Agenda item

Leader's Report

Minutes:

The Council noted a report from the Leader of the Council as follows:

 

The Leader welcomed all Members back following the summer recess and hoped they were all able to take some time out to enjoy the warm weather and recharge their batteries.

 

The council’s response to the pandemic remained at the heart of much of the council’s work, although the Leader was pleased to report that the vast majority of services that had to close due to Government restrictions were now back up and running again.

 

The council had also launched its Covid Acts of Kindness campaign, to highlight and recognise some of the wonderful things people across the region had done to support others during the pandemic and to provide ongoing support.  If any Member knew someone who deserved to be nominated, more information was available on the Beat Covid North East website.

 

County Durham’s campaign to become UK City of Culture 2025 was gathering pace, with the next stage of the bidding process approaching.  The Leader encouraged everyone to visit the Durham 2025 website and share the council’s social media messages with as many people as possible.

 

Last week, Cabinet met for the first time following the summer recess and approved plans to invest £49.6 million in the expansion of NETPark at Sedgefield.  The third phase of developing the region’s premier science and technology park would help create more and better jobs for residents, and would be worth up to £625 million to the county’s economy.

 

The County Durham Care Academy had been awarded a £70,165 grant by the Workforce Development Fund to help local care providers cover the expense of upskilling their staff.  This funding was in addition to a £44,000 grant awarded last year and would assist in expanding the academy’s training offer.

 

During the recess, young people across the county received their GCSE and A level results.  These students experienced unprecedented challenges during their last academic year, including two lockdowns and periods in between when many students were likely to have had to self-isolate.  The Leader was sure council would join her in praising all of the county’s young people for the dedication and resilience in these unprecedented times and also in thanking the school and council staff who had supported them.

 

Over the summer break, the council’s Area Action Partnerships provided a wide range of support to children and young people through the free Fun and Food programme. The initiative provided healthy food for those who took part and was set up in response to the fact that some families struggled to keep children fed and entertained while they were off school.

 

An estimated 190 community facilities in the county were set to benefit from combined funding of more than £700,000 to help them recover from the pandemic.  Venues had been invited to apply for grants from the Covid Outbreak Management Fund to help them reopen safely.

 

The Leader was pleased to report that visitors to Chester-le-Street could now enjoy free internet access, with the introduction of public wi-fi in the town centre.  Funded by the council, the free public wi-fi was part of the council’s multimillion-pound Towns and Villages scheme to enhance the vibrancy of communities across the county and aimed to help boost footfall in the town following the easing of coronavirus restrictions.

 

The autumn would see the return of Lumiere, the UK’s leading light festival, which would run across four nights from 18 to 21 November.  The council was aiming for this year’s event to be bigger and better than ever to light up the county as the dark nights took hold.

 

Following the success of Seaham Food Festival, Bishop Auckland Food Festival returned on Saturday 2 and Sunday 3 October.  The event would offer a packed programme of cookery demonstrations and entertainment as well as fresh produce courtesy of the county’s finest food producers.