We seem to live in a constant loop of bad news making everyone feel anxious about the future but I promise you there are good things going on and action being taken to address problems. At December 2023 Full Council we heard about the great work being done across Surrey to develop skills and provide opportunities for every single person in our county to get the job they really want and to raise their earning potential. We have developed a Surrey Skills Plan in collaboration with lots of partners and by working with 95 schools and colleges as well as holding an annual Skills Festival. We have won millions of pounds of funding to help improve skills and have added our own investment into training and education.
Yet when this good work was raised during the Surrey Full Council meeting, the Liberal Democrats and Independents said it was a waste of time talking about it and refused to celebrate it. They prefer to complain and be negative about everything, I am not saying that we should not talk about the problems and discuss bad news because of course we need to address it but it is just as important to make people aware of the good things going on. If they know about it they can access it and also it will encourage all of the partners to do even more.
So you won't get negativity from me. You will get problem solving and every so often some positive news!