As we move into September, summer is coming to an end and I hope lots of you had a break over the last couple of months and managed to recharge your batteries.
My priority at the moment is the business plan which will go before next week’s (September 3) Extraordinary Council meeting . The only main agenda item due to be discussed is the plan which sets out our priorities, vision and direction for the next four years. We know there will be a continued reduction in the funding we receive from Central Government so our plan has to be flexible to deal with any changes that come our way. The plan outlines our three key priorities that must underpin all the work we do. They are: to protect the most vulnerable within Wiltshire, to boost the local economy – creating and safeguarding jobs – and to support and empower communities so they are able to do more for themselves. If we focus on these I am confident that we will deliver our vision to create stronger and more resilient communities.
There’s no doubt about it, this is a challenging time to work in local government: it is fast-moving and ever-changing and we have to meet the needs of local communities with limited funding. This means making savings and looking at how we can do things differently; working with partner organisations, sharing resources and removing waste and bureaucracy. Our business plan has been developed with that in mind.
Looking back on this week, yesterday I met with the Wiltshire Police and Crime Commissioner Angus Macpherson and Leader of Swindon Borough Council David Renard. We hold this meeting on a regular basis as a lot of our work has an impact on each others’ organisations. It’s always good to meet face-to-face and have these conversations.
Did any of you watch the BBC’s ‘Who Do You Think You Are?’ programme this week? As part of his research Nick Hewer from The Apprentice visited our very own Wiltshire and Swindon History Centre to find out more about his ancestors. This led to further research and a trip to several locations in Wiltshire, including Lacock Abbey. There were also some lovely camera shots of the Marlborough Downs. It is also likely that the Marlborough Downs will be featuring on the BBC’s ‘Britain’s Big Wildlife Revival’ on September 15 so keep a look out for it. It is always lovely to see Wiltshire highlighted like this as it shows thousands of people from across Britain just how beautiful this county is.
It’s nice to be back in Wiltshire as I’ve been away for much of this week looking after my grandchildren. I’m tempted to say that next week will be relaxing by comparison but looking at what is in my diary that’s far from true!
I hope you all have a lovely weekend.
Jane.
Friday 30 August 2013
Friday 23 August 2013
Friday 23 August 2013
Firstly I’d like to say well done to all our hard-working young people who received their GCSE results this week. Wiltshire’s results have shown an improvement overall which is great news. I want to thank everyone who has supported the county’s young people throughout their studies.
On Tuesday I met with Nick Hurd MP Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Charities, Social Enterprise and Volunteering. He was very interested to hear about our youth services and also our work with volunteers and the opportunities available. Keeping central government updated on the work we are carrying out is important so our experiences can help shape government policy. An example of one of our many achievements is how we have kept all our libraries open including our mobile services with the help of volunteers – this was a major success and one we should be proud to share.
On Wednesday evening I attended the Northern Area Planning Committee. I was pleased that approval was given to the application for an institute for education at Hartham Park in Corsham. Some of you may not know that Bath Spa already has a postgraduate facility in Corsham and this development means that 600 post graduates will be training as teachers in our county every year. It will be a wonderful resource for schools and I’m pleased that we’re able to support this.
I’d like to say well done to everyone who took part in this year’s Wiltshire Challenge. I have to admit that I signed up for the walking challenge but my pedometer went through the washing machine and broke – am I the only one who has done this?! On a serious note, the challenge, which is part of our A Legacy for Wiltshire programme, encouraged people of all ages to take part in a sporting challenge between June and July. Like last year, we had lots of people taking part and an awards ceremony took place in the Atrium last night (Thursday) to celebrate their achievements. Aaron Moores, London 2012 Paralympic silver medallist and 2013 World Champion bronze medallist presented the achievers with their medals and certificate.
I hope everyone has a lovely bank holiday Monday and, as ever, I’d like to say thanks to everyone in the council who is working on the Monday to deliver the vital services our communities rely on.
Jane
On Tuesday I met with Nick Hurd MP Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Charities, Social Enterprise and Volunteering. He was very interested to hear about our youth services and also our work with volunteers and the opportunities available. Keeping central government updated on the work we are carrying out is important so our experiences can help shape government policy. An example of one of our many achievements is how we have kept all our libraries open including our mobile services with the help of volunteers – this was a major success and one we should be proud to share.
