BURY Council leader Rishi Shori brings you his monthly column

AS you’ll know, the local elections are soon, and what we call purdah at the council is around the corner.

In a nutshell, during the six weeks leading up to the election, publicity of council members is suspended and so it’s a good time to take stock and reflect on what has been a remarkable year, both in Bury and within Greater Manchester, too.

Looking back, May 4t marked a moment in history for Greater Manchester when our first Mayor, Andy Burnham, was voted in; and this post has opened many doors for Bury.

Andy is a great man to work with as he genuinely has a heart for the people of Greater Manchester and all his policies, campaigns and projects reflect that.

I was nominated as a member of the Mayor’s Leadership team and given the portfolio responsibility for Young People and Social Inclusion. This led me to being appointed as chairman of the Community Cohesion Commission.

Working out what is best for people in Bury underpins all the work I get involved with, and the report we commissioned looking at Life Chances last year has been instrumental in guiding our thinking around how to ensure our young people have the best possible start in life.

This ranges from making sure children growing up in Bury are school-ready, right the way through to providing opportunities for young people who choose not to go onto higher education.

At Bury Council, we welcomed 26 young people on to our two year apprenticeship programme which is designed to give young people a helping hand into the world of work.

We know how important it is to prevent youngsters from feeling disenfranchised if the standard education system doesn’t suit them, and over the next few months we are appealing to businesses to get involved in our next stage of apprenticeships targeted at 12 to 14 year olds.

This new scheme, which is in its planning stages, will connect young people with local businesses to give them an insight into how their education is relevant for their future lives.

Improving the life chances for care-leavers was a priority last year too when we introduced the Care Leavers Tax exemption which waives the need for young people leaving care to pay council tax.

It has been particularly exciting to watch how young people take the reins given the opportunity.

Last September we hosted a Young People’s conference right here in our town hall, a joint initiative with the mayor, where we invited young people to have their say and put themselves forward for our new Youth Combined Authority, which has two members from each of the ten boroughs across Greater Manchester.

The first Youth Combined Authority meeting has just taken place and their main discussion point was around making the Curriculum for Life a reality, so that young people leaving school and college feel more equipped for life.

It was amazing to hear them discussing how to develop the curriculum to include life skills, such as managing finances and cooking healthy meals, through to giving them an early insight into issues like cultural awareness.

This is just the beginning, our young people are certainly on a mission to make a real difference for youngsters growing up in Greater Manchester.

As leader of Bury Council, I am privileged to meet people from all walks of life across the borough and see first-hand the amazing acts of kindness that go on, often unappreciated.

These people are our hidden heroes. Take, for example, the team which runs the Porch Boxes, a fabulous initiative that takes food out to homes where it is most needed.

I really enjoyed meeting people at our first round of Neighbourhood Engagement events in the autumn. There are so many brilliant groups and projects going on, like Men in Sheds in Radcliffe, launched by a group of men over 50 who realised there were many people feeling socially isolated, so started up a regular meet-up where they could get together — chat, craft and sell to sustain their running costs.

It’s hard to believe we are approaching the first anniversary of the tragic Manchester Arena attack. The event also marks a stark reminder of how a devastating situation can unite people. Hundreds turned out for Bury’s Vigil in Whitehead Gardens, where we stood resiliently together whilst grieving also for everyone affected.

It’s this spirit of empathy and compassion that, for me, marks the spirit of Bury and I am incredibly proud to be Bury.