President's Update

As I write, the government has just published its Covid-19 response plan for the autumn and winter. Plan A focuses on encouraging further vaccine take up and booster doses for priority groups 1-9, introducing vaccines for 12-15 year olds and a renewed emphasis on test and trace and self-isolation for those testing positive. Plan B leaves the way open to a return to mask wearing in enclosed spaces, working from home and vaccine passports for larger gatherings should there be a surge in cases and increased pressure on the NHS.

I hope you’ve all managed to get a good break over the last few weeks. With September here and schools about to return, it feels like we’re about to face many familiar pressures over the autumn. Although case numbers are rising, we are fortunate that the vaccinations are doing their job and we’re not seeing a parallel rise in hospitalisations or deaths. However, in many areas, we are seeing numbers that are putting additional pressures on the NHS and colleagues across public health, adult and children’s services.

The summer holidays are here and I hope many of you will be taking a well-deserved break. Unfortunately, for local authorities, there is no break from the continuing impacts of Covid, with many services severely affected by the self-isolation ‘pingdemic’.

At the recent Leadership Team meeting, we welcomed Tom Walker from the Levelling Up Unit, which is tasked with bringing forward the Levelling up White Paper currently scheduled for the autumn. It was helpful to know that government understands the agenda to be broader than economic growth and big infrastructure, with health and education emphasised as well. There was also recognition of net zero and how the workplace might look post-Covid.  

It’s certainly a really busy start to summer for ADEPT. One of my first events as ADEPT President was chairing a Building Back Better session at last week’s Traffex conference. Immediate Past President, Nigel Riglar, spoke at the Perspectives on the Climate Change Challenge session at the LGC Climate Change conference, also last week.

Can I start by saying what a huge honour and privilege it is to be the new president of ADEPT. When I started thinking about my year as President, I little thought how quickly it would come upon me, or that we would still be holding our conferences virtually. As I took part in our online AGM it made me realise how much better we have got at using the technology over the last year, with raising hands, emojis in the chat and virtual hand clapping all playing a part.  

With our Spring Seminar and AGM on Thursday, I’ve come to my final week as ADEPT President. What a strange year it has been. Apart from travelling to the Bristol Bath Railway Path to be interviewed for Countryfile about sustainable travel, my whole presidency has been done from my house. That makes me the lowest carbon president ever – which seems appropriate in a year that will end with COP26.

Following last week’s local elections, many of us will be preparing to welcome new Mayors and councillors and looking ahead to the policy changes that a change of political leadership often brings. These are always challenging times for officers, where we aim to ensure our politicians are fully briefed and prepared for the challenging decisions that lie ahead. 

As lockdown restrictions are eased, we are beginning to see the impacts reflected through our places. We have had reports of traffic increases of 10 % in the last week and there are varied reports from our high streets, with some market towns reporting benefits from people not having to commute. It’s going to be interesting to see whether some of the environmental benefits of less traffic on our roads and people shopping locally can remain after lockdown ends.

Remembering Steve Berry OBE, Head of Highways Maintenance, Innovation, Resilience, Light Rail and Cableways at the Department for Transport - a personal reflection from Mark Stevens, Chair of ADEPT’s Engineering Board.