant and a Board Member on the North West Legal Consortium.     Vicki’s most important role is being a mum and biggest cheerleader for her 16 year old daughter. Thursday 16 October 2025 15:00–15:40 Cross-party Working Against a Backdrop of No Overall Control Hall A, Royal Armouries Go to session

Previous Next Alison Barker Chief Executive, North Lincolnshire Council and Solace Deputy Policy Lead for Health and Social Care Alison Barker is a seasoned leader in health, social care and local government, recognised for her expertise in safeguarding, wellbeing and inclusive service transformation. She has worked across Health and Local Government since 1990, with a professional background in social work. Alison champions resident-centred approaches, evidence-based decision-making and collaborative partnerships. Her diverse experience spans strategic leadership, multi-agency working and sector-led improvement, including pioneering strengths-based models and delivering major transformation programmes. Alison’s commitment to integrated community support and quality assurance makes her a trusted adviser and peer in driving positive change across the sector. 14:00–15:00 Main Stage The Future of Health and Care: Reform, Partnership and Place Sub Plenary View Session Speakers: Alison Barker , Chief Executive, North Lincolnshire Council and Solace Deputy Policy Lead for Health and Social Care (Chair) Ben Dyson , Director, Integrated Care and Care Partnerships, Adult Social Care Group, Department of Health and Social Care Samantha Allen CBE , Chief Executive, NHS North East and North Cumbria Integrated Care Board

All Speakers Marcus Richards Partner in EY-Parthenon’s Infrastructure Advisory Practice, EY Marcus is a Partner in EY-Parthenon’s Infrastructure Advisory practice, where he leads the firm’s corporate finance work with local and regional government. He specialises in helping councils and combined authorities strengthen financial resilience and unlock investment to deliver major regeneration and infrastructure programmes. Marcus has advised on some of the UK’s most complex local government finance and place transformation challenges — from New Towns to Freeports — bringing together deep technical expertise with strategic insight from his PhD research into local government financial resilience. Thursday 16 October 2025 15:00–15:40 Investing in Place to Build Financial Resilience Aire Suite, Royal Armouries Go to session

All Speakers Kamal Patel Partner in EY-Parthenon’s Infrastructure Advisory Pactice, EY Kamal is a Partner in EY’s Infrastructure Advisory practice, having joined from the Department for Transport, where he was the head of Corporate Finance, Real Estate and shareholding.  At EY, Kamal’s primary focus is on working with regional and national public sector clients to unlock economic growth by leveraging private finance to accelerate the delivery of infrastructure.  Kamal has over 25 years’ experience bringing together his unique background of being an advisor, lender and Government transactions principal for infrastructure projects. Thursday 16 October 2025 15:00–15:40 Investing in Place to Build Financial Resilience Aire Suite, Royal Armouries Go to session

Break 08:50–09:25 Exhibition and Refreshments Exhibition Previous More information to follow. Next

< Back Previous Org Powys County Council https://www.powys.gov.uk More information to come. Next

Tanya AngePresident of ICMA and County Administrator < Speakers < Previous Next > Tanya Ange President of ICMA and County Administrator Washington County Oregon County Administrator Tanya Ange has served as the chief executive of the Washington County organization since August 2020. Washington County serves a growing and diverse population of 610,245 people – the second largest among Oregon’s 36 counties – with a staff of 2,392 full-time equivalent positions and an annual budget of $1.7 billion. More information about Washington County can be found at washingtoncountyor.gov Prior to her appointment to Washington County, Ms. Ange served for four years as deputy city manager… Show More