Agenda item

Report of the Corporate Director of Neighbourhoods and Climate Change

The Cabinet considered a report of the Corporate Director of Neighbourhoods and Climate Change which provided an update on issues being addressed by the County Durham Partnership. The report also included updates on other key initiatives being carried out in partnership across the county (for copy of report see file of minutes).

The Leader of the Council, as chair of the County Durham partnership expressed her delight in delivering a comprehensive and inspiring report on partnership work, which showed how agencies and communities working together can deliver fabulous outcomes for people across the county across all Council priorities, be that relating to health, economy, environment or community safety.

The May partnership meeting received an update on the important work of the County Durham Together partnership which brought together service providers and communities to ensure the skills, experience and resources available in the county to support everyone in living healthy and fulfilling lives were being maximised.

The Forum celebrated the 10th anniversary of the Advice in County Durham Partnership, which now has over 80 ten partners organisations as members. The ‘no wrong door’ ethos of the partnership continues to help simplify the sometimes complex world of support networks, particularly in areas such as the cost of living crisis and universal credit migration, the latter having started roll out across county Durham in July 2023.

In other areas:

·      Humanitarian support partnerships continued to support refugee families across the county;

·      the fun with food programme continued to develop across school holidays providing activities and healthy food for children across the county. The funding provided by the department for education had been supplemented and enhanced by numerous individual partnership projects across the county from AAPs and the voluntary sector;

·      the County Durham Partnership event coming up in November was to celebrate the 10 year anniversary of Health and Wellbeing Boards and also 10 years since public heath functions moved to Local Authorities from the NHS; and

·      there were a number of highlights from the work of AAPs across the county, funding and delivering valuable initiatives at a local level, adding value to communities, and delivering positive outcomes. Highlights in this report ranged from helping to provide low carbon solar panels at a football facility in Ferryhill, a Market activity week in Chester-le-Street, and a Job Shop offering personal mentoring and specialised training for those with additional needs, mental health issues or suffering from long term unemployment. These highlights sat alongside many others supporting employment, education, environmental and community support.

Councillor E Scott, Cabinet Portfolio Holder for Economy and Partnerships welcomed the partnership update and referred to the positive and ambitious way forward for AAP’s in 2025 would see a firm and revitalised focus on community engagement, with a strategic mandate and resources to match. There was still much to do as the Council continued to work towards the new arrangements and good progress continued to be made.

Councillor Scott also highlighted the ongoing work in the development of the delivery plan associated with the Inclusive Economic Strategy and the work of the Safe Durham Partnership in two important areas. The first is the vital work of the partnership in delivering the Government’s Anti-Social Behaviour Action Plan and the equally vital work being carried out alongside the Home Office and Counter Terrorism police on the Publicly Accessible Location Trails, which will lay important foundations for counter terror work across the coming years.

Resolved:

That the report be noted.