Agenda and minutes

Cllr Spencer moved, and Cllr Trowbridge seconded, and it was:

RESOLVED – That Cllr Paul Snape be elected Chairman of the County Council for the ensuing year.

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

Cllr Charlotte Atkins referred to minute number 45 relating to the report of the Police, Fire and Crime Panel and asked when the information on (i) the numbers of PCSOs, Police Officers and Support Officers employed over the last three years; and (ii) information on staff absences during 2020 for both Fire and Police services and if those absence had been due to Covid-19; would be made available to Members. 

RESOLVED – That the minutes of the meeting of the County Council held on 18 March 2021 be confirmed and signed by the Chairman.

Cllr Pert moved, and Cllr Wileman seconded, and it was:-

RESOLVED – That Cllr Phil Hewitt be appointed Vice-Chairman of the County Council for the ensuing year.

There were no items of Chairman’s Correspondence on this occasion.

To receive an election return showing the names of the candidates elected and the number of seats won by each of the political parties together with the percentage of votes cast.

The Chairman presented an Election return detailing the names of candidates elected and the number of seats won by each of the political parties, together with the percentage of votes cast. Cllr Alan White and Cllr Charlotte Atkins extended their congratulations to their fellow Members on being elected to the County Council.

RESOLVED – That the Election return be received.

Report of the Chairman of the Council

The Chairman presented a report detailing those former Members of the Authority who were not re-elected at the County Council Elections on 6 May 2021.  Cllr Alan White and Cllr Charlotte Atkins paid tribute to the contributions the former Members had made to the work of the Council during their term(s) of office.  Cllr Charlotte Atkins did however express concern at the abruptness with which the Members were asked to return the IT equipment which had been provided to them by the County Council.

Cllr Philip Atkins OBE indicated that he hoped that the Council would formally recognize the contribution made by the former Members who had served three or more terms of office by awarding them Honorary Alderman status.

RESOLVED – That the former Members named below be thanked for the valuable contribution they had made to the work of the Authority during their term(s) of office:

·        Ann Beech(2013 - 2021)Audley and Chesterton (Newcastle-under-Lyme)

·        David Brookes (2016 - 2021) Uttoxeter Town (East Staffordshire)

·        Alan Dudson (2013 - 2021) Brereton and Ravenhill (Cannock Chase)

·        Dave Jones (2017 - 2021) Keele, Knutton and Silverdale (Newcastle-under-Lyme)

·        Susan Woodward (2005 - 2009 and 2013 - 2021) Burntwood North (Lichfield)

Cllr Philip White moved, and Cllr Philip Atkins OBE seconded, and it was:-

RESOLVED – That Cllr Alan White be appointed Leader of the County Council.

Cllr Alan White informed the Council that he proposed to set the number of Members of the Cabinet at nine plus the Leader of the Council.

RESOLVED – That the number of Members of the Cabinet be set at nine plus the Leader of the Council.

The Leader of the Council circulated a statement setting out his Cabinet, as follows:-

Cabinet Members (10)

•         Leader of the Council – Alan White

•         Deputy Leader and Cabinet Member for Economy and Skills – Philip White

•         Cabinet Member for Health and Care – Julia Jessel

•         Cabinet Member for Environment, Infrastructure and Climate Change – Simon Tagg

•         Cabinet Member for Commercial Matters – Mark Deaville

•         Cabinet Member for Highways and Transport – David Williams

•         Cabinet Member for Finance & Resources – Ian Parry

•         Cabinet Member for Communities and Culture – Victoria Wilson

•         Cabinet Member for Children and Young People – Mark Sutton

•         Cabinet Member for Education (and SEND) – Jonathan Price

Support Members with specific portfolios (1)

•         Cabinet Support Member for Public Health and Integrated Care – Johnny McMahon

To consider the appointment of the members to Committees on the nomination of Group Leaders.

Cllr Alan White moved, and Cllr Philip White seconded, and it was:

RESOLVED – That the Members indicated below serve on the Committees listed for the period up to the Annual Council meeting in 2022:-

Cllr Alan White moved, and Cllr Philip White seconded, the nominations for the appointment of Chairmen and Vice-Chairmen of Committees.

RESOLVED – That the under-mentioned be appointed as Chairman and Vice-Chairman of the Committees stated for the period up to the annual Council meeting in 2022:-

Cllr Alan White moved, and Cllr Philip White seconded, and it was:

RESOLVED - That the nominations of the Leader of the Council, in consultation with the Political Group Leaders, on the appointment of Members to Outside Bodies for 2021/22 be approved and that the Leader be authorised to make any changes to those appointments as may become necessary.

The Leader of the Council presented a Statement outlining his recent work since the previous meeting of the Council.

Staffordshire Means Back to Business

(Paragraph 1 of the Statement)

Cllr Smith, Cllr Flunder, Cllr Deaville and Cllr Eagland spoke about the various visitor attractions in their respective areas and the role they could play, together with the County and District/Borough Councils, in regenerating the tourism and hospitality sectors in Staffordshire.  Cllr Deaville also highlighted the support the County Council had already given to the sectors.  In response, Cllr Wilson thanked Members for their comments and indicated that she would be delighted to accept Cllr Smith’s invitation to visit Lichfield.  She also indicated that she hoped that many Staffordshire residents would choose to “staycation” this year and use their Staffordshire pound to boost the local economy.

Cllr Charlotte Atkins referred to the increase in the number of vacant shops on high streets across the County and asked that the County Council work with the district, borough and town councils to look for opportunities to find alternative uses for these premises so as to reinvigorate town centres.  In response, Cllr Philip White referred to the enormous amount of work the County Council did, along with its partners, in supporting town centres.

