Local Government Association

The Local Government Association is a body for advancing the interests of local authorities in England and Wales

The LGA has its Head Office at Local Government House (formerly Transport House) in Smith Square, Westminster. Its members are various different types of local authorities, including county councils, metropolitan borough councils, London borough councils, non-metropolitan district councils and unitary authorities. The LGA does not cover parish and community councils, which are represented by the National Association of Local Councils [ [http://www.nalc.gov.uk/ National Association of Local Councils] ] and by One Voice Wales. [ [http://www.onevoicewales.org.uk/ One Voice Wales] ] In addition there are bodies such as London Councils (formerly the Association of London Government) and other regional bodies to bring together local authorities at the regional level.

The Welsh members are part of the affiliated Welsh Local Government Association. The equivalent organisation in Scotland is the Convention of Scottish Local Authorities, and for Northern Ireland the Northern Ireland Local Government Association.

The LGA seeks to promote better local government; it maintains communication between officers in different local authorities to develop best practice. It also represents the interests of local government to national government and seeks to improve the image of local government generally.

The Chief Executive is Paul Coen, formerly Chief Executive of Essex County Council, replacing Sir Brian Briscoe who had been Chief Executive of the LGA since its formation. Sir Simon Milton, leader of Westminster Council, was elected chair of the LGA in July 2007, replacing Lord Sandy Bruce-Lockhart.

The LGA was formed on April 1, 1997, in the middle of the 1990s UK local government reform which created unitary authorities. The association is the direct successor to several per-type associations, most recently the Association of County Councils, the Association of District Councils and the Association of Metropolitan Authorities. There continue to be Special Interest Groups within the LGA representing groups of authorities. These are largely per-type - the County Councils Network, the Special Interest Group of Municipal Authorities, and UNISIG, representing Unitary Authorities, but also include groups for coastal authorities, authorities with high ethnicity, and authorities with sparse populations, among others.

Other former local authority associations included the Association of Municipal Corporations, County Boroughs Association, Rural District Councils Association and Urban District Councils Association. [http://www.special-coll.bham.ac.uk/catalogue_AM_pa_lca.htm]

Chairmen

*Sir Jeremy Beecham (1997-2004)
*Sandy, Lord Bruce-Lockhart (2004-2007)
*Sir Simon Milton (2007- )

ee also

*Australian Local Government Association
*Improvement and Development Agency

References

External links

* [http://www.lga.gov.uk/ Local Government Association]
* [http://www.wlga.gov.uk/ The Welsh Local Government Association (Cymdeithas Llywodraeth Leol Cymru)]
* [http://www.local.gov.uk Local.gov.uk] - LGA and related bodies
* [http://www.localgov.co.uk LocalGov.co.uk] - News updates on UK local government
* [http://www.lgcareers.com Local Government Careers]
* [http://www.lgcplus.com/index.html The Local Government Chronicle]