Councillor Laing (Deputy Leader and Cabinet Member for Children’s Social Care, Culture and Communications) gave the following updates:

a)    There was a major exhibition upcoming at The Box, Land, Sea and Sky, which showcased the work of Ingrid Pollard,  JMW Turner and Vija Celmins who, although worked more than 200 years apart, were connected through their close observation of nature and skilful use of materials;

b)    The exhibition included three paintings and eight watercolours on loan from the Tate, plus two watercolours and a selection of prints from The Box’s permanent collection;

c)    Often cited as one of the greatest artists of the 19^th century, Turner left a legacy of over 30,000 works on paper, oil paintings and sketchbooks after his death, and his mastery of history, landscape and seascape painting and the themes in his works had continued to inspire other artists since;

d)    23 of Vija Celmins prints and drawings would also be on display. Born in Latvia in 1938, and now based in New York, Celmins had exhibited all over the world and was best known for her photorealistic paintings and drawings of natural environments;

e)    Land, Sea and Sky was completed by a recent body of work by multimedia artist, photographer and 2022 Turner prize nominee, Ingrid Pollard. The work was acquired by The Box in 2023 by the Freelands Art Acquisition;

f)     The Freelands Art Acquisition was a unique partnership between Art Fund and Freeland Foundation which helped museums acquire work by contemporary female artists who’d won the Freelands award;

g)    Pollard’s ‘Three Drops of Blood’ drew on two years of research that unearthed folk histories of Devon’s botanical gardens and ferns. She travelled across the county exploring how flora and fauna had inspired Devon’s historic lacemaking industry. The resulting installation included framed imaged, prints and six unique ‘bark boxes’;

h)    Pollard was involved in the selection of the Turner prints from The Box’s collection and had loaned a large LED work to the exhibition;

i)     The Box would display examples of Devon lace and archival material relating to ferns from its collections;

j)     Plymouth Art Weekend would take place over three days and was a celebration of Plymouth’s rich and diverse, creative communities. The theme for 2024 was ‘Do It Yourself, Help Each Other Out’;

k)    There would be visual art, hands-on workshops and exiting events which showcased Plymouth’s home-grown talent, alongside welcoming artists from across the UK to share their work;

l)     The project received Art Council funding as well as city support from The Box and partners, including the City Centre Company, the Royal William Yard and Drakes Circus.

Councillor Penberthy (Cabinet Member for Housing, Co-Operative Development and Communities) gave the following updates:

m)  The housing and homelessness crisis was not just a Plymouth problem, but a national issue caused by decisions made over the past 10 – 14 years by Government; 

n)    Many more households were concerned about their security as a result of unaffordable rent increases and the cost of living crisis;

o)    There were over 7,100 households on the waiting list, 200 households in temporary accommodation and 160 in bed and breakfast. Of the 360 in temporary accommodation and 160 in B&Bs, 187 were families with children;

p)    Following the decision in December 2023 to invest in temporary accommodation, PCC had been able to complete the purchase of the Royal Building in town at St Andrew’s Cross;

q)    The decisions meant PCC had been able to buy former student accommodation which would be converted into 30, one, two and three bedroom flats for families in temporary accommodation;

r)    Staff would be in offices on site to provide support to ensure the trauma of being homeless is tackled and PCC were able to help people move forward into good solutions;

s)     He visited the Sterling Project which was one of PCC’s Plan For Homes sites. It was a redundant doctor surgery owned by the NHS, and a redundant old people’s home which was owned by PCC. The land was cleared, and in partnership with Livewest and Alabare, and with funding from Livewest, PCC, Homes England and the MHCLG generation fund, there were 25 new social rent homes, one of which was wheelchair accessible;

t)     PCC had begun consultations for the development of 550 new homes at ‘Land at West Park’, 150 of which would be affordable homes;

u)    He visited Broadland Gardens to see the low energy and affordable to run open market homes, and plant a tree and unveil a bench in honour of Vivien Pengelly who was key in getting the site moving forward;

v)    October was Black History Month and major employers throughout Plymouth were holding events over the month of October;

w)   Access had been agreed with local land owners at Firestone Bay, meaning PCC could have access to build repairs to the tidal pool;

x)    Thanked Alderwoman Sue McDonald who had been steadfast in the pursuit of the reparations of Firestone Bay tidal pool;

y)    The Household Support Fund would be launched for October 2024 to March 2024. PCC were awarded the funding of almost £2.3 million by the Government in September 2024 and that would be spent to provide £13 per week in food vouchers for 13,000 children in receipt of free school meals during the school holidays;

z)    Citizens Advice and Plymouth Community Energy would be continuing to offer the advice guidance and grants under the Household Support Fund;

aa)  PCC would be providing advice and practical support, including the provision of food through a variety of local volunteer community sector support agencies, and children in crisis would have additional support through children’s services and, the community connections team in partnership with The Alliance would be seeking to better support homeless people and prevent homelessness through a grant award.

