After my election in May 2011 my role as District Councillor begin in earnest. Everything was so new and I had to learn fast. My fellow councillors on the ward Neil Atkin and Peter Watson (No relation, as Peter hastily like to tell people) have been incredibly supportive, taking me around the area, meeting me at Parish Councils and introducing me to the constituents. The officers at South Derbyshire District Council have been brilliant too. They are all extremely friendly and helpful and very patient with us newbies.

To be honest I have had a bit of a problem just keeping track of the vast amount of paperwork which keeps arriving and which needs to be read in preparation for briefing meetings, committees and Council. This is particularly so as I am Vice Chair of the Finance and Management committee which by reputation has the largest amount documentation; it is quite a responsibility for a new member.

 I have to say though; I absolutely love the challenge, it is a very exciting time to be in local politics. With the forthcoming Localism Bill, which aims to give more powers and responsibility to local councils, it does mean that councillors we will able to make real changes and hopefully a real difference to the lives of the people we serve.

An average month in the council means that I usually have meetings and briefings with both the Finance officer and Leader of the Council. Also I may attend up to five Parish Council meetings as well as undertaking training courses relating to all the new changes such as Local Authority Housing; planning, community leadership and localism. We also have regular conservative group meetings.

On the charity/disabilities side, I recently attended meetings with both Staffordshire County Council and Derby County Council. Dealt with a number of issues relating to the properties I have which are going to be taken over by Linkage Community Trust for their service users in Staffordshire, which is a very exciting project and one that is close to my heart.

Recently, as part of a project funded by the NHS, I attended six, two day residential sessions run by Partners in Policy Making called All Together Better2 which aims at creating advocates and thought leaders who promote awareness and champion the rights of people with disabilities.