the leader's blog

Today I’m in Westminster at the Local Government Association (LGA).

It’s my induction into the Executive of the Local Government Group.

I will represent not only Staffordshire, but the West Midlands region on the Executive in my capacity of Chairman of West Midlands Councils.

The LGA represents 422 councils from across England and Wales, and speaks on behalf of local government to central Government. I will sit on the Economy and Transport Board, and as you can probably tell from previous blog entries this is one of my great passions.

The board is responsible for developing strategic policy on transport, economic development, business support, regeneration and job creation and skills. Local government must be a key player in bringing the economy out of the recession so this is exciting work.

We are carrying out excellent work on modernising the way councils do business in Staffordshire and the LGA is the best place to share this, and pick up on the best ideas coming from other local authorities. It is also a very convenient place to push the case for the regions to ministers and secretaries of state.

This will not mean I’ll be neglecting Staffordshire. My regular commitment will be to be down in Westminster for a day a month, and I’ll be acting as an ambassador for our county.

I hope everyone had a good Bank Holiday weekend.

Thank goodness the weather took a turn for the better. It meant we could make some progress with the harvest after an otherwise wet and frustrating August.

On Friday I did have time to visit the new JCB Academy which is in my own Uttoxeter Rural division.

“Absolutely fabulous” is the only way to describe the transformation of the Arkwright and Tudor mill in Rocester. Villagers were invited to an exclusive preview after 18 months of building work.

Children start at the new Academy later this month. It was conceived from Sir Anthony Bamford’s insight into the need for engineering and manufacturing skills.

 If our economy is to be competitive these are exactly the skills we need.

Hi folks, we are approaching a couple of anniversary’s  – one more recent than the last, but both steeped in history.

It is almost a year since the discovery of the Staffordshire Hoard was announced.

This is without doubt the most important archaeological discovery in Britain of recent decades. It captured the imagination of the world and sparked a terrific fundraising campaign.

Most people think this campaign was successfully concluded when the Hoard was officially acquired from Fred Johnson, the landowner, and Terry Herbert, the finder.

That isn’t where the fundraising finishes however. We still need to raise money for the conservation and interpretation – that is the bit that will actually put the Hoard on display.

Work is still ongoing and you can expect it to get a higher profile as the anniversary on September 24 gets closer. The Hoard is now in the ownership of the Museums and Art Galleries of Birmingham Museums and Stoke-on-Trent. It will however go on public display in Staffordshire and plan to do this are advancing.

The second anniversary is the 500^th anniversary of the Stafford Knot which is being celebrated by the Staffordshire Regimental Museum next month. Take a look here

This is excellent. One of the first things we decided to do following last year’s election was to reinstate the Knot as the symbol of the County Council, along with the traditional motto of The Knot Unites. It really does engender a sense of pride and unites a county that is in many other ways incredibly diverse.

 The new JCB Academy is holding an open day today which I’m looking forward to attending.

 I’ll update you on what I thought in my next entry.

We have just finished Cabinet. Traditionally August is a quiet month in local government, but we had a full agenda with the LEP and school transport up for discussion among other things.

I’m about to give an interview with Midlands Today on the coalition Government’s first 100 days in Government. They’re talking to me not just in my capacity of Leader of the county council, but also as Chairman of the West Midlands Councils, which is itself a coalition of all 33 local authorities in the region. Economic regeneration is going to be the key theme – particularly life after Advantage West Midlands

Harvest is progressing well with all the oilseed rape gathered in and I have made a start on the wheat harvest. While we have had little rain this summer which has affected yields, some of my fields can flood in winter. Rising food prices are in the news with droughts and fires in the Ukraine and Russia leading to a ban on their wheat exports and a meteoric rise in the price of wheat.

Mother Nature cannot be ignored and has a way of biting back. Our thoughts must also be with those affected by the floods in Pakistan. Many residents in Burton and Stafford will have relatives who still live there.

So while we still have food in our shops and crops in our fields, please think of those who have nothing to eat or drink. The Disaster Emergency Committee (DEC) are raising funds at this link http://www.dec.org.uk/donate_now/ or you can send a cheque to DEC PAKISTAN FLOODS APPEAL and post it to DEC PAKISTAN FLOODS APPEAL, PO BOX 999, LONDON, EC3A 3AA

I met with Noreen Oliver, the inspiration behind the pioneering Burton Addiction Centre, today.

 It’s the first time we’ve met since she received her lifetime achievement award from Iain Duncan Smith in his capacity as founder of the Centre for Social Justice.

 The award is well deserved. Noreen has built up the centres (there’s another in Newcastle-under-Lyme) from nothing. Her enthusiasm and passion has helped transform the lives of many people who have escaped from the horrible clutch of addiction.

 She has worked tirelessly and is now a recognised leader in the field. Staffordshire County Council has worked closely with BAC, and this has included finding work placements for people receiving their help.

 Noreen is a fantastic example of how people can use their own experiences and their own initiative to help others and as an authority we can learn from her example.

 Yesterday I had the pleasure of attending the East Staffordshire Connecting Communities Festival, at which I was invited to say a few words before events got underway.

It was organised by East Staffs Racial Equality Council and was a wonderful showcase of how ethnically diverse the Burton area is.

 While I was there I also had the pleasure of meeting people from Burton Hospitals who were recruiting volunteers for the foundation trust. I also found out more about the support that is available for people from the varying ethnic communities who have made their homes in East Staffordshire.

On Wednesday I attended an event in Birmingham hosted by David Cameron for local business and government leaders.

