To consider Announcements under Procedure Rule 10:
a) Mayor’s Announcements
b) The Leader’s Announcements
c) Chief Executive’s Announcements.
Minutes:
a) Mayor’s Announcements
The Mayor circulated a list of engagements which she and the Deputy Mayor, Councillor Nina Wood-Ford, had attended since the last meeting of Council (Appendix 1).
During consideration of the Mayor’s announcements a group of Redditch residents who had participated in the recent Special Olympics event in Sheffield were welcomed to the meeting. Ms Sarah Duffin was invited to speak on behalf of the group and she highlighted the achievements of those who had participated in the event:
· Shane Dennis for Aquatics – Silver in the 25m relay, sixth in the 50m freestyle and eighth in the 100m freestyle.
· Laurie Brooks for Athletics – Bronze 100m, Silver Soft Ball Throw, fourth in the 200m and fourth in the 100m Relay.
· Stacey Everill for Athletics – Silver Standing Long Jump, Bronze in the Shot and fifth in the 50m.
· Emmeline Rudge for Athletics – Bronze in the 100m relay, fourth in the Standing Long Jump and fifth in the 100, Personal Best Soft Ball Throw.
· Jonathan Wedgbury for Athletics – Silver in the 100m relay, fifth in the 100m, fifth in the Standing Long Jump and seventh in the Soft Ball Throw.
· Jess Hiles for Boccia – Gold in the Singles and fourth in the doubles.
· Richard Daykin for Gymnastics – Bronze on the rings, Bronze on the floor, Bronze on the Bar, fourth on the Parallel bars, fifth on the Vault and fifth all round.
· Chris Finch in Gymnastics – Gold on the Pommel, Gold on the Bar, fourth on the Rings, sixth on the Vault, sixth on the Floor, seventh on the Parallel Bars and Silver all round.
· Lauren Francis in Gymnastics– Gold on the Floor, Silver on the Beam, fourth on the Vault, fifth on the Bar and Silver all round
In total the Redditch Special Olympics group had received four gold medals, seven silver medals and six bronze medals. Thanks were also extended to the support workers who had assisted participants during the event.
Members congratulated all those who had participated in the Special Olympics. It was noted that the Deputy Mayor had hosted a tea party with participants after the event had taken place. The Council meeting provided an opportunity for every elected Member to celebrate their achievements.
b) The Leader’s Announcements
The Leader advised that he had participated in a number of events and activities since the last meeting of Council. In addition to those events which had already been mentioned during the meeting the following updates were provided for Members’ consideration:
· The Leader had attended community events organised by Church Hill Big Local, including a litter picking event and community walk.
· Morton Stanley Festival had successfully taken place on 20th – 21st August 2017.
· The Leader had attended the Scarecrow Day at Forge Mill Needle Museum.
· There had been two band stand events which had showcased children’s activities and a food festival. The team involved in organising the events, particularly Ms Sue Yeng, were thanked for their hard work.
· The Leader had attended the Gifts Beyond Price event at St Stephen’s Church, which celebrated those who had donated their organs to others.
· The Government had backed Birmingham as the official host city for the 2022 Commonwealth Games. Whilst there was no guarantee the event would take place in the city, if it did this could create opportunities for businesses in Redditch, particularly in the hospitality industry.
Members were advised that following reports that both Worcestershire Acute Hospitals NHS Trust (WAHT) and the Redditch and Bromsgrove Clinical Commissioning Group (CCG) had received inadequate ratings the Leader had called for an urgent meeting to discuss the future of both services. During the meeting senior representatives of the Trust had advised that they were working on a nine point improvement plan and were hoping this would have a positive impact.