The need for a fair deal for Cornwall from Westminster is on the agenda for debate when the full Cornwall Council meets this morning.
The motion, submitted by Cllr Colin Martin, calls on the Government to give Cornwall a minimum of the national average funding for all services, including education and housing.
A decision on whether the motion can be debated in full will be taken by the chairman when the meeting is held in the Council Chamber at County Hall (Lys Kernow) on Tuesday.
Also on the agenda will be the annual report from the authority’s Audit Committee, a Capital Programme update, and an opportunity for councillors to question Cabinet members on their portfolios.
You can follow the meeting via our webcast service, or through the live blog below:
9.00am: Today's meeting will start at 10.30am.
10.30am: Today's meeting is now underway and will begin with prayers
10.36am: We now move onto apologies for absence and declarations of interest.
10.37am: We now head onto the Chairman's announcements. Cllr Pauline Giles takes the opportunity to congratulate those Cornish residents who were honoured in the recent King's honours list. She also congratulates Cornwall's six new MPs, including Cllr Jayne Kirkham and Cllr Andrew George, and thanks the previous MPs for their service. She concludes by announcing her new charity for the next year will be the Cornwall Air Ambulance.
10.41am: In her Leader announcements, Cllr Linda Taylor tells the chamber: "I would also like to take this moment to congratulate our new MPs as they take up their seats in Westminster, whilst at the same time offering sincere thanks to those who served as MPs under the previous Government – for their hard work, dedication and service to Cornwall.
"Immediately after the results, myself and Lord Hutton, chair of the new Cornwall and Isles of Scilly Economic Forum, wrote to the new Prime Minister with a request and an offer of help. Our request was to establish a Minister for Cornwall who could represent this very unique part of the world at the heart of Government. Our offer was for Cornwall to be at the forefront of helping the Government to deliver its ambition to lead a ‘green industrial revolution’.
"In that letter which you have all received, we set out how Cornwall’s natural assets, our floating offshore wind and wavepower, our critical minerals, our thriving tech, space and cultural sectors could all play their part in a thriving UK economy. Our agricultural and fishing industries, second to none, could quite literally feed the UK!
"I have also taken the opportunity to also call for fairer funding for Cornwall going forwards, stating that over the long term we are confident that an empowered Cornwall, armed with the ability to realise the aforementioned opportunities, can become less dependent on funding from Westminster.
"However, in order to reach that goal and address the acute challenges faced today, we also urgently need a promise of funding to sustain growth and services for 2025/26 and thereafter a fairer funding formula that gives justified weight to population profile, sparsity, deprivation and socio-economic factors that are driving demand and cost.
"I will of course keep you updated regarding any response received."
10.45am: We now move onto public questions. The first question regards the roll out of the new waste collection service.
10.55am: The next two questions regard supporting local farmers with the transition to sustainable land use, and on a switch to a non-meat based catering service.
11.01am: The next two questions are regarding whether the council believes there is a climate emergency, and if business experts have been involved in the current review of the council's Cornwall Newquay Airport operation.
11.06am: The next item on the agenda is the Capital Programme Update. The item is introduced by the Deputy Leader Cllr David Harris, who explains that the programme is not seeing any extra money from Cornwall Council's resources, but from funding from elsewhere.
11.18am: The Capital Programme Update is approved. We now move onto the Audit Committee update.
11.31am. The update is approved. We now move onto motions, and a call for fairer funding is introduced by Cllr Colin Martin.
11.37am: Cllr Martin and his seconder, Cllr Armand Toms, outline the motion, and explain that it calls for Cornwall to receive the average funding for the country from Westminster. They say it would make a huge difference to social care, education, childrens' services and other areas for Cornwall.
11.40am: We now move onto the debate, with Cllr Michael Bunney the first to speak, saying he hopes the motion will receive unanimous support.
11.45am: Cllr Loveday Jenkin speaks, and says she has been calling for fairer funding for Cornwall for many years, and that we need funding that meets the needs of young people.
11.47am: Cllr John Conway says he will always support Cornwall wherever he can, and says it is wrong that Cornish children are deprived of the same opportunities that children in better funded areas receive.
11.57am: Cllr Loic Rich says he believes we need fairer funding to ensure we can invest in the future by supporting the younger generations.
11.59am: Cllr Linda Taylor, leader of the council, says she supports the motion and says it echoes the words she used in the letter she sent to the new Prime Minister last week. She says it will be a big step to see the motion supported unanimously.
12.01pm: Cllr David Harris, deputy leader of the council, says he has been making this point very loudly, and thanks Cllr Martin for submitting the motion.
12.05pm: Cllr Peter La Broy says the motion is not asking for more, it is just asking for fairness.
12.07pm: Cllr Stephen Barnes says he supports the motion, and that much of the problem Cornwall faces is rural deprivation.
12.08pm: Cllr Paul Wills says we are among the poorest regions of the country and that we must continue to fight for fairer funding and stop putting the burden on Cornwall's taxpayers.
12.10pm: Cllr Louis Gardner, portfolio holder for the economy, says he supports the motion, and suggests the issue needs to be tackled in a different way, talking of Cornwall's uniqueness, and highlights the extra costs faced by residents.
12.17pm: Cllr Martin Worth, portfolio holder for Customers, says his position as a cabinet member makes no difference - he would be supporting the motion wherever he was sat in the chamber.
12.25pm: Cllr Martin sums up, saying Cornwall is not asking for a hand out, but for a hand up. The vote is then passed unanimously, with 78 votes for, and none against.
12.27pm: We have now broken for lunch, and will resume with councillors questions to cabinet members.