A very Happy New Year to you all and welcome to 2013. I hope you had a really enjoyable Christmas break and a huge thank you to all of you who worked through the holiday period and kept our key front line services running.
I took the opportunity to have a break over the festive period and went away and am now ready for a challenging and exciting 2013 - after the outstanding success of 2012, I know we can tackle almost anything!
I’ve come back to a busy and varied week which started with the interviews for Wiltshire’s Chief Constable. I was part of the panel, which was chaired by Angus Macpherson, the police and crime commissioner. Patrick Geenty, who has been acting up as the chief constable, has been appointed (subject to ratification by the Police and Crime Panel today). I’m pleased that Patrick has been appointed and I’m looking forward to continuing the great collaborative working that we have with the police.
On Tuesday the focus was an Action for Wiltshire board meeting and a Safeguarging Children's Improvement Board. I have talked about the Action for Wiltshire activities before and the impact that this valuable programme of work has had, and continues to have, on businesses and communities affected by the economic climate. This week’s meeting focused on what more we can do to boost the local economy and a business to business EXPO event is in the early stages of planning to take place in the summer in Trowbridge. We also looked at what else we can do to support those who will be most affected by the Welfare Reform Act. This includes how we work with the CAB and ensure that it has the capacity and support to manage the increased demand.
The Safeguarding Children's Improvement Board continues to discuss and review the improvements being made in children’s services following last year’s Ofsted. Our progress will be assessed by an external peer review team later this month and will provide us with valuable feedback on the actions we’ve taken so far, and what more we need to do to improve this vital front line service.
Following the board meeting, on Wednesday morning I met with staff working in children’s services to discuss the improvements and to acknowledge the hard work undertaken on this journey.
I also attended a meeting of the Swindon & Wiltshire Local Enterprise Partnership to discuss future projects to bring economic growth into the county.
Yesterday morning was the first of 2013’s corporate induction sessions for new members of staff. These sessions are always enjoyable and yesterday there was more than thirty new staff that were really lively and asked myself and Carlton lots of great questions about the council and where we are heading.
Later in the day, Carlton and I visited Longleat to hear their plans for growth and developing their business. Longleat has a huge impact on our local economy and I was delighted to hear their positive feedback regarding the support our teams provide in assisting them with their growth.
Today there a major incident and recovery planning training day at the Civic Centre in Trowbridge and I was invited to say a few words at the start of the day. It is vital to ensure that we can respond to any major incident and take whatever action that is needed to protect and support our local communities.
And, finally on a personal note, my football team are starting 2013 at the top of the premiership league table. Obviously, I’m hoping and am confident that they will stay there.... but I’m sure there are some of you who think otherwise!
More next week,
Jane.
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