On Wednesday evening I attended the Northern Area Planning Committee. I was pleased that approval was given to the application for an institute for education at Hartham Park in Corsham. Some of you may not know that Bath Spa already has a postgraduate facility in Corsham and this development means that 600 post graduates will be training as teachers in our county every year. It will be a wonderful resource for schools and I’m pleased that we’re able to support this.
I’d like to say well done to everyone who took part in this year’s Wiltshire Challenge. I have to admit that I signed up for the walking challenge but my pedometer went through the washing machine and broke – am I the only one who has done this?! On a serious note, the challenge, which is part of our A Legacy for Wiltshire programme, encouraged people of all ages to take part in a sporting challenge between June and July. Like last year, we had lots of people taking part and an awards ceremony took place in the Atrium last night (Thursday) to celebrate their achievements. Aaron Moores, London 2012 Paralympic silver medallist and 2013 World Champion bronze medallist presented the achievers with their medals and certificate.
I hope everyone has a lovely bank holiday Monday and, as ever, I’d like to say thanks to everyone in the council who is working on the Monday to deliver the vital services our communities rely on.
Jane
Friday 16 August 2013
Friday 16 August 2013
This week has highlighted just what can be achieved by working in partnership. A new South Wiltshire University Technical College (UTC) will open in Salisbury, providing new education and training opportunities for young people (aged 13 -18 years). The UTC approached us, as the local education authority, regarding a possible site for a new college. We were aware that Wiltshire Police were looking to vacate their current police station site on Wilton Road in the next two years, which would tie in with the timing for the new community campus, and this presented an opportunity for a new college that would meet the needs for education for young people in the area.
All partners agreed that this was a good and pragmatic solution that would make best use of a public building, deliver opportunities for young people to gain skills for the workplace and re-provide police services in the city centre. The bid for a UTC was made to central government with a planned opening date for next September (2014). This meant a tight time frame for the police to relocate services and having had the opportunity to review the final arrangements the chief constable raised concern that they would not be able to continue to provide the level of police service that the public in Salisbury currently receive and asked all the partners to discuss the possibility of delaying the move out of Wilton Road Police Station.
Working with Salisbury MP John Glen, we have agreement from the government to open the UTC in September 2015. The revised date will allow extra time for Wiltshire Police to ensure robust plans are in place for future police services in the area. This will include a fully agreed plan for police custody arrangements to be in place before the police vacate the Wilton Road Police Station in autumn 2014. Whilst the delay will disappoint some of the students who were hoping to join the UTC in 2014, the UTC will work with them and their parents to ensure that their long-term ambitions can be supported. The partners all supported the chief constable recognising that public safety is a top priority and we are all pleased that the UTC will go ahead and provide vital training for young people in the field of science and engineering.
Today, I am pleased to announce that our child protection services have been rated as ‘adequate’ by Ofsted. This as a significant step on our journey of improvement after a similar inspection early last year rated our services as ‘inadequate’, but we are not, and will never be, complacent. We will continue to ensure that we improve so children in Wiltshire are as safe as they possibly can be. We would like to thank all staff involved in these services for their hard work; it’s your dedication that will continue to help us improve. To view the report visit the Ofsted website.
On Thursday I was pleased to launch a business sporting dinner that will take place in the atrium on 25 October. This unique event will link sport and businesses, which is part of our ‘A Legacy for Wiltshire’ programme. We were treated to a visit and demonstration from some of the county’s most successful athletes – Pole Vault 2012 South West Champion Hannah Grubb, Fencing former Junior World Champion Phillip Marsh and Judo British U20 Champion, Jemima Duxberry – who helped us launch the dinner. This event, which will host 250 business representatives and sports stars, will secure funding to support our Wiltshire athletes on their journey to Rio in 2016. Even a small amount of funding can make a huge difference.
The event itself is a Gala Dinner and will be hosted by former England Rugby Captain, Phil de Glanville and the special celebrity guest speaker is TV presenter, adventurer, journalist and double Olympic gold medallist and seven time world champion, James Cracknell OBE. I am so pleased that James has agreed to join us for the evening as he is a charismatic character with great stories from his time as an elite athlete as well as from his adventures since his retirement. I really am looking forward to hearing him speak.
