MJ Achievement Awards 2023: Local Authority of the Year

We were delighted to attend The MJ Achievement Awards on Friday 23rd June to share in the celebration of the amazing individuals, teams and local authorities who go above and beyond to serve their local communities.

The 2023 awards were hosted by BBC News Anchor, Hue Edwards and celebrated initiatives across adults & children’s services, transport, housing and much more. This year also included a special award for Outstanding Contribution to Local Government, which was presented to Sir Bob Kerslake.

As sponsors of The MJ Local Authority of the Year Award for the eleventh year running, it was an honour to join in celebrating Local Authorities and their remarkable work. A huge thank you to the judges who had the difficult task of selecting a shortlist from such a strong range of submissions.

This year’s judges were:

• Monica Fogarty | Chief Executive, Warwickshire County Council.
• Theresa Grant | Interim Chief Executive, Liverpool City Council.
• Ali Griffin | Chief Executive, London Councils.
• Neil Lupin | Managing Partner, Green Park.
• Matt Prosser | Chief Executive, Dorset Council.
• Mark Rogers | Chief Executive, Leadership Centre.
• David Sidaway | Chief Executive, Telford and Wrekin Council.

Another year with a range of outstanding entries, huge congratulations goes out to our Local Authority of the Year finalists:

Barnsley Metropolitan Borough Council

The council takes a proactive, positive and strong approach to regeneration, not least with the Glass Works. It performs well across a range of core service areas and has evidenced the delivery of key successes, in areas such as sustainable housing, in its submission.

Leeds City Council

A previous winner of this award, Leeds City Council continues to make positive headway with a suite of high performing services underpinned by a very positive recent corporate peer challenge. It continues to tackle issues as varied as homelessness and digitisation.

Rushcliffe Borough Council

A district council demonstrating excellent delivery around building new homes, creating safer streets and going the extra mile as a leader of place to shape a better future for its residents. Rushcliffe impresses with strong resident feedback and the support it is providing around the cost of living crisis.

Salford City Council

Salford as a location has transformed in recent decades more than most. The council holds a positive position across Greater Manchester and is performing very well. Its priorities are driven by residents with impressive achievements in areas such as digital inclusion, housing planning and energy.

Swansea Council

Swansea has earned its place on this year’s shortlist with an impressive and varied submission. While the benefit to residents around regeneration is perhaps the most visible impact, its response to climate change, the creation of community hubs and its position as Wales’ first human rights city are all notable achievements.

Wiltshire Council

Wiltshire packs a punch. With place boards as a driver to identify local priorities as well as a high impact approach to the housing crisis, being a sector-led improvement partner in children’s services and impressing in areas such as care leavers, this is a strong submission.

And the winner is…..

Barnsley Metropolitan Borough Council

"Having emerged from an industrial past that has left a generational legacy, the Council has utterly transformed every aspect of its place. Its sheer determination to create a place of possibilities has engendered community pride, opportunity and hope. It is a story of success with further chapters to be written which can inspire others to do even more and is a worthy winner of the MJ Local Authority of the Year award." The Category Judges.

Congratulations, very well deserved.

To find out how Green Park can help your Local Authority deliver outcome-focused, inclusive leadership solutions against your executive resourcing and talent pipelining objectives, contact Shivan Mehta at: shivan.mehta@green-park.co.uk