July update from the President!

July 2019 – Letter from the President

From Chester-le-Street to Dubrovnik via Leeds!  An IRRV President’s life certainly brings variety 

Dear reader

April ended with the third round of National Council meetings, at which the outcome of the working parties’ recommendations on the consultation and future strategy for the Institute was the topic which dominated the day. I’d urge all members to attend the AGM in Telford, to vote on the issues which need to be put before that meeting and learn more about the outcome of the consultation process. 

The AGM season also continued apace, as I journeyed to the Northern Counties and the picturesque setting of Chester-le-Street and the County Cricket Ground. The event was preceded by a professional meeting on revenues collection, which brought together an audience from both local government and registered social landlords, thanks to the organisational ability of Council member Ian Ferguson. The day was topped off by an evening meal with the speakers and members of the Executive in the haunted Lumley Castle. For those who have not visited, it is certainly somewhere I’d recommend, if only for the history. Dating back to 1389, Lumley Castle holds stories of betrayal, war and was a favourite among visiting monarchs. 

It was then my pleasure to attend the Spring Conference in Leeds, which, although I may be slightly biased, I thought was very successful for both delegates and exhibitors alike. It’s always slightly risky asking high profile speakers to address a conference and we did get off to a slightly shaky start as the first speaker on the benefit stream was unfortunately unable to get to us due to travel disruptions. However, Richard Harbord did a sterling job addressing the mixed audience of both revenues and benefits practitioners, on the topic of local government finance.  As always, the event was an opportunity to catch up with suppliers and colleagues from other authorities and discuss the issues we’re all facing, albeit perhaps over a beverage or two in the hotel bar. 

From Leeds, I had a quick turnaround at home before accompanying the Chief Executive to The European Group of Valuers' Associations (TEGoVA) event in Dubrovnik. TEGoVA represents a group of 71 valuers’ associations from 37 countries and is a truly international event, with representation from across Europe and across “the pond”, with delegates from the USA, Canada and indeed China. Now those of you who know me will realise that not only are my language skills limited (I can’t even speak Welsh!) but I am in no way an expert in valuation matters. Luckily, the Chief Executive had warned me about the language issue and headsets were available to ensure that we understood the presentations, with the help of simultaneous translation. 

Following a fairly standard conference format, with presentations on the first day, the second was more of a United Nations style event with each Association sitting at a large table behind the flag of their nation and voting on various proposals, including whether to admit a new Portuguese association. The role of IRRV President is certainly not a dull one but is most certainly one which broadens your horizons. Although I’m still no expert on valuation, I do now know a little more about football, following an interlude at a local hostelry to watch the Watford match with our aforementioned Chief Executive, David Magor. Sadly the result didn’t go his or Watford’s way! 

Yours, 

Louise

Louise Freeth is President of the Institute

I’ve discovered that the IRRV Presidency, as with everything else in life, has certain “seasons” associated with it. As we entered the Spring, I attended the first of the AGM’s at the Thames Valley Association. All Associations are special in their own way but Thames Valley deserves a particular mention as, not only is it the Association which is closest to where I work but it is also one which was dormant from 2001 to 2008 when it sprang to life again thanks to a small number of dedicated and hardworking IRRV members, some of whom remain on the Executive Committee today.

The AGM was followed by a professional meeting focusing on Business Rates and the following day saw the Thames Valley Association dinner held in very grand surroundings near Hook. It’s often the case that the Association presents the President’s “party” with a bouquet of flowers. For many years, this has been presented to the partner of the President since the latter have been, in the main, men. On this occasion, as others, however, the Association has presented the President with the bouquet, much to Kerry’s relief who may look a little awkward with such a floral tribute! Sadly though, I put said bouquet in a safe place while mingling with the guests and promptly forgot them. Luckily it was close to home so I was able to call in the following morning to collet them. It’s fair to say that the few people I saw didn’t look quite as cheery as they had done the night before…..

So, as I started to explain, the AGM season seems to be well and truly upon us and my next meeting was for the West Midlands up in Birmingham. This was a well-attended meeting, despite the fact that I was advertised as the main speaker. All was going very well until I came to catch my train home and, rushing towards New Street station, promptly lost my footing and ended up with my face a little closer to the pavement than I intended. Quickly trying to right myself, my faith in humanity was well and truly restored as several people stopped to help me up.  It’s been many years since I suffered a fall, with a scuffed knee and badly sprained ankle, unaided by alcohol anyway. Unfortunately, I’m still suffering slightly as I write some 2 weeks later.

