Agenda item

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 communities (collaborative working) and was ensuring that the Council maintained efforts to support families.

·               That the Council would be working a lot more collaboratively with partners going forward to try to reduce waiting times for autism / ADHD diagnoses and had secured extra funding from partners to help deal with assessments and setting up treatments.  An assurance had also been received that more staff would be recruited.  An early help strategy would also assist in identifying issues earlier.

·               Joint Care Quality Commission and Ofsted inspection of the local area SEND provision (in Scrutiny Annual Report) – it was confirmed that the Written Statement of Action (WSOA) had been submitted.

·               On the work being done to recognise Bucks schools, teachers and everyone who worked in education in the county, which would include an inaugural School Awards held in June at Pinewood studios.  There would be 12 award categories including new teacher of the year, teacher of the year, senior leadership head, health and wellbeing award, and a community award.  Sponsorship had also been received from 12 sponsors to support the awards.  

·               That the Council was not able to provide additional monies to schools to assist for projects such as solar panels or heat pumps to help reduce energy costs.  However, the Council would continue to lobby the DFE for extra funding for schools.  Schools were also recommended to explore whether their local communities and Community Boards were able to support projects.

·               That it was particularly pleasing that two of the children’s homes set up by the Council had received an outstanding rating.

·               That support could be provided to the Buckingham Town Council when they put together their next Neighbourhood Plan. 

 

Cabinet Member for Culture and Leisure – Councillor Clive Harriss

 

The Cabinet Member received comments and questions on Little Marlow Lakes Country Park, Higginson Park, skills/training opportunities for prisoners and on the new Leisure Strategy. Members were informed:

·               That there wasn’t any particular update information to provide on the Officer Working party and the development of a viable business case for Little Marlow Lakes Country Park, although the CM would be happy to provide the Member with a written response.

·               That the Member would be provided with information on when work would start to replace the play area in Higginson Park, Marlow.

·               On what the Council was doing, primarily through the library service, to offer courses and skills training for prisoners.

·               That a report on the pitch playing strategy and the new Leisure Strategy (Cabinet report) would both come forward in the next 3 months.

 

Cabinet Member for Transport – Councillor Steve Broadbent

 

The Cabinet Member (CM) received comments and questions on a wide range of transport related issues.  Members were informed:

·               That the pothole pro (specialist) machine was now out on the network fixing potholes.

·               That the CM was aware of the pavement “disrepair” issue raised by a Member and that it had been assessed by two technicians.  All pavement repairs were made in line with the Highways Safety inspection policy which helped prioritise where the £2m annual funding for footway schemes/repairs would take place.

·               On the issues that had delayed a repair of lighting in St Marys Square, Aylesbury.  The Member was asked to contact the Cabinet Member about the gully clearing issues in Kingsbury.

·               That big improvements had been made to the ‘Fix My Street’ system including better messaging for people who had reported issues.  It was possible that the improvements work had removed some duplicate reports and Members were asked to contact the Cabinet Member if they had a particular issue.

·               On an update on the A4010, and that the Council was still waiting for DFT guidance on the scope of Local Transport Plan 5.  The work of the North West Chilterns Community Board working group on a locally inspired transport strategy for that area was welcomed and would be helpful in shaping the overall future vision.

·               Thanks were given for the work of the Council in relation to schemes to reduce traffic speeding in Rutland Avenue, Castlefield.

·               That updates and enhancements done to the ‘Fix My Street’ system would hopefully improve and making messaging more accurate, e.g. rather than stating that a job was done, it would report when temporary fixes/repairs had been done, which would later be re-visited to do a permanent repair.

·               That work on developing the Parking Strategy was ongoing. 

·               On the work of the parking enforcement teams, including that there were a number of unfilled vacancies.

·               That the Council had received Government funding for the on-street vehicle charging trial in Wendover, that would happen this year.  A complication was that channels cut into footpaths and using existing structures such as lamp posts or bollards required planning permission.  Members were encouraged to inform the team of any sites that thought suitable for on-street charging.  The Council’s EV Charging Plan was focussed on putting points into publicly available spaces rather than workplaces timescales, although employers were also encouraged to provide workplace vehicle charging for their employees.

·               On the recent closures of Eastern Street and Swan car park due to anti-social behaviour.

