West Berkshire Council Weeknotes #83

For the first time in what feels like a long time, this past fortnight has seen a lot to celebrate; not just in West Berkshire but across the country.

The events taking place to mark Her Majesty the Queen's Platinum Jubilee have been a real chance for us to unite and to look back on an extraordinary 70 years of service. Here in West Berkshire, communities came together to celebrate this historic occasion with street parties and beacon lightings.

I was lucky enough to go along to the beacon lighting in my ward, at Donnington Castle, last Thursday. It was a brilliant event and was so well organised by Shaw-cum-Donnington Parish Council. I also attended the Big Lunch at the Recreation Ground where I got to try some of the Women's Institute's delicious cakes and to see some creative displays.

Elsewhere in the district, you may also have seen that residents in Streatley teamed up with Goring in Oxfordshire to host a 1.3km street party, which is quite an achievement! We were pleased to be able to play our part in the celebrations, by closing 64 streets for parties and also by hosting the Shaw House illuminations, which saw the house being lit red, white and blue each evening over the long weekend. You can see some of the pictures of this on our social media here: https://twitter.com/WestBerkshire

We have also been celebrating because recent independent research found West Berkshire's council tax to be among the best value for money in the country. We work hard to deliver as much as we can on behalf of local residents, which includes very careful stewardship of our finances. I was particularly proud to read that we were the highest scorer on social care. Supporting our most vulnerable residents - both adults and children - has always been a priority for us and an area in which we invest significantly year on year.

For more information on how we spend your money - and where our money comes from - our council spending webpage.

I was very pleased to take part in our 'Women in Politics' webinar on 1^st June with some of my fellow female councillors. We have 43 members on West Berkshire Council, yet only 6 of those are women. I feel that it is important that our elected members reflect the community they serve, which is why we are working to encourage a more diverse group of people from across the community to stand for election.

I've served as a councillor for just over 7 years now and it is a role I perform with a great deal of pride. My reason for getting involved in politics in the first place was because I was frustrated with the quality of the local services provided to our children and young people, which I worked closely with in my previous role in the voluntary sector. Our Children's Services were found to be 'Inadequate' by Ofsted shortly before I was elected so I was pleased to be asked by then Leader, Gordon Lundie, to take on the Children, Young People and Education portfolio when I was elected to the Council back in 2015.

As Executive Member for this area, I was able to work closely with the service to drive the necessary improvements and to make sure that the young people in our care were given what they needed to thrive. In 2017, the hard work of our teams paid off when Ofsted visited us again and found our services to be 'Good', which represents a two grade jump in just two years. This was retained again following a visit earlier this year, which shows that our commitments in this area are leading to improved outcomes for our children.

I am proud to have served as Leader since 2019 and to visibly demonstrate that women can be successful as elected members and make a real difference to the community. We are committed to removing any barriers that may deter women from standing but recognise we are limited in what we can do. The key is to make it as easy as possible for people from all backgrounds, genders and races to be able to take on the role of a councillor. We do this in several ways. We have an allowance system that ensures that you are not financial disadvantaged in giving up your time; this means that Councillors are not forced to choose between work and the role. We also cover child care costs within member expenses so that those with caring duties can still do the role. We have now in place a Parental Leave Policy for members so that those members that become parents during their term do not fall foul of the 6 month appearance rule. We try to have most meetings in the evenings so those with school aged children are able to be there after school and at tea time. And for those of us slightly older women we have recently introduced a Menopause Policy for all at West Berkshire Council to raise awareness and make this period of a woman's life more comfortable in the workplace setting.

While we can work hard to remove the practical barriers that might stop women coming forward we do acknowledge that they in themselves are not always the reason. Sometimes it can be as simple as women needing more encouragement to be assured they can do the role, or they are simply not aware of the role. We will continue to play our part in driving this change, so please look out for more on our designated page, where you can also watch the webinar if you missed it: https://westberks.gov.uk/article/38883/Encouraging-women-into-local-politics

I would like to wish you and your families a happy and healthy few weeks ahead.