I WOULD like to add my congratulations to a local charity LEAVES – Local Enterprise and Vocational Employment Schemes – which received a Big Society Award from the Prime Minister (Advertiser, February6 ).

LEAVES is a great example of how dedicated volunteers can provide specialist assistance to those who might otherwise go without.

It is easy to think that volunteering means filling in gaps where the Government or Council no longer provide a service. Of course, there are occasions where that is happening, and there may be more.

However, in this case, we have an illustration of the extra benefits charities can bring both for those who volunteer as well as those who receive the charities’ work. Since volunteering is so important, one of my goals for the next year is to make it easier for people to get involved.

We are all busy, and few of us want to take on the burden of regular meetings, serving on committees and the like. Yet, there are times when we want to do something, but are not sure where to look.

My aim is to work with local charities and voluntary groups so that it is as easy as possible for people to find something they wish to support.

  • At the Council, we are putting the latest additions to the 2014/15 budget. We presented the first draft in December, and Council will meet on February 24 to consider the final version.

We made the Administration’s proposals public so that residents and councillors could question and challenge them. While there was an important debate about the changes to the green waste collection, most of our budget plans have not been challenged.

Any amendments or alternatives that appear on budget night will not have been put out to such public scrutiny.

While the core challenge remains the same – how do we find £54m of savings to meet growing demand – we have a limited amount of extra money from the New Homes Bonus. This bonus is a short-term fund from central government to support those areas that have new housing.

Now, it is very tempting when faced with a windfall like this, to go on a shopping spree and see how quickly we can spend it. We will not do this; instead, we will adopt a strategic approach. We have a list of five priorities, of which the first is supporting economic growth. S

windon is an economic powerhouse and the more we can secure a sustainable growth in revenue from more business rates, the greater the investment in Swindon. This administration has a clear focus on Swindon’s long-term future. We will not return to the shortsighted, short-term thinking of the past.