This week I chaired the Transport Technology Forum (TTF) Autumn Meeting in Manchester with Department for Transport (DfT) and will be speaking at the first Transport + Energy Forum in Birmingham today (17th November). A busy week to be sure. However, I think what’s struck me most is that after two years of limited interactions there seems to be a real thirst to attend events and learn from others. Whilst Zoom, Teams and Meet have all become the norm, there is something quite powerful about face-to-face conversations to learn from what others are doing.
I love watching and listening to councils and supply chain talking with each other, whether it’s in the breaks between speakers or in the environs of a conference. But something that does strike me is how often councils undersell the work they are doing when they give a presentation. This can mean as a consequence that someone in the audience could be forgiven for thinking that what they’re hearing is not particularly extraordinary. Obviously this isn’t always the case, but I think there is an innate almost humbleness of talking in front of one’s peers. But of course this is what I love about public services. In the face of delivering complex local services, with many moving parts, just “getting on with it” is the natural personality of Local Government.
Which brings me to my final point, Thursday will be the Autumn statement, which I think many of us in the sector will be watching carefully for its direct and indirect impact. We will certainly be paying careful attention to it and our strapline of “making the case for local roads” will be ever more on minds and in our work into 2023 to support our members.