Minutes:
95.1 The Leader of Mid Suffolk District Council made the following announcements:
Ukraine one year on
Tomorrow marks the one-year anniversary of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.
Since the war began, thousands of Ukrainians have been killed defending their freedom from Russia’s appalling onslaught.
Millions more have been forced from their homes, with many finding refuge in the UK under the Homes for Ukraine Scheme – including nearly 250 here in Mid Suffolk. Tomorrow at 11am there will be a national moment of silence, offering people the chance to pay tribute to the courage of the Ukrainian people and demonstrate the UK’s unwavering solidarity with the country. I am sure I speak for all of us at Mid Suffolk District Council when I say we continue to stand with Ukraine.
£2.2m government funding
I am pleased to say Suffolk’s district and borough councils, including Mid Suffolk, have secured £2.2m of Government funding to improve the standard of private rented homes in the county. This will tackle poor housing conditions and improve tenants’ wellbeing. The funding, from DLUCH, will be used to create and support additional roles, offering advice to tenants and landlords, and take enforcement action against those who let poor quality housing. It will also enable the councils to continue working collaboratively, pooling resources to improve the standards of privately rented homes.
Ending rough sleeping
Suffolk’s public sector leaders group agreed last week to fund a plan which aims to end rough sleeping in our county by 2027. During the pandemic, 160 people sleeping on the streets were accommodated in Suffolk in six weeks, including 42 in one day, under the Everyone In initiative. We have wanted to build on that work in Suffolk and provide a sustainable solution to the problem and help more people through a preventative approach. £175,000 has been agreed to develop the plans, which include more support for young people leaving local authority care, who are at greater risk of homelessness.
Supported Food Network
And in another great example of the collaborative approach we take in Suffolk, public sector leaders also agreed to fund a new Supported Food Network. It will work with new and existing food outlets, including food banks, providing more stock and ensuring a range of enhanced support is available to meet local needs. It will also focus on early help and prevention, upskilling, and additional support around benefits. SPSL agreed £1.5million funding over three years for this project, led by the Collaborative Communities Board, and I am sure this will build on the outstanding work of food banks, community larders and other charities, helping more people in the cost of living crisis. SPSL had previously pledged £1.8million to the Local Welfare Assistance scheme, which saw more than 7,000 applications for help between October and December last year.
SPSL has also published a report highlighting some of our key achievements in the last two year term. These include:
- Committing £1.3million to tackle gangs, county lines and trafficking.
- Pledging more than £2m championing Suffolk as a place to do business and supporting town centres.
- Investing £756,000 on work to improve the energy efficiency of Suffolk homes
- And £1.5million to support Suffolk’s ambition to be net zero by 2030.
Award nominations
I’m delighted to say our council has been shortlisted for five national awards. Our Gateway 14 project, which will bring thousands of jobs to the area, is a well-deserving finalist in the Asset Management & Regeneration category in the iESE Public Sector Transformation Awards 2023.
Our Tree Canopy Survey and Tree Planting strategy has been shortlisted in the Local Government Chronicle awards (in the Technology category) and iESE awards (in the Green Public Services category).
We've also been shortlisted for the national 2023 Smarter Working Live Awards - which celebrate public sector excellence - for our commitment to staff wellbeing. The council has been recognised in the 'Putting People First' category. And our Local Land Charges department has been shortlisted in the 2023 Land Data Local Land Charges Awards. It is fantastic to see our council being recognised like this, and I’d like to congratulate everyone involved for these achievements.
Suffolk Public Sector Leaders
I’ve mentioned a couple of points about how we work with Suffolk Public Sector Leaders but I think it’s worth just running through a few extra points. Last Friday we held the last SPSL public meeting before the elections in May so I think this is an opportune moment to update you on what we have been doing. We’ve agreed important financial support for the Collaborative Communities Board and the Housing Board and I am just going to whiz down a few statistics:
£2.35 million to support business and the county’s post covid recovery programme of which £1.4 million has been put into the Suffolk inclusive growth investment fund which has supported several projects including the virtual high street, innovate local and innovation labs.
£1.35 million to tackle county lines and criminal exploitation.
£1.5 million to deliver the Suffolk Climate Emergency Plan.
£756,000 to improve the Energy Efficiency of homes
An additional £80,000 for Screen Suffolk following the setup support in 2016.
£500,000 for the County Councils get Suffolk reading initiative.
£500,000 for the Collaborative Communities Board.
£400,000 for Suffolk Family Focus for preventative work to support vulnerable people.
£200,000 for the integrated care academy to support young people and their mental health and one of them for the local welfare assistance scheme to support residents facing financial hardship.
Also £1 million earmarked for Haughley Junction.
£1 million earmarked for housing board and £375,000 earmarked for the waste project.
So that’s just a few things that we’ve been getting up to over the last couple of years, there is an end of term report that’s available on the County Councils website and I will include a link to that in my announcements in the minutes.