Civic service
Last Sunday I attended our annual Civic Service at Holy Trinity Church in the presence of our new Royal Town Mayor, Cllr Tony Briggs, leader of our Town Council Simon Ward, and others.
The service was conducted by Revd Canon Becky Stephens of St Peter's, Maney.
We were all delighted the deputy lord Lieutenant Nasir Awan was able to join us for the service.
It is always something I look forward to as we come together to celebrate what the Royal Town and our community has achieved.
Condition Improvement Fund 2023-24 Outcome
Huge congratulations to Bishop Vesey Grammar School and Sutton Coldfield Grammar School for Girls for securing additional funding for projects from the Department for Education from this year’s Condition Improvement Fund.
I understand that Bishop Vesey’s additional funding is going towards its sixth form expansion and the funding received by Sutton Coldfield Grammar School for Girls is going to go towards its pitched roof renewal.
A whopping total of £139,146,950 was awarded to 11 schools across Birmingham and I am glad that these two Sutton Coldfield Schools are receiving a piece of that pie.
New Mayors for the Royal Town and for Birmingham
Maureen Cornish has been our Lord Mayor of Birmingham over the last year, supported by her husband Malcolm, and what an extraordinary year she has had.
Opening with Queen Elizabeth Platinum Jubilee, the Commonwealth Games, death of our Monarch, Proclamation for King Charles III, and the Coronation of King Charles and Queen Camilla.
Throughout her year she has continued her duties as Four oaks councillor looking after our interests in the Royal Town. And i know has met so many amazing residents throughout the Birmingham area and beyond
She now becomes the deputy Lord Mayor for the next year.
A huge thank you to Maureen and Malcolm for their service to our community.
On 16th May, Cllr Tony Briggs was elected as Town Mayor with support from John Perks as Deputy Mayor, taking over from Cllr Jan Cairns who was our Mayor from May 2022 to 2023.
During her time as our Mayor, Jan has attended nearly 70 engagements through the Royal Town, often accompanies by her daughter and consort Megan.
Jan also represented the Royal Town during key occasions throughout 2022, including Queen Elizabeth II Platinum Jubilee celebrations and Commonwealth Games events.
I would like to thank Jan for all of her hard work she has done as Mayor and continues to do as one of our Town Councillors and extend my congratulation to our new Mayor Cllr Tony Briggs on his new role.
Cllr Tony Briggs represents the Reddicap ward and previously served as Councillor for the Walmley and Minworth ward since becoming a Town Councillor in 2019.
Tony has been Chairman of the Planning and Highways Committee since 2021.
Cllr Briggs has lived in Sutton Coldfield with his wife Pamela for 25 years. Together they have two sons, Jonathan and David who both studied in Sutton Coldfield.
Tony serves as a school governor for Four Oaks Primary school and in his spare time he enjoys a wide range of sport, in particular local and national Rugby.
I am sure Tony will do a brilliant job being our Mayor as Jan has been this past year.
Duke of Edinburgh
I was delighted to learn that a total of 263 students at Fairfax Academy have been taking part in the Duke of Edinburgh in the past year, a fantastic way to volunteer with the local community, get active and go on expeditions.
I am pleased that a total of 211 students are working towards their Bronze DofE award, 38 students for their Silver award, and 14 for the Gold award.
The past year has seen the highest number of students involved ever with the Duke of Edinburgh award across the nation.
I would like to wish all students taking part every good wish.
Reducing net migration
The 2019 manifesto pledge to bring down net migration remains a solid commitment of this government, but not without its challenges.
In December 2020, we ended decades of uncontrolled migration from the European Union and put in place a new points-based immigration system to give ministers full control of our borders.
For the first time since we joined the EU, we gained complete control of who comes to the UK and the ability to operate an immigration system that we can flex to the changing needs of the economy and labour market, as well as tailor to the skills and talent needed by UK businesses and our NHS.
But immigration is dynamic, and we must constantly adapt our approach to take account of changing migrant flows.
