Portsmouth City Borough Council Cabinet Member for Central Services Meeting

There were no apologies.

There were no declarations of interest.

Lee Todd, Head of Marketing, Communications and Engagement, presented the information report, the purpose of which was to update the Cabinet Member for Central Services on the activity regarding Community Inclusion Grants.   He advised that the next round of grants applications had been launched with a deadline of 16 March 2025 for applications.

Councillor Attwell thanked Lee and the team for their work on the grants and for getting the message out to the community, encouraging applications.   Having been out to see some of the projects across the city, he noted the outstanding breadth of the work ensuring people felt welcome in the city.

Councillor Fielding also thanked Lee and the team and stressed how important it was to support this in terms of equalities, diversity and inclusion and to stand firm to the council's beliefs and understanding that making things better for people and making them feel more included into society was a priority.

Both Councillors agreed they would share this with their respective groups to ensure that as many applicants as possible were encouraged to apply.

Councillor Attwell then showcased the eye-catching logo for the scheme and applications.

The Cabinet Member for Central Services noted the report.

Claire Looney, Commissioning and Partnership Manager, presented the information only report, the purpose of which was to provide the Cabinet Member for Central Services with an overview of the activities which took place with all Portsmouth City Council's twin and sister cities through the previous quarter as well as an outline of the activities planned for 2025.

Claire highlighted the following items:

·       The work with the Solent Languages Hub across the city and the wider area and the work towards the celebration of the 75^th anniversary link with Duisburg.

·       The ongoing economic development link with Halifax in Canada.

·       The Maizuru students who would be visiting the city in March.

·       The positive response from the Mayor of Valleta, Malta.

·       The Lord Mayor's visit to Caen to celebrate their 1000^th anniversary and the associated plans.

·       The plans for the Duisburg 75^th anniversary activities in 2025.

·       The meeting with the Palestine Twinning Network and the associated work around this proposed twinning.

Councillor Attwell thanked Claire, Carol and the team for their work and noted how it was carried out on a 'shoestring' budget.  He welcomed all the current twinning and sister links and the proposed links in the pipeline.

Councillor Fielding noted the positive response from the Mayor of Valleta, Malta and this proposed twinning.   In relation to the Duisburg Pop-up shop, that trialled the sale of Spice Island Chilli, he asked when it started, what the response had been and whether it was going to be continued.

Carol Clark replied that it had been a pre-Christmas pop-up shop, this was the first export that Spice Island Chilli had done and the items were almost sold out.

The Cabinet Member for Central Services noted the report.