Agenda and minutes

Apologies were received from Councillors S Adoh, D Anthony, D Blamires, N Brown, R Carington, R Gaffney, P Griffin, Mahboob Hussain JP, P Irwin, C Jackson, S James, P Kelly, R Khan BEM, S Lambert, P Martin, N Naylor, J Rush, S Raja, N Southworth, Sir Beville Stanier, M Stannard, L Sullivan, A Turner, J Wassell, S Wilson and K Wood.  Apologies were also received from Lady Howe, Lord Lieutenant of Buckinghamshire, and Dame A Limb DBE DL, the High Sheriff of Buckinghamshire.

RESOLVED –

That the Minutes of the Council meeting held on 22 February 2023 be approved as a correct record.

There were none.

The Chairman detailed events that he had attended since the last Council meeting which had included a Family Drug and Alcohol seminar, 1^st anniversary event on the invasion of Ukraine, Milton Keynes Mayor Civic Service and Awards ceremony, Bucks New University Chancellor day, High Sheriff Justice dinner, Gerrards Cross Town Civic Service, a number of citizenship ceremonies, Marlow Rugby Club concert featuring the Chiltern Music Academy, Buckinghamshire Council Annual Civic Service (High Wycombe), Aylesbury concert band, new High Sheriff of Buckinghamshire declaration of office event, a meeting with Honorary Alderman John Savage, Holi Festival (Aylesbury), Annual Scouts dinner, his Chairman’s reception at The Gateway, Aston Clinton Community Centre opening ceremony, Amersham Community Board engagement event, Aylesbury Town Council St George’s Day parade, and a British Empire Medal investiture ceremony. Mention was also made of the pin badges provided to Members that it was hoped they would wear with pride in the community.

The Vice Chairman of the Council also detailed events she had attended since the last Council meeting which included a number of citizenship ceremonies, the Chairman’s Annual Civic Service in High Wycombe, the Chairman’s reception at the Gateway, and in a private capacity the ceremony for the opening of the Aston Clinton Community Centre.

There were none.

Jason Thelwell, the Chief Fire Officer and Chief Executive of Bucks Fire and Rescue Service was in attendance to present to Members on the work of the Fire Service.  Mr Thelwell was introduced by Councillor Rouse, Chairman of the Bucks Milton Keynes Fire Authority (BMKFA), who provided some context to the presentation.  The BMKFA had set three priorities for the Fire Service over the last year, namely:

-                      To increase the whole establishment of the Service, thanks to additional funding obtained when Cllr L Clarke was Chairman of the BMKFA.

-                      To ensure that it moved to a sustainable financial footing, to enable it to invest and continue to transform the Service for the benefit of residents in Buckinghamshire and Milton Keynes.

-                      To demonstrate continued improvement in the protection and service provided to residents.  This included addresses the areas of improvement that HM Inspectorate had set out in 2021.

The following key points were highlighted during the presentation:

-                      The Vision – making Buckinghamshire and Milton Keynes the safest areas in England in which to live, work and travel.

-                      Incidents attended in Buckinghamshire (excluding co-responders) in 2022/23.

-                      Data on accidental dwelling fires per 1,000 dwellings, which was significantly below the England average.

-                      Data and information on fire related fatalities and injuries at accidental dwelling fires.

-                      Data on the Home Fire Safety Visits (HFSV) undertaken.

-                      Information on road traffic accidents attended.

-                      Information on the workforce, noting that it was the intention to have a wholetime strength of 300 staff within the next 2 months.

-                      Financial Information on the precept flexibility (which had allowed for a £5 per year increase in Council tax for a Band D property), Urban Search and Rescue team (USAR) team funding (which thanks to local MPs lobbying the Minister had seen funding agreed for the next 2 years with an additional bid made to the Treasury), on pay inflation and future issues which included that a White Paper for reform of the Fire Service was ‘imminent’, looking at the culture of the Fire Service, and on collaboration across the Thames Valley.

