President update 1st September - latest news from ADEPT
Hello everyone,
I hope you've all managed to take some time off during the summer to recharge your batteries ahead of what promises to be a very busy autumn. Here are some highlights of what has been happening within ADEPT and what's on the horizon.
As my authority is one of those within the Devolution Priority Programme, I have attended several meetings hosted by MHCLG with key government departments including DESNZ and Defra. It has been helpful to discuss specific areas of interest. We’ve also written to Defra regarding the English Devolution and Community Engagement Bill saying that while we're pleased with some aspects, we're concerned that the environmental side has been left out when it was promised in the White Paper.
ADEPT has responded to the government's Private Finance and Nature Call for Evidence, which is seeking ideas on how to boost to boost private sector investment in nature recovery, linking environmental health to long-term economic growth and resilience – our response is here.
Behind the scenes, we've been developing the workshop programme for our Autumn Conference, taking place on Thursday 20th and Friday 21st November at The Lowry Hotel, Manchester. This year our theme is: 'Devolution and Local Government Reform – the biggest shake up the sector has seen for 50 years?'. I'm also delighted to tell you that we've secured Andy Burnham, Mayor of Greater Manchester, as a speaker at the conference - who better to discuss devolution and local government reform than someone at the forefront of these changes? I very much hope you can make it – you can book here.
I’m delighted that ADEPT and Colas have been shortlisted for an award in the CN Workforce Awards 2025, specifically the Outreach Initiative of the Year for our Find Your Path campaign. This campaign was designed to inspire the Gen Z generation to explore careers in local government, directly addressing our urgent skills shortage. We’ve just published the debrief report, that captures key learnings from the campaign – read the report here.
There are still two remaining training dates for the ADEPT Carbon Leadership Programme on 10th and 17th September. Supported by DfT, this funds local highway authorities to measure and identify how to reduce carbon emissions in a consistent and comparative way. Find out more here.
Finally, this is your last chance to book your free place at the 7th National Traffic Managers' Conference taking place in Birmingham on Wednesday 8th October. The theme this year is ‘Devolution and the traffic manager's changing role’ and we will focus on how we navigate the changes, challenges and opportunities facing traffic managers today. Book here.
For more updates on ADEPT's latest news, publications, and the work of our boards and groups, visit our website: www.adeptnet.org.uk
