Council achievements showcased at annual meeting

Cllr Martin Hill, Leader of Lincolnshire County Council, will deliver this year’s AGM speech at a full council meeting on Friday 17 May 2019.

He will highlight the key achievements of the county council over the last year, in providing services to around 750,000 residents.

Cllr Hill said: “We’re determined to innovate at every opportunity, making services better rather than just keeping them the same. This is no easy task at a time of hugely reduced funding, and with both demand and our responsibilities growing. I’m incredibly proud of what we’ve achieved over the last year.”

Cllr Hill will cover accomplishments such as:

–       £50m investment in special schools to meet the needs of pupils in their local communities, and £23m to increase general school places;

–       3,000 households helped through the Troubled Families initiative;

–       22 foster care champions working in schools to improve learning;

–       All seven children’s homes judged as good or outstanding;

–       60,000 health visitor contacts since the service was in-sourced last year, with performance times improved significantly;

–       Adult social care being delivered on budget for 7 years in a row – despite considerable extra demand and costs;

–       The development of 70 extra-care units in Lincoln underway;

–       £7m spent on home adaptations, helping people live independently;

–       More than 100,000 potholes fixed and 85 miles of roads resurfaced;

–       £2m brought in from the Safer Roads Fund for road safety improvements;

–       The £124m Lincoln Eastern Bypass scheme due for completion in May 2020;

–       Work expected to start on the second phase of the Grantham Southern Relief Road this summer;

–       17,000 blue badge applications dealt with – 97% were resolved on time;

–       Landfill in the county reduced by 92% over a decade thanks to the energy from waste facility, which also created enough power for 140,000 homes;

–       £1.5m grant secured to provide superfast broadband to rural communities;

–       Opening of the North Sea Observatory – improving the coastal tourism offer;

–       750 county businesses supported to develop and grow;

–       Economic partnership with China’s Hunan province has been agreed;

–       Almost 50,000 visitors to The Collection’s Museum of the Moon exhibition;

–       Two million books leant at county libraries;

–       A good report for Lincolnshire Fire and Rescued following its inspection, as well as 23,000 calls and 10,000 incidents handled;

–       Almost £10m investment allocated for new fire vehicles and equipment;

–       Lincoln’s South Park joint fire, police and ambulance station soon to be complete with the first staff moving in this summer;

–       1.5million illicit and counterfeit cigarettes removed from sale by Trading Standards;

–       £900,000 investment in a new countywide domestic abuse service with specialist support for children and young people;

–       A 98% level of customer satisfaction with  the registration service which is rated ‘excellent’.

The meeting is audio-broadcast online at www.lincolnshire.gov.uk .