IT'S GOOD TO TALK - COUNCIL CABINET BIGWIGS ALL SET FOR CHINWAGGING WITH RESIDENTS

                                               

Cllr Jackson - keen for face-to-face contact with residents 

OPPORTUNITY beckons for North East Lincolnshire residents who fancy a one-to-one chat with a member of the council's cabinet.

NELC says a series of ‘listening’ events will be held over the coming weeks.

Its announcement reads: "Members of the public are being invited to discuss the challenges and opportunities facing the area at:

*  Cleethorpes Town Hall between 5pm and 7pm on Monday, 21 February

*   Grimsby Town Hall between 5pm and 7pm on Monday, 7 March

*   Immingham Civic Centre between 5.30pm and 7.30pm on Thursday, 10 March

The sessions are being run as drop-in sessions. 

Visitors will be offered time slots on the door on a first-come, first-served basis. 

Masks will be a requirement when moving around.

Council leader Philip Jackson says he and cabinet colleagues are looking forward to hearing more about issues facing communities where they live.

"This was something we pledged to do when we were elected back in 2019. 

"We managed to hold some before Covid called a halt to all face-to-face contact and so we are pleased to be able to bring them back.

"This won’t be any sort of decision-making forum, but we are keen to make sure we are accessible to the public and we hope people will take the opportunity to come and discuss some of the key things either already going on or planned for the area."

Cllr Jackson emphasises the events wil not replace or impact on ward surgeries currently held by councillors from across all the area’s political parties.

"Ward surgeries are very important for allowing residents to talk directly and raise specific issues with their local councillor to take up on their behalf and are a key part of a councillor’s work,’’ he says.

"These forthcoming listening events are more of an opportunity for the public to come and talk to us about borough-wide matters – and also share some of their ideas with us if they want – so we can continue to work with them to realise the ambition and aspirations we all have for North East Lincolnshire."

Cabinet members due to attend are:

Cllr Philip Jackson: Leader with Portfolio responsibilities for the Green Agenda and Skills.

Cllr Stan Shreeve: Deputy Leader and Portfolio Holder for Finance and Resources. Responsibilities: Financial strategy and corporate governance, Revenue budget and capital programme, digital strategy, inclusion and development, Shared services and commercial development, Financial inclusion.

Cllr Ian Lindley: Portfolio Holder for Children, education and young people. Responsibilities: Statutory Lead Member for children’s services, safeguarding of children and young people, Corporate parenting, care leavers and family support, Early help, SEND, School improvement and education (schools, FE and HE). Cllr Lindley will not be able to attend the Grimsby Town Hall session. Cllr Jackson will be representing this Cabinet area on that occasion.

Cllr Stewart Swinburn: Portfolio Holder for Environment and Transport. Responsibilities: Planning, development control, highways and transportation, traffic management, parking and regulation, climate change and the green agenda, waste, recycling and environmental management, Neighbourhood services, street scene, parks, open spaces.

Cllr Margaret Cracknell: Portfolio Holder for Health, Wellbeing and Adult Social Care. Responsibilities: Adult social care, health and adult social care commissioning and provision, Public Health and health inequality, Health and care partnership and integration.

Cllr Callum Procter: Portfolio Holder for Economic Growth, Housing and Tourism. Responsibilities: Economic strategy, Inward investment and business support, Regeneration, Assets (corporate, commercial, community) and estate management, all aspects of housing, Skills and employability. Tourism and the visitor economy, leisure, sport and recreation, culture, Borough heritage, museums and the arts.

Cllr Ron Shepherd: Portfolio Holder for Safer and Stronger Communities. Responsibilities: All aspects of local authority enforcement and regulatory services, environmental health, food safety, pollution control, trading standards and licensing, community safety and anti-social behaviour, voluntary and community sector, equalities, diversity and inclusion.