One of the pledges I made was to
develop and pass a cross Party motion on Remembering Srebrenica.
Together with the Conservatives,
Liberal Democrats, Greens and Independents we managed to unanimously agreed a
cross party motion on Remembering Srebrenica and I would like to thank all
members of the council who fully supported this motion being approved at full
council.
I was delighted to represent the council
along with the Mayor Cllr Christine Iredale who hosted a Civic Event at Dewsbury
Town Hall
The theme for this year was Gender and
Genocide and the Mayor did the council proud by leading this first ever Civic
Event in Kirklees.
The last year was a challenging year for me and despite being a councillor since 2002. I learnt so much about myself and the important role every single councillor on Kirklees Council fulfils.
In my role as Deputy Leader of the
council I have developed and continue to develop a deeper understanding on the
role of local democracy and the role all councillors play within our local
democracy. All Councillors try and make a real difference to people’s lives and
contribute within the Council, the various committees and functions the council
carries out.
I have been involved with numerous
committees, joint working groups, regional and national bodies.
Throughout the year I have attended Full Council meetings, Cabinet, Personnel Committee, Standards Committee, District Committee, Health and Wellbeing Board, Batley Advisory Board, Labour Group, Branch and Constituency Meetings.
I am also appointed and have attended
outside bodies and committees such as, Kirklees Community Safety Partnership
Executive (Safer, Stronger Communities), Local Government Association, Special
Interest Group of Metropolitan Authorities (SIGOMA), and West Yorkshire Joint
Services Committee
Activity and Ward Work
Batley and
Spen District Committee
2017
Manchester Arena bombing
In my role as the Deputy Leader I joined in the
vigil outside Dewsbury Town Hall with the Mayor Of Kirklees Cllr Christine
Iredale and faith and community Leaders to condemn the attacks and show our
solidarity with Manchester and our commitment to peace.
I consider ward work to be the bread and butter of being a local councillor where communities and individuals reply on their councillors to respond to their concerns and feedback outcomes based on actions. Each case is unique and very different and every single constituent are unique individuals and their issue / problem is very real to them. This is why I take ward work very seriously and take the time and effort to make respond and visit to every single case where time allows. Rather than go on and on the following pictures will tell a thousand words on the kind of issues we, as councillors have to deal with.
 |
| Overgrown vegetation: Before and after |
Referrals to Milen Day Care continue as we see a growing elderly population and the services they offer are being diversified. MDC are also pioneering new ways to deliver their services through working in partnership with other organisations such as Locala.
Downs and Special
Friends
The group has been set up by parents to provide support,
guidance, and run activities, meet-ups for children, siblings and parents of
Down’s syndrome, Autism, Cerebral Palsy, Cystic Fibrosis and other life
limiting diagnosed or undiagnosed disabilities.
I have attended and supported their events where I can and I
always come away being emotionally charged and inspired when I see some of the
brilliant activities and events they put on for the children and their parents.
I have continued to work with the many
wonderful and hardworking organisations in Batley. These include:
- Local
schools/children’s centres
- Community Centres
(PKWA, IMWS)
- Churches and Mosques
- Neighbourhood Watch
groups
- Mount CC and Batley
CC
- Community Organisations
- Local Charities
working globally
Working outside Kirklees
An important part of my role is representing and working outside Kirklees Council with a view to development our own expertise, sharing what we do in Kirklees, learning from other organisations, influencing with a view to bringing inward investment into Kirklees, lobbying National Government through Cross Party working through organisations such as the LGA, West Yorkshire Combined Authority, Leeds City Region Local Enterprise Partnership (LEP), and Key Cities.
Training
and Development
Kirklees Labour Group and The Council
are committed to continuous personal and professional development of all its
councillors and staff.
The Labour Group has embarked on
development programme to enable councillors to become more effective and
involved. A number of training and development sessions have taken place
facilitated by the Local Government Association (LGA).
The council has also carried out a
programme of development for all its elected members with the help of the LGA
under the New Councillor Programme.
The training and development sessions I have attended include:
·
How Council Meetings Work
·
Councillors and the Third Sector
·
Promoting Tolerance and Inclusion
·
An Introduction to Kompass
·
Communication for you and your Community
·
LGA Personal Resilience
·
An Introduction to the Observatory
·
LGA Councillor/Officer Relationships
·
LGA Information and Intelligence
·
Planning Update Training
·
Licensing Update Training
·
Dementia
Ward Surgeries
The
Batley West councillors agreed that we will have surgeries at the request of
our constituents where they can phone us directly and arrange a home visit. We
did this as we have found this is far more effective. Our contact details can
be found on
Finally
I would like to thank my fellow ward councillors Gwen Lowe and Marielle O’Neill
for being brilliant ward colleagues and Tracy Brabin MP for Batley and Spen
whom I have worked with since her election, my Labour Party comrades, to all
councillors who represent the diverse communities of the borough of Kirklees and
to all the Councils Staff who are doing an excellent job in difficult times.