I must just extend our congratulations to Stephanie Millward and Aaron Moore on their medal wins at the IPC World Swimming Championships this week.
Lastly, I’d like to say huge congratulations to all of Wiltshire’s young people who picked up their A Level results yesterday. More Wiltshire students have achieved the top grades of A* to B and 5 percent more students are achieving three or more A levels than in 2012. I know many of you will have been involved in supporting young people through these challenging times in your role as a parent or in your professional capacity and I’d like to congratulate you too for this great achievement.
Jane
All partners agreed that this was a good and pragmatic solution that would make best use of a public building, deliver opportunities for young people to gain skills for the workplace and re-provide police services in the city centre. The bid for a UTC was made to central government with a planned opening date for next September (2014). This meant a tight time frame for the police to relocate services and having had the opportunity to review the final arrangements the chief constable raised concern that they would not be able to continue to provide the level of police service that the public in Salisbury currently receive and asked all the partners to discuss the possibility of delaying the move out of Wilton Road Police Station.
Working with Salisbury MP John Glen, we have agreement from the government to open the UTC in September 2015. The revised date will allow extra time for Wiltshire Police to ensure robust plans are in place for future police services in the area. This will include a fully agreed plan for police custody arrangements to be in place before the police vacate the Wilton Road Police Station in autumn 2014. Whilst the delay will disappoint some of the students who were hoping to join the UTC in 2014, the UTC will work with them and their parents to ensure that their long-term ambitions can be supported. The partners all supported the chief constable recognising that public safety is a top priority and we are all pleased that the UTC will go ahead and provide vital training for young people in the field of science and engineering.
Today, I am pleased to announce that our child protection services have been rated as ‘adequate’ by Ofsted. This as a significant step on our journey of improvement after a similar inspection early last year rated our services as ‘inadequate’, but we are not, and will never be, complacent. We will continue to ensure that we improve so children in Wiltshire are as safe as they possibly can be. We would like to thank all staff involved in these services for their hard work; it’s your dedication that will continue to help us improve. To view the report visit the Ofsted website.
On Thursday I was pleased to launch a business sporting dinner that will take place in the atrium on 25 October. This unique event will link sport and businesses, which is part of our ‘A Legacy for Wiltshire’ programme. We were treated to a visit and demonstration from some of the county’s most successful athletes – Pole Vault 2012 South West Champion Hannah Grubb, Fencing former Junior World Champion Phillip Marsh and Judo British U20 Champion, Jemima Duxberry – who helped us launch the dinner. This event, which will host 250 business representatives and sports stars, will secure funding to support our Wiltshire athletes on their journey to Rio in 2016. Even a small amount of funding can make a huge difference.
The event itself is a Gala Dinner and will be hosted by former England Rugby Captain, Phil de Glanville and the special celebrity guest speaker is TV presenter, adventurer, journalist and double Olympic gold medallist and seven time world champion, James Cracknell OBE. I am so pleased that James has agreed to join us for the evening as he is a charismatic character with great stories from his time as an elite athlete as well as from his adventures since his retirement. I really am looking forward to hearing him speak.
I must just extend our congratulations to Stephanie Millward and Aaron Moore on their medal wins at the IPC World Swimming Championships this week.
Lastly, I’d like to say huge congratulations to all of Wiltshire’s young people who picked up their A Level results yesterday. More Wiltshire students have achieved the top grades of A* to B and 5 percent more students are achieving three or more A levels than in 2012. I know many of you will have been involved in supporting young people through these challenging times in your role as a parent or in your professional capacity and I’d like to congratulate you too for this great achievement.
Jane
Friday 9 August 2013
Friday 9 August 2013
I seem to recall that some years ago August was always a quiet month when the council had a recess period with virtually no meetings arranged – how times have changed! We’re only a week into August and there’s a lot happening. I spent Tuesday morning in Salisbury with around thirty new staff attending the induction course. I always thoroughly enjoy these sessions and welcome the questions and comments about the council and how we work. This week’s session was really interesting as we discussed how services will be delivered in the future in community campuses and how we can integrate leisure, police services, health, youth and other key services to benefit local communities. It was good to have input from three police staff who transferred into the programme office in April and hear their views on how policing is about being part of the community. We know that co-locating with the police makes sense and we have seen the positive impact of this at our Monkton Park offices.
