Ian Hall, the council estate boy from Axminster who rose to the dizzy heights as chair of Devon County Council, recalls an unforgettable year after being succeeded by Cllr Percy Prowse.

Cllr Hall addressed the council after recently handing over the reins to the new chairman, giving a comprehensive review of his year as the public face of the county council.

Having represented Axminster on the county council since 2007 before being elected as chair, this is what he told his fellow councillors:

"Thank you giving me the opportunity to sign off after a somewhat turbulent year globally, nationally and within our wonderful home county of Devon. I must start by mentioning the platinum jubilee, the sad passing of our Queen, the proclamation and the coronation of King Charles III, which have seen collective joy and tears from of our great nation.

Celebrating diversity

"My wife Maria and I have been to many civic events and have gone in deep within our Devon communities. Devon's communities are even more fantastic than we had ever realised, and this has helped us to celebrate the civic themes of diversity, inclusivity and equality along with the 'Golden Thread of Mental Health' running through every aspect of the journey.

"When I took office as chair of DCC we had recently published the Race Equality Audit. Conducting the audit was brave, challenging and upsetting, but still the right thing to do because if we do not accept that structural racism exists and is therefore a significant problem in our society, we will not take action to address it.

"As an organisation, I feel we have started to shift our culture. People are speaking more confidently about race and racism, people are calling out unacceptable behaviour and we have made changes to structures, policies and practices. Over half of our actions in the race equality action plan have been achieved and a further quarter are progressing well.

"The race equality staff group will continue to influence changing policy and practice and with the new Equality Commission, lead by six elected members, the commission will champion the cause further and address other priorities around equality, diversity and inclusion including disability access, neurodiversity awareness and LGBTQ+ people's rights. It is vital that, as community leaders, we continue to champion the needs and rights of people who are disadvantaged by prejudice, barriers, and discrimination in all that we do, all of the time.

"During our term of office, Maria and myself have had the honour of being guests at many events which celebrate equality, diversity and inclusivity. In June we attended the Respect Festival in Exeter, a great gathering of people from every community.

"On July 9 Alan Quick invited us to attend the Crediton Diversity Festival, which was also a fantastic day celebrating every strand of the community in the heart of Mid Devon. Maria and I have had the honour of being guests at LGBTQ+ events, one of which was the celebration of the birthday of the LGBTQ+ charity, Intercom, which helps so many people across the South West.

"Alan Quick, who organises the Stonewall Rainbow Laces campaign promoting football for all at Exeter City Football Club, invited Maria and myself to be a part of the events and activities promoting the campaign at Exeter's match against Fleetwood on October 22nd. We enjoyed great hospitality, took part in photo shoots and helped distribute laces to fans visiting the match.

"On February 14, I returned to Exeter City Football Club to support the Football v Homophobia dedicated game against Shrewsbury. Before the game, we gave away leaflets to fans, took part in a photoshoot and then during half time walked around the pitch with flags and banners promoting inclusion, equality and diversity.

"I am passionate about the power of sport to bring people together and to empower individuals. I believe that sport should offer a safe and inclusive environment for everyone within our communities, and I will continue to challenge prejudice and discrimination as we move on a journey away from ignorance.

"It is my firm belief that diversity is something to be celebrated and our differences actually enrich society.

The Golden Thread of Mental Health

"Promoting positive mental health and suicide prevention are everyone's business. Devon County Council/Public Health Devon remains committed to improving the population of Devon's mental health and wellbeing, and delivering suicide prevention action plan for the county.

"As we continue to understand and address the impacts of the pandemic, as well as the current challenges to financial wellbeing, it is more important than ever that we work collaboratively within the organisation, with our key partners and across all our communities to continue to raise awareness and normalise conversations about mental health and wellbeing, and challenge stigma.

"The Prevention Concordat for Better Mental Health framework guides our work – to understand local needs and assets, to work together to take action for prevention and promotion, including to reduce health inequalities by understanding the wider determinants that impact on mental health – with consideration being given to becoming a full signatory to the Prevention Concordat later in the year.

"We are currently in a process of change/transformation and uncertainty , both in the wider world and here at Devon County Council, which can be difficult for some, so we continue to work across all departments to ensure staff have access to training and support to support their mental health and this offer is of course extended to the members as well, we are always happy to hear from you and facilitate any requests for support.

The Governance Review

"Later, on our agenda today, is the Governance Review with the council being asked to endorse the proposed framework. The work that will follow and will shape how the council works, engages, consults and makes decisions in the future. It is going to be very exciting moving forward through all the proposed work strands outlined in the report and I would encourage members to own this process, make your views known and contribute fully.

"This is our council and a great opportunity to ensure that we have strong, trusted and robust governance arrangements in place, this is essential for the council to continue to be a credible and authoritative democratically accountable champion for the people and communities of Devon.

"It is important that everyone who engages with us has the confidence that the decisions, services and financial management of the council are firmly grounded in robust governance procedures that exemplify the very best practice, so I outline my desire that we all focus our efforts on the challenges ahead and whilst the governance review programme is ambitious, it supports a one council, consistent approach for all services.

"On this journey, it will be equally important to take time to celebrate the many areas of good practice that we all see within this council, and I give my sincere thanks to everyone who makes this happen.

Young people – child friendly Devon

"Our young people and our work in celebrating in all that is brilliant - 'Stand Up Speak Up', 'Devon Youth Council' and our 'Youth Parliament' the education providers, the foster team, our social workers and support teams – thank you.

"We, the 60 councillors, are corporate parents and we thank you for your hard work that has been done and what needs to be done going forward together.

 The County Show

"Maria and I visited last year. It is a showcase event for the county, DCC is a sponsor and our marketing team work really hard on the Marquee every year - thank you all who make this wonderful event happen and thank you for the cover in our absence this month. 

Councillor Collection Gift 

"And lastly, dear fellow members, thank you all for the generous collection, humbly received, and Maria and I have chosen to use the collection money to support two charities close to our heart: the Intercom Trust and Devon Mind – both of which have received a donation of £60.

"Nothing this year would have been possible without the love and support from Maria, Jennifer (who is getting married in September), Charles and the wider family. Thank you, I am an incredibly rich man.

"I came into this role a very humble Millwey boy from the larger than life council estate which was born out of the Second World War American Army Hospital Camp that was then occupied by squatters, then houses were built and I wish to speak up for the social mobility that Millwey Rise and every community can continue to provide for our fine county and therefore our fine nation.

"We have many talented individuals who have come from the estate...volunteers, factory workers, armed forces, sport coaches, teachers, nurses, doctors, accountants, chippies, sparkies, builders, councillors, parliamentary assistants, refuse collectors, authority officers and now Millwey's own Tyler Dibling, England Under 17 player who played against Switzerland last night and who p came through the Millwey Rise Football Club andExeter Youth set-ups.

"The list seems endless and we must celebrate our collective success and learn from our challenges. Has the pandemic and Ukraine war not recently taught us that together we can succeed and we will ultimately fail on our own?

"I leave this invigorating chapter - even more humble than before it stated on the May 26 2022.

"This is the Millwey boy signing off – thank you everyone and I sincerely wish you all well."