South West Councils is an association of council leaders from the

South West The points of the compass are a set of horizontal, radially arrayed compass directions (or azimuths) used in navigation and cartography. A compass rose is primarily composed of four cardinal directions—north, east, south, and west—each sepa ...

of England. It is a regional grouping of the

Local Government Association 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 ...

and the regional employers organisation. It was established in May 2009 following the abolition of the

South West Regional Assembly The South West Regional Assembly (SWRA) was the regional chamber for South West England, established in 1999. It was wound up in December 2008. Its functions were taken on by the South West Strategic Leaders' Board, Strategic Leaders' Board, the ...

. It brings together the 41

local authorities Local government is a generic term for the lowest tiers of public administration within a particular sovereign state. This particular usage of the word government refers specifically to a level of administration that is both geographically-loca ...

in the region to: * Provide a voice for constituent local authorities on major issues affecting the South West * Influence Government policy as it affects the region * Encourage partnership working between local authorities and other organisations and agencies in the South West on policy issues where a broader regional approach is required * Promote the sharing of good practice * Support councils through delivery of the

Regional Improvement and Efficiency Partnership The nine Regional Improvement and Efficiency Partnerships were English public sector organisations that work to support councils and their partners to become more efficient, innovative and engaged with citizens. Unlike some other improvement bodies ...

. South West Councils home page
/ref> Cllr Angus Campbell, Leader of

Dorset County Council Dorset County Council (DCC) was the county council for the county of Dorset in England. It provided the upper tier of local government, below which were district councils, and town and parish councils. The county council had 46 elected council ...

was the first Chairman of the new body. The current Chairman is Cllr John Hart from

Devon County Council Devon County Council is the county council administering the English county of Devon. Based in the city of Exeter, the council covers the non-metropolitan county area of Devon. Members of the council (councillors) are elected every four years to ...

South West Leaders

South West Leaders is the executive arm of South West Councils and functions as the

Local Authority Leaders’ Board Local authority leaders' boards are voluntary regional associations of council leaders that have been established in England outside of Greater London to replace certain functions of the now abolished regional chambers. The establishment of the boa ...

for the region. The board has 20 members, made up of County and Unitary Council Leaders, and one each from the Districts in Devon, Dorset, Gloucestershire and Somerset.

References

External links

South West CouncilsSouth West Strategic Leaders Board
Local authority leaders' boards in England 2010 establishments in England Local government in South West England Government agencies established in 2010 Organisations based in Taunton Local Government Association Regional employers organisations {{planning-stub