The South West Secretariat is a small group of staff based in Taunton.
 
The officers provide support for the work of four Member-led organisations: South West Leaders;  South West Employers; South West Councils and the Improvement & Efficiency Partnership. 

South West Leaders

South West Leaders brings together 20 local authority Leaders from the county and unitary councils including district Leader representation.

The Chairman is Cllr Angus Campbell, Conservative Leader of Dorset County Council, and he is supported by two deputies, Cllr Nigel Ashton, Conservative Leader of North Somerset Council, and Cllr Sara Randall-Johnson, Conservative Leader of East Devon District Council.

South West Employers

The South West Employers (SWE) serves local authorities across the South West. Independent and not-for-profit it provides training courses, employment advice and acts on behalf of local authorities on pay, recruitment, retention and dismissal.

SWE also forms the Employers’ Side of the Regional Joint Consultative and Negotiating Body, the South West Provincial Council. The Council meets at least twice a year to discuss matters of common interest to both employers and their employees. The Trade Union Side of the Provincial Council consists of representatives of each of the major public sector Trade Unions, Unison, GMB and T&G. Every local authority, police and fire service is represented at the Provincial Council.

For more information click here.

South West Councils

South West Councils draws together elected representatives from all 41 local authorities in the South West, police, fire & rescue services, parish and town councils and the national parks.

The South West Councils plenary is politically proportionate and the chair rotates between the different political parties. For a list of Members click here.

To find out about South West Councils click here.

Improvement & Efficiency Partnership

Nine Regional Improvement and Efficiency Partnerships were created in April 2008 with a three year funding package of £185 million from the Department for Communities and Local Government to help councils accelerate the drive towards greater improvement and efficiency. 

The South West Improvement and Efficiency Partnership (SW IEP) provides specialist support to councils in areas such as smarter procurement, corporate capacity building, economic development and adult & children's social care. There is also support for the six Fire and Rescue Services in the region.

The SW IEP is overseen by elected Members from councils across the South West, and advised by a Chief Executives Management Group. It will invest a total of £23 million between 2008/09 and 20010/11, subject to performance.