Right, those elections that were supposedly cancelled are now back on!
I stand by my reasons for giving the view to postpone them, not cancel as some opponents have unhelpfully stated.
Following the elections in May, the 60 councillors will be part of Peterborough City Council's last shift before all councillors are up again next year in 2027 for the new authority.
Those who choose not to stand in 2027 will remain as PCC councillors until the new authority kicks in in 2028, without a vote.
Those who choose to stand in 2027 and were a member of the old authority will remain as councillors for PCC until 2028 (whether they win their seat or not!) even though you may have wanted to vote them out! Complicated much? Yes. But that's why, democracy matters and yes elections matter.
But when you have Local Government Reorganisation and the above scenario, you will be electing councillors for 18 months who won't be able to make any significant decisions in the city, nor will they cease to be councillors even if they stand in the all-out elections and lose in 2027. They will just remain and fizzle out with the commencement of the new authority in 2028, with no function, at the cost of the taxpayer. Opposition parties had you think otherwise!
This week the Government chose our city from which to announce its significant investment in the SEND system - Ormiston Bushfield Academy in Orton to be exact.
I believe the proposed reforms are a step in the right direction and have the potential to improve the system substantially.
Spotting and supporting additional needs at the earliest stage is one of the most important things we can do to improve outcomes for our children and prevent challenges from escalating. This coupled with tailored interventions and adaptive teaching is essential.
We look forward to working with government, schools, and families to deliver these improvements for Peterborough’s children and young people, building a more responsive, inclusive, and supportive system for all.
Our dedicated work to support our city’s most vulnerable residents is something that I am incredibly proud of.
Next week, a report will go before the council’s Cabinet setting out our proposed approach to delivering the government’s new Crisis Resilience Fund (CRF), which replaces the Household Support Fund (HSF) from March 2026.
This scheme will see £3.6m a year given to Peterborough over the next three years to support residents dealing with both short-term crisis and longer-term financial challenges, helping them to become financially stable.
It is a move away from handing out vouchers and payments as we saw as part of the HSF, towards providing one-off cash payments for those who are in short-term difficulty, and crucially, supporting people to become more financially secure over the longer term so they can stand on their own two feet.
The CRF also coincides with the government’s plans, from April, to implement a series of welfare reforms that should positively affect low-income households. We will make further announcements in due course, but if you urgently need support there is plenty of helpful advice at www.peterborough.gov.uk
It is deeply saddening to hear that our refuse collection workers in Peterborough regularly face abuse and threatening behaviour whilst out on their rounds.
We’ve started a new campaign to highlight this concerning issue and will be promoting a series of videos on our social media channels.
Our refuse officers play a vital role in keeping our city clean and I want to reiterate that nobody deserves this whilst doing their job and I would urge anyone who witnesses staff abuse to report this as soon as possible.
If you do see refuse collection staff being abused or threatened call police on 101.