(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 led a one minute silence to mark the Holocaust Memorial Day.

The Lord Mayor made the following announcements:

Operation Encompass

·         Devon and Cornwall Police in Partnership with Operation Encompass charity were the overall winner at the World Class Policing Awards, held in London on 14 November;

·         The awards celebrate and acknowledge the best in all aspects of 21^st century policing and reflect that effective modern day policing requires partnership and collaboration. A total of 54 finalists attended the Awards Ceremony with six winners chosen, including Operation Encompass as the overall winner;

·         Operation Encompass is a police and education early information sharing partnership enabling schools to offer immediate support for children and young people experiencing domestic abuse;

·         Congratulations were extended to Devon and Cornwall Police and Operation Encompass

Queen’s New Year’s Honours

·         The New Year’s Honours List 2020, published on Saturday 28 December, recognises the outstanding achievements of people across the United Kingdom;

o   Foster Carer Verna Pollard was been awarded an MBE for services to children. Verna has cared for dozens of children aged between four and eighteen over many years.

o   Plymouth City Council’s Service Director for Strategic Planning and Infrastructure was also awarded an MBE - Paul Barnard has been recognised for his outstanding contribution to housing and town planning.

The Leader of the Council, Councillor Evans OBE made the following announcements:

·         The public opening of The Box has been confirmed for 16 May 2020;

·         Free admission for Plymouth residents has been agreed;

·         At the end of February a public ballot will be announced for the public to apply to attend a ‘sneak preview’ of The Box, this will take place on 02 May 2020;

·         A commemorative £2 coin is to be launched, recognising the importance of the Mayflower 400 anniversary; 

·         Highlighted several recent accolades bestowed on the city as being a top destination to visit in 2020, including in the New York Times and CNN;

·         An update on the UK’s exit from the European Union on Friday 31 January and the potential impact on the fishing industry, the agricultural industry, port infrastructure and investment.

·         The latest proposals from the Government on Fairer Funding for Adult Social Care, which the Local Government Association have stated could result in a loss of £8.3m of funding for Plymouth. This is an 11.58% reduction in funding, compared to areas such as Hampshire which will see an increase of £35m, £25m for Surrey and £4.7m for Gloucestershire. This is a formula funding change and the concern is that this could be applied to other areas of funding.

Councillor Smith, Deputy Leader, made the following announcements:

·         The opening of the St Budeaux Library and the launch of the new Library Charter – this details the commitment to users to provide a first class library service;

·         In August this year we will supporting the Lonely Yacht Race which will follow the original Fast Net course and will focus on amateur sailors;

·         Plymouth Hoe has been chosen to host the Tom Jones concert as part of a program of events in the City to commemorate Mayflower 400. Tickets are on sale on January 31 2020.

·         Congratulations were extended to Matthew Dixon for his Gold medal at the British Diving Championships.

Councillor Kate Taylor, Cabinet Member for Health and Adult Social Care made the following announcement:

·         Plymouth City Council has launched a memorandum of understanding for unpaid carers in the City, of which it is estimated there are around 30,000;

·         The opening of the latest Health and Wellbeing Hub in St Budeaux to offer the first hub within a GP surgery in the city. Thanks were expressed to the team at the Council for pushing on with the Health Hub program.

Councillor Mrs. Aspinall, Chair of Scrutiny Management Board made the following announcements;

·         The Electoral Registration Committee will meet later this week;

·         A Scrutiny committee is being established in February to look at oral health in the city;

Councillor Penberthy, Cabinet Member for Housing and Co-operative Development made the following announcement;

·         Thanks were expressed for the successful event earlier today to mark Holocaust Memorial Day

Councillor Haydon, Cabinet Member for Community Safety and Customer Focus made the following announcement:

·         The fire at Efford Crematorium and subsequent actions of staff to offer more services at Weston Mill, in total 59 services were re-arranged and thanks were extended to the families and funeral directors for their understanding.  Works are underway to get the crematorium and chapel up and running as soon as possible. Staff were thanked for their swift action.