Cllr Edgeller requested that the County Council lends its support to the Riverway Link Scheme, which promoted the restoration of the historic river and canal waterway linking Stafford and the National Waterway Network, and indicated that the scheme, once completed, could boost the economy of the town.  She also asked Cllr Philip White, in his capacity as Cabinet Member for Economy and Skills, to promote the scheme and she also invited him, together with the Council’s Chief Executive and the Chairman of the Local Enterprise Partnership, to visit the site to see the work completed to date. In response, Cllr Philip White, indicated that he would be delighted to accept Cllr Edgeller’s invitation.

Cllr Winnington and Cllr Hussain referred to the support the Council was making available to local businesses through the Staffordshire Business Loan Fund which formed part of the Council’s response to COVID-19 economic recovery and the county’s future economic prosperity.  Cllr Hussain also spoke about the impact of the Covid pandemic on businesses in urban areas and how support needed to be targeted to help them.  In response, Cllr Philip White referred to the answer given to the written question submitted by Cllr Hussain referred to in minute number 16 below.

Cllr Winnington also referred to the forthcoming Rural Economic Strategy and enquired as to when it was likely to be published.  He also enquired as to whether the Rural Development Forum was likely to be reinstated and whether there were opportunities to develop brownfield sites in rural areas.  In response, Cllr Philip White indicated that he would be delighted to speak with Cllr Winnington on the issues he had raised and added that the Rural Economic Strategy would be developed over the remainder of the year.  ...  view the full minutes text for item 14.

Report of the County Solicitor

Members considered a report of the County Solicitor proposing changes to the Council’s Constitution.

They were informed that it was essential for good governance that local authorities regularly reviewed their Constitution. Over the past several months, work had been ongoing in reviewing the Constitution, particularly Section 11 – Officers.

Cllr Philip Atkins OBE and Cllr Winnington spoke about the need for Member involvement and appropriate scrutiny in decision making and asked that the proposals be reviewed to ensure that they were appropriate and that adequate safeguards were in place to ensure political accountability.

Cllr Charlotte Atkins referred to the proposed delegation relating to the programme of on-street charges for parking schemes and enquired whether this related only to existing schemes or also to any new schemes.

Cllr Alan White thanked Members for their comments and indicated that he would be speaking to the Council’s Chief Executive and also the Monitoring Officer about how to take forward the further development of the Council’s Scheme of Delegation.

RESOLVED – (i) That the proposed changes to the Constitution, as detailed in the report, be approved.

(ii) That it be noted that the above-mentioned changes will be reviewed in due course.

Questions to be asked by Members of the County Council of the Leader of the Council, a Cabinet Member, or a Chairman of a Committee.  The question will be answered by the relevant Member and the Member asking the question may then ask a follow up question which will also be answered

Cllr Clements asked the following question of the Cabinet Member for Health Care and Wellbeing whose reply is set out below the question:-

Question

With the growing number of military veterans struggling for support and some taking their own lives what is the county council doing to identify these people within the county and the community and what support is offered/signposted to them?

Reply

Further to Cllr Clements’ question, the Portfolio Holder has made enquiries with Senior Primary Care colleagues with respect to whether veterans are now being acknowledged as such and coded on their systems. He was advised that they are now being accounted for. This will not be universal, however we can work with our NHS Primary Care colleagues to ensure that veterans get the support they wholeheartedly deserve.

For adults who require assistance there is also a wealth of help available from our communities. People can use Staffordshire Connects to find help locally or can call Staffordshire Cares or use one of our Community Help Points to have a conversation about the sort of support they need and what might be available in their area. Anyone who requires a Care Act assessment will be offered one, by telephone initially and in person if necessary.

Supplementary Question

Can I ask that the Cabinet Member and this Council formulates a process/policy to help us better understand the needs of our veterans and that a report be brought to the appropriate Committee or to Full Council in due course?

Reply

I will discuss with my successor on the Cabinet the opportunities which we may have in the future to support our military veterans.

Cllr Charlotte Atkins asked the following question of the Cabinet Member for Environment, Infrastructure and Climate Change whose reply is set out below the question:-

Question

The introduction this year of Climate Change Action Funds for local projects was very welcome. Will such funds be allocated to Councillors in the future? Which Councillors were successful in applying for Climate Change Action Funds, how much were they allocated and how were these funds used within their Divisions? Which Councillors applied for funds but were unsuccessful in securing support for their bids? Which Councillors did not apply for funds for their Division? What was the total sum allocated to Climate Change Action projects?

Reply

The intention is that the Climate Change Action Fund will be launched again this year.

The fund was not allocated directly to Members, the financial allocation to each electoral division was a guide as to how much support was available. The fund was set up to raise awareness in the community to the climate change challenge and the need for everyone to make changes to their lifestyle and environment. Each project applicant had to seek their local councillor support before submitting their application, this gave councillors the opportunity to champion the climate change message

In financial year 2020/21 there were:

·       155 applications in total,

·       107 successful applications,

·       33 unsuccessful,

·       15 pending (had to be put  ...  view the full minutes text for item 16.

There were no petitions on this occasion.

Note by Clerk:  Cllr Eagland referred to the public opposition in respect of the planning application submitted by Cemex for a proposed cement factory on land near Alrewas.  She added that, due to the Covid-19 pandemic, she did not have a petition to present but wanted the Council to be aware of the strength of public opinion against the proposals.

Chair