Councillor Haydon (Cabinet Member for Community Safety, Events, Libraries, Cemeteries and Crematoria) gave the following update:

bb)The library service had secured funding of £3,000 from Nature England, who were partnering with libraries to connect communities with nature. The project would be based in Plympton and the funding would provide 10 pairs of binoculars, bird feeding stations and weekly walks around the park to enable customers to build their connection to nature;

cc)  3,510 young people registered to go the summer reading challenge in 2024, which was an increase on 2023, and 2,187 completed the challenge;

dd)Over 1000 people visited the new crematorium park open day which included a tour of the ceremony rooms and ‘behind the scenes’;

ee) The response to the open day highlighted the compassion behind the scenes, the facilities at the park provided a surreal and peaceful environment and there was respect and dignity;

ff)    PCC would host their annual bonfire night celebration on 5 November 2024 where there would be a firework display, a bonfire, a fair ground and catering on Plymouth Hoe;

gg)  Based on last year’s figure, it was expected up to 23,000 people would visit Plymouth Hoe for bonfire night;

hh)Plymouth had held the Purple Flag in August 2024, including an evening and early morning showcasing the work PCC did to keep the night-time economy safe. Subsequently, PCC had been reaccredited the Purple Flag;

ii)    There were only 100 Purple Flag destinations across the globe, including the UK, Ireland, Sweden, Malta, New Zealand and Australia, including world renowned tourist destinations;

jj)    The Purple Flag represented a gold standard of management of evening and night-time economy;

kk)PCC, in partnership with Devon Community Foundation, were open for grants of up to £5,000 for organisations who were doing good work to help women feel safe, or provided services for adults and children who were survivors of Violence Against Women and Girls (VAWG).

Councillor Lowry (Cabinet Member for Finance) gave the following update: 

ll)    £19 million had been spent on providing the Derriford District Centre, which would be complete in October 2024. The District Centre included a new Marks and Spencer, Aldi, gym and dry cleaners;

mm)               The Derriford District Centre had created in excess of 120 jobs for full-time employees;

nn)As it was PCC owned land, the money the Derriford District Centre would provide in rent and business rates would pay off the debt accrued during the building process.

Councillor Cresswell (Cabinet Member for Education, Skills and Apprenticeships) gave the following update:

oo)Supported internships were available to young people with special educational needs and disabilities and have Education Health and Care Plans (EHCP), aged between 16 and 14;

pp)Supported internships were structured work-based study programmes where young people were supported by a learning provider;

qq)Supported internships provided the young person with the opportunity to achieve sustained, paid employment by equipping them with the skills that were needed to work through learning in the work-place;

rr)  They were full-time education and the supported work placements were part of the course;

ss)   The internships normally lasted from six months to a year and should contribute to the long-term careers goals of the young person and match their abilities;

tt)   Supported internships included a personalised study programme which was delivered by the school or college, and gave the opportunity for the young person to study relevant qualifications;

uu)Over the past 18 months work had been done to grow the number of supported internship placements, and in February 2023 there were only nine placements and one provider. As of October 2024, there were now 75 placements for the academic year 2024/25 and three providers;

vv)  City College Plymouth had taken on 39 supported internships, which was one of the highest entries for a college across the UK;

ww)               In 2023/2024, 97% of supported internships from City College Plymouth went on to a positive next step in terms of employment or further education and 100% of supported internships from Discovery College entered paid employment;

xx)Plymouth had achieved 89% of employment, education and training status against a self-imposed target of 88% for young people with SEND in the academic year 2023/2024 and therefore this target had been increased to 92% for the new academic year.

Councillor Dann (Cabinet Member for Customer Services, Sport, Leisure and HR&OD) gave the following update:

yy)  20 legal agreements, totalling £23 million, had been signed off for Brickfields, meaning grant funding could now be obtained for the city and work could start on the site;

zz)  The Brickfields site would provide:

i) A new home for Plymouth Argyle Youth Academy;

ii) All weather pitches, one of which would be covered;

iii) New community changing facilities for all sports people using the site, including the athletics track;

iv) A new hockey pitch at Stoke Damerel Community College;

aaa)                The hope was that the opening of the new Brickfields site would inspire young people and transform sport within the city;

bbb)               85 holiday clubs had been co-ordinated across Plymouth by the Active Lifestyles Team, providing nearly 22,000 free places for children eligible for free school meals, looked after children, young carers, children with EHCP’s;

ccc)                There were 52 types of clubs including Plymouth Dance, Plymouth Sport, The Zebra Collective and, Hamoaze House.

Councillor Aspinall (Cabinet Member for Health and Adult Social Care) gave the following update:

ddd)              The Plymouth Health and Social Care Careers showcase event happened in October 2024 and there were 426 visitors including groups of Health and Social Care students from Discovery College and City College Plymouth;

eee)               Exhibitors and speaker sessions included the University Hospital Plymouth NHS Trust, Livewell Southwest, adult social care providers, the Complex Lives Alliance, child care providers as well as training providers and higher education institutions;

fff)   Staff in the PCC commissioning service were spending time in adult care homes to hear information about what life was like for people living there, including coffee mornings and talking with residents on a one to one basis and in groups;

ggg)                Key themes included:

i) The importance of friends and family members being welcome into the home;

ii) Staff kindness and;

iii) Maintaining a sense of feeling at home;

hhh)               The Health Watch programme would start in November 2024 and would focus on seeking feedback from those who use PCC health and social care services within care homes;

iii)   There was a ‘voice of the service user’ questionnaire that captured feedback in 12 areas and residents and their families could complete these at their leisure.