A New Year message to APSE Members from our new Chief Executive, Mo Baines

First of all a Happy New Year to you all!

I wanted to write to you to formally to introduce myself as APSE’s new Chief Executive. Whilst I know many of you personally, I am looking forward to meeting many more of you in the coming months in my new role.

It goes without saying that it is the honour of my life to be appointed APSE’s Chief Executive; an organisation that I used as an officer in local government to support the delivery of local government services, and which I have been privileged to be a part of over the last 18 years.

We have a dedicated governance body in APSE’s National Council on whom we all rely for their wisdom and guidance and I know that they share my ambitions for APSE to remain as the voice of local government frontline services.

APSE also has a professional and dedicated team within its secretariat who are committed to serving our membership, delivering networks and services, including APSE Membership Resources,  APSE Solutions, APSE Performance Networks, APSE Energy and APSE Training to share best practice, innovation and fresh ideas for public services. They are ably supported by APSE’s business resources team ensuring our services are delivered with professionalism and care.

In the coming weeks I will be writing to you all again to seek your views on APSE services, including APSE’s research programme, and I will remain open to your ideas. As a not-for-profit membership association APSE is always willing to listen and respond to your views as our member local councils. As a tripartite network of councillors, officers and trade unions, and across all political parties, APSE is proudly unique, putting policy into practice in frontline services. We are unequivocal in stating that the role of local councils is at the heart of success for all other local public services.

I would also like to take this opportunity to thank my predecessor Paul O’Brien, who many of you will get to say cheerio to over the coming weeks, for his legacy of a strong and vibrant organisation.

In the meantime I wish you a healthy, happy and peaceful 2023.

Thank you for the public services that each and every one of you helps to deliver.      

Mo Baines 

APSE Chief Executive