A year of challenges and achievements
Every three or four months, I go along to East Coast FM to speak to Ian Robertson, Station Manager, about some of the work that’s going on across the council and the county. Thank you to everyone who provides me with information and updates on issues you’re busy working on; it’s always an impressive range of activity that reaches every area of East Lothian and most of our residents.
I know that there are many services that take the opportunity to promote their work using this medium and it’s a useful way to communicate with local people, including cleansing and library services. Our Fostering & Adoption Team have used East Coast FM to great effect as part of their campaign to encourage more adults to come forward to foster children.
This recent visit to our local radio station reinforced for me once again the dedication of our workforce and, as 2017 draws to a close, I would like to take this opportunity to thank all staff for their continued hard work during the year. It has been a transition year with a new Administration being appointed, the development of a new Council Plan and an ongoing drive to improve our performance. We have continued to deliver a high standard of services and the residents’ survey earlier in the year confirmed 99% of those surveyed considered East Lothian as a place to live to be very good or good.
In a previous message I explained that we were opening a public consultation on budget options which will help us gauge the public preferences on how we can refocus our spending for the next three year budget. I hope that you also take the opportunity to make your views known. In addition, there are details in this Inform about some budget drop-in sessions for staff when employees can ask questions about the budget process, funding levels and possible impacts on services.
I am looking forward to attending our 10th STAR Awards ceremony later this month and speaking to the teams and individuals who have been shortlisted for their exceptional service. This year attracted a record number of nominations from all parts of the council and we will let everyone know the results on Friday 8 December.
Also in this issue we cover details about a number of innovative projects within our schools that have achieved praise from professional organisations. To be recognised by your peers as a provider of quality improvements is extremely rewarding.
Successful partnerships continues to be a strength in East Lothian and I would like to add my congratulations to the volunteer Path Wardens, an initiative started by Countryside & Leisure, who scooped a national award recently. In addition, Customer Services has recently secured an agreement with Scottish Borders Council to deliver their telecare service. Not only is this a demonstration of our approach to partnering with others it will also bring an additional income into the council.
As we head towards 2018 I would like to extend my best wishes to all of our workforce in East Lothian Council and I hope you have a happy and peaceful Christmas and New Year break.