Following the Easter week-end, it was my pleasure to attend both the North and Mid Wales AGM and the Lancashire and Cheshire AGM in the same week.  I’d like to thank both Associations for their generous hospitality and have no doubt that both new local presidents, Islwyn Lewis Jones and Catherine Nicholson, will ensure that their local members of the Institute have a full programme of events to support them. 

The month of April ended with the third round of National Council meetings at which the outcome of the working parties’ recommendations on the consultation and future strategy for the Institute was the topic which dominated the day. I’d urge all members to attend the AGM in Telford to vote on those which need to be put before that meeting and learn more about the outcome of the consultation process.

The AGM season also continued a pace as I journeyed to the Northern Counties and the picturesque setting of Chester le Street and the County Cricket Ground. The meeting was preceded by a professional meeting on Revenues Collection which brought together an audience from both local government and Registered Social Landlords thank to the organisational ability of Council Member Ian Ferguson. The day was topped off by an evening meal with the speakers and members of the Exec in the haunted Lumley Castle. For those who have not visited, it is certainly somewhere I’d recommend if only for the history. Dating back to 1389 Lumley Castle holds stories of betrayal, war and was a favourite among visiting monarchs.

It was then my pleasure to attend the Spring Conference in Leeds which, although I may be slightly biased, I thought was very successful for both delegates and exhibitors alike. It’s always slightly risky asking high profile speakers to address a conference and we did get off to a slightly shaky start as the first speaker on the Benefit stream was unfortunately unable to get to us due to travel disruptions. However, Richard Harbord did a stirling job addressing the mixed audience of both Revenues and Benefits practitioners on the topic of local government finance.  As always the event was an opportunity to catch up with suppliers and colleagues from other authorities and discuss the issues we’re all facing albeit perhaps over a beverage or two in the hotel bar.

From Leeds I then had a quick turnaround at home before accompanying the Chief Executive to The European Group of Valuers' Associations (TEGoVA) event in Dubrovnik. TEGoVA represents a group of 71 Valuer’s Associations from 37 Countries and is s truly international event with representation from across Europe and across the pond with delegates from the USA and Canada and indeed China. Now those of you who know me will realise that not only are my language skills limited (I can’t even speak Welsh!) but am I in no way an expert in valuation matters. Luckily, the Chief Executive had warned me about the language issue and headsets were available to ensure that we understood the presentations with the help of simultaneous translation. Following a fairly standard conference format, with presentations on the first day, the second was more of a United Nations style event with each Association sitting at a large table behind the flag of their nation and voting on various proposals, including whether to admit a new Portuguese Association. The role of IRRV President is certainly not a dull one but is most certainly one which broadens your horizon. Although I’m still no expert on Valuation I do now know a little more about football following an interlude at a local hostelry to watch the Watford match with the aforementioned Chief Exec. Sadly the result didn’t go his or Watford’s way.

May's Presidential update from Louise!

Dining in sumptuous Grade II listed accommodation and dancing to “Reach for the stars” – can a President’s life be more varied than that? 

Dear reader,

As the current month draws to an end and I prepare to lose an hour’s sleep this evening (have you worked out when I’m writing this yet?), it’s time to reflect on the activities undertaken this far. In fact, I’m now approaching the half way mark in my term of office as IRRV President. The first half has certainly flown by and with the calendar filling up fast, I’m sure the second half will pass equally as quickly. 

The month started with my own local Association Dinner – London and Home Counties. It is certainly a very different affair, set within the surroundings of the Innholders Hall in the City of London. As my tour of the country continues, I’ve quickly learned that each of the Associations plan a unique evening but it is perhaps the setting of the London and Home Counties which provides a somewhat different experience. The Innholders Hall is a Grade II listed building, featuring a beautifully preserved 17th century Old Court Room and an impressive Great Hall. The Hall is first referenced in a public assessment document dating back to1522, but I’ll stop there before I detract from Mr Watson’s tour through the ages! I’d recommend that you visit the President’s blog to see some picture of the evening, as words don’t realty do it justice.   

Of course, the evening doesn’t just happen, and my thanks go to everyone on the Executive Committee, especially Chris Grose, for organising it - and the local President, Andy Cummins, for allowing me to share in his evening. With his good lady wife being originally from Scotland, the top table represented a fair few of the Celtic nations. 

