Agenda item

Welcome everyone to today’s Council Meeting - I hope you and your loved ones are all safe and well. 

Welcome 2021

It is not the start of the year we had all hoped for but there is undeniably light at the end of the tunnel with vaccinations happening at pace. Please do continue to follow the guidance and we will all be with our friends and families once more. We are on the home stretch - stay strong and stay safe.

Queen’s New Year Honours 2021

‘Well done and a huge thank you’ to all Surrey residents who were honoured. I would like to give a special mention to John Bangs who dedicated many of his 48 years’ service to supporting and improving the lives of unpaid carers. John developed vital services providing practical and emotional support, which made a huge difference and positive impact on many young people’s lives.

On behalf of Surrey, I would like to Congratulate John on his work being nationally recognised.

Please find the list of Surrey New Year Honours 2021 attached to the agenda.

Meeting Surrey Teams

I had the pleasure of joining several Surrey County Council team meetings to hear all about the impact Covid-19 has had on their work. It was an honour to gain an insight and hear what absolutely fantastic work is happening to support our residents. It just shows what can be done and I am immensely proud of the incredible input into the recovery of Surrey. I am looking forward to speaking with more teams in the near future. If you would like me or the Vice-Chairman to join your team meeting and hear about what you have been doing over the past year, please contact my office - chairmans.office@surreycc.gov.uk

Holocaust Memorial Day 2021

Sadly, this year we were unable to gather together to commemorate Holocaust Memorial Day and remember all those who perished so needlessly and so horrifically at the hands of Nazi Germany.  

In place of our annual commemoration service, Ted Truscoe, a Holocaust survivor and former Surrey County Council employee who always speaks so movingly at our ceremonies, along with a message from me were uploaded to our Surrey web pages with information about the Holocaust and how Surrey helped Jewish refugees. The University of Surrey hosted an HMD event on YouTube, which I had the honour of speaking at.

When you can, please do take a moment to pause and reflect on the atrocities. It is so important that we remember and pledge to do our bit to ensure that such horrendous and unspeakable acts of violence never happen again.

Thank You

Once again, I would like to offer my heartfelt thanks to the fantastic people of this Council as they continue to do their utmost to serve and protect the residents of our county.

It has been a tough start to 2021 but our staff continue to put our residents at the heart and soul of all that they do. A huge and sincere ‘thank you’ to all our staff for the immeasurable difference you are making to so many lives. Please keep up the tremendous work!

The Chairman:

·         Highlighted to Members that the Chairman’s Announcements were located in the agenda front sheet, including theQueen’s Surrey New Year Honours 2021 list.