The Local Government Association has announced the new board chairs for the organisation, following a post-election reshuffle.  The changes see the Conservatives gaining a chair at Labour's expense, but with the Liberal Democrats retaining its two current posts.

The two Liberal Democrat chairs are:

Cllr David Rogers from East Sussex County Council, who continues as Chair of the Community Wellbeing Board, and

Cllr Chris White from Hertfordshire County Council, who continues as Chair of the Culture, Tourism and Sport Board.

Both David and Chris are ALDC members, and so we welcome their continuing prominent roles in the world of local government.

The other chairs are:
Environment: Cllr Gary Porter (Con, South Holland)
Children & Young People: Cllr Shireen Ritchie (Con, Kensington & Chelsea)
Safer Communities: Cllr Les Lawrence (Con, Birmingham)
Improvement: Cllr David Parsons (Con, Leicestershire)
Regeneration & Transport: Cllr David Sparks (Lab, Dudley)

Today's Financial Times is running a feature on the cuts in spending by Conservative run councils, with a particular focus on Essex, Barnet and Hammersmith & Fulham.  Whilst the Liberal Democrats have also talked about spending money better, and indeed many Lib Dem councils have also worked hard to keep tax rises low, this article suggests that what the Conservatives are doing is something much more fundamental.

Many of the changes in these particular councils have revolved around further outsourcing of service provision, cuts in frontline services such as parks, street cleaning, libraries and 'culture'.  Core services that Liberal Democrats usually go to great lengths to defend.  But at the same time, the changes often involve cutting down the artificial divisions between departments, prioritising frontline staff over senior management and making services more transparent and accessible at hours that are more convenient.  Something that Lib Dems would often support.

The question is whether what the Conservatives are doing is simply a more efficient way of running local government with the attendant cost savings, or is it simply service cuts by the back door (or in some cases, the front door).  With the Conservatives now the largest party in local government, is this the sign of things to come in more and more parts of the country?

We're not quite sure what Conservative Party Chair Eric Pickles means when he suggests that many Local Authority Chief Executives could be abolished. In an interview with the Independent this morning Mr Pickles said "recent changes to the structure of local government meant many chief executives were no longer needed. Since 2000, many councils have switched to having a leader and elected cabinet members handling specific portfolios."

Eric goes on to suggest that: I'm not one of these people who gets excited about high salaries but it should be in proportion to their responsibilities," Mr Pickles said. "A lot of council Chief Executives do not have that level of responsibility."

So is he suggesting that Council Leaders get paid more to do the Chief Executive job?

This week, the Government published its consultation on reform of the Housing Revenue Account.  Liberal Democrats have campaigned in Parliament and on the ground for many years for reform of this system. The subsidy and debt problem, coupled with the loss of right to buy receipts has held Councils back from investing in existing and new housing stock for far too long.

However, the devil is always in the detail with reform.

The Government are proposing to redistribute debt between all Councils, which would abolish the subsidy system, but would mean Councils who are currently debt free taking on debt of other Councils. They are not proposing to use anything from general taxation – so paying off the debt is in a sense still a tenant tax.

The consultation paper is available here from the Department of Communities and Local Government, and Liberal Democrat Shadow Minister for Housing, Sarah Teather MP, would welcome feedback from fellow Liberal Democrats on the proposals.

To send your feedback, please email the party's Communities and Transport Policy Adviser, Alice Douglas.

Image: FreeDigitalPhotos.net

Liberal Democrat MP Norman Baker is campaigning to "clamp the clampers".

Motorists are being held to ransom by unscrupulous private car clamping firms. If you feel you've been overcharged or conned, there is no independent means of redress.

Clamping on private land is already illegal in Scotland. Let's ban it in England too. Please sign the petition here

The Government have begun a consultation into clamping but have ignored the option to ban clamping on private land entirely. To have your say, visit the consultation website

Join the new Facebook group here. If you're interested in campaigning locally on this we have more information at ALDC - contact Anders, Mark or John.