With a slight interlude, during which I represented the Institute at the Association of Accounting Technicians’ lunch, in similarly grand surroundings at the Fishmonger’s Hall in the City, it was on to the next Association Dinner. 

This time the evening was organised by the Lancashire and Cheshire Association in Haydock Park. We had a plethora of Presidents attend that dinner - with East Midlands, West Midlands and Yorkshire represented. A warm welcome was extended by the Lancashire and Cheshire Executive and I’d again like to thank them, especially Linda Price and their President, Robin Gibbons, for a wonderful evening. In fact, I may have enjoyed their hospitality a little too much as I found myself on the dance floor accompanied by Dave Chapman and Kerry Macdermott, attempting to re-enact the tutors’ routine from the revision course when that well-known Steps song “Reach….” was played. Anyone who has attended the revision courses over the years may recall the tutors’ “entertainment”. Sadly, I didn’t manage to stay up until the bacon butties arrived at half past midnight. Organised by incoming president, Catherine Nicholson, I’m sure they were most welcome for those still networking! 

Yours, 

Louise

Louise Freeth IRRV (Hons) is President of the Institute

April's Update from the President

A strategy for the IRRV and a strategy for getting to meetings on time 

– both significant for our President!

Dear reader,

As I write this, it’s a gloriously sunny Sunday afternoon and I’ve just returned from the West Midlands Association annual dinner, held in Bromsgrove. It has been a fairly quiet start to 2019 so far, with the dinner being the first Association event to date. As always, the local Association did themselves proud with a wonderfully well organised event. I’d like to formally extend my thanks to the Association President, Neil Jinks, and the entire Executive Committee, who made the event such a success. 

However, I have to admit that things were a little fraught in the Freeth car initially as we struggled to find the hotel. I think the sat nav was having an off day, as we checked the post code several times and still ended up driving in … and then out … of the centre of Bromsgrove more than once! Luckily Kerry decided to try the map app on his phone, which took us back the way we had come for 2.5 miles. I must admit I was somewhat sceptical but, to be fair, it worked and we found the hotel, which actually couldn’t have been much easier in terms of how close it was to the motorway and indeed how far it was from the centre of Bromsgrove - where we had been initially. 

These things happen, of course, but we had carefully planned our departure in order to ensure that we arrived at the hotel in time to watch one of the most crucial matches of the 2019 Six Nations tournament – England v Wales. Sadly our plans and hopes were dashed as we arrived, flustered, with the first half well underway and the score sadly against Wales. Nervously waiting until half time to get a drink to calm the nerves, we did then manage to watch a glorious victory for Wales. Apologies to all those English supporters! 

Before we knew it, it was time to get changed and join the West Midlands Association for their dinner and official photographs. After a wonderful meal, and a few obligatory speeches, the night concluded with a disco and a casino! I was a little concerned about the latter, as my luck had probably been used up for the day with the Welsh victory! However, it turned out to be played with fake cash. Not that it helped me much though, as I didn’t do very well at all.    

In addition to attending Association dinners and other social events, the President is also responsible for chairing the national Council meetings and moving forward on any strategic issues. The first meeting of Council in 2019 was held on 28th January at HQ in High Holborn, where one agenda item dominated, i.e. responses received to the consultation on the future of the IRRV. It was heartening to see that there were 17 responses in total, some from individuals but many more from Associations representing the views of numerous members. Unlike some other consultations, we are genuinely interested in the views of our members and it was decided, after quite a lengthy discussion, that the best way to move things forward would be to have a smaller meeting with the Chief Executive, Deputy Chief Executive, President, Senior and Junior Vice Presidents, Honorary Treasurer and chairs of the standing committees. This took place on 21st February, largely by conference call, in order to keep costs to a minimum. A list of action points will be taken to the next Council meeting in April for approval, unless there is a requirement to have them approved at the forthcoming AGM. An extraordinary meeting was considered but decided against, therefore the AGM will see changes approved in Telford in October. So, watch this space!   

Yours, 

Louise

Louise Freeth IRRV (Hons) is President of the Institute

Fast approaching the half way mark in my term of office as IRRV National President, things are certainly beginning to get a little more busy! The first half has certainly flown by and with the calendar filling up fast, I’m sure the second half will pass equally as quickly.

