In my position statement tonight I’m going to acknowledge some of the hard work and dedication of our officers and to share some examples of what they do on a daily basis on behalf of the people of this Borough.
I want to start with my view of how officers dealt with the events surrounding the sad death of Isla Tansey. As you know Isla and her family, Simon, Katherine and Harrison, were awarded a special Making a Difference award earlier this year for bringing #islastones to us all.
When news of her death reached people they chose to use the Argents Mead bandstand as a memorial. HBBC officers were quick to sympathise with this coming together of the community. They removed council banners, brought water for floral tributes and let events take their course.
But our officers didn’t stop there. They continued to work with Isla’s family in support of the day of celebration, setting up the exhibition which opened today in the Atkins Gallery, and working towards providing a lasting tribute to Isla.
Our Environmental Health team have had to work alongside the police in dealing with two fatalities in the borough under health and safety regulations, one of which led to a police prosecution and conviction, the other led to a health and safety prosecution with a fine and costs awarded.
This same team protect our residents on a daily basis, making sure that when we visit local restaurants the food hygiene standards are as high as they can be, making food safe to eat. Also they help businesses with advice and inspections to improve health and safety in the workplace.
Thirdly I want to mention our Children and Young People’s service and events staff, who have just served up the best snapdragon festival ever. Ratby, Witherley, Bagworth and Dadlington were able to experience snapdragon this year, whilst the week in Hinckley, in sometimes scorching hot weather, was again an outstanding success.
The work and preparation which goes into these events should not be under-estimated, and I know that officers put everything into running them for our community.
When other councils are saying that HBBC should be scrapped, I know they are wrong, I know that bigger will not be better, I know that local communities need local people working in local councils and caring for the people they serve.
Our officers care about the community they work in, often it’s also the community they live in, and without their commitment our role as councillors would be made much harder
That is what we have in Hinckley and Bosworth Borough Council and that is why tonight I have brought a motion to seek Council’s support to work with other local authorities to deliver a better alternative to the re-organisation model being proposed by Leicestershire County Council.
We have a short agenda this evening and together with the constitutional update and motion from Cllr Witherford I hope they will all receive very good support by members of this Council.
Minutes:
In his position statement, the Leader referred to the events around the death of Isla Tansey, the work of the Environmental Health Service, the Snapdragon festival, and Leicestershire County Council’s proposals in relation to the future of local government in the county and the East Midlands.