July 2024

It has been some time since I last updated you, and here we are already halfway through the year - I hope you are making the most of our summer activities.

We're already well into our fantastic free summer events programme. And this year - despite the weather - has proved as popular as ever, with a spectacular celebration-themed Summer Parade, Proms in the Park, live music and brilliant Sunday concert line-up attracting tens of thousands of people and boosting our visitor economy.

We're also celebrating inclusivity and diversity this year, having worked with LGBTQ+ charity Out North East to incorporate an element of Pride into our Summer Parade as well as our 28 July Sunday Concert. It's always wonderful to see so many community groups coming together for the parade. They did our Borough proud and we thank them all for getting involved.

With Kids Fun Fest, brass bands at the Amphitheatre and live music in South Marine Park all still to come next month, it's no wonder the borough has gained a reputation for staging one of the biggest and best free summer festivals in the country.

That's not all. Our beautiful open spaces and recently awarded Green Flag parks are ideal places for families and I'd encourage you all to take advantage of all they have to offer, particularly during Love Parks Week (26 July - 4 Aug).

The last few months have been dominated by elections - firstly the May local elections, followed by a by-election in the Primrose ward, and the general election earlier this month. We are bound by rules restricting publicity in the period leading up to an election, which is why I haven't been able to blog for so long.

The local elections resulted in a new political makeup of the council and I  welcome newly elected members as they represent their wards going forward.

And of course we have a new government, and I'm so excited to see what fresh opportunities and perspectives this brings.

We'll be working closely with government departments to ensure the release of funding allocated to the borough so that we can continue to make progress on our transformational schemes such as the relocation of South Tyneside College and our long-term regeneration plans for Hebburn and Jarrow.

At a regional level too, I will be working hard to champion your interests alongside other members of the devolved North East Combined Authority.

We've now had two meetings of cabinet where we have worked out our priorities and a programme for each portfolio holder.

As lead for education, inclusion and skills, I want to ensure that the devolved budget will enable us to equip our workforce with the right skills and training for the job that are actually available - both now and in the future.

I believe that good education and skills - taught at any stage in life - is what will drive our region and our economy forward, giving people equal access to employment opportunities that exist in the North East, and employers and potential investors confidence in a talented workforce.

The waste dispute continued to dominate the agenda since I last updated you, and I am so pleased to say that we've made significant progress with the workforce and all mandates for further industrial action have been stood down, bringing an end to the waste services dispute.

Aside from waste, there has been plenty of progress made on some of our key projects aligned to our ambitions.

In the coming weeks we are hoping to start on site at our £26m Hebburn Extra Care facility, which will provide 95 affordable homes, with 17 specialist dementia apartments.

This development will allow not just older people, but younger adults with care needs to live in their local community with support.

Residents have told us that they would prefer to live in the community rather than going into residential care. Major investment in adult social care accommodation right across the borough and better use of assisted technologies will help support people to live independently at home.

Investment in our children's care homes too will also help to expand local provision and reduce very costly out of borough placements. We've appointed a new contractor for our assessment centre at Seton Avenue, South Shields, and are back on site and are tendering for contractors for our two new children's homes.

As a Local Authority we take our corporate parenting responsibility for children we care for seriously. In May, Ofsted inspectors reported improvements right across children's services. While we recognise there are still improvements to make, it is clear that we are definitely moving in the right direction.

Perhaps most importantly, inspectors noted changes to the culture of the service. It is clear that our staff feel confident and supported and are enthusiastic about making changes to benefit our children and families.

Finally, I hope you enjoy the rest of the summer and make the most of the fantastic activities we have to offer here in South Tyneside.

Councillor Tracey Dixon
Leader of South Tyneside Council