Straight Talking 2011
Following the success of the first ever Straight Talking consultation sessions in 2010, we hosted another series of consultation events during November.
Final Report
The Straight Talking Report 2011 is now available:
Encouraging Dialogue - Generating Ideas - Delivering Change (PDF, 189KB)
Information Pack
We issued a Straight Talking pack, designed to give participants information on all the areas we would be discussing at our face to face and online sessions.
We also gave an overview of the challenges facing the Council (PDF, 38Kb).
A video from David O'Neill, Leader of North Ayrshire Council and Elma Murray, Chief Executive also sets out the challenges faced by the Council .
Face to Face Sessions
Our first Straight Talking sessions were held on Monday, 7 November, where we were joined by community groups from all over North Ayrshire.
More than 100 representatives from 54 local community organisations discussed the future of services at two daytime sessions.
David O'Neill and Elma Murray outlined the challenges faced by the Council and sought feedback at a series of group workshops. Here is a copy of their presentation slides (PDF, 2.38Mb) and you can also watch a video of their presentation.
Online Sessions
This year, for the first time, we held two online discussions with Cllr David O'Neill, and Elma Murray.
You can visit our online Straight Talking session blog here.
At our Monday 14 November session we discussed:
-
Regenerating our community and increasing employment
-
Improving educational attainment
Here is a copy of the Monday night transcript. (PDF 28kb)
Our Wednesday 16 November session we discussed:
-
Protecting vulnerable people
-
Operating more efficiently and effectively
Here is a copy of the Wednesday night transcript.
With the combination of modern technology and traditional face-to-face engagement we hope to gather feedback and ideas from an even wider cross section of North Ayrshire communities.
Feedback from this year's Straight Talking events will be collated into an independent report which will help inform the Council's three-year budget planning process. This will be published here later in the year.