This week I will be focusing in large part on the theme of community, but first, I promised to keep you updated on the Council’s financial situation, and I am pleased to be able to share that our application to government for exceptional financial support (EFS) has been successful.
Prior to making this application, we sought an independent assurance review that concluded that our finances are well managed, but that we don’t receive sufficient government funding to cover the increasing costs of adults and children’s services.
In confirming our EFS, the local government minister has acknowledged that this is a difficult time for the council and that difficult decisions have been taken locally before the request for EFS was made. The Government has recognised that this support is essential for us at the present time and has approved the application in full.
The Council’s Medium Term Financial Strategy will reflect this updated position and be presented to Full Council next Thursday.
Now on to matters less monetary.
The other day I went to the library. Unremarkable in itself, but I do want to talk about what I saw there. It being half term, I was occupying my wonderful granddaughter for a few hours, and at my wife’s (inspired, as it turns out) suggestion we headed to Balsall Common Library for their craft morning. It was brilliant. It wasn’t just that the activity was well prepared and very enjoyable for the children and those with them, nor that it was very well attended – we managed to find one of the last free spaces at a table when we turned up. It was the dedication and professionalism and the warm welcome provided by those running it that really impressed me.
Library staff and volunteers are often underappreciated I feel, the image of the shushing individual peering out from behind a desk should be left in the past and we should see these people as the pillars of the community they have become. Libraries lend books, they always have done and always will I hope, reading is such a vital skill, such a great pleasure, such a key part of our lives that we should never overlook that central function, but they are now so much more than that. The staff lay on plenty of activities like the one I attended, or the alien storytime and crafts at Chelmsley Wood Library or the Lego club at Hob’s Moat Library. All of which, and much more at every Library across the borough you can find the details of here.
Beyond this, the staff offer so much, from helping people to navigate the sometimes confusing process of getting online and applying for things in an increasingly digital world, to activities and events for older people, to photography and local history exhibitions and presentations. Libraries and those that run them have a vital place in the heart of our communities. I am deeply grateful to them for that, and I urge you to take full advantage of these wonderful places which we have worked so hard as a council to protect in the face of decades of funding cuts.
That sense of community is also alive and well in our schools, as many of them have demonstrated by rolling out their new climate action plans as they try to contribute to a more sustainable Solihull. Continuing the theme of helping our natural environment in educational setting, pupils at Forest Oak School in Smith’s Wood helped to plant new hedgerows last week as part of our ambitious Planting Our Future campaign. Hedgerows are such a vital habitat for so many creatures, including nesting birds and, of course, hedgehogs, so I’m very pleased that they will have more space to call home in the future thanks to this initiative.
We’ve launched a new Community Environment Fund with our partners Veolia, with £20,000 available to support local projects, clubs and communities to aid biodiversity and keep our spaces green and clean. All the details are available here.
I talked about the joy of reading earlier, so I am very happy to say that there will be a book giveaway in Mell Square to support World Book Day 2025 on Thursday 6 March. You can find all the information here.
Before I go, I just want to mention that Ramadan will be getting underway at the end of next week, so I will take this opportunity to say Ramadan Mubarak to all our Muslim residents.
Thanks for reading, enjoy your weekend.
Councillor Ian Courts.