Agenda item

Discussion with Leader and Chief Executive

To discuss Council priorities for 2021/22 with the Leader and Chief Executive.

Minutes:

John Halsall (Council Leader) and Susan Parsonage (Chief Executive) attended the meeting to set out the Council’s key priorities over the year ahead. The aim was to identify any policies or plans being considered over the year which would benefit from pre-decision scrutiny in line with the Council’s Constitution. A similar exercise was being carried out by the other Overview and Scrutiny Committees in order to maximise the benefit that Overview and Scrutiny could add to the decision-making process.

 

John Halsall addressed the Committee and highlighted the following points:

 

Over the past year, the Council had responded well to the challenge of the Covid-19 pandemic. This had been possible due to the hard work, commitment and flexibility of Council staff. Staff returning to office settings would be considered in the context of balancing business needs with welfare needs.

 

The Council had a clear Community Vision and Corporate Delivery Plan which had been developed following consultation with the Borough’s residents. The priorities in the Vision and Delivery Plan fed through into the three year Medium Term Financial Plan.

 

The Council’s approach was innovative and tackled residents’ priorities. These included the regeneration of Wokingham town centre, plans for affordable housing, tackling traffic congestion, the Climate Emergency Action Plan and bringing forward the updated Local Plan.

 

Other priorities included bringing the Public Protection Partnership (PPP) back in house, tackling anti-social behaviour, domestic violence and fly tipping. A new Waste Strategy would be developed along with proposals to transform adult social care services and home to school transport.

 

The Council would seek to build on the improved partnership with the community and voluntary sector which had developed during the pandemic. This would include a focus on health inequalities and tackling poverty across the Borough.

 

Susan Parsonage highlighted the following points:

 

The Council would seek to build on recent positive inspections (Ofsted and ILAC) relating to Children’s Services. This included significant progress relating to the SEN Statement of Action.

 

Work would continue with partners in the Community Safety Partnership (police, health, probation and fire and rescue) to deliver the approved strategy. The reintegration of the PPP would result in an intelligence-led model which delivered value for money for the Borough’s residents.

 

The Council would deliver on the new Arts and Culture Strategy and would seek to develop a positive relationship with the business community, for example in relation to the Climate Emergency Action Plan.

 

The updated Local Plan would be delivered using a robust timetable while the new Waste Strategy would focus on waste minimisation and an updated re3 partnership.

 

The Council would also focus on improving the customer interface using improved data from the GovMetric system which would facilitate improved, more responsive services. The past year had demonstrated the innovation and flexibility of staff in delivering new services and improving existing services.

 

Challenges following the pandemic included mental health and wellbeing, complex cases (adult social care and special educational needs) and the post-Covid response to business as usual.

 

In the ensuing discussion, Members raised the following points:

 

What were the most important factors relating to the successful response to the pandemic? John Halsall highlighted the Council’s command structure, partnership working, speedy response to emerging challenges such as PPE and communication with key stakeholders, e.g. MPs, GPs, community sector partners and political groups on the Council.

 

What was the current situation relating to the reintegration of PPP? John stated that a team was in place to move the project forwards. The aim was to commence discussions with staff within the next few weeks. In the meantime, discussions were continuing with West Berkshire. The desired outcome was an improved, more responsive service for the Borough’s residents.

 

What progress was there in relation to the Council’s 2030 carbon neutral target? John stated that the Council had committed to do all it could to achieve the 2030 target. This recognised the fact that the Council could only do so much. Other actors, especially the Government, would also need to take positive steps and facilitate access to the necessary funding for Councils.

 

Was there a risk that a focus on the Council’s achievements could lead to complacency about the challenges facing the Borough, such as the rich-poor divide, health inequalities and the lack of affordable housing? John stated that the priorities and actions highlighted above demonstrated a focus on the key challenges.

 

What were the next steps in developing the anti-poverty strategy and when would it be made public? John stated that a report had been considered by the Executive in January 2021 with proposals to develop the strategy. This had set out a number of blocks of work which would focus on residents in the greatest need. As an example, the redevelopment of the Gorse Ride estate had seen the replacement of poor housing with new, high quality, energy efficient homes.

 

How was the Council addressing the negative impacts of new housing development such as the flooding of gardens with sewage after major storms which had an impact on the mental health of residents? John stated that flooding in Shinfield and Three Mile Cross was primarily a matter for Thames Water to address, but the Council could support residents by applying pressure. The Council would look at issues such as these on a “case by case” basis. The Council was aware of the increase in mental health conditions over the past year and was responding proactively.

 

What was the timeframe for developing the new Waste Strategy? Susan stated that early work was under way and was focussing on waste minimisation, cost and environmental impacts. This involved a deep dive into the re3 partnership with Reading and Bracknell. The aim was to produce the new Waste Strategy by the autumn of 2021. It was noted that the Committee would consider the emerging Waste Strategy at its meeting in September 2021.

 

How would the proposed intelligent transport system help to reduce congestion across the Borough? John stated that there were several aspects to the proposed system – increased traffic flow, communications, intelligent traffic signals and improved driver information. At the same time the Council would be seeking to adopt initiatives such as car sharing and new technologies. It would also be supporting the transition to electric vehicles through improved charging infrastructure. Investment was also ongoing into active travel through improved cycling and walking facilities.

 

In relation to improving customer interactions relating to front-line services (e.g. grass cutting, waste and roads) when would a report be submitted to the Committee to enable detailed scrutiny? Susan confirmed that the Council was beginning to collect improved data and to identify gaps in existing systems. A report would be submitted to the Committee once the improved data could be organised into a suitable form.

 

Could the Committee receive information on the implementation of the Community Safety Partnership’s strategy relating to domestic abuse and anti-social behaviour? Susan stated that she would confirm the timeframe for a report back to the Committee.

 

In relation to reducing the number of vehicles on the Borough’s roads in line with the Climate Emergency Action Plan, what progress was being made on the development of car clubs? Susan stated that she would seek clarification on this point from the Highways team.

 

Over the next three years the Council had committed £17m on tackling traffic congestion, compared to £5.8m on active travel. What modelling was used to determine expenditure on measures aimed at achieving modal shift from cars to active travel and public transport? Could this modelling data be shared with the Committee? John referred to his earlier comments on the intelligent transport system. Further information could be shared with the Committee once new policies were announced.

 

RESOLVED That:

 

1)     John Halsall and Susan Parsonage be thanked for attending the meeting to discuss future priorities and answer Member questions;

 

2)     that additional information be circulated in response to Members’ specific  questions;

 

3)     that the issues discussed at the meeting be used to inform the Committee’s work programme for 2021/22.