I’d value your advice and feedback. This past couple of weeks, we’ve had our Connect conferences for staff and covered the four ‘themes’ of this year’s Business Plan – developing community capacity, managing demand, commercial awareness and digital – and we’ve also delivered our monthly Business Brief session for managers. These events are very useful for me to get some feedback from those who are on the ground doing our business, and working with our clients and residents. They allow me to adjust my approach and get a feel for which direction the business should take, and how fast we can travel. But I’d like to hear from you on what you would like in terms of communications with me and the other members of the Senior Leadership Team.
One type of feedback that is always welcome and by helpful is that provided by our Members; this week I met with our Newcastle members. We have an excellent relationship with the borough council in Newcastle, with some ground-breaking District Deals which have shown what two-tier councils can do when they work so effectively together.
I cannot let this entry pass without extending my sympathy to the victims of the terrorist attacks in Brussels and Lahore. They are both cities which I happen to know well, and it saddens me to think that such destruction has been visited upon their residents.