Thank you for your hard work this year

Christmas is almost here! I can’t believe how fast 2015 has gone and, like me, I’m sure you are looking forward to having a break and spending some quality time with family and friends.

I know it has been an extremely busy year, and I would like to say thank you for all your enthusiasm, commitment and hard work throughout the year. We have seen a lot of change over the last few years - some driven by increasing service demands and customer expectations - and some as a consequence of the economic climate and the impact that this has had on local authority grant funding.

We know the challenges will continue as we head into 2016. Austerity is not yet behind us and we will need to continue to be innovative and do things in a different way if we are to deliver what our local communities need.

I am extremely proud that you never fail to deliver and to serve the people of Wiltshire so well. We have had another great year and we have made a real difference delivering the three main priorities and achieving many successes. I cannot possibly list them all, but if I focus on our priority areas, we have successfully employed more social workers to support those who are most vulnerable, and we’ve invested in major projects and delivering broadband to help boost the economy and create and protect jobs. Investment to improve roads continues and we helped more people to purchase their own home through the provision of affordable housing.

Our vision to develop stronger communities is a great opportunity for us to work with local people and to do lots more together. We know that healthy, active and resilient communities will do more and delivering events, projects and local services encourages and provides a reason for communities to come together and, when they do, they build relationships, resilience and motivation to do more in their local area.

What a year it’s been - looking ahead we have lots to do including setting next year’s budget and continuing to focus on how we deliver our three key priorities and keep Wiltshire as a great place to live and work in.

And, finally can I wish you all a very merry Christmas and a happy and successful 2016, and a special thank you goes to all of you who will be working or on-call over the festive period ensuring that our essential services are delivered.

Look forward to seeing you all in the New Year.

Jane

Interesting times

The past few weeks have been particularly busy as I have been settling into my new role at the House of Lords whilst continuing to focus on matters at Wiltshire Council.

Last week’s extraordinary Full Council meeting was truly extraordinary. Members had the opportunity to vote on a raft of recommendations on the Community Governance Review. This was a once in a half-century opportunity to discuss if the existing parish boundaries are best serving the needs of our local residents. The boundaries reflect a town or parish council area and the number of properties paying Council Tax and precepts to that particular town or parish. With the growth in housing this was an opportunity to review the boundaries and make adjustments, where needed.

It was an epic meeting - lasting for the best part of 11 hours - reflecting how important it was that each proposed change should be debated in full, prior to voting. The hard work of the officers and Working Party members - who put forward their recommended changes - was acknowledged a number of times throughout the meeting and I would also like to take this opportunity to recognise the huge and challenging task that they achieved.

There is no doubt that interesting times will continue for local government. Like everyone else, I listened with interest to the Chancellor delivering his Spending Review last week. This was the first time a Chancellor combined the Comprehensive Spending Review (CSR) with a budget statement so he covered a significant amount of information and, more detail on what this will mean for the council, will follow in the coming weeks.

The review raised a number of areas that we need to consider in Wiltshire, including the proposed social care levy, the greater collaboration between public sector services, and the additional need for flooding prevention and highways investment. The government’s focus continues to be reducing the national deficit and taking the economy out of recession.

Public sector workers across the country were asked for their areas to reduce waste and deliver services more efficiently, as part of the Public Sector Efficiency Challenge. 22,000 ideas were put forward reflecting the dedication and support of those who work in the public sector. It just shows how resilient, innovative and determined we have become and in Wiltshire we have proven time and again that we can rise to the challenges put in front of us and do an excellent job. We will need these qualities in coming years as the clear message is that “austerity is not yet over” and to continue to provide the best possible service to our communities we will need lots more ideas and innovative thinking. I know this won’t be a problem for us - having listened to your thoughts and views at the staff forums there is certainly lots more we can do.

I do hope Wiltshire will get a better settlement on the schools funding formula and the proposals for delivering more affordable housing are certainly to be welcomed. There are many residents in Wiltshire who would like to own their own home but do not qualify for social housing and cannot afford to buy a house on the open market. We are committed to working with our partners to provide as many new affordable homes as we can and this additional government support is welcome. 

I’m not sure if you are aware but a new member will be joining the council following a by-election held last Thursday (26 November 2015) for the Salisbury St Edmund and Milford ward.  Atiqul Hoque won by a considerable margin and we look forward to welcoming him.

And, finally, it’s beginning to feel a lot like Christmas…last week’s Christmas Wealth of Wiltshire Fayre was a great success and so many local traders took part selling their produce and products. The local choirs were a joy to hear and the buzz in the atrium reminded me of what an excellent community and public space we have created. It made me realise that Christmas isn’t that far away and I was delighted to support the traders by bulk buying bottle holders and other gifts. The rest of my shopping will have to be squeezed in when my diary permits as life continues to be hectic in the run up to Christmas.

Next week it’s the Christmas Carol service and I am really looking forward to a time of reflection and to hearing our wonderful choir and seeing you if you’re able to attend.

Jane