Recent statistics estimated net migration up significantly on the previous year, however the Home Secretary has worked closely with the Department for Education and HM Treasury to clamp down on immigration loopholes which have seen an unexpected number of dependents coming to the UK alongside international students.
The International Education Strategy plays an important part in supporting the economy through the economic contribution students can bring to the UK, but this should not be at the expense of our commitment to the public to lower overall migration and ensure that migration to the UK is highly skilled and therefore provides the most benefit.
We are committed to attracting the brightest and the best to the UK, and this package strikes the right balance between acting decisively on tackling net migration and protecting the economic benefits that students can bring to the UK.
No one single measure will control immigration and a continuous balance must be met between reducing overall net immigration and ensuring we support economic growth.
World Health Assembly
Earlier this week I was at the World Health Assembly.
It is clear that the climate crisis is the biggest public health challenge of our times - whether through food & water shortages or rising infectious diseases and it requires action now.
Humanitarian support to East Africa
At the UN Horn of Africa pledging conference on Wednesday, I announced the government’ new package of humanitarian support for people affected by food insecurity, drought, conflict and climate change in East Africaincluding Somalia, Ethiopia and Kenya.
Our support will also provide humanitarian assistance to Sudan, to help address people’s urgent needs, one month after conflict broke out in the country.
You can read more about it here: https://www.gov.uk/government/news/uk-pledges-support-for-over-a-million-people-in-east-africa
African Development Bank
At #COP26, the UK announced the Room to Run guarantee, unlocking $2bn of African Development Bank funding for climate projects in Africa.
On Wednesday we announced the first R2R projects in Egypt and Senegal, delivering clean water and resilient infrastructure.
Further information
External Funding Update from NDSU
Please see below deadlines for NDSU External Funding– May 2023.
Upcoming deadlines:
· Monday 29th May 2023 - Birmingham Cost-of-Living Information Advice Guidance Fund (https://protect-eu.mimecast.com/s/9BO0C5QN5hZOnWxAhzqqVm?domain=heartofenglandcf.co.uk) . Grants of up to £50,000 are available for Voluntary and Community-based organisations in Birmingham providing support for income maximisation, welfare rights and other related advice and guidance.
· Noon on Tuesday 30th May 2023 - WMPCC Helping Communities Fund (https://www.westmidlands-pcc.gov.uk/helping-communities-fund/#:~:text=Since%20October%202021%20the%20Commissioner,Tuesday%2C%20May%209th%2C%202023) . The Helping Communities Fund (HCF) has been relaunched with a further £180,000 on offer to help make communities in the West Midlands safer.
· Wednesday 31st May 2023 - Be Bold Crowdfunding (https://protect-eu.mimecast.com/s/XYODC6XO5Crx3G1XT6u5pp?domain=spacehive.com) . Build a crowdfunding campaign and pitch for up to £15,000* from Birmingham City Council towards your community project. *Check the Spacehive website for a list of wards that have funding available.
· 5:00pm on Thursday 1 June 2023 - Cultural Connections Commissioning(https://www.birmingham.gov.uk/info/50050/culture_arts_and_heritage/1046/apply_for_arts_funding/3) . Constituted groups and arts organisations can apply for up to £5,000 for feasibility funding to develop and refine a proposal to support cultural connections (anticipated total project cost of between £20,000 to £30,000).
New NDSU webpage for funding and capacity building support for community groups and organisations in Birmingham:
The NDSU Team have a new webpage on the BCC website which includes information about current funding opportunities and resources to help community groups and organisations in Birmingham access funding and capacity building support:
Train strikes:
A series of strike dates have been announced by ASLEF and RMT unions in May and June that will impact rail services across the network and across operators.
ASLEF, the drivers’ union, has announced strike action across 16 train companies, including Avanti West Coast, on 12 and 31 May, and 3 June.
For the latest travel information for any upcoming strikes, please see: https://www.avantiwestcoast.co.uk/travel-information/strike