Agenda item

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

 

Highways and Transport Capital Programme 2022/23 and Staffordshire Highway Infrastructure Asset Management Plan

(Paragraphs 1 and 9 of the Statement)

 

In response to questions from Cllr Pardesi and Cllr Hussain concerning the use of reserves to support highway maintenance activities, Cllr Parry stated the monies to which they referred were from a “carry forward” rather than from the Council’s reserves. 

 

Cllr Hussain also spoke about the need to lobby the Staffordshire MPs to secure more financial support for highway maintenance in the County.

 

Cllr Smith referred to the high cost of minor highway works such as re-locating a bus stop.

 

Cllr David Williams referred to the Council’s investment in highways and added that the Authority regularly lobbied the Staffordshire MPs with a view to securing additional funding for the County’s roads.  He also referred to inflationary pressures on the budget such as the increases in the cost of bitumen; and changes to the ways of working to bring about increased efficiency.

 

Cllr Alan White also referred Members to the Highways Transformation Programme and how this was already bringing tangible benefits.

 

Economic Strategy and Rural Economic Strategy - Draft for Consultation

(Paragraphs 2 and 8 of the Statement)

 

In response to a question from Cllr Charlotte Atkins concerning how the Council was ensuring that, in the short-term, the Covid pandemic did not have an adverse impact on young people’s learning, Cllr Price indicated that he shared Cllr Atkins’ concerns about the impact of the Pandemic and added that schools were working hard to ensure that young people had the skills needed by business and that, for those pupils who had missed education, appropriate support was provided to enable them to “catch-up” in key subject areas.

 

With regard to the Rural Strategy, Cllr Winnington spoke about the importance of the Council’s Digital Connectivity Strategy which included the vision for the county to achieve 100% gigabit connectivity access by 2030; and also the need for more housing for local people in rural areas.

 

Cllr Philip Atkins referred to the importance of the two strategies and also spoke about the rising cost of food production.

 

Cllr Philip White expressed his thanks to Members for their support for the two strategies and added that it was important that the Council worked with partners to secure better paid/more high skilled jobs, encourage start-up businesses and to regenerate town centres. He also encouraged people/businesses to take part in the consultation on the two strategies.

 

Cllr Alan White high-lighted some of the work the Council was doing to attract investment into the County including its attendance at the recent MIPIM real estate event in Leeds where the Council Officers, together with the Leader of the Council, had worked hard to promote Staffordshire.

 

Agreement for Mental Health Act (Section 117) Aftercare needs

(Paragraph 3 of the Statement)

 

Cllr Edgeller, Cllr Loughborough-Rudd, Cllr Northcott and Cllr Deaville expressed their support for the Cabinet’s decision for the Council to enter into an agreement with Staffordshire Clinical Commissioning Groups in relation to a new funding arrangement for provision of aftercare services.  Cllr Loughborough-Rudd did however express some concerns regarding transitional arrangements/aftercare needs.  Cllr McMahon indicated that the new arrangements would not only help those exiting the system but also those entering the system.

 

Cllr Deaville, Cllr Jessel and Cllr Alan White expressed their thanks to Cllr Edgeller for the work she was doing in her role as the Council’s Mental Health Champion. 

 

Cllr Charlotte Atkins enquired as to why, up until now, the Council had been responsible for paying the “lion’s share” of the cost of providing aftercare for people discharged from hospitals.  She also enquired as to whether, firstly, the new agreement would be affected by the abolition of CCG’s in the future; and, secondly, whether there was scope for more cost-sharing agreements with the health sector.  In response, Cllr Jessel indicated that the new arrangements were an excellent example of how the local NHS and Council were working closer together and that she hoped that this was the first of many new working arrangements with the NHS for the benefit of service users.

 

Cllr Alan White referred to the challenges around the funding of Drug and Alcohol Treatment services and also spoke about the need for people to take personal responsibility and lead healthy lifestyles.

 

Capital Programme for Schools 2022/23

(Paragraph 4 of the Statement)

 

Cllr Smith spoke about the opportunities within the capital programme for schools to improve their carbon footprint through, for example, installing solar panels ground source heat pumps.

 

In response to a question from Cllr Pardesi concerning reductions in funding for school maintenance over the years, Cllr Price indicated that the Council was continuing to target its resources to those areas where it was most needed.

 

Children’s Homes Block Contract

(Paragraph 5 of the Statement)

 

Cllr Spencer indicated that he supported the proposals for a children's home block contract for 13 beds with an option to extend for a further 26 beds as part of a joint contract led by Dudley as it was vitally important that good quality accommodation was available.  In response, Cllr Sutton thanked Cllr Spencer for his comments and indicated that the Council would like to work with more local authorities in the region on similar schemes.

