My once in a lifetime moment, budget setting and a huge thank you

Towards the end of last year I wrote about my once in a lifetime moment when I was formally welcomed into the House of Lords. I recently had another one of those moments as I made my maiden speech in that famous chamber which is so steeped in history.

I had nearly three months to plan what I was going to say in my first address and I decided to talk about a subject very close to my heart and a hugely important issue for Wiltshire. As a military county - which makes us unique - I talked about our relationship with the armed forces and how we support them and their families; especially as the army basing programme will see 4,000 more armed forces personnel and their families be relocated to Wiltshire by 2020.

This is a huge challenge, but it’s one that we welcome and working with our partners we will make sure that forces personnel and their families have all the services they need to settle and are happy in Wiltshire and feel integrated and part of their local community.

My speech focused on the support that’s needed; if we look at a family that moves from base to base the children in particular may fall behind their peers due to a lack of consistency, and partners can often feel isolated – this is something we cannot allow to happen. Nationally, actions have been taken to ensure a support network is in place but there is still more that can be done. My new role in the House of Lords means that I can keep this focus on the national agenda and ensure progress continues to be made. One thing for certain is that I am determined to use my role as a Peer to assist Wiltshire wherever possible. It was a wonderful experience delivering the speech in the chamber and it’s certainly a moment I will always remember.

This time of the year is budget setting time and this has been our main priority over the last few weeks. Setting a budget for a council and county of our size is a very complex and challenging task, made even more so by the amount of savings we need to find. It almost goes without saying that it’s vital we get it right, as the decisions we make have a direct impact on people.

We recently held a number of public meetings over the last few weeks and the feedback I’ve received is that while people may not like some of the decisions we need to make, they understand the reasons behind them. I think that’s a good place to be. People appreciate the fact we’re not sugar coating the information and that we are saying it how it is. The reality we face is that we have to find different ways of doing things, or stop doing them.

Next year’s budget is not all bad news; we are continuing to invest in key areas such as highways, health and wellbeing centres, new affordable housing, broadband and the local economy through regeneration schemes.

I’d like to take this opportunity to say thank you for all your hard work. I’m more than aware that the budget setting process does impact on services and everyone is challenged to look at where efficiencies can be delivered. As always you have risen to this challenge, and at the same time you continue to provide high quality services. This tangible spirit will see us grasp the opportunities ahead and manage what’s needed as we continue to put the people of Wiltshire first.

Thank you.

Jane