Building trust with government is the new LGA chair’s priority.
Councillor Louise Gittins had a busy first day as Chair of the LGA.
Amid a swathe of filming, induction meetings and introductions at the LGA’s London headquarters, Ofsted announced it would be inspecting her council’s children’s services, and she took a call from Angela Rayner, the Deputy Prime Minister and new Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government.
“You get used to it in local government,” she says, with a wry smile.
Cllr Gittins was Chair of the LGA’s Children and Young People Board for two years, and previously Deputy Chair of its Community Wellbeing Board, but says she still feels like a relative newcomer to the organisation.
While a long-standing and active Labour party member, she only became a councillor because she was asked to stand as a ‘paper’ candidate in the 2011 local elections, when she was told: “Don’t worry, you’re not going to win.”
But she did, becoming Deputy Leader of Cheshire West and Chester when Labour took control four years later, and Leader in 2019.
Then COVID-19 came along – cementing her belief in the importance of cross-party working.
“At that time, it was really important that we all worked together, regardless of political colour, for the benefit of our residents,” she says.
The cross-party aspect of the LGA chair’s role appealed to her and she’d “had it in the back of my mind” to apply – but, much like becoming a councillor, it took encouragement from others to do so. Now, she feels ready for it.
“I’m so passionate about local government, the LGA feels like a natural environment,” says Cllr Gittins.
“It also comes at the right time. I feel comfortable in my role as leader of the council. I know our officers are really proud that I’ve been given this privilege and this opportunity, and, ultimately, I’m doing this to try to get the very best I can for residents right across the country, including my own.
“I think it’s also good that I come from a council that people probably don’t know very much about.
“Cheshire West and Chester is not one of the big metropolitan areas, it’s not a big county; it’s a microcosm of England, with a historic city, industrial towns, an old ‘new’ town, lots of rural areas, towns, villages, agriculture, massive industry around Ellesmere Port, green growth, high areas of deprivation, but then areas of wealth, living side by side in some cases.
“So, there are lots and lots of opportunities, as well as all the challenges, and that feels a bit like the country as a whole.”
Cllr Gittins intends to stay on as Leader because “I need to understand the challenges council leaders are facing”. But, as Chair of the LGA, she wants to be seen visiting councils across the country, and to be a ‘listening’ chair, keen to hear everyone’s point of view.
Her primary focus, though, will be on building a new relationship between central and local government following the 4 July general election.
“Now we’ve got a period of stability and certainty in national government, we need to come together and work with the new Government with hope in our hearts that things are going to change,” she says.
“The biggest thing that needs to change is our relationship with government: they need to be seen as listening, working with us, and collaborating; and we need to show them we can deliver on their priorities, their missions.
“Sometimes, there has been perhaps too much focus on saying what’s wrong, instead of what’s strong.
“I’m passionate about helping people live longer, healthier, happier lives”
“I would like us to work together to really show how local government can support immediate government priorities – for example, around getting houses built, reducing homelessness, tackling child poverty, and strengthening the economy. Councils are already doing these things and could do more.”
The LGA is reviewing its Local Government White Paper – published during the general election campaign – to align it with the new post-election agenda, and this work needs to move “at pace”, says Cllr Gittins.
“Now is the time to take stock and say, OK, how does this align to what the new Government is trying to do and how can we tweak and change, and what are our messages coming from that?”
The white paper warned that councils in England face a £6.2 billion funding gap over the next two years, and Cllr Gittins is clear the Government is “well aware of that, because we’ve shouted about that quite a lot”.
“The money is really, really important to help tackle the challenges councils face. It’s the demand on services, whether it’s children’s, adult social care, homelessness – they’re the three biggies,” she adds.
“But if we go in just focused on ‘give us the money’, it’s not going to happen. We need to start off by building that relationship of trust and showing we can deliver.”
She feels residents and local communities are becoming more aware of the pressures on local authorities, and are more open to being asked to ‘play their part’ by looking after their areas and looking out for each other.
Her personal priorities are about tackling health inequalities and ensuring all children and young people get the best start in life.
“I’m passionate about addressing the differences in healthy life expectancy, and about preventative measures to help people live longer, healthier and happier lives the way they want to,” she says.
“In too many parts of the country, the difference in life expectancy between the poorest and wealthiest areas is too high, and in some places this rises to 16 years or more.
“Professor Sir Michael Marmot’s work on the wider social determinants of health underpins everything we do every day in local government – providing housing, green spaces, leisure facilities, environmental services, libraries and culture is so important.
“People work hard all their lives and bring up their families; they should be able to live gracefully into older age.”
A keen walker, Cllr Gittins talks about how being outdoors and engaging with culture helps create a sense of wellbeing. Her council has a campaign running called ‘joyful movement’, about getting people moving (rather than focusing on sport).
The aim is to develop a “narrative of how moving makes people feel”, with residents and partners encouraged to move in a way they enjoy – for example, dancing in their kitchens at home, going for a walk during work lunch breaks, or playing in the park with their kids.
She adds: “‘Active soles’ is a great example of an expanding network of places encouraging people to wear comfortable shoes for work so, in their breaks, they can go and stretch their legs: it’s taking away barriers to being more active, and I’ll be encouraging the LGA to do it too!”