The CCLA/Room151 Impact Awards will mark the positive impact local government finance teams have on communities, place and the environment and create a lasting legacy through a Summary of Entries bringing together best practice examples from across the sector.
“They’re often the unsung heroes,” says Peter Hugh Smith, chief executive of CCLA on the launch of a new awards programme seeking to highlight success among local government finance teams in delivering services and helping communities.
The CCLA/Room151 Impact Awards open today seeking submissions from councils across the UK demonstrating how their finance officers and teams have helped develop key services and projects but, more importantly, improve outcomes and opportunities for local residents.
Hugh Smith says finance teams manage billions of pounds of spending on local services each year and play an “incredibly important part” in the country’s public life.
“Things don’t work without these people, without these teams. It is very important that we thank them, we highlight them, we learn from them. And also give them a vehicle to share their experience and their successes,” he says.
Categories
The Impact Awards are comprised of seven categories (see list here) covering the full range of local authority services for communities.
They include awards for work in adult social care, children’s services and education, place shaping, tackling Covid-19 and carbon management. The awards will also work together entries in a Summary of Entires allowing finance officers to browse examples of best practice around the country.
A judging panel of more than 30 senior local government offices from across the UK will consider submissions in the seven categories. Judges include Sarah Pickup, deputy chief executive of the Local Government Association; Carol Culley, deputy chief executive at Manchester City Council; Martin Booth, executive director of finance at Glasgow City Council; and Conrad Hall, director of resources at London Borough of Newham.
The awards come at a time when budgets are increasingly stretched and the dedication of local authority finance teams has never been more important.
According to the House of Commons public accounts committee, central government funding for local authorities fell 49.1% from 2010 to 2018.
Last year local government finances were overshadowed by discussion of section 114 notices while this year the topic has been the use of “capitalisation directions” allowing councils to fund revenue spending from capital resources.
The public accounts committee is currently investigating the pandemic’s impact on local government finances.
A National Audit Office report says 94% of councils will be forced to reduce service budgets in 2021-22. It also found that councils face lost income and increased costs totalling £9.7bn in 2020 as a result of the pandemic.
Spotlight
The pressures have created an environment where financial skills are at a premium and finance functions have fought to continue providing services and investment to their local communities.
“They need applauding and thanking as much as anyone else,” says Hugh Smith. So, what will the Impact Awards spotlight?
“It’s anything which has made a difference, anything which has improved service provision, anything which has supported local communities, local people, local business—the list is pretty much endless.
“They [finance teams] have a huge impact on all our lives, and the more we can support them the better.”
The aim of the awards is to not only shine a light on finance team successes but also see the best ideas shared throughout the sector, an activity Hugh Smith says has become harder since officers began working from home as a result of lockdowns.
“If we can do that,” says Hugh Smith,” I’m pretty confident it will start to make a difference. And we can start to point to initiatives that would not have happened in certain areas if it wasn’t for these awards. And that would be amazing.”
He adds: “I hope everyone in the local authority space, and actually people outside local authorities as well, will be interested in the stories and the resulting rewards that come from this process.”
AWARDS INFORMATION
Read about the awards here.
Read about the seven categories here.
For submissions click here.
To read case studies of finance team impact, click here.
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