Hello,
I’ve been
involved in politics for many years and I’ve always found it interesting, but I
could never have predicted the events of the last few weeks…
It’s not
often that I feel sorry for political reporters but with the situation changing
so frequently they must be struggling to keep up on the current news.
There has
been an almost tangible sense from people - no matter which way they voted - of
feeling unsettled about the uncharted territory we now find ourselves in. This is
of course a natural reaction, as its clear there will be some big long-term
changes ahead of us. We are keeping a watchful eye on proceedings in Westminster;
particularly who will be elected as the next Prime Minister who will have to
drive forward the process to exit the EU. And, we have yet to fully
understand the impact this will have on local authorities and the public sector
as a whole.
Our focus in
Wiltshire Council remains the same; to provide high quality services and
support for our local communities – this won’t change, in or out of the EU.
With what’s
happening it was particularly timely that this week I attended the Local
Government Association Annual Conference in Bournemouth – and you can guess what
the hot topic was.
The
conference is an opportunity for council leaders and senior officers to get
together and discuss what’s ahead. What is evident – and it’s almost becoming a
cliché – is that the next few years (and more likely beyond) local government
will continue to face challenges both financial and from increasing service
demands; particularly relating to adult social care. This means we have to
continue to look at new and even more radical ways to deliver the services that
are most needed.
I was pleased
to be involved in discussions on topics that are very close to my heart. I
spoke about devolution, which is a way of working that we are familiar with in
Wiltshire. I was able to draw upon our first hand experiences of working
closely with parish, town and city councils to talk about some of the
challenges we have faced, but more importantly, the opportunities it has
created. As the financial challenges continue into the future we will be
looking for local communities to take on more responsibility to help ensure that
the services that matter in local areas are sustainable for the future.
I also chaired
a panel discussion which prompted serious thought and challenge. The Falklands Veteran Simon Weston was one of three speakers and he spoke with
passion and force about how military personnel and their families are treated
and viewed by society and potential employers. He challenged us to look at how
support and advice is provided and how we maximise the potential of these
people to add value in our communities. The theme was the importance of the
relationship between communities and the military and the value of the Military
Covenant that was established to provide support to armed forces personnel
particularly when they leave the military and make the transition into civilian
life. Whilst I’m proud of Wiltshire’s historic, and future, ties to the
military and the strong relationship we have with our military partners, there
is more that we can and will do. I would ask all our services and
teams to continue to look at the covenant and to check that we are doing all
we can for not only serving soldiers and their families but also the many
veterans that live in the county. We
must make sure that the thousands of soldiers and their families who will be based
here in the coming years receive a real Wiltshire welcome and are supported so
that they can settle in Wiltshire and become part of the local community.
After a
rather tumultuous couple of weeks it was a real tonic to meet up with colleagues
across the country and talk about the future. Of course, we’re no strangers to
uncharted territories ourselves and when we became a unitary council just over
seven years ago we too faced an uncertain future as we took a step into the
unknown. We met that challenge head on and I am being asked to support other
authorities who now recognise that combined local authorities make sense.
Wiltshire
thrives on positivity and new ideas. We are passionate about what we do and
that’s what makes us resilient in the face of any challenge. So whilst the
horizon isn’t quite as clear as it once was, we must never lose sight of our
vision and direction and with our resilience and drive, I know we’ll be just fine.
Jane
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