Can I start by saying well done and thank you to all of you who helped to make sure last week’s Police Crime Commissioner Election went so smoothly, especially as it was a really long day and night!
I visited both Trowbridge and Swindon on Thursday evening and was at the Oasis as the counts came in from the other Wiltshire venues. There was a lot of media interest and we hit the local and national news on Friday morning as we had the first result in the country.
I am meeting Angus (Macpherson) today to talk about his role as the new Police and Crime Commissioner for Swindon and Wiltshire and about how we can continue to support and work with the Police. I am sure he will be keen to talk more about how we share facilities and possibly some services, as well as how we work together in local communities. I will update more about this meeting in my Friday blog.
Last week was also full council and the chairman made an announcement about the official opening of County Hall and the honour it was to share this with our Wiltshire Olympians, Torch bearers and Games makers. A short film was shown which highlighted the opening to those who were unable to attend, the film will be uploaded shortly so please look out for this on Friday.
Members also approved the council’s recovery plan, which would be used in the event of a major incident. Hopefully, we won’t need this but it is always the best policy to be prepared and to plan for what could happen so that we can manage and continue to deliver our services in the event of any emergency or major incident.
Council also discussed and approved a local council tax support scheme for Wiltshire. This followed extensive consultation with local tax payers. Their feedback prompted changes - particularly around the amount of savings claimants can have before losing their entitlement. We also agreed to introduce a discretionary fund to help support those householders who will be most affected by the changes to their council tax benefit.
I also had the great pleasure of attending the Young People’s Awards in Melksham last Wednesday evening and presenting an award. The event which was organised and delivered by the extended services team and Melksham Town Council was fantastic with more than three hundred people attending. Young people were recognised for some of the outstanding work they have been doing and there were more than fifty nominations for 150 young people though their teams, clubs and schools. The categories included outstanding achiever of the year, volunteering award and sporting team award and awards were presented by five-time Paralympic medal winner, Stephanie Milward and local professional boxer, Nick Blackwell. The evening was really well organised and so inspirational. It’s always so good to recognise the positive contribution that young people make in our communities. Well done to all the winners and to extended services team chaired by John Hubbard, Melksham Town Council and the area board members for supporting this excellent event.
And finally, I’m really looking forward to seeing some of you tomorrow at the re-scheduled staff forum in Chippenham. I understand that there are still some spaces available if you haven’t attended a session yet and that we have also put on an extra session on Tuesday, 4 December in Devizes. I am also really looking forward to visiting the depots over the next few weeks as it’s always good to meet the depot teams and catch up on how things are for them. As always it’s your views and feedback that makes the sessions so interesting and it provides me with an opportunity to talk about the future and what’s happening.
More from me on Friday,
Jane.
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