Meeting with the Chair of Surrey County Council

The Coalition’s Chief Executive Officer, Nikki met with Saj Hussain, Chair of Surrey County Council.

I had the pleasure of meeting with Saj Hussain, Chair of Surrey County Council. The Chair of the council presides over meetings of the County Council and acts as the principal spokesman for the Council on civic and ceremonial occasions. The Chair also fulfils a range of ceremonial and public functions as the civic leader of the Council. The Chair always acts on behalf of the whole Council.

Saj’s theme for his term of office (until May 2025) is ‘Celebrating Diverse Communities’. His aim is to support diverse communities and shine a light on the fantastic work that they are doing.

Saj was very keen to hear about the work of Surrey Coalition of Disabled People. I was able to tell him about the history of The Coalition and then go on to talk about the work we’re doing now and the impact this has on Disabled residents and those living with a long term health condition.

I highlighted the work we were doing in our involvement team, ensuring that Disabled people’s voices are heard and involved from the outset in designing and improving services in Surrey.

We also discussed that 200,000 people are digitally excluded in Surrey and how our Tech Angel project is trying to change that!  

Getting active and our mental health projects were discussed too, providing Saj with the full breadth of our work.

Saj was very kind and offered to support us through sharing contacts, talking me through the council structure and a few ideas on where to source funding.

I’m always really happy to get the opportunity to talk about the fantastic work we do. Saj, thank you for listening and for being so supportive, The Coalition is looking forward to working with you and celebrating our fantastic community!

Simple acts of kindness that can transform somebody's day to day life
- Tech to Community Connect member
I've not been out for ages; it was really lovely to get out.
- Get More Active Get Together attendee