Introduction from the Leader
Councillor Cathy Scott
Our Council Plan sets out our priorities as a council as we navigate the challenges ahead. It will help us make the fair and balanced decisions we need to transform our services and enable a better, greener, and healthier Kirklees.
The challenges facing us are significant. National and international events mean prices have been rising. That means it's harder to get by for everyone, but particularly for the most vulnerable in our communities. We are seeing long-standing health and economic inequalities deepening, and more and more people are turning to those around them and local services for support. At the same time, rising prices mean local services are becoming more expensive to run. With increasing prices and increasing demand across local partners, we are all having to make difficult decisions about how best to spend and invest sustainably.
Through meeting residents and our recent public budget engagement, we have heard what is most important to residents: protecting vulnerable people of all ages. Through our day-to-day services and longer-term priorities described in this plan, the council will continue to work tirelessly to protect the vulnerable. However, to navigate the financial challenges and continue to provide sustainable support, we must transform our services to ensure we are working with people, partners, and places in the most efficient, effective, and modern way. This plan sets out our immediate areas of focus for this service transformation. It's not just about doing less, but about doing things differently and better, both for now and for the long-term.
Our ambition for the long-term is essential. Across the country, we will see significant longer-term social, economic, and environmental changes, and these will affect Kirklees too. To help our diverse places and communities flourish, we must maintain our focus on the opportunities these present and maintain strong ambitions for the growth of towns and villages across Kirklees. Together with local, regional, and national partners, we must be ambitious about the change we can deliver and work together to attract the investment that will support this change. This plan sets out priority areas to support this better future.
We have faced significant challenges in the past, and we will face them in the coming year, transforming our services and sowing the seeds of future growth for a better, greener, and healthier Kirklees.
Cllr Cathy ScottLeader of the Council