Introduction from the Chief Executive
Steve Mawson
The financial context means we have some difficult decisions to make as a council. Since joining Kirklees Council back in October, I've been meeting people from across our services and partners to understand the challenges we face and our collective plans to address them. It is clear that across local partners, we will have to spend less and won't be able to do everything we used to do. However, it's clear to me that though we will be a smaller council, our plan cannot just be just about spending less - it must be about maintaining ambition and transforming services.
We are constantly pursuing funding opportunities regionally and with government, but we cannot rely on this now or in the future. We need to take responsibility for our own future.
To continue to provide our vital services and targeted support, we will have to transform our services to be more efficient, effective, and modern. This means delivering better value for money for our residents. It also means we need to listen to partners and local communities and enable them to play a more active role in making the positive change they want to see in their local areas. Sometimes that means the council getting out of the way and allowing those who can best support communities to do it.
Even though there are considerable pressures affecting services, I am confident in our ability to navigate them. The deliverables in this plan are specific areas of focus for the next 12-months that will have a real impact not just on our immediate financial sustainability, but on delivering our ambitions for the future. Most of them cannot be delivered without effective collaboration with other organisations, and that must be a particular focus for the way we work this year as well as in the coming years.
The other thing that makes me confident about our ability to navigate them is the quality of our staff. It makes me proud to work alongside such dedicated teams as part of Team Kirklees. An efficient, effective, and modern organisation requires dedicated staff, passionate about the outcomes we can enable and with a shared sense of purpose. I have total confidence in the brilliant staff I have seen in action so far. However, I also recognise that the changes ahead will be difficult. It's more important than ever that all colleagues feel supported through these times of change and that we live our values of kindness, inclusion, and pride. That comes from us all supporting each other, but also from the effective and compassionate leadership we must display.
Though it won't be easy, our ambitions for change, our robust plan, and our dedicated staff give me great confidence in our ability to navigate the challenges ahead.
Steve MawsonChief Executive