From the Chair...

I would be flying back from Spain this week having cycled across Andalucía  had the virus not put paid to that. So you will have to wait till next year to read my cycling blog of my travels. Thank goodness for that I hear you say. Virtual meetings case studies We have added another 3 … Continued

Hope everyone was able to enjoy some of the good weather over the weekend. The response from local government to the crisis has been immense, there are clearly more hurdles and challenges ahead but it is important that we learn from our response to the crisis; to understand what impact we have had, what worked … Continued

At the time of writing this message, we are coming to a long bank holiday weekend. By the time you read it, the holiday will unfortunately be over. I hope you had a good break. You all deserved it. To continue with Pete Savage’s theme of last week, we are hearing day by day of … Continued

I hope you are all keeping safe and well in these strange times of isolation and self-distancing.  It looks as though we are set for a few more weeks of it, so I hope you have mechanisms in place for coping with the physical and mental health stresses we are all likely to be under.  … Continued

It hardly seems possible that it’s not even three weeks since the Coronavirus virtual meetings Regulations came into force; and yet already as a sector, colleagues all over the country are nailing virtual Council and Committee meetings. Technological solutions have been examined, tested and selected; additional procedure rules have been drafted (hopefully thanks largely to … Continued

I hope some of you are able to enjoy the warm weather with the appropriate social distancing of course. I’m lucky enough to have access to a garden and it has been a joy seeing the blossom coming on the cherry trees and watching everything else start to bud each day. Its lovely just listening … Continued

I’m standing in for Susan Biddle this week. I had a text from Susan recently and she is recovering well from her operation. She will gradually ease her way back into her work over the summer. We look forward to seeing her again as soon as possible. I hope you all managed to have a … Continued

We are now two weeks into the coronavirus restrictions, and I hope you are all keeping well. If we hadn’t realised it before, we now know that we are in the most serious situation of our lifetimes.  I know you will join me in sending our condolences to all those who have lost loved ones. … Continued

So for many of us I guess the last few days have all been about grappling simultaneously with new ways of working, family life changing and gearing up for the journey ahead in light of this dreadful virus. Our responsibilities as carers, partners, parents and family members must come first. Social distancing measures are going … Continued