Agenda item

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.

 

Capital Programme for Schools 2021/2022

(Paragraph 2 of the Statement)

 

Cllr Smith indicated that he hoped that the capital programme would enable the development of further energy saving initiatives in schools to assist in addressing climate change.   Cllr Jessel added that the County Council had secured just over £3m in public sector decarbonisation scheme funding which would help schools reduce their carbon footprint and also be utilised by the County Council in working towards the targets it had set for itself.  She also added that a number of schools had submitted applications under the Council’s Climate Change Action Fund.  Cllr McMahon referred to the recent scheme which had helped to lift 500 homes out of fuel poverty and had also led to the installation of more efficient central heating boilers.  Cllr price added that the proposed new Free School in Rugeley had been designed to be completely carbon neutral.

 

Cllr Afsar enquired as to the value of Community Infrastructure Levy (CIL) and Section 106 funds allocated to each electoral division to date and what conditions needed to be met in order for those funds to be released.  In response, Cllr Price indicated that he would be happy to speak with Cllr Asfar with regard to the questions he had raised.

 

In repose to a question from Cllr Edgeller, Cllr Price explained how mental health funding for children and young people was utilised in Staffordshire.

 

Highways and Transport Capital Programme 2021/22

(Paragraph 3 of the Statement)

 

Cllr Smith referred to the causes of highway defects, including flooding, and how the County Council could work with others, such as the farming community, to help alleviate these problems.  In response, Cllr David Williams confirmed that the Council already worked closely with other organisations such as the National Farmers Union.

 

Cllr Hussain praised the work of his Divisional Highways Team and also highlighted some of the challenges they faced.  He also asked that local Members be involved in the decisions on how the County Council’s additional £5m investment in highway maintenance was to be utilised.  In response, Cllr David Williams confirmed that local Members would be involved in the decisions as to where this funding would be utilised.

 

Cllr Flunder also praised the work of his Divisional Highways Team and referred to the importance of the County Council working in partnership with local district/borough and parish councils in responding to highway issues. In response, Cllr David Williams stated that he was an advocate of three tier working and that the Council already engaged with both district/borough and parish councils.

 

Cllr Hood sought the assistance of the Cabinet Member for Highways and Transport in addressing the damage caused to roads in her Division as a consequence of their use by heavy commercial vehicles involved in the Smart Motorway works on the M6 between junctions 14 and 15.  She also enquired as to whether any compensation could be claimed by the Council from Highways England as a result of the impact of those works.  In response, Cllr David Williams confirmed that, unfortunately, the Council was unable to claim compensation.  Cllr Francis also raised concerns about the potential impact of the HS2 construction traffic on the local highway network. Cllr Alan White also referred to the impact of a number of past regional schemes on the highways infrastructure in Staffordshire.

 

Cllr Northcott referred to the shortfall in the funding needed to address highway defects across the County and asked the Cabinet Member for Highways and Transport if he would lobby Highways England and the Government with a view to them addressing this shortfall.  In response, Cllr Alan White confirmed that lobbying was taking placed and he also encouraged Members to lobby their local Member of Parliament.

 

Cllr Greatorex indicated that, in order to address possible congestion issues, there needed to be more coordination where a number of highway works were planned in the same locality at the same time.

 

Holiday Activities and Food (HAF) Programme (Department of Education)

(Paragraph 4 of the Statement)

 

Cllr Charlotte Atkins enquired as to how the “learning gap” being experienced by many children from deprived communities would be addressed.   In response, Cllr Price indicated that schools were able to access the advice provided through National Tuition programme; and that the Council was awaiting the Recovery Plan to be published later in the current school term or early in the Autumn term.  Cllr Sutton also referred to the Winter Warm project which, like the Holiday Activities and Food Programme, was not directly related to attainment in schools, but did provide support for deprived families.

 

Update from COVID-19 Member Led Local Outbreak Control Board

(Paragraph 5 of the Statement)

 

Cllr Charlotte Atkins enquired as to what was happening with regard to the Council’s bid to take over responsibility for “test and trace” within Staffordshire.  She indicated that, with the emergence of Covid-19 variants, action needed to be taken to “close the vaccine gap” between the richer and poorer nations.  In response, Cllr McMahon indicated that the United Kingdom had played a major part in developing the Covid vaccines.  He added that he believed that the UK Government would play its part in tackling the vaccine gap between the richer and poorer nations. With regard to “test and trace”, Cllr McMahon indicated that the Council had recently closed its static sites and was now operating through a series of eight pop-up vans, one in each district/borough area, offering mobile testing to local communities.  He also indicated that everybody had a role to play in fighting the pandemic by ensuring that they tested twice per week and also by self-isolating if they tested positive for the virus.

