“Local government” is the collective name for local councils – often called local authorities. They are made up of councillors (elected members), who are voted for by the public in local elections, and paid council staff (officers), who deliver services.
Local authorities are responsible for a range of services, including social care, schools, housing and planning, and waste collection. Most local authority services are statutory. This means the local authority must provide them because they have a legal duty to do so. When local authorities have more money, they can provide a greater range of services that go beyond their legal duties. But when the budget is tight, they often only provide services they have a legal duty to provide.
Some local authority services are tightly controlled by central government, so there is a similar level of service across England. One example of this is Housing Benefit payments. But local authorities have some choice over the level and type of some services they provide. An example of this is short breaks for disabled children.
The structure of local government varies from area to area. If you are not sure about the structure in your area, visit the gov.uk or the Local Government Association website.
Strategic boards, working groups and task and finish groups
Each local authority is set up in different ways. They might call some of their decision-making and strategic groups something slightly different. For example, most areas will have a board which oversees special educational needs and disability (SEND) work, such as a SEND partnership board.
Forums will want to nominate parent carer representatives to sit on local authority and health service strategic boards, committees, or task and finish groups. This will ensure parents’ voices are heard and acted upon when decisions are being made about services affecting their children. It is important that parent carer representatives are able to feed in not only their own experiences and views, but also those of others, even if they personally do not agree with them. Please also see the page ‘Roles and responsibilities’ in a forum.
Practicalities
Some forums find it helpful to have a minimum of two parents on a steering group. This has the following advantages:
- It may enable the forum to represent a wider group of experiences, for example early years/primary/secondary/transition, learning disability/physical/complex needs.
- It is less intimidating for parents.
- New parent carer representatives can be supported by more experienced parents.
- If one parent carer is unable to attend a meeting, the other parent carer can cover.
Some forums are structured so that all parent carer representatives are also members
of the forum steering group. This is not always possible, especially if the local authority/ health service invites the forum to provide parent carer representatives for lots of different working groups and committees.
Professionals sometimes invite individual parents who are not members of the forum to sit on their working groups or committees as parent carer representatives. When this occurs, it is not always clear how these parents represent experiences other than their own. It can be helpful to meet with these professionals to tell them about the forum. You can also explain how you would like to work with them. You might also invite the parent carer representatives on these committees to become a member of the forum.
Forums might find it helpful to invite parent carer representatives from all the different committees to meet each other occasionally. This is a useful opportunity for the representatives to talk about any issues they might be experiencing in their role. It’s also an opportunity to invite representatives who aren’t members of the forum along and encourage them to become members.
Deciding which strategic boards, working groups and task and finish groups to attend
Sometimes there are a lot of meetings or working groups. It may not be possible for the forum to attend them all. You will want to consider the benefits and challenges of each one. Which are likely to lead to the best outcomes in terms of influencing decision-making and making links with key partners?
Forums should make their own decisions about which key strategic groups and meetings they want to be part of. It will help for the steering group to identify the key committees and boards they want a presence on and prioritise these. It can also be helpful for forums to have a method to review the meetings they attend, and the impact of their attendance, when deciding which boards to attend. Some forums build this into their method of getting feedback from parent representatives.
Creating an agreement with the local authority for forum involvement
As part of the Department for Education (DfE) participation grant process, local authorities are requested to sign an MOU to demonstrate partnership working. The local authority will be asked to confirm that:
- They commit to uphold the principles of the SEND Code of Practice and to work in partnership with the DfE-funded local parent carer forum to improve local services for children and young people with SEND.
- They recognise the independence of the DfE funded parent carer forum.
- They value the role of the DfE-funded parent carer forum in representing the needs, experiences and views of parent carers of children and young people with SEND. This includes their role in raising issues, providing constructive feedback through open dialogue, and challenging partners when necessary.
- They agree to work together with respect and as equal partners.
You might also want to discuss with the local authority/health service some minimum standards for the involvement of parent carer representatives in their meetings. This may include:
- Having a named person to meet them (face to face meetings).
- Reasonable expenses.
- Accessible meetings.
- Times and venue.
- Papers provided in good time before meetings.
Do you have any thoughts about this page? Visit our How to feedback page to share them.
Looking for something else? You can find a full list of pages on our Parent carer forum handbook contents page.
Find out more about working with local authorities
Making your case
Click here to watch this video on our YouTube channel
Find out moreRoles and responsibilities
Find out more about roles and responsibilities in a forum
Roles and responsibilities
Collecting parent carer voice
Find out how to collect voice to influence local services
Gaining parent carer voiceCo-producing the local offer
Click here to watch this video on our YouTube channel
Find out moreParticipation and co-production
Find out more about the role of the forum in co-production
Participation and co-production
'Councils going bankrupt' the implications of 114 notices
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