·               That the CM empathised with the Member about utility companies putting up too many traffic lights in some areas (vicinity of Cressex Business Park was mentioned) which then led traffic gridlock.  It was stated that one of the biggest reasons, apart from safety, for revoking permits was traffic management concerns.  The Council continued to monitor utility companies to ensure they complied with permit conditions.

·               That any assessments looking at 20 m.p.h. speed limits would be undertaken according to DFT guidelines.  If it met the guidelines, had local support, and had the necessary funding then it could proceed. The information for any application would be gathered in accordance with the Council’s policy so would not be impacted by the change of contractor from TFB to Buckinghamshire Transport.

·               That the CM shared the concerns of the Member about increased vehicle movements through Buckinghamshire due to drivers trying to avoid the expanded ULEZ zone.  The Mayor of London had failed to share any traffic modelling data of any impacts in response to requests.  The CM had written to the mayor objecting to the financial burdens that the scheme would impose on the people of Buckinghamshire and the disproportionate impact on those on lower incomes.  Independent studies had found that the scheme would have negligible impact on vehicle emissions in the Greater London area. The Leader of the Council also stated that the Council strongly opposed the introduction of the new scheme and that he had instructed Officers that the Mayor of London would not be permitted to put any of his signage on Buckinghamshire Council owned property. 

·               With an update on the Active Travel Plan for Buckingham.

·               That he would ask whether a review of the salting route for Tingewick Road was necessary due to changed circumstances.

·               That he would check for the Member on the priority of the road in Hazlemere for Civil Enforcement Officer visits.

·               With an update on EV charging in Marlow and some of the future plans for the county.

 

Deputy Leader and Cabinet Member for Health and Wellbeing – Councillor Angela Macpherson

 

The Cabinet Member received comments and questions on autism, the new CQC inspection regime and adult social care funding. Members were informed:

·               That the integrated commissioning team were undertaking work looking an all-age autism strategy, which would look at a partnership approach to working.  The CM would be mindful on how Members could be best involved to input local knowledge to this work and the strategy.

·               With an update on what the Council was doing to ensure that services were operating at a level that would comply with the new CQC assurance/inspection regime.  An all-Member briefing in July would focus on informing Members on the CQC inspection regime.

·               With an update on adult social care funding, including that it had been examined as part of the budget scrutiny process earlier in the year.

 

Cabinet Member for Planning and Regeneration – Councillor Peter Strachan

 

The Cabinet Member received comments and questions on local markets, the Buckinghamshire Local Plan, Neighbourhood Plans, Member call-ins and on 2 specific planning issues. Members were informed:

·               The CM agreed that local markets had an important role to play in the post-Covid recovery and welcomed the news on the Gerrards Cross street market starting this month and that it would meet going forward on the 2^nd Sunday of each month.

·               That the Council’s position was unchanged in using brown before green for developments.  The Council was still waiting for future housing allocations information from Government and would continue to keep Members updated.

·               With an update on the development of the Buckinghamshire Local Plan.

·               That the Council was supportive of Parish Councils developing Neighbourhood Plans, which would help to protect them from speculative planning applications.

·               That planning committee dates were place holders in the calendar of meetings, and it cost nothing to cancel a meeting if there was no business to transact.  The CM would write to the Member with information about the number of Member call-ins that had been received.

·               That if a Member wrote to him about a particular issue relating to hedgerows in Ickford that he would respond. 

·               That if a Member wrote to him with a specific issue relating to sewage and drainage provision for new developments that he would respond.

 

There were no questions for the Cabinet Member for Accessible Housing and Resources – Councillor John Chilver

 

Cabinet Member for Communities – Councillor Steve Bowles

 

The Cabinet Member received comments and questions on High Wycombe, Community Board funding, the VCSE Resilience Fund, digital food vouchers, assets of community value and on the PSPO extension for Buckingham Town Centre.  Members were informed:

·               That the right time to consider any Community Governance Review relating to the unparished area in Wycombe could be following the local Government boundary review of Buckinghamshire that was currently being undertaken and would be known by the end of May 2023.  It was stated that engagement with High Wycombe was often done through the High Wycombe Town Committee and the Community Board.

·               That it would be appropriate for a Community Board to consider a grant application from a school for a project to help reduce energy costs.

·               About the Community and Social Enterprise (VCSE) Sector Resilience Fund that could provide support and award grants to organisations suffering from increased operating costs due to cost-of-living pressures, with additional priority given to organisations aiming to reduce inequalities amongst residents living in the most disadvantaged areas of the county.

