Issue - meetings

a)            Gujarat Earthquake

            Councillor Willmott referred to the catastrophic earthquake that had taken place in Gujarat.  He particularly noted that many of Leicester’s residents had strong ties with the region, through family and/or friends.  He stated that both the Lord Mayor and the Council wished to provide wholehearted support for the relief work.  It was noted that although Leicester’s twin city of Rajkot had suffered relatively less than other parts of the region, a message had been received from the Mayor of Rajkot which indicated that there were 1000 people homeless in the City and 4 fatalities – and a large number of deaths in the surrounding area.  Councillor Willmott urged all Members of the Council, Council employees and everyone in the City to consider how best they could contribute to the relief effort.

            Finally, Councillor Willmott asked all those present to stand in silence in respect for those who had lost their lives and also for those who were working to minimise the ensuing suffering.

b)            Funding of Local Government

            It was noted that the Government had announced that afternoon that it had agreed to adopt the option favoured by the City Council for future arrangements for the funding of Local Government in 2001/2002.