Welcome back to my President's blog and welcome to a New Year! I do hope that everyone enjoyed the festive season, not too much of course (😉) and that 2019 is kind to you. 

From a Presidential perspective, the start of 2019 is certainly slightly quieter than the end of 2018 which saw two trips to Scotland firstly for the Welfare Benefits conference in Grangemouth and then for the Scottish Forum and Scottish President's reception in Edinburgh. 

I have to say that, while the first trip was uneventful, the second certainly made up for it. I should have realised that my day wasn't going to go to plan when the pilot aborted the first attempt to land at Edinburgh airport due to an "unstable approach". Well, that's a new one on me and while I'm not ordinarily a nervous flier the fact that I was in a small propeller plane, and that we were directly above the runway before aborting and climbing rapidly, didn't do much for my nerves. 

What happened next though was entirely my own fault as I confidently arrived at Royal Scots club, not too late as it happens, only to discover that I had in fact gone to the venue for the evening reception and not the Forum meeting. I'm honestly not normally that ditsy!

However, when I did manage to get to the correct venue it was a most informative meeting with Universal Credit and its impacts as high on the agenda in Scotland as it is in other parts of the UK. 

Returning to the Royal Scots club for the evening venue, this time correctly, it was really good to catch up with Scottish practitioners on a personal level. Many of those attending were involved in the education of IRRV students either as tutors or examiners which, as you know, is an area of the Institute's work which is close to my heart. 

I haven't included any photographs here of these two events as Fraser Macpherson, the IRRV Development Manager for Scotland and NI has beaten me to it on the Institute's Facebook page. Efficient as ever Fraser and so much for me keeping a low profile!   

So, now that the festivities are over its back to the day job for many of us, myself included. January is a fairly quiet month with regard to Presidential duties although it does see the first IRRV Council round on 28th of the month. While there will be the usual standing items on the agenda, the main focus of that meeting will be to discuss feedback on the recent Consultation on the future of the Institute "Vision 2020 and Beyond" 
http://irrv.net/documents/20/files/2018/Vision%202020%20and%20Beyond%20A%20Consultation%20Document.pdf

If you haven't already responded, please do take the time to read it and provide feedback. The deadline for feedback is 11th January, but it's not too late! Unlike some of the consultations that may cross our desks, where we may feel like the deal has already been done, we really do want to hear your opinions on the future of the Institute whether you respond as an individual, as part of an Association or both.