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| Fireworks at Nevill Road |
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| Fireworks at Nevill Road |
Remembrance Sunday
Sunday saw the annual remembrance events around the city and for me the ceremony at the Old Steine was properly poignant, on this centenary anniversary of the start of the First World War. Particularly striking was the number of young people in the parade; the solemnity, and appreciation for the sacrifice of our forefathers and mothers, was moving.
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| Rememberance Sunday at the Steine. ©Tony Mould: My Brighton and Hove |
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| Rememberance Sunday at the Steine. ©Tony Mould: My Brighton and Hove |
Q and A with apprentices
Monday morning started with an uplifting interview session with two of our council apprentices who are working in HR. They wanted to interview me about the role of coaching in management and leadership as part of a project they are doing for their college work. Their incisive questions and appreciation of the opportunities afforded them by their apprenticeship were really impressive. As you know, I do think coaching has an enormous part to play in delivering an effective learning organisation, which lives its values every day and achieves its purpose on behalf of citizens, business and visitors. I wish Kelly and Lucy really well in their careers as public servants.
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| Kelly Butler and Lucy Strutt with me |
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| Kelly and Lucy |
One Voice
On Tuesday evening I chaired one the most moving and difficult meetings. This was our One Voice meeting with leading individuals from our Black and Minority Ethnic communities across the city. It was the third meeting of its kind and we came together to discuss how we can work to prevent young people going to Syria and meeting the same fate as three young men from Brighton & Hove have already done.
There were senior colleagues from the council and our local police chiefs at the meeting, which was cordial, respectful and sad. The key point I took away was the extent of dislocation that some of our local people from BME communities feel as they grow up in the city. There are too many incidents of racism and bullying. We learnt that one of the drivers for radicalisation was the search for meaning and self-worth.
The feedback from the meeting was positive. People were able to share their concerns and we agreed to move forward with some very practical actions supported by a colleague from a national organisation called Faith Matters.
I must pay tribute to our community safety, the police and our children services, who have been working well together. They have been identifing young people at risk and to support individuals and their families to prevent further harm. And also to learn from those instances where young people have gone abroad to Syria. Our One Voice meetings will continue.
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| Participants in our One Voice meeting |
Proud of our regeneration work
On Thursday, Sir Bob Kerslake, the Permanent Secretary for Department of Communities and Local Government came to visit the city. He came to see first hand some of the regeneration work that is underway and the plans that we have for the future. The well organised tour took in work around the Brighton Station gateway, plans for Circus Street and Preston Barracks, the i360 and the seafront. It was encouraging to be supported by colleagues from the universities, Coast to Capital Local Enterprise Partnership and local businesses and we received some useful live feedback on our plans.
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| Sir Bob Kerslake with Phil Jones from Wired Sussex |
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| Julian Crampton, Nick Hibberd, Sir Bob Kerslake and Phil Jones |
Planning for our future
What these highlights from the week don’t include are the many management meetings and conversations that have taken place. We've been focussed on developing and delivering our challenging budget and our corporate plan for the coming years, and discussions with members about the least worst options for balancing our books. These will continue and you can still contribute to the #BHBudget Stop, Start, Change conversation online or in your team meetings.
From a roadshow
I have heard that one of the questions asked at a roadshow last month was: ‘What is the point of Penny’s blog?’ For me, the point is this. As the chief executive of an organisation of almost 5000 people delivering over 800 services across the city, I can’t possibly connect with everybody on a face to face basis. So through the blog I share some highlights of my week and spotlight some of our work with our important partners. I try give just a flavour of local government and public service. I hope you find it interesting, I'm always keen to hear from colleagues, either through the Wave blog comments or by email.
Have a good and perhaps a drier weekend.
Penny
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