·               That if a Member wrote to him about an area in a part of High Wycombe that would benefit from the Helping Hands scheme that he would refer it to the relevant team.

·               That if a Member wrote to him about digital food vouchers, i.e. how many used/redeemed and their effectiveness, then he would respond. 

·               That if a Member wrote to him about assets of community value and the Council’s role in issues such as the sale of pubs/community shops closing in villages, then he would respond.

·               That he would be responding to Buckingham Town Council in relation to the Public Space Protection Order extension for Buckingham Town Centre.

 

Cabinet Member for Homelessness and Regulatory Services – Councillor Mark Winn

 

The Cabinet Member updated Members on the actions being taken by the Council and the Environmental Health team regarding damp and mould in private rental and housing association accommodation.  The team had dealt with 99 cases in 2021/22 which had risen to 211 cases in 2022/23.  The EH team’s plans for the forthcoming winter period would be discussed at a forthcoming Growth, Infrastructure and Housing Select Committee.  The Cabinet Member received comments and questions on a wide range of issues.  Members were informed:

·               On what the Council was doing to ensure that taxi drivers were complying with the conditions of their licences and to ensure the safety of the general public travelling with them, particularly as they transported many vulnerable people. 

·               On the provision for the homeless in the Wycombe area, and that the Bridge Court development in Bridge Road (58 temporary places) would open very soon.  An open day for Councillors to visit the development would be arranged.

·               That the mention in his CM report of French travellers simply indicated where the people had travelled from.  His report had also mentioned that the travellers had been very polite and had moved on quickly.

·               On the current draft policy relating to licensed activities such as dog breeding and boarding kennels, and riding schools, and which set out the steps the Council would be taking to ensure that these businesses were run by fit and proper persons.  Members and the public were encouraged to comment on the draft policy.

·               That it was initially planned to use both Bridge Road and Saunderton Lodge for temporary accommodation, but the Lodge would be closing at some point in the future.  A scheme had come forward for the Star Blocks, Castlefield (owned by the Red Kite Housing Association) but been found to be unaffordable.  The Council was waiting for further plans from the Housing Association.

·               That the majority of cases of damp / mould investigated by the Council related to housing association accommodation.

·               That the best way for people to report damp / mould issues to the Council was via the Environmental Health team.  The CM asked for Members to let him know of instances where people may have been referred back to their local Councillor.

·               That one of the limiting factors of Bucks Home Choice was the lack of social housing.  It was helpful if residents were as flexible as possible when offered social housing although it was appreciated this was not always possible.  An update was provided on the work being done to provide more social housing, including that a Housing Strategy would be brought forward in the Summer.

·               That the CM report had been referred more to regulating street trading in public accessible areas than to cold calling premises.

·               On the once a weekly Registrar Service visits to Buckingham (held in the library), which had had to be discontinued during the pandemic.  The Service was currently recruiting and was hopeful to reinstate the weekly visits to Buckingham later this year.

 

Deputy Leader and Cabinet Member for Environment and Climate Change – Councillor Gareth Williams

 

The Cabinet Member received comments and questions on tree planting, Bledlow Ridge HRC and on waste collections. Members were informed:

·               That 145,000 trees had been planted by the Council in the last planting season, with this being done with a variety of partners including local groups and with the Forestry Commission.  The CM also mentioned how local groups and the community could get involved to support tree planting efforts and that he was supportive of a Chalfont St Giles community orchard.

·               That the Council was committed to establishing the Wing Wood with the Forestry Commission on a 51 hectare site, that would include planting 132K trees (109K already planted), a couple of ponds, a community orchard, hazel coppicing and some latticing.

·               On the Bledlow Ridge Household Recycling Centre that had re-opened after being closed for 4 years.  The HRC was working well and being used by local Bucks residents.  Some of the biodiversity offsets built included 150 metres of hedging put in, in partnership with Chiltern Rangers. 

·               That if a Member wrote to the CM about a persistent problem with waste collections in non-standards areas that he would respond.

·               On some of the actions that the Council was undertaking to protect mature / established trees including placing a TPO on an ancient woodland that was threatened by HS2.  Mention was also made of recent action taken at Hazlemere forest.  It was explained that TPOs were the legal mechanism, subject to satisfying certain requirements, used by the Council to protect trees.