My job as a Borough Councillor is to raise any issues that affect the community directly with the council and work towards resolving them. This could be anything from fine-tuning the details of large scale planning applications to the opening hours of the village pub.
I have a wide range of duties which include representing the interest of the community, whilst taking a broader view of the needs of the Borough as a whole and I participate in the decision making process. The main committees I am a Member of are the Licensing Committee - which includes sub-licensing panels as and when needed, the Regulatory Committee – which involves site visits, and the Performance & Audit Scrutiny Committee – which acts as the Councils “audit committee”. This also includes the approval of the annual Statement on Internal Control, reviewing and monitoring risk management issues. Monitoring performance across the range of Council services and recommending action relating to under performance as well as ensuring that services are performing in support of the front-line.
I am on a couple of Out-Side Bodies one of which is the GCR/Council Liaison panel (Great Central Railway) and these meet a couple of times a year, as well as a substitute for a Liberal Councillor on the Highways Forum. I have to of course attend Full Council at the Town Hall every 6 weeks and the Parish Council once a month.
I have to be accessible to the local people, and which I am via the telephone, post, e-mail, my own council website, the local village magazine, leaflets and of course the open surgeries that I hold on the last Saturday of every month. I also attend any civic functions that arise.
A few days after my election, the Council began to run Induction Courses, which I have found to be extremely helpful. I had initially wondered what kind of reception I would receive, but just held my head high and got on with things. As it turned out the Council Officer’s have been extremely friendly and helpful with any requests or needs I might have had, and have always acted in a friendly and helpful manner towards me.
It has been a real whirl-wind so far since my election last May, especially as Maurice and I were also trying at that time to prepare for our wedding which was to take place the following month! However, on that note, although it was a really wet summer, the sun truly shone for us on ‘our special day’!
I feel blessed and very lucky to have my new role and am again in a position to help those that need help of one sort or another, and am very thankful too for the good working relationship I have with both the Officers of Charnwood Borough Council and the other elected Councillors.
It is my aim to further progress the party in any way that I can.
