Household canvass underway
 The 2018 Annual Canvass began on 20 August 2018. Every household in the
City has been sent a Household Enquiry Form (HEF). During the canvass
councillors will not receive updates to the Electoral Register. The last
monthly update was sent on 2 September 2018.
The 2019 revised Register of Electors will be published on 1 December
2018 by Plymouth City Council’s Electoral Registration Officer (ERO). Monthly
updates to the Register will be published from 1 January up to 1 September
2019, reflecting additions, deletions and amendments allowed under rolling
registration.
Councillors can request to receive the full Register of Electors, as well
as monthly updates for their election area. Please contact the Electoral Registration
Office, for any questions.
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New Heritage trails and public real works update
 We have allocated £3 million from the Council’s capital programme for the
development of three new heritage trails for the city, including associated
public realm works in key areas such as the entrance to Southside Street and
Sir John Hawkins Square.
July saw the appointment of the design team for this work, who will now
commence with the detailed development of the trails, including consultation
activities with Councillors and the public.
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Untidy land and building
Untidy land and buildings can harm the image of Plymouth, and can have a negative impact on the living conditions of Plymouth residents.
We have powers under the Town and Country Planning Act to require the owners of untidy land and buildings to take steps to remedy the visual harm being caused by these. This might involve the repair and redecoration of an untidy building, or in some instances, in extreme cases, might require the complete removal of the source of the eyesore, and restoration of the land to a tidy condition.
If you are concerned about a particular untidy building, structure, or area of land, in Plymouth, you can refer this for investigation by the Planning Compliance Officers in the Strategic Planning and Infrastructure Service.
Simply raise a case through Councillor Casework and the team will arrange for an inspection of the land and/or building as quickly as possible.
Please be aware that there are some exemptions from this form of action, including land or buildings that are inherently untidy by virtue of their normal function, and certain temporary activities such as construction sites etc.
The Council has other powers under other legislation to deal with some specific problems often associated with untidy land and buildings, such as site security and vermin infestation and so assistance may also be sought from those services in these instances.
Future Crematorium Consultation
 The consultation on the future of the city’s
crematorium is open until 14 September 2018.
A number of public sessions have already taken place, along with behind-the-scenes look at the existing facilities.
The
last public session will take place on 7 September from 2pm to 6pm at Plymstock
Library.
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Gambling
consultation
 The Council is required to review its gambling policy every three years
and as part of this review have just commenced a four week public consultation
exercise.
All the relevant documents can be viewed on the Council’s licensing
web pages.
The closing date for comments is 14 September 2018.
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Training updates
On 3 September, we
hosted Ian Fifield, an
independent training consultant on finance, risk and audit with local
government, who delivered training for Councillors on an ‘Introduction to Local
Government Finance’ training for all councillors.
We recorded the afternoon
session and will make that available for all Councillors, alongside the slides
Ian used, via email in the coming week. Many thanks to all Councillors who attended
and participated in the sessions.
On 7 August we hosted the
LGA who provide an engaging scrutiny essentials training session for members of
scrutiny committees.
The Councillors
Toolkit has been updated with the materials used if you’re
interested to take a look at what was covered. Please see attached attendance
list, we had fourteen people turn up today to our LGA provided scrutiny
essentials training.
Resource packs on Corporate Parenting
The LGA has recently released some resource packs
for councillors on corporate
parenting, support for care leavers
and youth justice.
The packs include "must knows" and lines of enquiry to help support
service improvement.
Adult Social Care – at a glance
In July 2018, the National Audit Office published a
fact-filled report on ‘Adult
social care at a glance’. This infographic rich report looks at the
adult social care landscape in the UK, including key trends, pressures in the
system and latest developments.
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