To receive such announcements as may be made by the Mayor.
Minutes:
The Mayor –
(1) Announced the recent news from the North-West Employers Organisation, which had confirmed the awarding of the North-West Charter on Elected Member Development, to Cheshire East Council. She commented that this reflected positively on the work of the Member Development Panel, which was chaired by the Leader.
Councillor Fitzgerald responded to the announcement. It was a great honour and he complimented Members for their conscientiousness; he considered that the shadow year had been an opportunity for dealing with a wide variety of subjects and had enabled Members to learn from that process.
(2) Announced that since the last Council meeting, there had been two notable Civic occasions, namely -
· The Civic Service, held on 20th September, in her Chaplain's Church, which was well-attended by Civic Dignitaries from the neighbouring Councils together with a good many Councillors, and her family and friends; and
· The Mayor's Charity Ball, held on 9th October at Nantwich Civic Hall, which raised much needed funds for her two Mayoral Charities - Hearing Dogs for Deaf People and Action Duchenne, a Charity which lobbied for funding into research into Muscular Dystrophy. Judging by the many kind comments and e-mailed messages received, she said that “we hit the right note by sourcing the food locally, using fantastic local caterers and businesses”. Members had also commented that they had enjoyed the entertainment.
These Civic events were not possible without the help and encouragement from the Cheshire East staff who work with the Mayoral Team and she expressed her sincere thanks to all of them.
(3) Announced that take-up of a free swimming programme at Cheshire East’s pools was one of the best in the country; Cheshire East was 10th out of 259 participating local authorities across the UK.
The initiative had been set up by the Department of Culture, Media and Sport to encourage people to become more active and enjoy swimming in the run-up to the London 2012 Olympics and Paralympics. It was recognised by London Inspire and supported by Change4Life and was clearly encouraging people to participate in a healthier lifestyle.
The under-16s and over 60s had benefited from this government-led initiative and since its introduction in April 2009, 53,211 free swims had taken place at pools across the borough.
(4) After a stringent assessment by the Institute of Cemeteries and Crematorium Management, the Council’s Streetscape and Bereavement Services had achieved first place in the North-West ranking table for organisations providing burial and cremation services. It had also been placed joint second in the National Ranking Table for organisations providing cremation services, from a total of 104 cremation authorities throughout the UK.
New services to ensure the comfort of mourners attending services, such as Braille hymn books, loop systems for the hard-of-hearing and wheelchairs for those who needed them, helped to secure the Council’s success, as did the efforts it made to enhance cemetery grounds and attract wildlife, with features such as bat boxes and bird boxes, which could bear a plaque in memory of a loved one.
(5) Announced that she was pleased to welcome to the meeting, Chris Edwards, the Youth Mayor, who provided Council with an update on his year so far.
He was actively participating in the promotion of young people’s activities, becoming involved in youth charities, fund-raising and working closely with the Mayor. Opportunities and achievements so far included collection of the Borough Charter from London, meeting other Mayors across the UK at the Youth Mayors’ Conference, and working with Cheshire East Youth Parliament. He had also attended a variety of Cheshire East Council events including the Cheshire Show and Nantwich Show.
In conclusion, he stated that the last few months had provided a great opportunity to become in involved with Cheshire East Council which had been worthwhile and interesting.