President's Update

This blog page features updates from ADEPT's President, Ann Carruthers.

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President update 3rd June - latest news from ADEPT

Hello everyone,

I am delighted to be writing my first update as President of ADEPT! It is a real privilege to take on this role and I am thrilled to be working alongside such dedicated professionals committed to improving our places and communities.

The ADEPT Spring Conference and President Awards Dinner was a fantastic opportunity to recognise and celebrate the outstanding work of partners across the country. You can read about the award winners here – congratulations to all of you! I received a warm welcome as Ann Carruthers handed over the Presidential chain of office and it was great to see and talk to so many partners and colleagues. At the event, I gave a speech outlining my priorities for the year ahead to 'Make the Case for People and Place' – you can find it here.

In other ADEPT updates, Ann spoke at the Chartered Institution of Highways and Transportation annual conference focusing on Live Labs 2, where Minister Lilian Greenwood emphasised her commitment to our work and encouraged us to share more about what additional support we need. 

Ann, Hannah and I had a productive joint meeting with the new ADCS and ADAS presidents and ADPH president, where we agreed to send a joint letter to government ahead of the spending review. This collaborative approach strengthens our collective voice on the issues that matter most to our members.

With government plans to widen and deepen devolution, local government is undergoing significant reform. Following the ADEPT/WSP webinar Delivering devolution – becoming a combined/strategic authority on 29th May, we are running a series of webinars focused on key areas of place services including environment and climate change, highways and transport, planning, and waste. See here to book.

I’m also really pleased to announce that ADEPT is launching two new programmes over the next month. The first is our new Carbon Leadership Programme. This programme, supported by DfT, will fund local highway authorities to measure and reduce their carbon emissions. We are currently finalising the details - please click here to register and we will keep you updated with full details.

The second is the ADEPT Digital Academy, which is a bespoke learning programme, powered by Multiverse and funded by the Apprenticeship Levy, that will equip place teams with digital and data skills to lead transformation and deliver better outcomes for people and places. Again, this programme is also fully funded and will run as a pilot programme, starting in the autumn. You can find out more here.

Finally, I’d like to remind you about signing the Live Labs 2 highways decarbonisation stakeholder pledge. This pledge aims to unite the industry in accelerating decarbonisation, moving from discussion to actionable commitments with the potential to shape long-term transformation. We hope you will sign the pledge: to find out more see here.

I look forward to working with you all over the coming year and continuing to drive ADEPT forward as we tackle the challenges and opportunities ahead.

For more updates on ADEPT's latest news, publications, and the work of our boards and groups, visit our website: www.adeptnet.org.uk

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