(a)

Covid Business Grants (performance update following the closure of the scheme) -

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the Conservative Government had acted swiftly to provide unprecedented levels of financial support throughout the height of the pandemic however, it was local councils who had administered these schemes on the ground, often with large amounts of discretion; this had been the biggest business support exercise ever undertaken by Plymouth City Council;

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the Council –

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administered 16 separate schemes;

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paid out £92,518,530 of Government backed grant funding;

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made 19,435 payments to 7440 business;

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it was really important to recognise the scale and effort of the work that went into leading and delivering the Covid business grants scheme;

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the task had been both challenging and complexed but everyone had applied themselves amazingly and stepped up when it had been needed the most;  over 50 people were involved from across the Council and from multiple departments;

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the feedback from the business community had been universally positive with many letters and emails of thanks from individual businesses and from organisations such as the Federation of Small Business, Plymouth and Devon Chamber and the Plymouth Manufacturers Group;

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he would like to take this opportunity to formally note the Cabinet’s thanks to everyone involved in administering the scheme; Council staff had been at the forefront of delivering the funding when it had been most needed;

(b)

Sail GP (initial findings of the economic impact study undertaken by Deloittes into the amazing event held in Plymouth in July 2021) -

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a huge amount of effort had gone into both securing and delivering the event, the weather had been incredibly kind and had allowed the City to showcase its fabulous waterfront (which was a priority for this Administration);

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the report by Deloittes sets out the economic benefit to Plymouth from hosting the event; this had been really important, as whilst these events were a great spectacle it was important that they provided value for money too;

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the figures were very encouraging and it was important to note that they excluded the media value generated by the event -

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total economic impact of $9.5m (£6.9m);

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the total expenditure associated with the event was $12.3m (£8.9m);

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had it not been for Covid which had limited visitor numbers and travel, Deloitte conservatively estimated this economic benefit to Plymouth would have been closer to $14m (£10.1m);

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there were an estimated 27,500 spectators (ticketed and non-ticketed) from 10 countries;

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spectator satisfaction was high at 97% positive when asked about their overall experience and 97% thought that hosting Sail GP was a good thing for Plymouth;

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the coverage was available globally in 150 countries;

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he was determined to make Plymouth known for events such as Sail GP; this Administration would do everything it could to promote the Hoe to a world-wide audience; the Council was in detailed negotiations with Sail GP regarding hosting an event in Plymouth in 2022; an update would be provided when able to do so;

(c)

The Box -

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the European premiere of the award winning Australian exhibition was coming to The Box on 27 October 2021 ‘Songlines Tracking the Seven Sisters’ which featured over 300 paintings and objects by more than 100 artists and would be the first time this exhibition had been seen outside of Australia;

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The Box had also been shortlisted for three major national awards -

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Dezeen International Design awards for best exhibition;

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Best Medium Museum in the ‘Kids Museum’ family friendly museum awards;

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National Lottery Project of the Year, for the work of The Box in streaming archive footage into care homes at the peak of the pandemic;

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the National Lottery Project of the Year was hugely prestigious and would be decided by a public vote; members of the public could vote online at www.lotterygoodcauses.org.uk/awards or by tweeting with the hashtag nlathebox.