You may be wondering how your new County Councillor is spending her time in these first weeks after the election. It is a combination of jumping into a fast-running river and taking time to plan ahead.
Locally, I am attending parish council meetings, to get an overview of village concerns, and arranging meetings with all of our school heads to find out what issues I ought to be putting on my radar. I’ve been in contact with my predecessor in order to take over on-going casework.
At the County Council, I’m attending training sessions where needed, and requesting senior officer meetings, especially in areas where there are local concerns - I’ve made appointments to see two lead officers in education and social services, and another regarding public transport and rail issues. I’ve also been in contact with the head of library services.
I’ve attended my first full council meeting, which was the annual appointments meeting. A leader and chairman were elected, both of which are political appointments made by the ruling Conservative group. The Council is comprised entirely of political party affiliated members - 42 Conservatives, 23 Liberal Democrats, two Labour and one Green.
The Liberal Democrat group meets once per month to discuss policy issues, and judging by the first meeting these discussions consist of lively debate and consensus decisions. The job of local representation is straightforward: stay in touch with local residents, learn what the issues are, and figure out how to solve them. Getting the best for local people means working together.
Hoping to keep a balance between the villages and Shire Hall, I’ve joined one County Council committee - Children and Young People’s Services Scrutiny Committee, which covers education and social services. Locally I will be focussing on individual casework and of course the headline community concerns in our villages.
I’ll be continuing to send out my monthly email newsletter - please contact me if you’d like to be on the distribution list. Feel free to get in touch any time if you have any queries or concerns, and I will try to point you in the right direction.