Thanks were expressed by Members for the hard work of the Fire Service and its staff for all that they did to protect and keep the public safe. Details of the question / answer session to the Chief Fire Officer and Councillor Rouse were as follows:

(i)                 That the increase in Council tax would raise an additional £2-3m that would help to recruit more staff.

(ii)               Details were provided of how the Fire Service had responded to austerity and a reduction in staff numbers from 2010.  Largely due to the positive approach, flexibility and different working practices adopted by staff, it had been possible to maintain the number of Fire Engines that the Service operated.

(iii)              Details were provided on apprenticeships that were offered in all departments of the Fire Service.

(iv)              That the Buckinghamshire and Milton Keynes Fire Service had one of the lowest precepts in the  ...  view the full minutes text for item 6.

Council received a report that explained that it had been expected that, on 28 February 2023, the Local Government Boundary Commission would publish its final proposals for the pattern of wards for Buckinghamshire Council.  Instead, the Commission had launched a limited further consultation on revised proposals for four wards in the south-east of the county.  These amendments were made by the Commission in response to a significant number of objections to their previous proposals in this area.  The Commission believed the revisions achieved the best balance of their criteria: community identity, acceptable electoral variance, effective local government and their wish to minimise the number of parishes that would be split across Buckinghamshire wards.

The Commission had not indicated what position it had taken on the remainder of the county.  Instead, it now intended to publish the final recommendations on all wards on 30 May. The further consultation had officially ended on 11 April but the Commission had given the Council an extension to 26 April to enable it to consider the matter.

As in previous stages, the Standards and General Purposes Committee had received recommendations from the cross-party Electoral Review Working Group formed under the Committee. Drop-in sessions for Ward members had been arranged with the Chairman and Deputy Chairman of the Working Group.  The Working Group recommended acceptance of the Commission’s proposals.  On 13 April, the Committee had agreed likewise and this was the recommendation now before Council.

Annex 1 summarised the key changes envisaged by the Commission, that were:

A.     To reverse the proposed extension of Chalfont St Peter southwards into Gerrards Cross Parish: based on “strong community-based evidence”

B.      Consequently, to reduce the number of Chalfont St Peter councillors by one: to achieve acceptable electoral variance for that ward (10%)

C.      To restore New Denham from Iver to Gerrards Cross & Denham: based on feedback that there were no “strong community or geographic links” between New Denham and Iver Parish. (The revision now aligns with this Council’s original submission)

D.     To place Hedgerley and Fulmer within Farnhams & Stoke Poges: restoring Denham wholly to Gerrards Cross & Denham would result in that ward being out of variance; however, placing Fulmer & Hedgerley within the Farnhams & Stoke Poges Ward would achieve balance for both wards but would do so by expanding the latter from two members to three.

E.      To pluralise ‘Farnham’ to demonstrate that both Farnham Royal and Farnham Common are included in the name “Farnhams & Stoke Poges”. 

These changes would result in one fewer councillor overall, 97 instead of the previously proposed 98.  The Commission had indicated, throughout the review, that the “98” number may marginally increase or decrease depending on the final balance of criteria for each Ward.

It was notable, from A-E of the proposed changes, that the revised proposals were interlocked, with a decision for one Ward having some impact on another. This demonstrated the consideration at the heart of an electoral review: achieving a balance of the relevant criteria for each ward and  ...  view the full minutes text for item 7.

Members considered the Annual reports authored by each of the 6 Chairmen of the Select Committees which reflected on the work and the outcomes achieved over the past year. The reports detailed and examined the role and the key areas of work undertaken by each of the Select Committees together with its future programmes of work. The information was provided at Appendix 1 to the Council report. The six Select Committees the Council operated were Children’s and Education, Communities and Localism, Finance and Resources, Growth, Infrastructure and Housing, Health and Adult Social Care and Transport, Environment and Climate Change. In addition to reviewing key areas of work at each of their meetings, Committees responded to consultations, questioned external partners, and held a number of inquiries and rapid reviews to help drive improvements.