I discussed our Tipping Street development with Caroline Spellman MP, Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs. Tipping Street will help transform the way we deliver services through modern and flexible ways of working – and after a root and branch review of the project last year, it has become an investment that will save money in the long-term and be a catalyst for increased value-for-money. We simply can’t adopt some of the modern working practices we need in our existing antiquated buildings.

I’ve also been to Stoke-on-Trent City Council to discuss Local Enterprise Partnerships (LEPs) - sorry about mentioning them again, but they are important. I’m spending so much time in the Potteries recently that I pulled their leg and asked them for my own car parking space and office! Stoke-on-Trent is a crucial sub-regional partner for us along with all our own existing partners across the whole county, and the economic wellbeing of the city and the county are inextricably linked. Stoke City Council agreed last night to enter into detailed discussions with neighbouring Councils and businesses with a view to agreeing a Local Enterprise Partnership.

As I’ve mentioned before, LEPs will have to defy convention if they’re to bring results and our county’s boundaries are porous and definitely not impermeable.  We are already working with developing strategic alliances with neighbouring partners in the Black Country, Cheshire and Derbyshire for the express purpose of securing private sector growth and jobs.

The private sector will be crucial to make LEPs work. We have begun the hunt for a chairman for our LEP. The ideal candidate will be a captain of industry of national of international standing who will be an ambassador for our county at home and abroad.

I’ve been also talking to Trent and Dove Housing Association about ExtraCare projects in Burton and Uttoxeter. ExtraCare is helping more elderly people live independently with easy access to the support they may need, and the projects already running in Staffordshire have been a great success.

Harvest time is upon us, so I’ll be working exceptionally long hours juggling business on the farm with my county council responsibilities.

Staffordshire farm still produce a considerable portion of the county’s employment and I would like to make a seasonal plea on behalf of the agricultural community. Please be patient if you find yourself behind a tractor or combine harvester on the roads.

Most people outside the industry don’t realise the demands. Farming is the country’s most dangerous industry with 8.2 workers killed per 100,000 every year. Last year three workers were tragically killed in Staffordshire.

Latest statistics released by HSE reveal a dramatic increase in farm fatalities. 38 farm workers were killed last year, an increase of 50 per cent% on the previous year.

With harvest underway, long hours and the risk of an accident increases dramatically.

It is not enough to just take extra care; the main task is to bring the harvest home safely and without incident.

So when you see a slow moving machine just be aware of the pressures involved.

Sorry for not updating for a while, but it’s been a busy week.

On Wednesday I travelled to London to take part in a round-table discussion on Local Enterprise Partnerships hosted by Mark Prisk MP, Minister of State for Business and Enterprise. As you can see from previous entries these partnerships will play a key element in economic regeneration and it was an extremely useful and productive event.

I also spoke to Eric Pickles (do I need to tell you he’s Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government?) about increased localism. It still feels refreshing that after so many years of councils being told what to do in minute detail by Government they are now telling us that what we deliver is down to local people and local priorities.

At the weekend I was involved in a very moving ceremony of remembrance to mark the 48^th annual exchange visit between Bremen in Germany and Staffordshire. Every year a party of young people visits Staffordshire to help tend the graves at the Deutscher Soldatenfriedhof at Cannock Chase – this is the cemetery where the German servicemen who lost their lives in UK during both world wars are laid to rest.

It is a regular cultural exchange that has become cherished by young people from Staffordshire and Germany.

The previous evening I’d been to the annual prize-giving at Thomas Alleyne’s High School in Uttoxeter. Music was provided Chapter 7, the local band who were the winners of this year’s Staffordshire Rocks competition. See their winning performance here.

I have also taken delivery of a new tractor, which I’m very proud to say was manufactured in the UK. It will be put to some very hard work over the coming weeks as harvest gets into full swing.

It’s been a busy and demanding week with decisions continuing to flow from the new Coalition Government.

Cabinet yesterday discussed how we would meet our greatest challenge – saving £120 million from our budget over the next three years.

This represents a 30 per cent saving over 3 years but is our crucial contribution to reducing the national debt.

This is a challenge we are determined to meet head-on and we are in a good position. We can do it by finding new ways of working that provides support for residents that is appropriate and affordable. It will need a culture change and we will keep our staff involved throughout this process.

We took the first step today at Full Council when I announced the restructuring of our senior leadership team.

I intend the process of recruiting the Senior Leadership Team, as far as possible, to be completed by the end of August – time is of the essence.

A special committee of the County Council will oversee this process. A promise to tax payers is that the cost of senior management will fall as a result.

I would like to thank our colleagues from Newcastle Borough Council for hosting today’s Full Council while work is ongoing in the council chamber at County Buildings. I’d particularly like to thank County Councillor Simon Tagg who is also Leader of NBC.

The scrapping of regional development agencies, including Advantage west Midlands, was one of the big talking points at last week’s Local Government Association conference.

Local authorities will now have a pivotal role in the development of economic development across the region.

We are working with our local authority partners to work on their successors – Local Enterprise Partnerships. I’ve already met with the leaders of all the regional shire authorities to discuss this and other matters. And on Thursday of this week I’m meeting the leaders of all authorities within Staffordshire.

But the partnerships won’t just be about local authorities. Businesses and education providers, including our universities will also be integral.

The partnership for Staffordshire will need to be a powerful coalition with fluid borders to take advantage of the opportunities that lie ahead. In the AWM days Staffordshire was north of Birmingham – now we’re at the centre of the country.

On the homestead, meanwhile, we are preparing for the harvest. Rape seed oil harvesting begins in late July so there are some late nights ahead.