President update: 1st April 2022
After two long years of COVID-19, local authorities are again dealing with the multiple crises that are facing our communities and affecting our ability to deliver services. Amongst the Leadership Team, we have had long conversations about the impacts of rising fuel costs, the Homes for Ukraine scheme, the ongoing lack of school transport drivers, hyper-inflation driving up costs on delivery of council services, and most urgently, on local communities.
The Leadership Team is keen to gather intelligence on the implications of these issues for place services delivery. All place directors will have received an email from the secretariat this week, with a link to a short survey. I do hope you are able to spare a few minutes on it – ideally before 14th April. The information we gather from you all will be invaluable in our work with key government departments and colleagues in our fellow professional associations as we speak to government and make the case for place services. If you haven’t received the survey, please contact us at the email address: [email protected].
The Blueprint Coalition, of which ADEPT is a member, has written a letter to DLUHC Secretary of State Michael Gove to highlight the recent publication from Friends of the Earth and Ashden of 40 case local authority case studies. How local councils are acting on climate is available here. ADEPT has also submitted a consultation response to the Office for Environmental Protection draft Strategy and Enforcement policy and to the House of Lords Built Committee’s Public Transport in Towns and cities call for evidence here. We will also be responding to the Defra consultations on Biodiversity Net Gain, Nature Recovery Green Paper and Environmental Targets.
ADEPT is changing. From today (1st April), ADEPT has become a Company Limited by Guarantee. This means the association now has a legal identity: it can own property or directly employ staff and perhaps most importantly, it reduces the financial liability for members. You can find out more in the Articles of Association here. The company directors are the President, Vice Presidents and immediate Past President, whilst the Leadership Team retains its current constituency. Its role will be to continue to act as a consultative body, advising the Board of Directors on behalf of the wider membership. Members will see little to no difference in how the association is run.
There is another change for the Transport and Connectivity Board, where we welcome Ann Carruthers of Leicestershire County Council, who has taken over as Chair from Mark Kemp. Mark, of course, is busy preparing to become ADEPT President when my term finishes in May.
Enabling the electric transport revolution to deliver inclusive growth is our next Lunch & Learn on 22nd April, and will be hosted by corporate partners, Stantec. The session will discuss how the increasing socio-economic divide between those who can and those who can’t afford to adopt green lifestyles is not being factored into decision making for the provision of infrastructure for electric vehicles in our towns and cities. The sessions are free, so please register here for what will make an interesting session.
ADEPT and the Future Highways Research Group have now published Guidance for the Application of GHG Scope 1 & 2 in Local Highways Authorities sponsored by Ringway and Atkins. You can find out more and our plans for Scope 3 in the latest Climate Change blog from Proving Services’ Simon Wilson. Simon was also the key interviewee in a recent Highways News podcast, speaking in depth about the Guidance. Listen here.
Timed for International Women’s Day, the Live Labs programme has released its fascinating Women in Transport video. Featuring a discussion chaired by our own Hannah Bartram, with contributors Carol Valentine (Kent County Council) Brigitte Sodano-Carter (Suffolk County Council) Louise Clayton (Staffordshire County Council) and Sarah Bayliss (TfWM) our four female project leads. The women discuss their careers, what it’s like to be a female leader in the transport sector and their thoughts for the future. Hannah has also written an accompanying comment piece for the latest edition of Highways Magazine.
Live Labs has also published its sixth white paper – Skills for Innovation Programmes. Through the two year programme, we have worked to capture and share learning outside of the technological trials and outputs. This white paper is a discussion on the change in mindset that’s needed to bring real innovation into the traditionally-minded highways sector. It’s a thought-provoking read for local highways authorities and all out members. Programme Director, Giles Perkins has also written the latest Live Labs blog about changing our approach.
Our other March Live Labs blog comes from Sam Shean and the Thames Valley Berkshire Live Lab. Sam discusses some of the trials and lessons learnt from the project’s interconnected trials and partnerships across potholes, congestion, air quality, energy and health. Working together, the trials aimed to reduce carbon emissions on the highway network and use data collection and sharing alongside data analytics. You can read Sam’s blog here.
The ADEPT Spring Conference on 26th May is also an opportunity to celebrate our achievements through the ADEPT President Awards. Entry is now open across the three categories: Delivering clean growth, Digital innovation/technology (Sponsored by Ringway) and Shaping places for people (sponsored by WSP). The deadline for entries is the 22nd April. Find out more here.
Booking is open for both the Spring Conference ‘Levelling Up Locally’, taking place in London at County Hall and the Presidential Awards Dinner at One Whitehall. This year we are extremely fortunate to welcome Professor Kate Raworth, from the Environmental Change Institute, University of Oxford who will be discussing Doughnut Economics. Getting together in person still feels special after the last two years, so please book now to avoid disappointment! The conference programme is available here. I really hope to see many of you there.
Please continue to check the ADEPT website for news and updates. It’s where we publish a whole range of guidance and documents to support members.