(a)        To receive announcements from the Lord Mayor, Chief Executive, Service Director for Finance or Head of Legal Services;

(b)        To receive announcements from the Leader, Cabinet Members or Committee Chairs.

The Lord Mayor provided an update that included–

a)    Expressed condolences on behalf of the Council for all those involved with the Keyham Inquest that was being heard in Exeter and streamed to the Council House in Plymouth;

b)    With great sadness, The Lord Mayor informed The Council of the passing of Alderman Ken Foster and The Council stood for a minutes silence in his memory;

c)    Furthermore, the Lord Mayor was sad to share the new that Commander Charles Crichton OBE RN had passed away and led a moment of reflection on the contribution he had made to the City of Plymouth.

The Leader gave his announcements which included the following –

a)    His condolences were with the families and community affected by the Keyham tragedy and he gave thanks to the staff supporting those affected;

b)    Welcomed Councillor Lauren McLay and Councillor Will Noble to the Council;

c)    Gave thanks to all those who sat on the Budget Scrutiny Committee including Councillor Finn, who stepped in as Chair when Councillor Penberthy was unwell;

d)    Gave thanks to the staff involved in preparing the budget papers, led by Tracey Lee (Chief Executive) as well as Councillors and members for their ideas and suggestions for budget saving;

e)    The Leader and Tracey Lee (Chief Executive) had met with Lord Markham CBE (Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Minister for the Lords) Department of Health and Social Care) to push for further resources from the NHS to fund the Colin Campbell Centre and were awaiting a formal response but the initial feedback had been positive;

f)     There had been a meeting on 10 January 2023 of South-West regional leaders where The Leader has emphasised Plymouth’s need for better transport connectivity, including an airport, and better skills provision;

g)    On 2 January 2023 The Leader and The Lord Mayor, along with other Councillor’s, had attended an event on board Port Aven, the flagship of Brittany Ferries, with dignitaries from France, celebrating 50 years of the company serving Plymouth.

Councillor Rebecca Smith (Cabinet Member for Strategic Planning, Homes and Communities) provided an update and highlighted –

h)    Sir Gary Streeter MP had given a speech on the work of the VAWG Commission in Westminster Hall which was supported by Luke Pollard MP and Johnny Mercer MP, highlighting the work that had been done;

i)     Apologised that the report on mould in homes had not yet been circulated, but would be within 24 hours.

Councillor Pat Patel (Cabinet Member for Customer Services, Culture, Leisure & Sport) provided an update and highlighted –

j)     The Box had been compiling evidence for the Green Tourism Accreditation submission and the assessment was completed on 27 Jauary 2023 and the outcome was to award The Box with Gold, the highest ethical accolade, awarded by an internationally recognised scheme and thanked the staff at The Box for their hard work to achieve this.