March started with my own local Association Dinner – London and Home Counties. It is certainly a very different affair set within the surroundings of the Innholders Hall in the City of London. As my tour of the country continues, I’ve quickly learned that each of the Associations plans a unique evening but it is perhaps the setting of the London and Home Counties which provides a somewhat different experience. The Innholders Hall is a Grade II listed building featuring a beautifully preserved 17^th Century Old Court Room and an impressive Great Hall. I'm not great at taking photographs of events but luckily, others are and here is a small selection to provide a flavour of the evening. 

As you can see, a good time was had by all despite the fact that the Toastmaster decided to go home. Luckily London and Home Counties President, Andy Cummins, and I coped and I've decided that I know what I want to do if I ever leave Revenues and Benefits, although, having broken the solid oak sound block I fear my expenses could be a little high!    

 As is fitting at an Association event, Mr Cummins occupied the "big chair" flanked by myself and his good lady wife. 

My thanks must also go to Kevin McCarthy for the sterling job he did of sawing the security tag off my dress. As i may have said previously, its ok for the gentleman among you as you merely get your DJ dry cleaned and make sure you have a clean shirt. However, us ladies have other challenges including which dress to wear. A word of advice ladies, beware ordering a dress on line and simply removing the price tag before wearing. In future I will always check for any lurking security tags hiding in the hem which you may not spot until half way through the evening. With a large number of Enforcement Agents in the room you can imagine the speculation regarding whether I had indeed paid for the item! Rest assured, I had and my knight in shining armour, Mr McCarthy, saved me the embarrassment of trying to convince a shop assistant of this fact long after proof of purchase had been destroyed. Although I'm still not sure how / why Kevin developed this skill....... 

 Of course the evening doesn’t just happen and my thanks go to everyone on the Executive Committee, especially Chris Grose, for organising the evening and the local President, Andy Cummins, for allowing me to share in his evening. With his good lady wife being originally from Scotland, the top table represented a fair few of the Celtic nations.

With a slight interlude, during which I represented the Institute at the Association of Accounting Technician’s lunch in similarly grand surroundings at the Fishmonger’s Hall in the City, it was onto the next Association Dinner.

This time the evening was organised by the Lancashire and Cheshire Association in Haydock Park. We had a plethora of President’s attend that dinner with East Midlands, West Midlands and Yorkshire represented. A warm welcome was extended by the Lancashire and Cheshire Executive and I’d again like to thank them, especially Linda Price, and their President, Robin Gibbons, for a wonderful evening. In fact I may have enjoyed their hospitality a little too much as I found myself on the dancefloor accompanied by Dave Chapman and Kerry Macdermott attempting to re-enact the tutor’s routine from the revision course when that well known Step’s song “Reach” was played. Anyone who has attended the revision courses over the years may recall the tutor’s “entertainment”. Sadly, I didn’t manage to stay up until the bacon butties arrived at half past midnight. Organised by incoming president, Catherine Nicholson, I’m sure they were most welcome by those still networking!

 

It was my pleasure to also join robin in presenting a Long Service Certificate to George Smith who celebrated 50 years of being an Institute member.

And I'll leave you with one final picture of the evening. Can you guess who these natty red and black shoes belong to? The owner will be well known to those who have previously attended IRRV events although he has now upgraded from his original black and white pair. Answers on a postcard please - sadly no prize though! 

Well, I'm very pleased indeed to confirm that I'm not going to be serving the rest of my Presidential term on crutches as I survived my short trip to the Aosta Valley unscathed or almost unscathed............I did take a tumble on the last day but the only injury sustained was to the funsize bag of maltesers I had in my pocket. As you may be able to detect from the picture, this may have been less to do with the red run I was descending and more to do with the red wine I had with lunch. Well, it was a holiday after all and I'd like to thank fellow Council member Ian Ferguson, his good lady Karen and son Matthew for adopting me for the short break. 

But, back to the serious affair of the day job and IRRV Presidential duties.  The first of the Association dinners of 2019 was the West Midlands Association annual dinner held in Bromsgrove. As always, the local Association did themselves proud with a wonderfully well organised event. I’d like to formally extend my thanks to the Association President – Neil Jinks and the entire Exec who made the event such a success. However, I have to admit that things were a little fraught in the Freeth car initially as we struggled to find the hotel. I think the sat nav was having an off day as we checked the post code several times and still ended up driving in ………….and then out…………..of the centre of Bromsgrove more than once! Luckily Kerry decided to try the map app on his phone which took us back the way we had come for 2.5 miles. I must admit I was somewhat sceptical but, to be fair, it worked and we found the hotel which actually couldn’t have been much easier in terms of how close it was to the motorway and indeed how far it was from the centre of Bromsgrove where we had been initially. These things happen of course but we had carefully planned our departure in order to ensure that we arrived at the hotel in time to watch one of the most crucial matches of the 2019 Six Nations tournament – England V Wales. Sadly our plans and hopes were dashed as we arrived, flustered, with the first half well underway and the score sadly against Wales. Nervously waiting until half time to get a drink to calm the nerves we did then manage to watch a glorious victory for Wales. Apologies to all those English supporters!

