Council planning a ‘no one left behind’ scheme for residents in need

Newport City Council is planning to launch a ‘no one left behind’ scheme for residents who feel their communities have missed out on previous support and funding.

At this early stage, there are few details of how the scheme will work, but it will reportedly involve the council working with those communities on projects that are important to them, rather than a “top-down” approach.

Local authority leader Cllr Dimitri Batrouni, who announced the new scheme at a cabinet meeting on Monday, said the city council wants to show “we care” about areas of the city where residents may feel they missed out on other public spending.

Cllr Deb Davies, the local authority’s deputy leader, said “we’ve all got communities where we know there are families that struggle day-to-day”.

Cabinet members agreed to put £500,000 towards the scheme, which was developed in partnership between the ruling Labour group and the Lliswerry ward’s independents.

Following the announcement, Cllr Mark Howells, who leads the latter, said: “We’re proud the idea for the ‘no one left behind’ community fund originated with us as Lliswerry independent councillors. It’s a fund we intend to be rooted in the values of fairness and support for those most in need in our communities.

“We’re delighted to be working constructively [with the cabinet] to take it forward and ensure the funding reaches the people and communities who need it most.”

The ‘no one left behind’ scheme will be funded from a council underspend recorded in last year’s overall budget.

Cllr Batrouni said the underspend, totalling £10.6 million, was due to a late distribution of one-off central government funding for various departments, including education.

It means the council effectively has more money available this year than it anticipated when setting its new budget a few months ago.

The council leader said other projects to receive some of this unexpected funding will include road resurfacing, “big and bold” regeneration plans, promotion campaigns for the city, and the ongoing relocation of Millbrook Primary School until a replacement is ready.

Cllr James Clarke, the cabinet member for regeneration, said the extra money for his department’s work will come during “a key year” for the city and “really could make a difference for moving Newport forward”.

He urged residents to “come with us” and took a swipe at the local authority’s critics, telling colleagues: “When a council hasn’t got vision, it’s moaned about. When it has got vision, it’s moaned about.”

“We are always going to have doubters. We’ve got hope, we’ve got ambition, we’ve got the plans in place to make it happen,” he added.