Local Government Archives - Southern Policy Centre

Life after Covid – Building Back Fairer in the South

September 27, 2021

All, Blog, Guest posts, Local Government, Skills

Life after Covid – Building Back Fairer in the South This is a guest blog by Councillor Dave Shields who is currently Southampton City Councillor for the Freemantle Ward. Dave was born, raised and educated in Southampton. Leaving full time school education at 17 he held a number of jobs – including a zoo-keeper, accounts clerk with a local shipping company and clerical officer at the Census Office – before moving to London to study for a degree. Dave was…

Levelling up and devolution: what might it mean for the central South

September 21, 2021

Simon Eden

All, Blog, Devolution, General, Local Government

Levelling up and devolution: what might it mean for the central South ‘Levelling up’ – ensuring there is equality of opportunity across all parts of the United Kingdom – is a key theme for Boris Johnson’s Government. We are promised a White Paper in the autumn which will address regional disparities and put forward proposals to give those who feel they’ve been left behind the chance to catch up. There is a perception in some quarters that we can achieve…

The Circular Economy – just how do we do that?

September 20, 2021

Chas Bradfield

All, Blog, Guest posts, Local Government, Skills

The Circular Economy – just how do we do that? This is a guest blog by Chas Bradfield, who recently stepped down as Strategic Director – Place at Winchester City Council after a career in the health service, local government and regeneration consultancy work. Town centre regeneration has been a passion in recent years, in particular, Camberley, Basingstoke and Winchester, building partnerships with local businesses and directing large scale regeneration schemes. Chas is currently a consultant with Citicentric, (a regeneration…

Deliberative Democracy: exploring fresh approaches to consultation

September 16, 2021

Simon Eden

All, Blog, General, Local Government

Deliberative Democracy: exploring fresh approaches to consultation Introduction Test Valley Borough Council led a Government-funded pilot to explore how a deliberative approach could inform decision-making on important local policy and service issues. Following that pilot the Council are keen to adopt that model for citizen engagement where it offers the best approach to informing decision-making. The Council commissioned the Southern Policy Centre to lead a seminar designed to help their senior managers understand how deliberative democracy works and discuss when…

Realising the economic potential of the wider South East – technical symposium

September 26, 2019

markbraggins

All, Local Government, News

John Denham, SPC Director, is speaking to a seminar exploring the economic potential of the the wider South East. The event takes place in London on 25 October, and is organised by Arup. The combined economies of the former South East and East regions represent over 20% of the nation’s GVA. They also contain eight of its highest performing towns. Yet these areas are often perceived as the commuting hinterlands of London, rather than economic engines in their own right.…