#OurDay – a day in the life of local government

21 November marks #OurDay, the annual social media event that highlights and celebrates the diverse work carried out by councils up and down the country.

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The 24-hour ‘day in the life of a council’ tweetathon has been organised by the LGA for the last six years and by the end of last year’s #OurDay more than 9,000 Twitter accounts had participated, sending more than 37,000 tweets with a potential reach of 20 million people.

The LGA, which represents more than 370 councils in England and Wales, is encouraging as many councillors and local authority staff as possible to take a couple of minutes out of their day to tell the world what they’re doing to keep their communities running as part of the live tweetathon, from midnight on Tuesday 21 November, by using the hashtag #OurDay.

The reputation of local government has never been more important as local authorities are increasingly having to deliver more with less.

And taking place the day before the Autumn Budget on Wednesday, it is an opportunity for the sector to remind the Chancellor of the invaluable work councils do on a daily basis to improve the quality of life of residents.

The aims of #OurDay include demonstrating the value local government provides to the public, even as councils work in an increasingly challenging financial environment and highlighting new and innovative schemes, showing how the sector is using social media to benefit residents.

Cllr Paul Bettison, Chairman of the LGA’s Improvement and Innovation Board, said:

“#OurDay has gone from strength to strength in recent years and we hope this will be the biggest yet. It is an opportunity for people who work in councils to highlight the invaluable work they do for the public. It showcases a day in the life of local government and shines a light on all the different things that councils do for their communities in a 24-hour period.

“Councils work on behalf of their residents, providing a huge variety of services up and down the country, every day, to support people and make their lives better. This is a great chance for residents to go behind the scenes and hear the stories behind the services.

“Councils make a real difference in their communities, but much of what we do is out of sight, like helping vulnerable children and preventing homelessness. #OurDay is a chance to reflect 24 hours in the life of a council, from providing care for the most vulnerable in our local community to cleaning our streets.

“I hope as many local authorities, councillors and staff as possible get involved and highlight the good work that is going on in their communities. Councils are the most open and transparent part of the public sector and using social media is an easy and effective way for us to communicate with our residents and answer any questions they may have.”