Hello,
A big thank you to everyone who attended one of the
Trowbridge staff engagement forum sessions last week and contributed to what we
all thought was a worthwhile and productive day.
This week the forums are in Chippenham and Salisbury and
we’re looking forward to seeing you there and hearing your views. There are
still a few spaces available so please
book on if you haven’t already. And, please do come ready with your questions
as we want the sessions to be as interactive and informative as possible.
We’re collating all your questions and will publish the
answers following all the sessions. So far the questions range from subjects
such as the budget, the savings we need to make, staff parking and staff
development. What’s clear is there’s a real passion for the job amongst you and
that’s been great to see.
We certainly didn’t have a quiet end to the week as following
the engagement forums we spent Friday with around 100 representatives from many
of the town and parish councils in Wiltshire. They are vital partners in the
work we do and we wanted to take some time to talk with them and really
establish a positive way of working going forward, which given the budget
pressures we have will benefit us all. We want to do more locally and the
parish and town councils will be key to that. It was a really successful event
and we’re sure there will be more like it to come to really help us capitalise
on the momentum we have now built.
While on the subject of budget pressures, we await with keen
interest Wednesday’s budget delivered by the chancellor. We’re not expecting
many surprises, and our sound financial management means that we are ready to manage
any that may come our way. We’ll take some time to sift through the detail to
establish how it will affect us. This week we’re doing some planning and
preparation work to focus on our budget as next week we’re hosting star
chambers to talk to managers and cabinet members about possible savings and where
they consider their services can be done differently. We’re keen to get a fresh
perspective and we’re sure that this new approach will be productive.
Today and yesterday Terence and Alistair attended the County
Councils Network (CCN) Conference alongside Jane. It’s always good to network with
local authority colleagues and find out how the issues we collectively face can
be tackled. Two of the themes this year are devolution and ‘super councils’. Jane, as the CCN Reform Spokeswoman delivered an
introduction piece based on the Wiltshire experience to drive significant
change and combine local authorities to the benefit of local residents and
communities. It was a think piece to encourage debate and change.
The next cabinet meeting takes place in a few weeks and yesterday
CLT discussed the agenda for the meeting. There is a lot for members to discuss
and determine including the school places strategy, carers strategy, an update
on the campus programme and an interim proposal for leisure provision.
We’re pleased to announce that Caroline Rudland has been
appointed as our new head of electoral services, replacing John Watling who
retired earlier this year. John left behind some big shoes to fill but Caroline
is more than capable and brings with her a wealth of experience and lots of new
and exciting ideas on how she sees this service developing. We’re looking
forward to working with her.
Finally, we just want to ask you to take a few minutes to
fill out the Health
and Wellbeing Staff Survey. The results of the confidential survey help
shape the way that resources are used to help support your health and wellbeing
in the workplace. That’s obviously important enough, but you could also win
yourself some vouchers so it’s definitely worth filling it out.
Thank you, and we look forward to seeing some of you
tomorrow and Thursday.
Alison, Alistair, Carlton and Terence
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