Stroud District Council's leader keeps you up to date with council matters.

Now we’re back in to the swing of the council year, important meetings are on the horizon and we as a council can get stuck in to our aims and objectives for the next 12 months.

Thursday, June 13 sees the first strategy and resources committee meeting of the civic year and I’d like to highlight some of the items we will be considering.

I am pleased to see that the Military Covenant is on the agenda, and we as a committee are being asked to continue to support the commitment of SDC to it.

We will be asked to agree to having a member of the Royal British Legion based in reception on designated days to support veterans on a trial basis, appoint a councillor to champion the military covenant and task the head of housing services as our officer champion for the Military Covenant.

The council signed up to the covenant in 2012 and it’s important that we’re in a position to support ex-armed forces personnel in whatever way we can.

We will also be looking at our procurement strategy – how the council buys goods and services.

Clearly, getting best value for money is important for council tax payers, and we must ensure that we get the best services that we can.

We will also be considering replacing ageing vehicles used in frontline services with electric vehicles, which is estimated to save around £5,000 a year and cut emissions at the same time.

Next Tuesday, June 18, I will be attending the official opening of a new specialist stroke rehabilitation unit at Vale Community Hospital in Dursley.

It fills a vital gap between stroke care at Gloucestershire Royal Hospital and home, and I’m proud to see that this service is being provided in my home town.

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