Agenda and minutes

The following Member declared an interest in accordance with Standing Order 16.5:-

Decision – That the notes of the meeting held on 20 October 2021 be approved.

Oral report of the Leader of the Council

Decision – That the oral report of the Leader of the Council giving an update on a range of issues including the recent death of former County Councillor Terry Dix who was Leader of the Council between 2001 and 2007; the nation falling silent last week for Armistice Day and Remembrance Sunday to pay tribute to those who paid the ultimate sacrifice, the announcement by Government this week that Covid boosters are being extended to the over 40s; the  steady growth in demand this year for adult social care and the support the Council is giving to the care sector to tackle the difficulties being faced by home care providers in recruiting and keeping staff; the launch of a new campaign as part of national Road Safety Week showcasing Staffordshire’s road safety champions; the agreements reached at the COP26 summit together with the Council’s Climate Change Action Plan; and the official opening of the Stafford Western Access Route, delivered by the County Council with funding from developers and the Local Enterprise Partnership, be noted.

Decision – That the minutes of the meeting of the Property Sub-Committee held on 3 November 2021 be received.</AI3>

Reasons for the Decision – To consider an update from the COVID-19 Member led Local Outbreak Control Board including:

·       The number of new cases of Covid in Staffordshire remaining high, and above the England average. Cases rates were highest in school age children, although these were falling due to schools adopting proportionate measures to limit transmission of infection, the 12-15 vaccination programme, and rising natural immunity in this age group.

·       The NHS plans to accelerate booster vaccinations for over 50s and first doses for 12-15 year olds. The NHS and social care were coping at the moment but continued to experience considerable pressure from Covid and other conditions.

·       The need for residents to continue to take sensible precautions to limit the spread of infection such as good hygiene, keeping a respectful distance, and wearing face coverings in crowded indoor places; and also continuing to get a Covid test twice weekly.

·       The Council was continuing to maintain Covid defences for the remainder of 2021/22. This included testing and contact tracing, as well as managing outbreaks and supporting the most vulnerable. These would be reviewed in line with emerging Government policy

Decision – That the report be received.

Deputy Leader and Cabinet Member for Economy and Skills

Decision – That the oral report of the Deputy Leader and Cabinet Member for Economy and Skills giving an update on “Staffordshire Means Back to Business” activity including the following matters be noted:

·       The County Council was successful in its bid for Community Renewal Funding, £751,000, to support the Staffordshire Means Back to Business Programme. Working with our Districts and Boroughs, this takes the total amount available to the business community in Staffordshire to in excess of £6M to support apprenticeships, training and business start up activity.

·       Our Business and Enterprise Team, as part of the Economy, Infrastructure and Skills Directorate have been able to secure £581,800 of One Public Estates Brownfield Land Release Fund to support the demolition of the former Magistrates Court in Stafford. This site forms part of our own efforts to drive forward town centre regeneration through the Eastgate Programme.

·       Cannock Chase District Council have also been successful in their Levelling Up Fund bid and have been awarded £20M to support key regeneration schemes in their town centre. 

·       We continue to see job vacancies increase in Staffordshire, which grew by 18% between September and October equivalent to over 5,400 more job vacancies.  Through our own Staffordshire Means Back to Business we are making good progress not least now supporting nearly 240 apprenticeships.

·       The co -ordinated and quick response Redundancy and Recruitment Triage Service continues to offer free bespoke plans to any Staffordshire and Stoke business who need to restructure but also want to help their staff get into other work in growth sectors as quickly as possible.  Following the conclusion of the Governments Job Retention Scheme on the 30th September, we have seen very few redundancy notification forms for the Staffordshire area.  The few we have received mainly relate to changes in T&C’s and not potential risk of redundancy.  This is most welcome.

·       Responding to the increased job vacancies and limited redundancies, with partners, we have tweaked the name of the service from ‘Redundancy and Recruitment Triage Service’ to the ‘Stoke-on-Trent and Staffordshire Triage Service’.  This is in recognition that people don’t have to have been made redundant to contact the service which is very much about ensuring people and jobs have access to each other.

Cabinet Member for Finance and Resources

Reasons for the Decision – To consider a summary of the Council’s borrowing and investment activities during the first six months of the year.

Decision – (a) That the treasury management activities for the half-year

ended 30 September 2021 be noted.

(b) That the Prudential Indicators detailed in Appendix 2 to the report be noted and that the increase to the Upper Limit of variable rate interest exposure, as detailed in paragraph 47 of the report, be approved.

(c) That the proposed revision to the Non-Standard Investment limits, detailed in paragraphs 40-43 and Appendix 5 of the report, be noted and approved.

Decision – That the following decisions taken by Cabinet Members under delegated powers be noted:

The Forward Plan of Key Decisions for the period 15 December 2021 to 20 April 2022, which detailed the following issues, was approved:

The Chairman to move:-

“That the public be excluded from the meeting for the following items of business which involve the likely disclosure of exempt information as defined in the paragraphs of Part 1 of Schedule 12A (as amended) of Local Government Act 1972 indicated below”.

PART TWO

(All reports in this section are exempt)

Decision – That the public be excluded from the meeting for the following items of business which involve the likely disclosure of exempt information as defined in the paragraphs of Part 1 of Schedule 12A (as amended) of Local Government Act 1972 indicated below.

(Exemption paragraph 3)

Cabinet Member for Health and Care

(Exclusion paragraph 3)

Reasons for the Decision – To consider proposals for the future provision of replacement care for people with learning disabilities in Staffordshire.

Decision –That the recommendations contained in the report be agreed

(Exemption paragraph 3)

Cabinet Member for Health and Care and Cabinet Member for Environment, Infrastructure and Climate Change

(Exemption paragraph 3)

Reasons for the Decision – To consider approval of Council Grant Award Expenditure and appropriate spend for the Green Homes Grant Local Authority Delivery Scheme (GHG-LADS) Sustainable Warmth Competition.

Decision – That the recommendations contained in the report be agreed.

(Exemption paragraph 3)

Cabinet Member for Health and Care

(Exemption paragraph 3)

Reasons for the Decision – To considerproposals for the use of the NHS funding available to address winter pressures by supporting home care.

Decision – That the recommendations contained in the report be agreed.