To receive a statement from the Leader of Council.
Minutes:
The Leader of Council made the following statement:
Since last we met, David Amess has been brutally murdered during a constituency surgery and James Brokenshire lost his battle with cancer. Our thoughts are with their families.
Our hearts also go out to our friend and colleague Gary Cowan in his time of sorrow at the sad loss of Katy, his closest friend, wife and long-time supporter of local democracy.
As the first Council Leader who declared a climate emergency, I am delighted that COP26 will this week address the most important issue facing our world. I am very proud of what we at Wokingham have achieved and will be achieving as our contribution. I hope and pray that there will be tangible outcomes in which we can participate, and which will accelerate our own ambitions.
Covid rates in Wokingham in conjunction with neighbouring Boroughs have steadily been increasing, above the national and southeast average. It seems now to be flattening off. The increasing rates have not affected hospital inpatient rates or death rates from Covid-19.
Most cases in England, Berkshire and Wokingham are in the 11- to 18-year-old group who haven’t as yet all been vaccinated.
The Delta variant is circulating widely with national restrictions advisory for face coverings, twice weekly LFT testing for those who work or above primary school age, more testing if you are a contact and isolate if you are positive.
West Berkshire, Wokingham and Reading were all affected by the apparently high rates of false negatives at the Imennsa Laboratory.
What can we do? Vaccination is the most important action to promote. Encourage anyone and everyone who is eligible to have all the vaccinations. Boosters are being offered for all those over 50 or clinically vulnerable, health and social care staff, when they reach six months post the second vaccination. If a resident is due for a vaccination and they have not heard from the GP they can either visit a walk-in site or book an appointment through the national booking site. NHS providers are arranging vaccination of their own staff with social care staff using the National Booking Service.
Young people aged 12 to 18 are being offered one dose of vaccination. These also can be booked via the national booking site. The school immunisation service is visiting all schools in turn to vaccinate 12 to 16-year-olds. There will be a significant number of children unable to attend these due to isolating at home with Covid-19. Catch up clinics are being arranged, and they can access the national booking service. This age group cannot visit a walk-in centre.
Wokingham has above national uptake rates of Covid vaccinations.
The only message is that please use face coverings where encouraged to do so and remain cautious in your contact with others.
We have been notified that we shall be subject to a Ward Boundary Review within Wokingham Borough for elections from 2024. Whilst there are options, what is clear is that our current system will have to change. All Councillors have now been briefed on the process and the Council has some work to do to agree a consensus on the way forward.
The extent to which poor financial management has crippled Slough Borough Council makes horrific reading but emphasises how robust controls and disciplines throughout our organisation are essential.
The administration cannot make spending commitments outside the MTFP without a supplementary estimate. Other Members and Officers need to be aware that any such commitments can only be recommendations to the Executive. We were assessing the budget yesterday and will not really know what it means for us for some time.
In common with many other local authorities, we are experiencing cost pressures arising from an over-heated economy and issues with the supply chain. We are experiencing the pressures most acutely within the construction industry in terms of both material costs and labour. We will also become exposed to the well-publicised increase in utility costs, in particular gas and electricity.
The Council is largely protected from the increase in energy prices for this financial year as the price of supplies has been locked-in within the terms of the contract and the sustainability of the supplier is confirmed. However, there will be a significant impact on the MTFP which we are in the process of formulating following the annual review of charges in the gas and electricity supply. We estimate the impact to be in the region of £600k. Some of our revenue income lines are becoming increasingly challenging this year as they are dependent upon income from asset construction, and I expect we will have to remove the £700k pa additional income target we initially factored in for the next year. From a broader perspective we will need to keep a close eye on general inflationary pressures across the Council, pressures already alerted by the Bank of England Monetary Committee.
We have already conducted an initial review of our Capital Programme for this year and draft proposed Capital Programme for the next three years. It currently tells us that whilst many of the current works in progress are protected by fixed price contracts, it is highly likely that those not yet tendered will see an increase when future bids are received. We have already identified additional pressures on specific capital items of up to £10 million, and this assumes that where we have general work programmes we will have to stop once the budget has been exhausted. It also assumes that we will not be facing a similar demand-led cost increase in the highways sector, which will be another area to closely watch.
It therefore remains incumbent on us to factor these pressures into our financial planning assumptions and take the necessary measures needed to balance our ever-tightening budgets. Good financial management and rigour has been a hallmark of this Council over many, many years and the coming years will provide yet another test for our capable Officers and Councillors. Regrettably well-meaning spending desires arising from committees and working groups outside of the Executive will have to be considered by Executive in this challenging financial context.
The Oaktree School is suffering a delay in the provision which will impact on pupils and the MTFP.
I am particularly sensitive about the Twyford library project as I have initiated it, negotiated it, arranged for funding and planning permission. I am not surprised by others claiming credit, however concocted, as it is a fabulous project. However, as I have been intimately involved with it, it is necessary that it has the greatest scrutiny. In the meantime, I need to point out that there is still an existing library there which has recently been refurbished.