Please see the briefing note, which does not accompany this agenda but will be circulated prior to the meeting.
Minutes:
a) The Chairman thanked the members for their service to the Council over the last four years. Group Leaders were given an opportunity to thank individual members of their group who would be standing down at the May 2013 election.
Cllr Mark Hawthorne thanked the five members of the Conservative Group who were retiring:
Cllr Tony Hicks who had been a Cabinet Member in 2009 was thanked for his services to the community and Tetbury.
Cllr Paul McLain who was Cabinet Member for Children and Families was thanked for the great passion he had brought to the role.
Cllr Stan Waddington, Cllr Tony Blackburn and Cllr Jason Bullingham were thanked for the way they had passionately served their communities and the contributions they had made.
Cllr Sarah Lunnon was thanked by members of all parties for her contribution to the county and the tenancity and passion with which she worked for the communities she represented.
Cllr Paul Hodgkinson thanked members for the work that had been carried out over the past four years.
Cllr Lesley Williams thanked the members of the Labour Group who were not standing again. She thanked Cllr Barry Kirby, Cllr Jasminder Gill and Cllr Paul McMahon. She thanked Cllr Steve McHale for the twenty-four years he had served the community faithfully.
Cllr Mike Sztymiak stated that Cllr David Prince was not standing again and so thanked him for his work in serving the community so well.
b) CM2000
The Chairman reported that CM2000, the Council’s partner in electronic call monitoring, had singled out Gloucestershire as their award recipient for Partnership Working 2017. The award recognised the work of the Council in ensuring that vulnerable adults receive the services commissioned for them and the value for money achieved through commissioning practices.
c) Gloucestershire Fire and Rescue Service wins CIPD award
The Chairman congratulated the GFRS Employee Network Group on being awarded the Heather Ross Diversity and Inclusion Award 2017 by the Gloucestershire, Herefordshire and Worcestershire Branch of the Chartered Institute of Personnel and Development (CIPD). Submissions were received from a variety of industries and sectors and the GFRS business case detailing the work of the group was acknowledged as making a real difference to the service and the communities.
d) Commonwealth Day
The Chairman advised members that he had raised the Commonwealth flag over Shire Hall on 13 March 2017 to mark Commonwealth Day. A day when 52 countries around the world came together to promote the shared values of
peace, democracy and equality, and to celebrate the association’s rich
diversity. Gloucestershire businesses had a long history of trading with the
Commonwealth and the county had a tradition of welcoming people from
these countries who have made their homes in Gloucestershire.
e) Gloucestershire Music
On 8 and 9 April 2017 over 100 young musicians from Gloucestershire would be competing in the finals of the National Concert Band Festival, the UK’s largest competitive wind and jazz band festival.
f) Children and families – The Chairman thanked all the staff and members who had been involved with the Ofsted inspection. Members appreciated the extra work that an inspection would brought.