Local Government Association building, Smith Square, Westminster

The Local Government Association (LGA) is the national membership body for local authorities. Its core membership is made up of 339 English councils and the 22 Welsh councils through the Welsh Local Government Association. The LGA is politically-led and cross-party. As the national voice of local government, it works on behalf of councils to give local government a strong, credible voice with national government, to promote the positive reputation of the sector and to secure funding and powers on behalf of councils and the communities they serve. Through it
programme of practical
peer-based support it helps councils continuously to improve and innovate and it co-ordinates collective legal actions on behalf of the sector. The LGA also provides membership services to other organisations through an associate scheme, including fire and rescue  authorities, national parks authorities, town councils, police & crime commissioners and elected mayors of combined authorities. The chairman of the LGA is Councillor James Jamieson and the chief executive is Mark Lloyd.

History

On 1 April 1997, the Association of County Councils, the Association of District Councils and the

Association of Metropolitan Authorities The Local Government Association (LGA) is the national membership body for local authorities. Its core membership is made up of 339 English councils and the 22 Welsh councils through the Welsh Local Government Association. The LGA is p ...

came together to form a single membership body for local government in England – the Local Government Association (LGA). In 2010, the LGA merged with the

Improvement and Development Agency The Improvement and Development Agency for local government (usually shortened to IDeA) is a legal entity within the Local Government Association The Local Government Association (LGA) is the national membership body for local authorities. I ...

(IDeA), Local Government Employers (LGE), Local Authority Co-ordinators of Regulatory Services (LACORS) and the Leadership Centre for Local Government. The IDeA, whilst wholly owned by the LGA, continues to exist as a company and the recipient of central government grant for improvement activities. The Leadership Centre is now an independent body based in North London. In April 2019, the former unincorporated LGA was replaced by the LGA unlimited company, enabling it to hold title to its two properties – its headquarters in Smith Square, Westminster and the former IDeA headquarters in Farringdon. The LGA’s annual meeting – the General Assembly - takes place on the first Tuesday of July each year. The 2019 assembly passed a motion declaring a climate emergency and calling on government to explore the domestic implementation of the UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) through funded partnership roles with local authority areas and encouraging councils to continue to link local priorities with the overall ambitions of the SDGs.

Chairs of the LGA

Jeremy Beecham Jeremy Hugh Beecham, Baron Beecham (born 14 November 1944) is a British Labour politician and a senior figure in English local government. He was leader of Newcastle City Council and the first Chairman of the Local Government Association. He ...

(1997–2004) * Lord Bruce-Lockhart (2004–2007) * Sir Simon Milton (2007–2008) *

Margaret Eaton, Baroness Eaton Ellen Margaret Eaton, Baroness Eaton, DBE, DL (born 1 June 1942, Bradford, England) has been a Conservative Party life peer in the British House of Lords since 2010. She has been a Councillor with Bradford Metropolitan Borough Council si ...

(2008–2011) * Sir Merrick Cockell (2011–2014) * David Sparks (2014–2015) * Gary Porter, Lord Porter of Spalding (2015–2019) * James Jamieson (2019–present)

Board directors

Main priorities

The LGA's published business plan sets out the association's main lobbying priorities for 2019-22. They are: *Funding for local government *Adult social care, health and wellbeing *Children, education and schools *Places to live and work *Strong local democracy *Sustainability and climate action

Associated companies

The LGA has a number of associated companies.
GeoPlace
is a joint venture between the LGA and Ordnance Survey * LGA (Digital Services) is a partnership between the LGA and Brent Council
Public Sector Audit Appointments Ltd
is wholly owned by the LGA through the IDeA company
LGA Commercial Services Ltd
is wholly owned by the LGA * The LGA is also a founder member of th
Local Government Mutual (LGM)
and a shareholder in th
UK Municipal Bonds Agency (UKMBA).

Local Partnerships
is a joint venture between the LGA, HM Treasury and the Welsh Government

References

External links

*
The Welsh Local Government Association (Cymdeithas Llywodraeth Leol Cymru)
— The leading site for local government news
LocalGov.co.uk
— News updates on UK local government
Local Government CareersLocal Government Channel
{{Authority control 1997 establishments in England 1997 establishments in Wales Government agencies established in 1997 Local government in England Local government in Wales Organisations based in the City of Westminster Local government organizations Council of European Municipalities and Regions