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Cabinet Member for Culture

After a year as Cabinet Member for Children and Families, in May 2006, I was given joint responsibility for Community Services. Working closely with the Deputy Leader of the Council, I was responsible for services to older people, people with physical and sensory disabilities, and those with learning disabilities; the promotion of good mental health; community planning and libraries.

Heading up Community Services brought many challenges, with local Primary Care Trusts focussed on balancing their budgets, an ageing population and an increase in the number of people with severe disabilities.

My aim was to help people to live as independently as they can and to be an integral part of the local community.

When the Pathways course at Salisbury College was closed, I and other senior members of the county council met with the Partnership Director of the Learning Skills Council to see how we could work together to meet the needs and aspirations of people with learning disabilities.

I was also keen to strengthen the role of the voluntary sector and to find ways to enable older people to contribute to our community their great wealth of experience and wisdom.

This June, I have again been given a new role!

I am to lead a new focus on Culture, including libraries and heritage, the arts, and sport. These activities can make a real difference to individuals and to communities, building confidence and social skills and bringing together people from different backgrounds in a way that nothing else can.

I am especially keen to see a greater celebration of British culture. There is a growing trend for individuals to look into their family history, and I would love to see us, as a nation, do this too. Let’s explore where we have come from, understand who we are and why.

I am delighted with this new opportunity, and I look forward to promoting those things which make life enjoyable…