A busy time.

I thought that the December run up, or should I say run down to Christmas would be a gentle process to a relaxed holiday. How wrong could I be! This month has been hectic, so much so that I haven't found time to blog. So from high level talks in London with the other 22 Councils across the nation all doing what we at CBC and EDDC are doing in the form of sharing services in one form or another, to local discussions to establish financial saving opportunities closer to home. Meeting all Dorset District leaders and Chief Executives together with County to map out what our Dorset future looks like and to take on board the new government funding initiatives that we are supposed to have had last month and are still waiting for, plus the day to day considerations and meeting with our port folio holders and officers to establish direction and progress, life has to say the least, been at times frantic. One interesting morning for me was my attendance of the CAB annual general meeting, this excellent organisation is I suspect, going to be pivotal to our dealing with the many issues likely to rise from the introduction to the new universal credit benefit scheme which will come into being at the beginning of April. I was impressed! Dorchester has figured highly over that last two weeks or so with the quarterly meeting of the Dorset Community Safety Partnership assessing the results of our crime reducing initiatives across the County in partnership with the Dorset Police and other agencies. I am pleased to say we are still seeing reductions in overall crime levels although a few blips on the incidence of acquisitive crime like bicycle theft and car break in. What was very encouraging was the face to face survey conducted across Dorset on the resident’s perception of 'fear of crime'. Results will show in just about all areas our population feel safer. My schedule is still running high with full Council on Tuesday of next week and daily meetings through to next Friday and then a break. I did find time to thank my member delivery team for their work over the last year, sharing a few morsels and a glass or wine with them last night. They certainly deserve it!