Minutes:
The Chair informed Council that since the last meeting she had attended a number of events on behalf of the County Council, including attendance at a talk by the Mayor of Masafer Yatta, West Bank on 1 March, the North of England Brass Band Competition Gala on 17 March and ‘Welcome to Japan Day’ on 25 March at the Oriental Museum and Teikyo University.
There had also been a number of successful announcements since the last meeting.
Over £6 million would be committed to tackle homelessness in County Durham following a successful funding bid.
The Council had been awarded funding from the government's Single Homeless Accommodation Programme (SHAP) to create new accommodation and increase support for those who are homeless or at risk of homelessness.
The objective of SHAP was to increase the supply of high-quality accommodation and support for adults, and younger people aged 18 to 25 years, who were either rough sleeping or at risk of rough sleeping.
The Chair was delighted to announce that the Council had been re-awarded the Ministry of Defence's Gold Award as part of its Employer Recognition Scheme.
The award recognised employers which demonstrated positive attitudes and policies towards serving and ex-members of the Armed Forces.