Overarching priorities

• to put the community at the centre of all that the Council does or plans to do
• to support and work closely with Officers/staff to improve services
• to seek and take opportunities to bring external funding into the islands so that necessary substantial projects can be undertaken

I have selected three priority areas to be listed initially on my webpage:

Transport

Good transport provision is vital for the wellbeing of these islands.

• to continue to enable the Route Partnership to progress the work of improving the infrastructure and sea link to the islands
• to work towards facilitating the upgrading of off-islands quays
• to research and campaign for the possibility of subsidised travel from and within the islands for local people

Care for the Elderly

As life expectancy increases, we must endeavour to make the necessary provision locally.

• to work with other major partners to provide appropriate facilities on the islands
• to try to make available services which are limited at present, e.g. nursing home care, intermediate care

Environment

Scilly is such a special place, we need to ensure preservation and improvement of the environment. This is the main catalyst for our tourism industry.

• to ensure good land management by working with partners, such as the joint Advisory Committee, English Nature and the Farmers
• to emphasise the importance of building design, signage and the contribution it makes to the overall impression of the built environment
• to focus on improving the street scene, e.g. pavements, roads, street furniture etc.,

My current concerns

Outside influences on the Authority

The ever increasing demands of Central Government and various Inspectorates are placing a heavy burden on the human and financial capacity of this small unique Authority. Demands include:

• extensive preparations for inspections
• ever increasing statistical and performance information
• policy and strategy documents
• documentary evidence of assurances

Inspection should and can have a positive influence on service improvement but when it is disproportionate and done in an inappropriate format for the size of this Council it can have a debilitating effect.

I will use my time as Chairman to build on the work started by my predecessor, Cllr D Mumford, to attempt to address this so that inspection can be meaningful to these islands and the population.