Local Government Information Unit
The Local Government information Unit (LGiU) is a London based thinktank and registered charity. Established in 1983 as a membership organisation for UK local authorities, the LGiU provides policy services and seeks to influence national policy, particularly in relation to local government and local public services.
The LGiU has around 150 local authority members and a wide range of associate members and partner organisations. Andy Sawford was chief executive of the LGiU from 2008 until 2012, when he was elected MP for Corby in a by-election. The current chief executive is Jonathan Carr-West, and the chair of the board is Councillor Dave Wilcox of Derbyshire County Council. In July 2008 the LGiU was voted Thinktank of the Year in the Public Affairs News Awards.[1]
The LGiU publishes papers on a variety of policy areas, with recent topics including adult social care, public-private sector partnerships and the role of local authorities in the schools system. They publish C'llr magazine for councillors in England and Wales, and run the C'llr Achievement Awards, which recognises achievement in local government.
The LGiU is Secretariat to the All-Party Parliamentary Group for Local Government, chaired by Heather Wheeler MP. The Group is currently running a major inquiry into the funding of adult social care. The inquiry aims to capture current best practice, chart a road map from where we are now to where we need to be, and establish the principles that should inform the adult social care system of the future.