Minutes:
Armistice Day
Armistice Day was
marked on Friday11th November when many public spaces and
workplaces came to a halt to mark the traditional two-minute silence held at
11.00 o’clock. At County Hall a short, dignified service was held,
conducted by the Chairman’s local vicar, Ludger Fremmer. The
Chairman thanked Leanne Plummer for playing the Last Post and Reveille so
competently, and those members who attended. The Chairman was pleased
to see that County Hall had been illuminated in red for the duration of the
Royal British Legion’s Poppy Appeal. He
also thanked those Members who were able to attend local services on
Remembrance Sunday and lay a County Council wreath.
Anthony Cross
The Chairman reported that Anthony
Cross, the Head of Law, retired at the end of last month. Anthony had been Head of Law since 2018 having
joined the Council in 2014 as the Legal Services Environment and Property
Team Leader. At the time, his plan had
been just to do a short stint back in local government after a couple of years
or so trying his hand in private practice. Prior his private sector
sojourn, Anthony had worked in Leicester City Council’s Legal section for over
22 years. The Chairman said that the
County Council had a great deal to thank Anthony for. The fact that the County Council had a
reputation for good governance and high standards of conduct particularly in
the area of planning owed a good deal to his hard work and integrity, honed
over a legal career in local government which started in 1982.
The Chairman explained that Anthony’s
interest in planning law meant that he could not be in the chamber for this
meeting as he was in London at the High Court as an interested spectator at the
High Court judicial review hearing concerning the County Council’s Lutterworth
East planning application.
Members joined the
Chairman in placing on record the Council’s appreciation of Anthony’s very
special contribution to the operation of the County Council.
Great British
Care Awards
The Inspired to
Care Team received the Outstanding Contribution to Social Care Award at the
Great British Care Awards which recognised the hard work, achievements, and
dedication of social care practitioners across the UK. The Inspired to Care Team helped social care
providers recruit committed frontline care professionals by promoting the
rewards of a career in care. The Team
achieved this through liaising with social care employers to provide tailored
recruitment and retention resources. The Team also provided support to
individuals so that they could start their journey towards a career in social
care and help countless vulnerable adults across Leicestershire.
National
Social Work Award
The Chairman
reported that Ayshea Dalby, Team Manager in the Child
Sexual Exploitation Team in the Children and Families Department, had received
a silver award for Team Manager of the Year at the National Social Work awards. This was a massive achievement for Ayshea, receiving national recognition of her Team Manager
role in such a key area of practice.
The work of the
Child Criminal Exploitation Team was a key priority and in Leicestershire an
effective multiagency response team had been developed to combat all forms of
exploitation.
Bradgate Park
Bradgate Park won Large
Visitor Attraction of the Year 2022 at the Leicestershire Tourism and
Hospitality awards and would now go onto the national competition next year. In addition, Bradgate volunteers won Volunteer
Team of the Year at the Green Flag best of the best awards recently. Given the County Council’s close involvement
with Bradgate,
Members joined the Chairman
in congratulating all concerned, as well
as to the Inspired to Care Team and Ayshea Dalby.
Lord-Lieutenant’s
Young Person of the Year Award
The nominations
process for the Lord-Lieutenant’s Young Person of the Year Award opened on
Monday 5th December. The
Award recognised the very best examples of achievement by young people in
Leicester and Leicestershire. A young
person can be nominated in any of four categories and there would be a separate
award for each category. The four
categories were Young Person of Courage of the Year, Young Volunteer of the
Year, Young Leader of the Year and Young Artist of the Year (The Joe Humphries
Memorial Award).
From the winners of
these categories one person would be announced as Lord-Lieutenant’s Young
Person of the Year 2023. Further details
about the Award and how to make a nomination could be found on the Council’s
website and would be forwarded to Members following the meeting.