Today is the longest day of the year although I have to say everyday at the moment feels like a long day! In a good way...
This week started with my cabinet members and the corporate directors spending the day together focusing on developing the council’s business plan for the next four years. We discussed our priorities and the outcomes we want to deliver; and what will be different in four years. Although the plan is still very much a draft it is beginning to take shape and I will be extremely interested to receive the feedback from overview and scrutiny which will consider the draft at their meeting on the 25 June. The plan needs a lot more work but I am keen that it clearly sets out what we need to do, why we need to do it and what actions we will take to make a difference. If you are interested in seeing the first draft of the business plan you can view it on the Wiltshire Council website.
At cabinet on Tuesday, we discussed several items including the financial outturn for last year’s budget, which showed an under spend for the year. I would like to thank the team for ensuring we took the necessary steps we take to manage the budget throughout the year. The councillors induction programme was reviewed and we agreed that as part of members ongoing development that we will offer additional training sessions in some key areas. The recommendations from the overview and scrutiny task group that looked at the issues surrounding the safeguarding of children in Wiltshire, was discussed, and you may of heard or seen this in the local media. I have to thank Jon Hubbard, who chaired the group, for this constructive and helpful review that places vulnerable children – rather than targets – at the heart. All the recommendations made have been included in the improvement plan published following the Ofsted inspection more than 15 months ago. Whilst we still have a lot to do; many improvements have been made.
Yesterday (Thursday) we held the Wiltshire Business EXPO event in Trowbridge. This was the first time we’ve hosted such an event and I was delighted that it was oversubscribed with more than 85 local businesses taking the opportunity to exhibit and showcase their products and services. This clearly highlighted that there is a need for focused and interactive business events like EXPO and all the businesses took the opportunity to attend one of the many seminars on offer and hear the advice of business experts, as well as the thoughts and views of the key note speakers including David Bradley, the chief executive of the Longleat Estate, Paul Johnson, chair of the Swindon and Wiltshire Local Enterprise Partnership and Jade Nash, a finalist in last year’s BBC Apprentice. The initial feedback has been extremely positive and I look forward to discussing with the legacy board what more we can do to help boost the local economy.
It was great to see so many businesses sign up to take part in the sporting dinner, which I launched at yesterday’s event. It is scheduled to take place on Friday, 25 October. The aim of the dinner is to connect businesses with local Wiltshire athletes to support them in their journey to Rio in 2016. Businesses can adopt an Olympian or Paralympian and benefit by being promoted nationally and internationally. We are planning to secure a celebrity after dinner speaker and hope to announce this soon.
After a great day networking with local businesses and business leaders, I headed off to see Rod Stewart at the NEC in Birmingham – I’ve never missed a concert! Now that’s what a call a great end to a good long day...
Jane.
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