2024 round up
As this year draws to a close it is time to reflect on what a busy, demanding, yet rewarding year 2024 has been for South Tyneside. A great deal has been achieved and we've overcome some significant challenges over the last 12 months but there is so much to look forward to in 2025.
2024 had some really important milestones, including the transfer of our housing services back in house and of course the end of the waste dispute. I'm confident that as we move forward the changes we've made will provide the best outcomes for residents and tenants across the borough.
We've made significant progress on our Children's improvement journey with repeat visits from Ofsted reporting back positively and recognising the great work of our passionate and dedicated workforce.
We've taken action to help people be more financially secure including our Welfare Support Team securing over £8.5M for South Tyneside residents in social security benefits and debt write-offs and financial support to local foodbanks. We hosted the region's first ever Child Poverty Summit bringing together more than 100 representatives from across the region and our Child Poverty Strategy expected in the spring will set out how we will address the underlying causes of poverty as well as the acute impact it is having on individuals.
Money from the Housing Support Fund has had a significant impact in helping thousands of local families and those on the lowest incomes. This support has helped fund; food vouchers for children on free school meals during school holidays; school uniforms vouchers; food banks; the community food bus; welfare support team; dedicated support for care leavers; and voluntary sector support to fund vital projects targeted at particular groups.
In the new year we'll be providing some additional financial support to pensioners who just miss out on pension credit and therefore Winter Fuel Allowance. We'll also be working with schools to provide discretionary free school meals for some of the families who are not eligible, and we will be working with our food bank and Welcoming Places to distribute 'warm packs' for those who could benefit from them.
Targeting support to make things fairer runs through everything we do as a council. Despite our limited finances we've been working hard make sure that every penny counts and that our finances and resources are targeted in the right way so that we can work to try and reduce those inequalities we have across the borough.
While Christmas and New Year are often a time for reflection, they also bring us new beginnings, 2025 will be an exciting year for South Tyneside as we look to progress some major projects.
Work is almost complete on two specialist housing developments for adults with learning disabilities and complex care needs, as well as an extra care development in Hebburn to allow people to live independently for longer. Our new children's assessment centre and two new children's homes currently under development will also complete in 2025 meaning that as well as reducing expensive out of borough homes, our young people can attend school, be closer to their family and any wider support network and enjoy time with their friends as any child should. Caring for our children in the borough maximises the opportunities to achieve the best home and parenting experience we can offer.
We'll be progressing our college ambitions and hope to have appointed a construction partner in the new year with a start on site later in 2025.
We'll continue to build on our work to tackle climate change after huge successes and recognition for with Viking Energy Network Jarrow scooping two prestigious awards this year. In 2025 we'll host a climate change summit in the spring and come back with a refreshed Sustainable South Tyneside strategy to drive forward the next phase of carbon reduction.
2024 was a year of significant change locally and nationally. The general election earlier in the year saw a new Government come to power and we are now starting to see the impact and changes of this come through to local government. We also established the North East Combined Authority and welcomed Kim McGuiness to the role of North East Mayor.
Our role as part of the North East Combined Authority means that we are doing all we can to leverage any funding opportunities available to us to bring forward transformational projects for South Tyneside, taking every opportunity to pull in additional investment above and beyond our core Council funding.
Looking ahead to 2025, there will undoubtedly be challenges but we will continue to tackle those head on.
Councillor Tracey Dixon
Leader of South Tyneside Council