At the start of the year we had already decided at SajeImpact to change course a little. After starting the business in 2010 I had wanted to maintain a wide interest in various policy areas. I had always been involved in Economic regeneration, economic policy, international development, good global governance, wellbeing as well as my main expertise in sport and physical activity policy . Over the decade we became increasingly known for our sport and physical activity work as we specialised.

I had personally increasingly taken a greater interest in the local economy by volunteering to serve on the Local Enterprise partnership for Leicestershire (LLEP) and later last year became the Deputy Chair. As usual this leads to other appointments - including the Loughborough Town Deal Partnership Board. I have gone full circle. I chaired a similar Board as a Councillor on Charnwood in 1995 when Loughborough was awarded economic regeneration cash too and I was Chair of the Economic Development Committee. It is good to be back and helping to make sure we don’t make the same mistakes. There is £25m on the table so the main task is to decide how best to use such a small sum against the backdrop of the economic challenges facing Loughborough.

I only mention this as it offers a useful backdrop to our move away from purely being about sport and PA and into the bigger issues and questions that face society. I have always felt that wellbeing needs to be underpinned by an economy and jobs that work for EVERYbody. Given the scale of the challenge highlighted by these latest economic figures and new unemployment levels, this will be needed now just as much as when I got involved in politics in the mid 80s when Unemployment was the key political battleground.

Well it’s back as an issue and we will be involved in whatever way we can to help individuals, policy and locally through these Boards. It’s not in our nature to sit back.