Podcast: Local government oversight with Mark Lloyd

Mark Lloyd, now an Executive Director at IMPOWER, has a wealth of experience in local government, having previously been the Chief Executive of two councils in England before becoming CEO of the Local Government Association (LGA). His insights, drawn from years of leadership, provide a valuable perspective on the challenges and opportunities facing local authorities today.

The relationship and trust between a local authority chief executive, the leader of the council, and broader set of politicians is key. This is tough balancing act for local authority chief executives, who have very adaptable leadership styles – balancing accountability; support for staff and teams; delivery and driving of improved outcomes. Unlike NHS chief executives, they are accountable to elected members rather than Parliament, necessitating a more collaborative approach across health and social care.

Macro themes from the episodes and Mark:

1. Where there is political consensus and stability, partnerships appear to be have developed and matured more easily
2. With upper tier councils spending 70% of their revenue on adult and children social care – any devolution or change, must come in this area to provide councils with the headspace and resources to fulfil their functions
3. Delivering 1300 separate statutory functions and 800 different services, in the light of 70% of money spent on social care – surely this is unsustainable?
4. Large appetite to deliver services differently, but given 1300 statutory elements – this must be supported and sometimes initiated by central Government
5. Where Councils are leading improvements for their populations holistically (equality, equity, healthy lifestyles, fairness, poverty eradication etc) there seems to be a case for giving them a broad public sector leadership role – straddling multiple sectors in the public sector world
6. Devolution could be a great opportunity to change and improve – but also a huge distraction if it is not focused on improving the outcomes for local residents
7. Huge desire to be family/person centric and it continues to be frustrating that data sharing is slow and difficult to achieve across sectors and organisations.

As Mark Lloyd aptly puts it: “Make the complex simple…look for the opportunities and exploit them for the benefit of local residents” and “a CEO has to be a heat shield over staff.”

This discussion, led by Matthew Winn, an experienced healthcare leader, highlights the evolving role of local government leadership in a rapidly changing landscape.

Episode published Wednesday 19 March 2025. ‘Leadership and culture in healthcare’ is a podcast by Matthew Winn exploring the impact of leadership and culture in the delivery of great healthcare.