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Councillor Simon Geraghty, Leader of Ïã¸ÛÁùºÏ²Ê×ÊÁÏͼ¿â County Council said: “As we head towards the end of 2021 and into the New Year, I would like to take this opportunity to thank you for all you have done in the past 12 months, and for everything you continue to do, to keep Ïã¸ÛÁùºÏ²Ê×ÊÁÏͼ¿â prosperous and safe.

It has been another exceptional year where we’ve been faced with new and unprecedented challenges and I know how difficult some of those times have been for many residents and businesses across our County. However, in the face of uncertainty and adversity it has been heartening to see local communities come together to respond so positively.

In recent months, and especially in the past few weeks, the county has come together once again to help support the roll out of the mass booster vaccination programme. Our booster take-up figures in Ïã¸ÛÁùºÏ²Ê×ÊÁÏͼ¿â are good so thank you to everyone who has come forward to have their booster and their first and second jabs so far.

I’d also like to say a personal thank you to those who have been key to helping with the mobilisation of booster clinics throughout Ïã¸ÛÁùºÏ²Ê×ÊÁÏͼ¿â. Without you, this incredible feat would not be possible.

We’ve worked closely with schools and education providers this past year to ensure they remain open, with the safety of pupils, staff and parents at the forefront of everything we do. Our school transport team has ensured children get to and from school safely and our Local Outbreak Response Team has worked closely with schools to help them prevent and manage any Covid outbreaks. It’s vital to ensure children and young people can continue to get the best start in life.

It has been an extremely challenging year for the care sector and keeping our most vulnerable residents safe remains one the County Council’s top priorities.

Our dedicated teams of social workers and care staff have continued on the front line to adapt their ways of working to meet the needs of those who need help and support.

Our highways teams have continued to work relentlessly on the improvement and maintenance of our roads and pavements to keep our county moving and our gritting teams have been prepared for months for the colder weather and are ready to respond.

Since the start of the pandemic, we’ve worked alongside our local partners with a ‘One Ïã¸ÛÁùºÏ²Ê×ÊÁÏͼ¿â’ approach to respond to and begin recovery from Covid-19. We’ve also worked alongside local and regional partners to continue the investment into our county to ensure our economy continues to prosper, which I’m pleased to say has been the case.

Ïã¸ÛÁùºÏ²Ê×ÊÁÏͼ¿â is a great place which provides a good quality of life and excellent opportunities for all - a place where children and families can thrive and achieve their true potential and where we continue to focus on keeping people living independently for as long as possible and supporting our residents to live healthy and fulfilling lives.

So this Christmas let’s build on that renewed sense of community spirit  - whether it is looking out for a vulnerable neighbour, shopping locally to support our businesses or donating to our local charities that do great work in the community all year round and together we can make Ïã¸ÛÁùºÏ²Ê×ÊÁÏͼ¿â an even better place.

Finally, I would like to wish everyone a safe, enjoyable and happy Christmas and New Year.“