The Leader will inform the Council about his work and his plans for the Council, and will give an overview of decisions taken by the Cabinet (and Portfolio Holders) since the previous meeting of the Council

The Leader of the Council presented a Statement outlining his recent work; his plans for the Council; and an overview of decisions taken by the Cabinet (and Portfolio Holders) since the previous meeting of the Council.

Joint Third Quarter Performance and Budget Monitoring Report

(Paragraph 2 of the Statement)

In response to questions from Members in relation to how the County Council was coping with reductions in the funding from Central Government, Mr. Atkins indicated that a decision had been taken to protect and invest in front line services and that, where some authorities were cutting services, the County Council was expanding some services.  An example of this was the Library Service where proposals were currently in hand to provide free Wi-Fi in a number of the County’s Libraries.  He paid tribute to the commitment shown by staff and explained that, although the County Council would become a leaner organisation over the next few years, it was hoped that this could be achieved through natural wastage rather than compulsory redundancies.  He concluded by indicating that the County Council was concentrating its resources on service delivery and securing better outcomes for the people of Staffordshire whilst, at the same time, protecting those who were the most vulnerable.

Staffordshire Transport Asset Management Plan

(Paragraph 3 of the Statement)

Mr. Chapman indicated that he welcomed the recent announcement that there was to be additional investment in highway maintenance to repair the damage caused to the county’s roads over the winter period.  He added that this announcement had raised the expectations of Parish Councils and that it was important that there was some flexibility in the maintenance programme in order to recognise the needs of rural areas.  In response, Mr. Atkins confirmed that there was to be an additional £4m investment in highway maintenance.  Mr. Marshall added that local members would in future play a vital role in identifying local priorities and that this additional investment in highway maintenance would be used to make sure that repairs were undertaken properly rather than pot holes being “patched”.

Staffordshire Passenger and Accessibility Management Plan –

Young Persons Travel Card and Concessionary Fares

(Paragraph 4 of the Statement)

Mr. Beale indicated that he welcomed the recent announcement that the County Council was to introduce a 24/7 concessionary travel scheme for the elderly/disabled and also a young person’s travel card.  Mrs. Jebb added that whilst she appreciated the introduction of the new concessionary fares scheme, it was important to ensure that rural areas were served with adequate bus services.  She added that Stoke-on-Trent City Council had recently announced its proposal to cease its subsidy of the bus service between Stoke-on-Trent and Bagnall which could result in some rural communities becoming isolated.  In response, Mr. Atkins indicated that it was important that local communities used their bus services if they wished to retain them and that the main thrust behind the concessionary travel scheme and young persons travel card was to get more people on to local bus services rather than for the County Council to subsidise such services.

In response to a question by Mr. Sweeney, Mr. Atkins indicated that the £1 per journey fare that would be available to young persons travel card holders included cross-boundary services from Staffordshire into Stoke-on-Trent and adjoining counties.

In response to a question from Mr. Jennings concerning the funding of the concessionary travel scheme, Mr. Atkins indicated that, previously, District Councils were responsible for concessionary travel arrangements but that Central Government had recently passed on this responsibility to the County Council and, at the same time, had cut the funding it made available to support such schemes.  Despite Staffordshire seeing a 16% reduction in the funding for concessionary travel, the County Council had managed to introduce a scheme which provided 24/7 travel for elderly people and for disabled people and their companions across the whole of the county.

Mrs. Maxfield enquired as to whether the scheme could be extended to include travel by train.  In response, Mr. Atkins stated that the scheme currently only covered local bus services and that many of the rail operators provided their own discount travel schemes such as Student Rail Cards etc.

Mr. Paul Atkins indicated that there was a need to look more closely at the transport needs of disabled people.  In response, the Leader of the Council stated that, by 2015, all buses will need to be equipped with drop down floors to enable easier access by disabled people.

In response to a question from Mr. Wells as to the “go live date” of the Young Persons’ Travel Card Scheme, Mr. Marshall stated that the scheme was due to commence on 1 June 2011 and that young people could register for the new travel card from 1 April 2011.

Partnerships for Care

(Paragraph 5 of the Statement)

In response to a question from Mrs. Downes concerning the capital limit for full cost contributions from service users in respect of care costs, Mr. Ellis indicated that the value of a person’s home was not taken into account when calculating the level of contribution and that the Cabinet had asked that further work be undertaken to explore the potential for raising the capital limit for full cost contributions above the current level of £25,000.  He did however add that the fact that people were living longer was placing additional pressures on the care system and that the existing contributions framework was outdated, inequitable and failed to promote independence.

Mr. Finn enquired as to how quickly a service user would be reassessed once their capital fell below the £25,000 threshold.  In response, Mr. Ellis indicated that the person could be reassessed straightaway.

In response to concern expressed by Mr. Huckfield relating to the cost of care provided by some companies in the private sector, Mr. Ellis indicated that, with the introduction of the direct payments system, service users had the choice as to from where they purchased the care services they required.  He added that it was important that where a service user was in receipt of direct payments, that individual was capable of dealing with their own finances so that they did not pay over the going rate for the care services they required.  He also indicated that the County Council was currently examining ways of trying to help people to plan for any care they may need in the future.