(a)

Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II

congratulated Her Majesty the Queen on becoming the longest reigning monarch on 9 September 2015 and indicated that on behalf of the Council he had sent a letter offering the Council’s congratulations and best wishes for many more years of service to the country and commonwealth; 

(b)

Mr Richard Mahony (former councillor)

referred to the recent death of his father Mr Richard Mahony who served as a Conservative councillor for the Trelawny Ward from 1983 to 1991.  The Lord Mayor thanked everyone who had sent kind messages and condolences to both him and his mother;

(c)

Mr Ernest Alexander Colley (former councillor)

reported that Mr Ernest Alexander Colley had recently passed away unexpectedly.  Mr Colley had served as a Labour councillor for the Drake Ward from 1991 – 2000.  The Lord Mayor indicated that the funeral arrangements would be sent to all councillors and Aldermen as soon as he became aware of them.

The Council stood in silence as a mark of respect for the former councillors;

(d)

Filming in the Council House

referred to the changes to the Council House and the Reception Room which were as a consequence of the Council House and Civic Centre being used as a set for a film byBritish comedy filmmaker Peter Richardson entitled ‘The Comic Strip Presents…The Red Top!’.  Councillors were advised that filming was due to end in early October when the Council House would return to its normal appearance. 

The Lord Mayor also reminded councillors that the Antiques Roadshow filmed in the Royal William Yard had yet to be shown;

(e)

Success of Plymouth’s Special Olympians 

congratulated Steven Dodd on his silver medals in the 200m and 500m kayak events and Elizabeth Haywood on her silver medal in the badminton women’s doubles event and for coming fourth in the women’s singles event in the 2015 Special Olympics World Summer Games in Los Angeles.   The Lord Mayor advised that the athletes had had an open top bus tour around the city on 14 September which had been followed by a civic reception.

The Lord Mayor also acknowledged the tremendous support, hard work and dedication of Alan and Maureen Stockdale who had given continuous support and encouragement throughout and Steven Dodd on behalf of the Special Olympians, addressed councillors and presented flowers and gifts to Alan, Maureen and Adrian Stockdale;

(f)

Royal Town Planning Institute Award for the Plymouth Plan

congratulated all those involved in the development of the Plymouth Plan on the award of the National Royal Town Planning Institute Award for Excellence in Plan Making Practice and the South West Regional Planning Award and presented the awards to Jonathan Bell (Head of Development Planning), Richard Grant (Local Planning Team Manager), Hannah Sloggett (Neighbourhood Planning Team Manager) and Caroline Marr (Policy and Business Planning Officer) who were representing everyone involved;

(g)

Observer Ethical Award for Plymouth Energy Community 

congratulated Plymouth Energy Community on the national award to the city of the Observer Ethical Award, in the Community Energy Project category and presented the award to Alistair MacPherson (Low Carbon City Team Leader) who was representing Plymouth Energy Community;

(h)

Refuse Re-Routing Project Award

thanked everyone within the Council and outside of the Council (including Plymouth Octopus Project, Plymouth University and voluntary sector organisations such as Barne Barton Timebank and Plymouth Area Disability Action Network) who had been involved in the projects to set up new refuse and recycling routes across Plymouth which had been recognised as the Best Efficiency and Transformation Initiative in the recent Association of Public Service Excellence National Service Awards.  The Lord Mayor congratulated John Simpson (Waste Manager), Danny Skyrme (Supervisor Waste Collection) and Sophie Humphreys (Programme /Project Support Officer) and Peter Staples (DELT) who were representing the Waste Management and Recycling Team;

(i)

Dementia Friendly Award

congratulated Plymouth City Council and the Plymouth Dementia Action Alliance on their award by the National Alzheimer’s Society, as finalists for the Best Dementia Friendly Community 2015. The Lord Mayor thanked the staff in Co-operative Commissioning Department for their work and presented the award to Rachel Silcock (Commissioning Manager) and Claire Puckey (Commissioning Assistant), who were representing the service; 

(j)

Brathay Apprentice Challenge 2015

congratulated the Council’s team of nine apprentices who had jointly won the Community Project Award for their orchard project in Ernesettle and were joint runners up for Apprentice Team of the Year in the Brathay Apprentice Challenge 2015, raising more than £3,300 for Epilepsy UK, and were represented by Lee Bond and John Horler at the meeting;

(k)

Customer Service Excellence Award for Libraries and Customer Services

announced that Customer Services and Libraries had retained their Customer Service Excellent accreditation for another year demonstrating staff’s commitment to customer service standards throughout Customer Services and Libraries.  The Lord Mayor presented Customer Service Excellence certificates to Kim Cook and Lucy Allen, representing Customer Services, and to Amanda Macdonald, Darrell Clegg and Claire Back representing the Library Service;

(l)

Best Small Business Engagement Programme

congratulated the Economy, Enterprise and Employment Team on their award as ‘Best Small Business Engagement Programme’ category at the Devon Local Authority Small Business Friendly Awards 2015 which were organised by the Federation of Small Businesses.  The Lord Mayor presented the award to Sheldon Ryan (Senior Economic Development Officer) and Joe McCarthy (Economic Development Officer) who were representing the team;

(m)

Our Stars’ Awards 2015

congratulated the winners of Our Stars’ Awards 2015 as follows –

(n)

Devolution

reported that a letter of intent had been signed by representatives of local authorities, public bodies and other organisations in the south west region who were participating in discussions on devolution and that three principal areas had been agreed on skills; health and social care integration and physical infrastructure. He emphasised that at this stage, no agreement had been sought or given in relation to the transfer of any powers, which may or may not be needed in the longer term;   

(o)

Syrian Refugee Crisis

outlined the role that the Council may be expected to take in the UK response to the Syrian refugee crisis, including the Council’s capacity to respond, the associated costs and the offers of support from the general public;

(p)

Rail Infrastructure in the South West

reported that the Peninsula Rail Task Force had published their draft interim report ‘On Track’ which was being submitted to stakeholders for review prior to completion in early October 2015 and set out the aims to secure rail resilience and the case for investment over the next 20 years;

(q)

Ping Plymouth

reported that the city had hosted the national launch event of the Ping! initiative on 13 June 2015 which was followed by a successful eight week street festival of table tennis.  He congratulated the Sports Development Team on their tremendous achievement and their continuing work to maintain the enthusiasm generated by the event.