Before we knew it, it was time to get changed and join the West Midlands association for their dinner and official photographs. After a wonderful meal, and a few obligatory speeches, the night concluded with a disco and a casino! I was a little concerned about the latter as my luck had probably been used up for the day with the Welsh victory. However, it turned out to be played with fake cash. Not that it helped me much though as I didn’t do very well at all.    

In addition to attending association dinners and other social events, the President is also responsible for chairing the national Council meetings and moving forward on any strategic issues. The first meeting of Council in 2019 was held on 28^th January at HQ in High Holborn where there was one agenda item which dominated i.e. responses received to the consultation on the future of the IRRV. It was heartening to see that there were 17 responses in total, some from individuals but many more from Associations representing the views of numerous members. Unlike some other consultations, we are genuinely interested in the views of our members and it was decided, after quite a lengthy discussion, that the best way to move things forward would be to have a smaller meeting with the chief Executive, Deputy Chief Executive, President, Senior and Junior Vice Presidents, Honorary Treasurer and chairs of the standing committees. This took place on 21^st February, largely by conference call in order to keep costs to a minimum. A list of action points will be taken to the next Council meeting in April for approval unless there is a requirement to have them approved at the AGM. An extraordinary meeting was considered but decided against therefore the AGM will see changes approved in Telford in October. So, watch this space!   

Letter from the President - March 2019

Dear reader,

One of the issues with writing magazine articles is the lead-in time.  As I write this, it’s a cold January day, but by the time you read it, spring will be well on the way!  Certainly Christmas and New Year are behind us. I was very fortunate this year to spend New Year in one of my favourite countries – Italy - in the capital, Rome, not as a result of being IRRV President but as a belated “big birthday” treat. I think if I could choose to live anywhere, it would be somewhere in Italy. 

Like many people working in local government, it wasn’t a career which anyone spoke to me about and, if they had, I doubt it would have been the area of revenues and benefits which would feature high on the list. No, following my graduation in 1990, I left the UK to teach English in the Italian town of Vigevano. Situated just outside Milan, it’s famous for its Piazze Ducale and shoemaking.  Sadly, after spending the summer there, I ended up returning to the UK and the first job I got was in my local council in the days of community charge. It’s fair to say that my love affair with Italy started then and has continued since! 

But back to business, the first event of 2019 which I attended on behalf of the IRRV was the Chartered institute of Taxation lunch. Quite apt, since January is the month when many of us will be completing our self-assessment tax return! It can be a little daunting walking into a room full of strangers and “mingling” before the formal dinner but I found myself talking to delightful elderly gentlemen of 95 years young who, when he heard the word “revenues”, as in IRRV, became convinced that I worked for HMRC - his former employer. After a few attempts to correct him I decided it was probably best just to keep him company ahead of the dinner. 

During the dinner itself, I found myself sitting between a Professor of Taxation from Oxford and the President of Tax Advisors Europe, who was from Milan. The dinner itself was in the Merchant Taylors’ Hall, one of the Great Twelve Livery Companies of the City of London. Livery Companies, or Guilds as they were previously known, began in mediaeval times as fraternities which were often religious but were also there to protect the interests of particular trades. Which prompts me to remind you of the forthcoming London and Home Counties Association dinner, planned for 7th March in the Innholders Hall. As my local Association I am bound to be a little biased but it really is worthwhile attending if you are able to. 

However, between now and then there will have been further Institute business to attend to, with my second meeting of national Council to chair at the end of January. This will be when the future strategy of the Institute is discussed in light of the responses to the consultation submitted. There is also have been the West Midlands Association dinner to attend at the end of February, where I look forward to meeting some new and familiar faces. And, a short break in the Aosta Valley skiing - not sure there has ever been a President who served on crutches, so let’s hope I’m not the first! 

Yours, 

Louise

Louise Freeth IRRV (Hons) is President of the Institute