Pooter Cockell uses the 'Regal We'...Is he hiding something from us?

		11 April 2012

From the LGA Chairman An exclusive message for LGA member councils A Queen writes...... Dear Colleagues, I hope you had a good Easter break! I had a cracking good one- though thanks to the Dame Mr Myers has stopped all my Virgin Upper Classes 'freebies' We come back to a comparatively quiet week in Westminster, before the return of Parliament next Monday. The temporary respite offers a welcome opportunity to look ahead over the next few months and see what I can do about the embarrassing Lamont case.I do wish people would stop talking about child sex rings at the Rotten Borough. As we begin to implement the 2012/13 LGA Business Plan, we will see the launch of a raft of corporate campaigns which we hope will be a driving force behind the Plan. This includes securing the future of adult social care, pushing for a sustainable funding model for local government, renewed efforts on housing and, of course, the continuation of our Hidden Talents campaign. On the first, we have already been lobbying strongly ahead of next month's publication of the Government's Social Care White Paper which will be influential in modelling any forthcoming legislation. Though, of course, no one listens to us and they all want to close our cosy little quango down! We are also looking forward to the Queen's Speech on 9 May when, in addition to legislation on social care, we are expecting the Government to announce the continuation of the Local Government Finance Bill, as well as their plans on adoption and anti-social behaviour. The LGA Leadership Board will be considering this month all the areas of legislation likely to be announced, in order to re-prioritise our parliamentary activity. Later in May we will be offering written evidence to the Communities and Local Government Select Committee's new inquiry into councillors and the role they play in their communities, which is bound to draw significant interest from both Whitehall and the press. We will also be offering oral evidence to the Committee towards the end of June. And of course, we are all looking forward to the 2012 LGA conference, which is once again shaping up to be the local government event of the year. Full details can be found on our dedicated website. I do hope you are able to join us. Finally, would like to take this opportunity to wish those of you up for election on 3 May the best of luck. Local government continues to find itself in challenging times and we need the most capable leaders available.As you know I have been an exemplar and also have proven there is money to be made!! Last year I picked up nearly £133k-more than that ghastly Moylan.  It is our local electoral mandate that makes us unique. With the opportunity for real localism growing, I know we can all help our communities prosper, with their support. Real local localism means more Special Responsibility Allowances-and I know you all love those! Best wishes, Cllr Sir Merrick Cockell Chairman, Local Government Association PS Do you all like my new speechwriter? He says I need to be more 'Stately"....