Although the economic times are still challenging, one of the Council’s distinctive roles is to support the local economy. At Cabinet on Wednesday night, my colleagues and I considered further steps that the local authority can take, in addition to our highly successful reduction of town centre parking charges to £2 for 4 hours.

In all this, we must remember that there are many small businesses across the borough, some of which are shops. That is why we are adopting a number of policies that will help achieve the goals we set out in our Economic Strategy.

First, we are getting rid of red tape by making it easier for firms to make small, non-contentious changes that previously needed planning consent. Known as Local Development Orders, these will help businesses adapt more speedily and at a lower cost to changing demand, and so be well placed to take advantage of new orders and opportunities.

The second change involves how we use business rates. Since April this year, the Council can keep 28 per cent of the business rates income from new firms. With this additional revenue, we can support Swindon as a good location for enterprise and so provide the new wealth and jobs we need. One area we want to look at is how to support firms seeking to relocate to Swindon. As there are EU rules about how much we can subsidise firms, there are limits to what we can do, but I consider this a continuation of the same bold approach to support enterprise that, in the past, brought Swindon the likes of Nationwide and Allied Dunbar (now Zurich).

Thirdly, we are looking at ways we can generate electricity and other forms of energy here to make ourselves more sustainable, less dependent on imported fuel, and more economical. One area that we can develop is the use of photovoltaics – solar power. Through this, we can help provide lower cost energy locally to those who live and work here. We are looking at Council-owned land and buildings for suitable sites. The aim is to generate all electricity for Swindon’s homes from renewable energy by 2020.

A key part of all this is Forward Swindon Ltd, which is leading on marketing Swindon as a place for investment. It provides a vital service and, as it is not part of the Council, provides a more business-oriented pitch to companies.

Above all, these changes build on this Administration’s desire to say yes to investment, yes to creating wealth, and yes to new jobs. The Council’s strategic priority is to secure the right skills, right jobs in the right places. Cabinet is playing its part in delivering those results.