ADEPT Spring Conference - views from Mark Kemp
ADEPT's Spring Conference focused on resilience, through the lens of people, place and planet. It took place on 25th May 2023. Mark Kemp, Immediate Past President of ADEPT, provides his views of the event.
Our first session, ‘people - resilience with our people’ began with a powerful and insightful speech on equality, diversity and inclusion from Nazeya Hussein from London Borough of Lewisham and Solace NED. The talk highlighted that we are not doing enough in our sector, yet we have a duty to serve and represent our communities, ensuring diversity and inclusion is reflected in our structures. We need to work together to make inroads into this critical agenda at a time when services need the best talent, and the strongest, and most representative leadership.
Donna Hitchcock from Colas spoke to us about building and maintaining resilience in the place workforce, highlighting the significance of staff retention and attraction, particularly focusing on young people. Future skills, talent development, and career pathways were discussed, along with the new joint campaign with ADEPT which is set to attract young people into place from diverse backgrounds.
There was a lively debate which explored strategies for engaging diverse populations, including the importance of accessibility, education, resilience, and flexible working arrangements. Social media and mentorship were also recognised as essential tools for attracting and retaining talent. There was strong agreement that we have to change and that there isn’t a simple fix - we need to be flexible, collaborate and young people need to be part of the solution.
Our keynote speaker was Chris Skidmore MP who spoke about the Mission Zero: Independent Review of Net Zero', and described the economic opportunities associated with net zero as “critically important for delivering on the future of our country". During his talk, he emphasised the importance of policy direction, city commitments, and partnerships between the public and private sectors. He also emphasised the need for local delivery.
Session 2, ‘planet – resilience in the face of a changing climate’, featured an informative speech from Deborah Hankins from Defra on developing resilience to the changing climate and delivering the third national adaptation programme. The challenges faced by local authorities in addressing climate risks were addressed, along with international perspectives on waste management and circular economies.
Elisabeth Costa from BIT UK then gave an insightful talk about behavioural change, considering how we can achieve this on the scale needed to tackle the issues facing local places and communities. We were introduced to the ‘midstream intervention model’, looking at how we can make sustainable choices the default behaviour. It was refreshing to hear Elisabeth’s optimistic take on the future and hear that most people are supportive and are keen to change their behaviour.
The debate that followed raised some interesting points, particularly on joined up strategy across government and the international dimension of the waste sector. Elisabeth’s point about common challenges across the world and different areas in the UK was very pertinent: we all need to think about what we can do in partnership and how we can work together to test things at scale.
Cllr Ben Bradley MP and Leader of Nottinghamshire County Council gave the first talk in session 3, ‘Place – resilience in our structures and governance’. Ben gave a fascinating look into what’s next for devolution. Iain Murray from the Chartered Institute of Public Finance & Accountancy (CIPRA) finished the day with a talk on financial resilience.
Discussions in the following debate focused on the role of public-private partnerships in transitioning to clean energy, raising financing, and investing in infrastructure. The importance of strategic capital funding and the potential for sectoral growth were highlighted.
At the end of the day, I was left reflecting on the importance of Place Services in securing the health, wellbeing and economic vitality that UKplc needs and the responsibility that sits with us all to continue to push for greater recognition of this.