Councillor M Harker OBE, Chairman of the Communities and Localism Select Committee presented the report and highlighted a number of pieces of scrutiny work undertaken over the last year:

-          The Communities and Localism SC and the Growth, Infrastructure and Housing SC held a joint meeting to look at the visitor economy.

-          The Transport, Environment and Climate Change (TECC) SC and the Communities and Localism SC both held meetings where HS2 and East West Rail were held to account.  The Communities and Localism SC had specifically looked at community engagement aspects, whilst the TECC SC continued to play a role in monitoring the projects.

-          A comprehensive budget scrutiny exercise had been undertaken in January, making 9 recommendations to Cabinet on the budget.

-          The Children’s and Education SC had undertaken a review of SEND pathways, including talking to various stakeholders.   

-          The Health and Adult Social Care SC had recently completed a review looking at the dementia journey in Buckinghamshire.

-          The review of pollution in rivers and chalk streams undertaken by the TECC SC last year had been recognised by the Centre for Governance and Scrutiny as an exemplar piece of work.  

It was also commented that the Council operated a very robust scrutiny framework holding the Executive to account and that the process at Buckinghamshire was highly regarded by other councils, and by the LGA. The Member took the opportunity to express her thanks to the Cabinet Members and officers for their time and for answering, often challenging questions regarding the scrutiny function.

RESOLVED –

That the Annual Report of the Select Committees for 2022-2023 be noted.

This Members received reports from Cabinet Members. There was an opportunity for Members to ask questions of individual Cabinet Members about matters and issues affecting their portfolios.

Leader of the Council, Councillor Martin Tett

The Leader reported that as well as the additional £5m released from General Fund Reserves for 2023/24 Highways road maintenance at the budget meeting, the Government had also now provided £2.3m for highways road maintenance.  The Leader had written to the Government to lobby for further funding for road maintenance and had also lobbied local MPs.  The Government had responded that they were in constant dialogue with the Treasury about the issue of funding for roads but there were no imminent plans to increase funding.

The Leader received comments and questions on highways road maintenance, levelling up, remuneration for teaching staff and on how the Council might generate additional income in the future.  Members were informed:

·               That it was a priority for the Council to deploy the additional £7.3m funding this year for additional highways road maintenance.

·               That the 3 main priority areas for levelling up were central Aylesbury, central Wycombe, and parts of Chesham.  This was led by the Place Based partnership that was chaired by the Chief Executive. 

·               That the money available for levelling up was as agreed at the budget meeting, although it would be important to leverage use of the funds to ensure that maximum benefits were achieved from that money.

·               That the funding for teaching assistants was entirely done through schools, many of which were now academies, and it was up to them to determine what they paid staff from the funding provided from central Government.

·               That a Member working party was being established to look at ideas for the Council to generate new income streams.

Cabinet Member for Education and Children’s Services – Councillor Anita Cranmer

The Cabinet Member received comments and questions on assisting young people, support for Head Teachers, waiting times for autism diagnoses, SEND provision, schools funding and on children’s homes. Members were informed:

·               On the ways that local Members could assist young people in their areas with issues such as employment opportunities and upskilling themselves, which would include introducing a Member shadowing scheme, a new skills programme, and ensuring that local Members were able to be a conduit between the Council and local businesses and schools.

·               That a skills / careers fair would be held at the Elgiva theatre, Chesham on 23 September.  This would not only open up opportunities for young people but also for returners to work, re-skilling people, and for early retirees who might wish to come back to work.

·               On what the Council was doing to support Head Teachers.  This included increasing the number of educational psychologists employed from 12 to 20, who were available at all times to go in and advise head teachers and teaching staff with issues such as setting up counselling and trauma groups.  The Council was also looking at what support could be provided from within local  ...  view the full minutes text for item 9.

The written responses to questions from Members, published as a supplement to the agenda, were noted.

A list of decisions taken by Cabinet Members since the last Full Council meeting on 22 February 2023 were received and noted.

Wednesday, 17 May 2023 at 4.00pm (Annual Meeting)

The next full Council meeting (Annual Council) would take place on Wednesday 17 May 2023 at 4pm.