In the afternoon I met Bill Browne, the editor of the Salisbury Journal for a regular catch up and to talk through how we can continue to work together. We discussed Purple Flag week which takes place 21-27 September and marks the first anniversary of the flag being awarded to Salisbury for it’s safe and successful night time economy. The week will see us co-hosting a number of activities with the city council, including a vintage market in the newly refurbished Guildhall Square with live entertainment and a reception for local businesses. We also talked about the huge programme of activities and events scheduled as part of creating a legacy for Wiltshire. Bill was interested in the forthcoming business sports dinner and the elite cycle race that will take place in Wilton next May (2014). We agreed to look at how we can work together on new projects with local communities; more about this as we develop these...
On Wednesday, I met the High Sheriff, William Wyldebore-Smith and was pleased that he would like to use the atrium to host an event on his year’s including work with the public and voluntary sector how we can all best support disadvantaged children next February. He was impressed with the recent Wiltshire Assembly and how well the atrium space worked for this type of event. I have asked our events team to look at how we can support this event.
Have a great weekend everyone!
Jane
In the afternoon I met Bill Browne, the editor of the Salisbury Journal for a regular catch up and to talk through how we can continue to work together. We discussed Purple Flag week which takes place 21-27 September and marks the first anniversary of the flag being awarded to Salisbury for it’s safe and successful night time economy. The week will see us co-hosting a number of activities with the city council, including a vintage market in the newly refurbished Guildhall Square with live entertainment and a reception for local businesses. We also talked about the huge programme of activities and events scheduled as part of creating a legacy for Wiltshire. Bill was interested in the forthcoming business sports dinner and the elite cycle race that will take place in Wilton next May (2014). We agreed to look at how we can work together on new projects with local communities; more about this as we develop these...
On Wednesday, I met the High Sheriff, William Wyldebore-Smith and was pleased that he would like to use the atrium to host an event on his year’s including work with the public and voluntary sector how we can all best support disadvantaged children next February. He was impressed with the recent Wiltshire Assembly and how well the atrium space worked for this type of event. I have asked our events team to look at how we can support this event.
Have a great weekend everyone!
Jane
Friday 2 August 2013
Friday 2 August 2013
Last week I mentioned that it was 1 year since the London Olympic Games opened and to mark this anniversary Gamesmakers across the country were invited to attend the Anniversary Games in recognition of the valuable role that they played as volunteers in making last year’s Games such a unique and extraordinary event. The focus nationally and here in Wiltshire is the ongoing impact since last year, and on Friday morning (last week) I was invited to talk about our legacy work on BBC radio as part of a panel with Swindon Borough Council and Swindon and Wiltshire Sports Partnership. It’s interesting and not surprising that in Wiltshire an additional 6000 people have volunteered to support events, activities and services in their local communities following the success of last year. We’ve always been fortunate to have a huge number of volunteers in the county; 109,000 people (28 per cent of our population) regularly support services but we need to make sure that this number continues to grow as their support and capacity will help to maintain the delivery of key front line services and make communities stronger in the future.
Last year demonstrated that when local communities are provided with a “hook”, people are only too eager to come together and resolve issues, deliver events and participate in activities in their local community and, we know that there is a strong correlation between people who feel a sense of belonging and connected to each other and how happy and healthy they are; so the more we can encourage communities to come together the better it is for everyone.
With this in mind, we know that next year (2014) marks the centenary of World War 1 and we are aware that many communities want to come together and actively commemorate this huge historical event. We are looking at how we can support them and assist with the education and living history, which is vital to remembering the sacrifice made by so many; particularly in Wiltshire which has immense military history. Today I am meeting with the Brigadier Piers Hankinson at Tidworth to discuss how we can work together and support communities with the commemoration which starts next year.
Last Friday evening, I accompanied Maggie Rae, Keith Humphries and Jemima Milton on a visit to the renowned WOMAD festival, which is held at Charlton Park near Malmesbury. The event was in full flow and it was great to see so many families and all ages enjoying the music and atmosphere and we were all really impressed that the organisers had focused on making the event as accessible as possible and it was so great to see disabled and able-bodied people of all ages celebrate music from around the world. It’s a big event that helps to boost our local economy and bring thousands of visitors to Wiltshire.
