(a)

referred to the recent death of former councillor Mrs Peggy Radmore who represented the Plympton St Mary Ward between 1973 and 1987, initially as a member of the Conservative Group and later as an Independent Conservative. 

The Council stood in silence for one minute as mark of respect. 

(b)

referred to the 100^th anniversary of the launch of the battleship Warspite on 26th November 2013 which was launched from Devonport Dockyard on 26 November 1913.

To mark the anniversary, the Royal Navy was staging a celebration of the launch of the vessel at Number 3 Slipway at exactly the same time of day, 100 years ago, when Warspite was launched.   

(c)

congratulated the 39 finalists in the recent Pride of Plymouth awards which included carers, teachers, good neighbours, members of the emergency services, armed forces, and youngsters, for their commitment and achievements, often in very difficult circumstances.

The Lord Mayor presented the overall Pride of Plymouth award to foster parents Pam and Glynn Dale for their dedication to helping vulnerable children in the city;

(d)

announced that this year, the city had been a National Finalist for the Apprentice Team Brathay Challenge, received the National Apprenticeships Service South West Large Employer award and had now been included on the coveted Apprenticeships Top 100 National Employers List in the National Apprenticeship Awards, in recognition of the commitment the City Council had shown in providing apprenticeships to the highest of standards. 

The Lord Mayor presented the National Apprenticeships Service South West Large Employer award to Ken Holder (Apprentice Co-ordinator) and thanked the apprentices for their hard work who were represented at the meeting by Chris Olding, Tom Orchard,  Katy Pope, Richard Powel, Ricky Souch and Natalie Town;

(e)

announced that in addition to the recent awards of the ‘Good Egg’ Award for using only organic eggs and the Gold standard from the Soil Association for fresh, seasonal menus using local suppliers,   Plymouth City Council’s Education Catering Service been awarded Local Authority Caterer of the Year for its locally sourced, quality ingredients and seasonal menus at the EDUcatering Excellence Awards 2013.

The team was also currently working on the implementation of the new national School Food Plan and Brad Pearce, Education Catering Manager, was also blogging a School Food Plan storyteller and would be part of the Plan’s Small Schools’ Taskforce, that would help small schools overcome their particular logistical difficulties.

The Lord Mayor presented the Local Authority Caterer of the Year award to Brad Pearce (Education Catering Manager), Grace Hughes (Operational Development Manager) and Anne Marie Sowden (Skills and Development Manager).

(f)

wished Councillor Bowyer well in his new position of Leader of the Opposition; .

(g)

announced that the process had begun to review whether Plymouth would continue to have Assisted Area Status from the summer of 2014. The government was consulting with Local Enterprise Partnerships on the future UK geographical coverage of assisted areas and the Council had worked with the Heart of South West Local Enterprise Partnership on a consultation response.

The outcome of this consultation would be published later this winter. Councillor Evans advised that he would be writing to the government and asked all councillors to help make the case for Plymouth. He would also be asking the city’s MPs to do the same.

(h)

advised councillors that, in the light of a security briefing on counter terrorism, he had sent a letter to the Home Office expressing deep concerns about a Home Office van encouraging illegal immigrants to ‘go home’.

He had received a response from Mark Harper, Minister for Immigration, defending the scheme. However Theresa May, Home Secretary, had advised Parliament that the vans were not a good idea and would not be rolled out;

(i)

referred to the sale of Royal Mail which had been opposed by the Council and sought a public enquiry on the underselling of the price of shares.

(j)

reported that Plymouth and Bristol were the first cities to be awarded the Social Enterprise Status and Plymouth University was the first university to receive the social enterprise mark;  

(k)

advised on the Council’s approach to mitigating the impact of welfare reform to mitigate the worse effects and support people.

He also reported that he would be making a decision shortly to establish a package of assistance amounting to approximately £200,000 from the Emergency and Welfare Fund underspend to provide help for those most affected by Welfare Reform.