The Local Government Association (LGA) is the national membership body for local authorities. Its core membership is made up of 339 English councils and the 22 Welsh councils through the Welsh Local Government Association. The LGA is politically-led and cross-party. As the national voice of local government, it works on behalf of councils to give local government a voice with national government, to promote the reputation of the sector and to secure funding and powers on behalf of councils and the communities they serve. It aims to support councils to improve and innovate through peer-based support, and it co-ordinates collective legal actions on behalf of the sector. The LGA also provides membership services to other organisations through an associate scheme, including fire and rescue authorities, national parks authorities, town councils, police & crime commissioners and elected mayors of combined authorities. The chairman of the LGA is Councillor James Jamieson and the chief executive is Mark Lloyd. History On 1 April 1997, the Association of County Councils, the Association of District Councils and the Association of Metropolitan Authorities came together to form a single membership body for local government in England – the Local Government Association (LGA). In 2010, the LGA merged with the Improvement and Development Agency (IDeA), Local Government Employers (LGE), Local Authority Co-ordinators of Regulatory Services (LACORS) and the Leadership Centre for Local Government. The IDeA, whilst wholly owned by the LGA, continues to exist as a company and the recipient of central government grant for improvement activities. The Leadership Centre is now an independent body based in North London. In April 2019, the former unincorporated LGA was replaced by the LGA unlimited company, enabling it to hold title to its two properties – its headquarters in Smith Square, Westminster and the former IDeA headquarters in Farringdon. The LGA’s annual meeting – the General Assembly - takes place on the first Tuesday of July each year. The 2019 assembly passed a motion declaring a climate emergency and calling on government to explore the domestic implementation of the UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) through funded partnership roles with local authority areas and encouraging councils to continue to link local priorities with the overall ambitions of the SDGs. Chairs of the LGA Jeremy Beecham (1997–2004) Lord Bruce-Lockhart (2004–2007) Sir Simon Milton (2007–2008) Margaret Eaton, Baroness Eaton (2008–2011) Sir Merrick Cockell (2011–2014) David Sparks (2014–2015) Gary Porter, Lord Porter of Spalding