 

Local Bus Concessionary Payment - Final Covid 19 Support Package

(Paragraph 6 of the Statement)

 

Cllr Greatorex welcomed the proposals for concessionary travel reimbursement to local bus operators to be maintained beyond March 2022 for a period of 6 months in line with the extension of government funding.  He did, however, refer to the need to promote local bus services to encourage more people to use them.  Cllr Cox also referred to the need to work with bus operators, parish councils and local communities to bring about improvements to bus services.

 

Cllr Charlotte Atkins spoke about the decline in bus service usage over a number of years which had been further impacted by the Covid Pandemic.  She, together with Councillor Hood and Councillor Smith, highlighted the need for more innovation and better integration of services through, for example, ring and ride services in rural areas.

 

Cllr Huckfield and Cllr Loughborough-Rudd referred to the importance of concessionary passes and how people, particularly pensioners, relied upon them to carry out daily activities such as shopping or attending health appointments.  Cllr Huckfield and Cllr Hood also highlighted the importance of local bus services to enable people to get to their place of work and to school.

 

Cllr Deaville and Cllr Parry reminded Members that the proposals for concessionary travel reimbursement to local bus operators to be maintained beyond March 2022 was a temporary measure and it was important that bus operators used this time to bring about improvements to services in order to encourage additional patronage.  Cllr Parry added that most rural counties were experiencing similar issues with bus patronage levels as was the case in Staffordshire.

 

Cllr Northcott referred to the need for bus operators to improve customer services including giving advance notice of changes to timetables.

 

Cllr David Williams thanked Members for their comments and reiterated that bus operators had been severely impacted by the Covid Pandemic.  He added that operators were now also being impacted by rising fuel prices.  Cllr Williams and Cllr Alan White indicated that the Council was working with bus operators to improve services and patronage levels but, at the end of the day, it was for the public to “use it or lose it”.

 

Staffordshire Means Back to Business

(Paragraph 7 of the Statement)

 

Members referred to the ongoing work to increase employment opportunities and highlighted a number of initiatives within their respective Divisions including the proposed expansion of Elks’ Biscuits in Uttoxeter; the “Future High Street” deals and “levelling-up” fund in various town centres across the County; and the redevelopment of the Shirehall in Stafford.

 

Cllr Pardesi indicated that some sectors were still experiencing difficulties in recruiting staff and, in response, Cllr Philip White informed Members of the proposed launch of the Staffordshire job brokerage scheme, the objective of which was to support Staffordshire residents into work through the management and delivery of free recruitment and support services to businesses; achieved through a bespoke tailored service to match and screen potential candidates.

 

Integrated Performance Report - Quarter 4, 2021/22

(Paragraph 10 of the Statement)

 

Cllr Greatorex spoke about the work of the Corporate Overview and Scrutiny Committee in monitoring the Council’s performance.  In response, Cllr Alan White extended his thanks to all Members of the Overview and Scrutiny Committee for their dedication and hard work.

 

Formal Report by the Local Government and Social Care Ombudsman

(Paragraph 11 of the Statement)

 

Cllr Hussain indicated that he welcomed the Ombudsman’s judgement in relation to the Council’s failure to fully consider a complaint about Children’s social care.  In response, Cllr Sutton indicated that the Council had taken on board the findings of the Ombudsman and had complied with his recommendations.

 

Summer Events

(Paragraph 13 of the Statement)

 

Several Members outlined some of the events and activities taking place in their Districts as part of the Queen’s Platinum Jubilee Celebrations.

 

Supporting People in Their Local Communities

(Paragraph 14 of the Statement)

 

Cllr Edgeller outlined some of the main priorities of the Council’s Health and Care Overview and Scrutiny Committee which included GP access, Ambulance waiting times, pressures within the NHS, delays in referrals for treatment and workforce recruitment.  She also referred to how the Covid pandemic had led to improved communication between Councils and the health sector.

 

Cllr Alan White expressed his thanks to Cllr Edgeller for her work as the Council’s Mental Health Champion.

 

Thousands Benefit from Extra Support

(Paragraph 15 of the Statement)

 

Cllr Tagg spoke about the support available through the Housing Support Fund to help thousands of people with their domestic bills.  In response, Cllr Sutton added that this was a continuation of the funding made available to Councils during the Covid pandemic and that, to date, around £17m had been made available to support children and families in Staffordshire.

 

Helen Riley

(Paragraph 16 of the Statement)

 

Members paid tribute to Helen Riley who was shortly to retire from her role as Deputy Chief Executive and Director for Families and Communities. They thanked Mrs Riley for her hard work and commitment during the 18 years she had served as a member of the Senior Leadership Team and, particularly, for pivotal role she had played in transforming the Children’s System in Staffordshire.

 

RESOLVED – That the Statement of the Leader of the Council be received.