Leader's Announcements
To receive such announcements as may be made by the Leader.
Minutes:
The Deputy Leader made announcements in relation to the following:-
· Councillor M Jones resignation would take effect at February Council or earlier. Councillor Jones was currently seeing his Doctor and he wished him well.
· The establishment of a cross-party body to consider the allegations of bullying, with involvement from an independent person.
· The Spending Review had taken place at the end of November. The comprehensive review which holds the details of those proposals and the settlement being offered to local authorities was being discussed at the moment in the House of Commons. The Chief Operating Officer would be holding a Members Briefing as soon as was convenient after the announcements had been made.
· The Making A Difference Awards ceremony had taken place on 10 December. Details of the winners had been circulated to all present.
· The Chancellor of the Exchequer had confirmed the medical technologies Catapult for Alderley Park, which was a £5m initial investment. He had also announced a science enterprise zone for Cheshire; Alderley Park to the former Shell research facility at Thornton. Alongside this was the further provision of £4m funding on Anti-Microbial Research at Alderley Park, which would secure 30 new jobs and should lead up to a further £200m of investment.
· The Council had achieved savings of £105m . The number of managers had reduced by a 1/3. Trade Union relations were at an all-time high.
· Investments figures in Cheshire East - £1bn had been invested in roads and broadband; £2bn private sector investment (Bentley, Alderley Park and Waters Corporation), and a potential investment of £6bn with HS2.
· Since 2012 the Council had supported businesses to create over 2800 new jobs.
· The HS2 line north of Birmingham would be built via Crewe and would open 6 years earlier than planned. By 2027, 7 high speed trains an hour to London, with trains to Manchester beginning to run in 2033 - Crewe would be the North West’s gateway into HS2.
· Fairerpower had recently reached the milestone of signing up its 4000th customer. £1m in savings had now been made.
· The Council had been shortlisted for two categories in the LGA Awards 2016 – ‘Driving Growth’ and ‘Service Delivery’.
· Detailed the performance of Orbitas, ANSA, Engine of the North, Civicance, TSS, Tatton Park Enterprise and ESAR.
A copy of the announcements would be circulated to Members.