 

Cllr Hussain praised the work of the Local Outbreak Control Board and also extended his thanks to Dr Richard Harling for the support and guidance he had given to Members.  Cllr Alan White extended his thanks to Cllr Hussain for his comments and added that the Board would continue its work although it would now meet fortnightly instead of weekly.

 

Integration and Innovation: Working Together to Improve Health

and Social Care for All

(Paragraph 6 of the Statement)

 

Cllr Tagg indicated that he welcomed the White Paper as he was of the view that it would lead to improvements in working across the health sector.  Cllr Charlotte Atkins indicated that she was pleased to see the proposed end of the Clinical Commissioning Groups as they were always finance lead rather than patient lead. She did however express her concerns about the Government’s failure to set out a ten-year plan for the reform of social care and the funding thereof and enquired as to its impact on the County Council’s ability to deliver integrated care with the NHS.  In response, Cllr Alan White indicated that the County Council was continuing to lobby Central Government on the need for a long-term solution for the funding of social care.

 

Cllr Flunder referred to the All-Party Working group and the work it had been doing around collaboration and enquired about the proposals to develop Community Hubs.

 

Cllr Tagg and Cllr Huckfield also raised concern about the impact on the health of local residents arising from the sulphur dioxide emanating from Walley’s Quarry in Silverdale.  In response, Cllr McMahon indicated that he would be happy to work with local members and Leader of Newcastle-under-Lyme Borough Council to see what could be done to bring the issues at the quarry to a swift conclusion.  Cllr Alan White added that he had written to the site’s operator to raise the concerns about the impact of the landfill operations on the health of the local community and was also pressing them to take action to remedy the situation.

 

Framework Agreement for the Repair and Treatment of Flat Roofs

and Associated Works

(Paragraph 7 of the Statement)

 

Cllr Jessel asked that, as part of the Agreement, the opportunity should be taken with regard to replacing flat roofs with pitched-roofs, where this was feasible, so as to increase the roof’s longevity; and where this was not possible, to look at installing solar panels.  In response, Cllr Deaville confirmed that the Council would be looking at the opportunities for such provision, particularly on new buildings.

 

Integrated Performance Report 2020-21 - Quarter 4

(Paragraph 8 of the Statement)

 

Cllr Sutherland stated that 2020/21 had been a very challenging year and the latest revenue forecast outturn showed a saving of £1.8m (0.3%) (compared to the overspend of £0.6m (0.1%) at quarter 3) despite the financial pressures caused by the pandemic.  He added that he hoped that going forward, the Government would provide a three to five year financial settlement, rather than the current annual ones, as this would enable the Council to plan more effectively.

 

Elections

(Paragraph 9 of the Statement)

 

Cllr Hussain expressed his thanks to Mr Henderson, the Council’s Returning Officer, Deputy returning Officers and their staff, for the excellent manner in which the elections on 6 May were managed despite the additional pressures resulting from the Covid pandemic.  Cllr Alan White added that 47 of the Council’s 62 Members were also elected Members of District/Borough Councils and he expressed the view that this would bring benefits by way of closer working relationships and improved partnership working.

 

Covid-19

(Paragraph 10 of the Statement)

 

Cllr Afsar indicated that, whilst it was good news that Covid infection rates were declining and the rollout of vaccines were beginning to have a positive impact, there were still issues which needed to be addressed such as access to vaccines by those persons who were housebound and also difficulties in accessing GP services.  In response, Cllr McMahon informed the Council that, as at 12 May 2021, one million vaccinations had now given in Staffordshire and Stoke-on-Trent.  He added that arrangements were in place for those who were housebound to be vaccinated and if Cllr Afsar could pass on the details of the individual to whom he referred, those details would be passed on to the appropriate authorities. With regard to access to GP services, Cllr McMahon stated that the Council also had concerns on this matter and that appropriate representations had been made.

 

Cllr Smith paid tribute to the NHS, volunteers and others involved in the fight against the Covid-19 pandemic.  In response, Cllr Alan White indicated that he was discussing with the Council’s Chief Executive the most appropriate way of acknowledging their contribution.

 

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