On Tuesday night we held one of our most important meetings of the year – Annual Council. Every meeting we hold is valuable of course, or we wouldn’t bother holding them, but Annual Council is a little different. In election years it includes confirmation of the cabinet and every year it features the moment where we elect the new mayor and they are vested with their robes and the chain of office. It’s a wonderful occasion, the pomp and ceremony of our country’s democracy and government on an appropriately provincial scale, it makes you proud to be a Silhillian and proud to be British. As I said in my message last week, Councillor Shahin Ashraf MBE will make an excellent First Citizen of the borough, she is dedicated and determined, and I have no doubt Solihull will be better off for her year as Mayor. I’ve had the honour of being Mayor previously, and it is a unique opportunity to engage with all parts of the borough. I wish Councillor Ashraf and Councillor Mackenzie who will succeed her next year every success. My thanks, of course, to the previous mayor Councillor Diana Holl-Allen MBE and her consort John Courtenay for the admirable way they represented Solihull during her term of office.
There are, of course, more day-to-day elements to Annual Council beyond the vesting and the mayoral comings and goings; such as the appointment of Councillors to committees and scrutiny boards and the official appointment of the Council’s Cabinet. These positions may not bestow special robes upon the holder, but they are the nuts and bolts of government, they are how planning applications are approved so we can build much-needed new houses (and how they are denied so we don’t build the wrong things in the wrong places), they are the mechanism by which we grant licences to business premises, where decisions are made on how taxpayers’ money is spent to provide services like roads and social care for the benefit of all our residents.
I would like to welcome all the new councillors who joined us for the first time following the recent elections. I won’t list them or the appointments to vacant committee positions individually, but I would like to talk about the very minor reshuffle in my cabinet. Councillor Michael Gough, who has served ably as Cabinet Member for Children and Education, moves to take up a newly created role in charge of Skills, Employment, and Inclusion. These are areas of council business where we’re putting all the focus we need as we continue our good work to tackle youth unemployment and economic inequality within Solihull. Councillor Gough will be leading the charge to ensure that people have the right skills to make the most of the opportunities available to them within the borough and I’ll be reporting back on that work in this message as the year progresses. On that subject, we are running a jobs fair in Chelmsley Wood next Wednesday.
The vacancy he leaves will be filled by the Deputy Leader, Councillor Karen Grinsell, who brings a wealth of leadership experience and a formidable track record of delivery to the role. I have no doubt she is the right person to take on this role as we continue to ensure excellent educational provision for everyone in Solihull and to improve our children’s social care following the difficult times of the last few years.
That improvement is underway, as evidenced by the feedback Ofsted published yesterday regarding their visit in mid-April. They praised the progress we have made in a number of areas, including the impact of our new Corporate Parenting Board, our continued work with the Children’s Commissioner and our regional improvement partner Birmingham Children’s Trust. I won’t go into all the detail but if you want to read the full feedback you can find it here. The key thing for us is to keep improving and to keep up the pace of that improvement.
We recently announced that we have been successful in an application for a new 150-place SEND Free School. There’s still a lot of work to be done before we open the doors, but it’s very positive news that ensures more children will be able to get the specialist support they need at a school close to home. It’s no secret that there’s been increased pressure on education for children with SEND for several years now and this school will be vital as we look to meet that challenge.
Last week I met the new Mayor of the West Midlands, Richard Parker. We had a robust but cordial discussion and I was very clear that whilst Solihull is an integral part of the wider region, we are first and foremost Silhillians and have our own interests to consider. We both believe that we can have a productive relationship, only time will tell how it plays out, but I will be doing all I can to ensure our role in the West Midlands Combined Authority benefits the people of Solihull as well as our neighbours in the West Midlands.
Speaking of community, I was pleased to see the recent fly-tipping convictions that resulted from a much publicised incident near Meriden where local residents blocked in the miscreants’ van and the police arrived on scene and forced them to load the rubbish back in to their van. Fly-tipping is a blight on our neighbourhoods and our beautiful countryside, so it was satisfying to see justice served on this occasion.
I must have Meriden on the mind this week as I’d also like to speak in praise of the excellent Meriden Mag and the team behind it. It keeps residents in the know about news and events and is delivered in a very polished style. This type of hyper-local news, still in print form through people’s letterboxes is brilliant for the whole community but is vital for the small but not inconsiderable number of people who for whatever reason are unable to access news digitally. I’m aware of a few more of these publications across the borough, in Knowle and Balsall Common, but would like to hear of any others. If you edit or just read and enjoy a similar periodical, please let me know.
Commiserations to Solihull Moors, as a fine season went unrewarded following two heartbreaking visits to Wembley in the space of a week. Optimism abounds for next season though, and I wish them a restful summer before next year’s renewed attempt to get into the football league.
This week marks the start of Foster Care Fortnight. There is a nationwide shortage of foster carers and here in Solihull we’re always keen to hear from people who would consider fostering a child. To find out more click here or talk to one of the fostering team in person in John Lewis Solihull on Tuesday 21 or Wednesday 22 May. They will also be hosting a coffee & cake event on 21 May at The Core, where you can speak to the team and some of our current foster carers too. Details of these events are here.
This week is also Dementia Action Week, I hope many of the dedicated and brilliant people caring for someone with Dementia locally were able to get to one of the excellent events around the borough this week. We’ve refreshed the page on our website with help and advice on living well with dementia, so please do take a look if it’s relevant to you or a loved one.
And finally, Carers Trust Solihull will be hosting their Carer Friendly Awards and Ball at the Holiday Inn Birmingham Airport on June 15. It promises to be a glamourous evening in aid of an excellent cause. If you’re interested in attending, tickets and more information available here.
Thanks, and have a good weekend, I hope the showers pass you by.
Councillor Ian Courts, Leader of Solihull Council.