This week I had three days in Kent undertaking “Gran Gran” duties babysitting which is always extremely satisfying albeit hard work! Yesterday I was back in the office and spent the day catching up with a number of people including meeting with the Police Crime Commissioner, Angus Macpherson and the Chief Constable, Patrick Geenty. These meetings are always really useful; particularly as we develop how we work together and consider the resources and buildings that we may share in the future. The need to work smarter and more efficiently has never been greater as the financial pressures continue to increase. We have do work differently and adopt a can-do approach to everything we do.
I mentioned earlier that I am in Tidworth today meeting the Brigadier to discuss next year, but we are also discussing the plans for the Army Basing project that will see 14,800 military personnel based in our county by 2016. It means Wiltshire will have the largest settlement of military personnel in the country and will house a quarter of the entire British Army. Not only does this make Wiltshire unique, but it means we have to plan to deliver services infrastructure and housing that will be needed and look at how we integrate the military and civilian communities to create a strong and vibrant local area around Salisbury Plain.
Finally, I’m looking forward to officially launching the Legacy business dinner next week. The dinner, which will be hosted by Phil De Glanville – former Bath and England Rugby Union Captain, takes place on 25 October in the Atrium will bring future Olympians and Paralympians together with businesses. More than 250 people will have a unique opportunity to hear from a celebrity speaker; to be announced next week at the launch, and to have the opportunity to “adopt” an athlete and support their journey to Rio in 2016.
Have a good weekend and hope the sunshine holds out...
Jane
Last year demonstrated that when local communities are provided with a “hook”, people are only too eager to come together and resolve issues, deliver events and participate in activities in their local community and, we know that there is a strong correlation between people who feel a sense of belonging and connected to each other and how happy and healthy they are; so the more we can encourage communities to come together the better it is for everyone.
With this in mind, we know that next year (2014) marks the centenary of World War 1 and we are aware that many communities want to come together and actively commemorate this huge historical event. We are looking at how we can support them and assist with the education and living history, which is vital to remembering the sacrifice made by so many; particularly in Wiltshire which has immense military history. Today I am meeting with the Brigadier Piers Hankinson at Tidworth to discuss how we can work together and support communities with the commemoration which starts next year.
Last Friday evening, I accompanied Maggie Rae, Keith Humphries and Jemima Milton on a visit to the renowned WOMAD festival, which is held at Charlton Park near Malmesbury. The event was in full flow and it was great to see so many families and all ages enjoying the music and atmosphere and we were all really impressed that the organisers had focused on making the event as accessible as possible and it was so great to see disabled and able-bodied people of all ages celebrate music from around the world. It’s a big event that helps to boost our local economy and bring thousands of visitors to Wiltshire.
This week I had three days in Kent undertaking “Gran Gran” duties babysitting which is always extremely satisfying albeit hard work! Yesterday I was back in the office and spent the day catching up with a number of people including meeting with the Police Crime Commissioner, Angus Macpherson and the Chief Constable, Patrick Geenty. These meetings are always really useful; particularly as we develop how we work together and consider the resources and buildings that we may share in the future. The need to work smarter and more efficiently has never been greater as the financial pressures continue to increase. We have do work differently and adopt a can-do approach to everything we do.
I mentioned earlier that I am in Tidworth today meeting the Brigadier to discuss next year, but we are also discussing the plans for the Army Basing project that will see 14,800 military personnel based in our county by 2016. It means Wiltshire will have the largest settlement of military personnel in the country and will house a quarter of the entire British Army. Not only does this make Wiltshire unique, but it means we have to plan to deliver services infrastructure and housing that will be needed and look at how we integrate the military and civilian communities to create a strong and vibrant local area around Salisbury Plain.
Finally, I’m looking forward to officially launching the Legacy business dinner next week. The dinner, which will be hosted by Phil De Glanville – former Bath and England Rugby Union Captain, takes place on 25 October in the Atrium will bring future Olympians and Paralympians together with businesses. More than 250 people will have a unique opportunity to hear from a celebrity speaker; to be announced next week at the launch, and to have the opportunity to “adopt” an athlete and support their journey to Rio in 2016.
Have a good weekend and hope the sunshine holds out...
Jane
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