Councillor Dr John Mahony (Cabinet Member for Health and Adult Social) provided an update and highlighted –

a)    The second phase of the care hotel beds had started with 20 new beds in conjunction with Cornwall, easing pressure that was on Derriford Hospital;

b)    The short term care centre continues to support people who need re-enablement and had supported over 150 people since it opened in May 2022.

Councillor Mark Shayer (Deputy Leader and Cabinet Member for Finance and Economy) provided an update and highlighted –

c)    Plymouth’s Historic Guildhall, a grade II listed building owned and operated by the Council refurbishment project will start shortly with a budget of £4 million, part funded by the Future High Streets Fund and the Council itself with refurbishments creating a multi-use event space to create additional revenue for the Council with works due to commence in Summer 2023 and due to complete in Summer/Autumn 2024 and a public information session would be held on 21 November 2022 between 3pm-7pm at the Guildhall;

d)    The Diving Disease Research Centre had hosted the British Hyperbaric Annual Scientific Meeting, talking about the great work that had taken place in Plymouth with the city boasting one of the highest concentrations of marine scientists in Europe at the time.

Councillor Jonathan Drean (Cabinet Member for Transport) provided an update and highlighted –

e)    New technology for repairing potholes would be trialled in the city which used cold application and reduced carbon by 95% and vehicles able to drive over it within 5-10 minutes.

Councillor James Stoneman (Cabinet Member for Climate Change) provided an update and highlighted –

f)     The Boundary Commissions final proposals for changes to parliamentary boundaries in Plymouth had been announced and published for consultation with the public with final suggestions due to be submitted to parliament by July 2023;

g)    Voter Identification regulations had been published and were expected to come into effect by mid-January 2023.

Councillor Charlotte Carlyle (Cabinet Member for Education, Skills and Children and Young People) provided an update and highlighted -

h)    Thanks for Jean Kelly (Former Service Director for Children, Young People & Families) and Ming Zhang (Former Service Director for Education, Participation & Skills) and their dedication and hard work and wished them good luck in their new roles;

i)     Congratulations and wishes of good luck for Jane Anstis (Service Director for Children, Young People & Families) in her new role.

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

j)     Audience numbers for Sail GP 2022 had been confirmed as 74 million+ TV audience in over 175 countries, with economic impact of £10 million+ in the city, 16 million video views on social media and more than 31,000 spectators;

k)    Visitor numbers to The Box over half term had been over 12,000 and the income from the shop had increased to £10,000 with the British Art Show Exhibit receiving positive feedback with 32,345 visits across all sites 8 October-6 November 2022;

l)     Alberta Whittle had won the Paul Hamlyn Prize;

m)  Plymouth had been successful in securing NPO funding from Art Council England, with The Box benefitting significantly from £4 million per year for the next 3 years.

The Leader and Councillor Dr John Mahony left the meeting at 4.02pm.