Agenda item

The following topics were raised:

Leader

The Leader referred to the recent Platinum Jubilee weekend where a hundred street parties were held in Buckinghamshire and the Council had waived the fee for temporary road closures. In addition activity packs had been sent out to schools and care homes, 60 events had been organized by libraries and a schools competition had been held for the best platinum jubilee cake which had been judged by Lorraine Kelly (ambassador for Bucks Swans) and the Chief Executive.

Reference was made to the cost of living crisis including pressures on energy prices from the Ukrainian war. The Government had announced a raft of measures to help with this. In September there would be a one-off disability cost of living payment of £150 to people claiming disability benefits like Personal Independence Payment (PIP), and pensioners would get £300. Households in council tax bands A to D should receive a £150 rebate and the Council was also supporting some households in Bands E to H who were income poor. Energy customers would also receive a £400 grant from October 2022. The government would be giving a £650 one-off payment for those households on means-tested benefits. An additional £2.4 million had also been given through the Household Support Grant which the Helping Hands Team were distributing as quickly as possible and providing support to residents.

Deputy Leader and Cabinet Member for Environment and Climate Change

The Cabinet Member apologised to residents about missed bins, issues with reporting problems with unacceptable call centre waiting times and then no follow up collections in the South of Buckinghamshire. Veolia, inherited from the previous contractors, unbalanced and long rounds that made it difficult to rectify misses and blocked roads leading to higher than expected missed bins over the last year and a half. During May 2022, the introduction of the new rounds had seen a change of bin collection day for 90% of residents.  The Council were aware that these changes would and were causing some disruption as residents and crews got used to the new arrangements. One issue was that the previous contractor had not passed on intelligence to new crews with more complicated collections such as narrow roads, blocks of flats, premises with security codes. To mitigate the forecast impacts of the round reorganisation Veolia were currently operating with 30% more drivers and loaders than business as usual, building extra resilience to support crews if required. This 30% figure includes 6 additional vehicles and crews dedicated to supporting the new rounds and collecting any outstanding work and reported missed collections. The Cabinet Member thanked staff for working so hard over the Bank Holiday weekend.

Cabinet Member for Accessible Housing and Resources

In relation to the above waste issue the Cabinet Member reported that a further six call handlers were taking Southern Waste calls in the Customer Service Centre and a further four in the Waste Team for escalated cases. However due to the high volume of calls and their complexity the wait times were in excess of what the Council expected, which was due to the failure from Veolia to rectify multiple missed misses. Senior Management and back office teams were also assisting with call taking to help address the spike in calls. The Cabinet Member for Accessible Housing and Finance reported that they had double the amount of calls each day which combined with a peak in calls regarding revenue and benefits relating to rebates and council tax bills. Further improvements would be looked at including using webchat and other technologies.

Cabinet Member for Transport

The Cabinet Member referred to the Emerald way route which formed the wider Buckinghamshire Greenway walking and cycling route from Brackley to the Colne Valley. To tie in with and commemorate the upcoming Queen’s Platinum Jubilee, the cycleway would be rebranded the Platinum Way. The proposed scheme would  provide an upgraded route along Rabans Lane, through Fairford Leys and into the Town Centre, which would be more in keeping with Aylesbury Garden Town aspirations. The proposed route would pass through Somerville Park, providing a more attractive traffic-free option to Fowler Road. In some areas, works such as dropped kerbs could be required as well as improved and additional crossings. The routing would include quieter roads and the planting of additional trees and shrubs to create a welcoming and greener route. There would be some footway widening and improved wayfinding signage as well as additional lining. The Cabinet Member thanked  Chiltern Rangers and local communities for the planting of 1000 bulbs which would be undertaken during National Tree Week in the Autumn.

Cabinet Member for Education and Children’s Services

The Cabinet reported that of 500 children in care in Buckinghamshire, 200 were in foster care with 125 carers. However, Buckinghamshire Council was always identifying opportunities to recruit more foster carers particularly since covid where some carers no longer provided foster care support.

Cabinet Member for Communities

Following the recent half term break the Council had administered 12500 vouchers to eligible pupils including Ukrainian and Afghan families. With regard to community safety Operation Sceptre had taken place to help reduce knife crime in the Thames Valley through community engagement events with amnesty bins in Aylesbury and High Wycombe. The Cabinet Member also mentioned that Heart of Bucks offered grants to help reduce crime and disorder. Credit was paid to Service Director Claire Hawkes and her team and Councillor Mark Winn for their work on settling Ukrainian families in Buckinghamshire. Community Boards were also helping settle families and some Boards (Aylesbury, Haddenham and Waddesdon, Wendover and Villages and Wing and Ivinghoe) had set up a friends and family hub on 19^th May.  The Leader reported that Buckinghamshire was the best Council in terms of matching hosts with refugees and he thanked residents for all their help and support.

Cabinet Member for Homelessness and Regulatory Services

The Cabinet Member reported that a new hostel called Bridge Court in Desborough Road, High Wycombe was now finished and comprised 58 one-bed modular apartments. The opening would take place in September/October and in the meantime staff training would take place as well as putting white goods into the apartments. The Cabinet Member also thanked Environmental Health for all their checks carried out for the settlement of Ukrainian families.

Cabinet Member for Culture and Leisure

The leisure centres were now back to full capacity since the pandemic.