Agenda item

The Director of Delivery, Communications, and Political Governance submits a report outlining a presentation from the Assistant City Mayor for Jobs, Skills, Policy Delivery and Communications setting out a summary of progress in relation to the key strategic priorities and commitments of the Council.

The Committee is invited to comment on the achievements and progress made in relation to the key strategic priorities and to seek any further clarification needed on any areas.

It waThe Director of Delivery, Communications, and Political Governance submitted a report outlining a presentation from the Assistant City Mayor for Jobs, Skills, Policy Delivery and Communications setting out a summary of progress in relation to the key strategic priorities and commitments of the Council.

The Assistant City Mayor for Jobs, Skills, Policy Delivery and Communications gave the presentation, it was noted that upon Labour winning the 2019 Council election, their manifesto commitments became the key strategic priorities for the Council over the 4-year term. Of the 96 original commitments, 76% had been classed as completed and 19% were still in progress, 5 of the commitments were no longer appropriate. The commitments were broken down into 9 theme areas, highlights of progress in each theme area were as follows:

·         A Fair City

·         Residents had been supported through the Covid pandemic with advice and financial support.

·         The second round of the Anti-Poverty Strategy would be launched soon.

·         16 ‘warm spaces’ had been set up to support residents struggling with energy costs.

·         Homes for All

·          A private rental sector strategy had been launched alongside a selective licensing scheme in 3 areas.

·         £89m had been invested in an improvement programme for Council Homes.

·         £10m of external funding had been secured to enhance homelessness services.

·         Connecting Leicester

·         Alongside new cycling infrastructure there had been a 61% increase in cycling numbers since 2014.

·         A 20mph programme had been delivered to 510 streets against a target of 230 streets.

·         The Leicester Bus Partnership had introduced a universal tap-on tap-off fare cap to the city.

·         Sustainable Leicester

·         Leicester was one of the few Councils to maintain weekly bin collections.

·         The tree canopy coverage in Leicester was one of the best in the country.

·         A carbon road map had been completed to inform the next climate action plan.

·         Regenerating Leicester

·         The Waterside Regeneration Area had brought 1k homes to rent as well as student homes and homes for sale. Extra amenities would be new hotels and a school.

·         At the Ashton Green site 407 homes had been completed or were under construction.

·         Health and Care

·         Leisure Centre services had remained in-house and £5m had been invested in the facilities.

·         A mental health support programme was being provided for schools.

·         Defibrillator provision had been improved across the city.

·         Lifelong Learning

·         There had been 20k enrolments in the Adult Education service. 

·         A Construction Hub at Ashton Green had been established, giving opportunities for those looking to enter the construction industry.

·         Library services across the city had been protected.

·         A City to Enjoy

·         Over 20k community events and activities had been supported each year.

·         Website had been launched for Visit Leicester, the Story of Leicester, and the Museums service.

·         The redeveloped Jewry Wall Museum was scheduled to open in summer 2024.

·         Safe and Inclusive City

·         A city-wide knife crime strategy had been launched.

·         There had been investment to improve safety in parks including improving lighting and CCTV.

·         Partnership working had been strengthened to tackle ASB and street lifestyles.

It was noted that further key achievements in the term were a successful £46m levelling up funding bid, and £3.5m of grant funding to support energy improvements in over 500 homes.

It was suggested that a site visit for Members to see the regeneration at Waterside could be arranged.

Members suggested that more should be done to publicise the success stories of the Council through benchmarking. It was also suggested that Officials from other Local Authorities and bodies could be brought to the city and shown the success stories.

AGREED:

1.    That the Committee congratulates the Council and recognises the hard work and efforts of officers to deliver on the progress against the key strategic priorities.

2.    That the Committee requests that the presentation slides be circulated to Members.

3.    That the Committee requests that a site visit be arranged for all Members around the Waterside regeneration site.