Settling into some new jobs

During the last week or so I have been very busy attending meetings related to a couple of new roles that I have taken on at Babergh.

It is inevitable that when you have served one term colleagues start looking to you to take on some extra responsibilities.  As a result I now find myself on the Joint Implementation Board that will oversee the integration of the officer structures at Babergh and Mid Suffolk.  Following the No to Merger vote, this process will probably now be more rapid and intense than it might have been. The need to make significant cost savings has not gone away!  The first meeting was very interesting and news of first steps in the process will be made public in the weeks to come.

Another new role is taking on the Chair of the Babergh Community Safety Partnership.  This body fulfils Babergh's statutory obligations in the area of crime reduction and anti social behaviour, and the role sits well with the work that I have been doing in recent years with the West Babergh Safety Neighbourhood Teams.  In my opinion there is something of a gulf between the strategic planning (done by the Safety Partnership) and the bottom up information from the 'real world' as provided by the Safer Neighbourhood Teams, and it will be interesting to see if some joining up can be achieved in this area!

I am determined to manage these extra responsibilities and also continue to support people in the Ward. In this respect I am very lucky to have extra help in the form of Frank Lawrenson, who, I understand, attended the Great Waldingfield Parish Council Meeting on Monday and who has already taken up several problems with the relevant authorities!