Chief Executive, Laurence Rockey

I am delighted to have the opportunity to share my first Inform update.

I know that Inform is a great way for colleagues to read the latest news from across the council, as well as find details of upcoming events, initiatives and opportunities.

Hopefully, you will have had the chance to watch the first two vlogs which I have recorded. I will be doing these regularly and so look out for further updates in the weeks ahead.

Inform provides me with another platform to share details about some of the activities and meetings which I am involved with.

My first couple of weeks have been focused on meeting and getting to know as many colleagues as possible.

As I said on my first day, I’ve really been struck by the clear professional, expertise and commitment to East Lothian of colleagues throughout the council.

These early conversations and introductions have been incredibly insightful and highlighted the vital role we all play at the heart of local communities, as well as the extent to which residents rely on our services.

This was also the case on Tuesday, when I sat alongside the Provost for the first time as elected members met for a full council meeting. It was a varied agenda. Items included papers on our new Climate Change Strategy (which you can read more about in Inform), a finance update, litter management on the A1 and a summary of findings from our external auditor. I was also appointed as Returning Officer for the East Lothian area, reflecting the council’s key responsibilities for organising elections locally.

The meeting underlined the extent of some of the challenges we face and must address together, but also made me think about the opportunities we can grasp to ensure East Lothian has a successful and sustainable future.

There is a busy programme of council business between now and the summer recess and I’d like to thank everyone for their support in bringing forward papers for elected members to consider at this and other meetings.

I am really looking forward to meeting more colleagues in the weeks ahead, as well as getting to know our partners and community organisations. Arrangements are being made so that I can get out and about as much as I can to see the excellent work that takes place across council buildings and within our towns and villages. On Thursday, I had the opportunity to visit Blindwells and the former Cockenzie Power Station site with Head of Development Ray Montgomery (pictured above with me) to find about more about these key development locations. 

I am also keen to hear from colleagues about how we make the council an even better place to work and deliver services.

In the meantime, I hope you enjoy this latest edition of Inform. If there is anything you would like to see covered in future, or if you have a story to share, please get in touch with the team by emailing inform@eastlothian.gov.uk