From our Co-vice Chair and Workforce and Leadership Sponsor: I am writing this months, Regional Update following the Easter Bank Holiday weekend and I am sure like me you welcome this time of year where we have the pleasure of all that spring brings and long bank holiday weekends, which means summer is just on the horizon.   So, I am writing this update with lots of positivity.    On 26th March 2026, DCS’s and members of their senior leadership teams came together at Walsall Football Clubs...

From Stoke-on-Trent’s DCS: As I’m writing this, it feels like Spring has arrived, the sun is shining and the days warming. However, although spring is a season of change, we are still facing some of same challenges we have seen in our roles over many years. As Bernie wrote in last month’s regional update Local Authorities and indeed the wider public sector are facing extraordinary financial pressures set against the need to make or sustain improvements while budgets tighten, set against a...

From Staffordshire’s DCS and our co‑vice chair: As we move further into 2026, I’ve found myself returning to something Rasheed wrote in last month’s introduction — that our services do more than improve outcomes; they actively shape a fairer society. That message feels particularly resonant now, as political volatility continues not just across our region, but nationally and internationally. In this context, our values are not simply statements on a page; they are the foundation of our...