To receive any statements by the Leader of the Council and Executive Members.
In accordance with Procedure Rule 4.2.23 the total time allocated to this item shall not exceed 20 minutes, and no Member shall speak for more than 5 minutes.
Minutes:
Councillor Prue Bray – Deputy Leader and Executive Member for Children’s Services
I am pleased to announce that the Council is in the process of setting up its own children’s homes in the Borough. This is part of our long-term plans for improving services and controlling costs in Children’s Services. There will be small homes for a total of around six children. In common with many authorities, we have found that the lack of available places for children nearby has led to us having to place children a long distance from the Borough, several hours away from their families, friends and support networks. Not only is this less than ideal for them, but having to rely on external provision is expensive and leaves us at the mercy of the providers, many of whom operate on a commercial basis.
Opening our own homes will give us an opportunity to provide a home for some of our more vulnerable children which is not only much closer, but where we can control the quality and the costs, which is a big win for everyone.
Councillor Stephen Conway – Leader of the Council
I want to report briefly to the Council on the two meetings of the Berkshire Leaders held since our annual Council meeting two months ago. The Berkshire Leaders meetings bring together the leaders of the six Berkshire Unitary Authorities together with their Chief Executives and supporting officers. The meetings take place monthly in different council offices. There has been a considerable turnover of elected Member personnel since the May elections. Only Reading has the same leader. The leaders at Wokingham, the Royal Borough, West Berkshire, Bracknell and Slough are all new.
I am pleased to report that, at the first meeting, Wokingham took the Chair for the Municipal Year, with the support of the other leaders. All the leaders agreed that the Mayoral model of devolution was not one that we favoured. We agreed that, if the Government decided to pursue a non-Mayoral option, we would be willing to consider that, subject to knowing the details and providing that it delivered clear benefits. We all felt that, regardless of progress of the Government’s devolution plans, greater cooperation between the six unitary authorities, or a combination of them, would be highly desirable on matters of common concern. Cooperation will sometimes take the form of joint lobbying, sometimes joint funding bids, sometimes simply working together on cross-border projects. The meeting was amicable, with none of the fractiousness of the past.
The second meeting, on Monday of this week, was no less amicable. The six leaders agreed to establish a Berkshire Prosperity Board as a vehicle for levering in external funding and in recognition of the end of Government funding for the Local Enterprise Partnership, next year.
David Hare – Executive Member for Health, Wellbeing and Adult Services
I want to tell you that we are on the way to purchasing the Berkshire Care Home. This 50 bed care home will be run by the Council’s own social care provider, Optalis. It is hoped that this will be concluded within the next 8 to 12 weeks, then we will have another care home. I hope that people will realise that the purchase of this care home is great news. Firstly, it is a priority that we support local vulnerable people. By running our own care homes, in partnership with Optalis, we can help to meet the demand for care as well as reducing our own costs, providing local homes for local people, ensuring that they still receive high quality care. So, we are investing to save and this is very positive, especially as the number of people needing these care homes if increasing at a fast rate.
On Monday I also attended a social care futures event in Woodley with a mix of people who use and provide services as well as parents all involved. This was about how we work with and speak with the people who use various services. The day was spent looking at the way we worked together in the past, with an “us and them” mentality and bringing this to an equality mentality where everyone, be they a service user or a service provider, is an equal partner in all transactions.
I will be honest, I find getting out of the old mentality, even though we didn’t always think of us and them, is not always easy. It is about re-learning the language, about being inclusive, talking about people rather than having discriminatory terms. It is about not having special events or courses for people with problems, but rejoicing in the gloriously ordinary that we can embrace. And making sure that for all our actions there is co-production, working with people who use the service, to provide the service they want. This is, for me, an exciting culmination of all that I have worked for over 40 years. It is something that I believe is going forwards strongly.
Paul Fishwick – Executive Member for Active Travel, Transport and Highways
Rail delivery consultation. The Rail Delivery Group are currently holding a three week consultation on the closure of railway station ticket offices. The deadline for responses is 26 July 2023. There are six stations in the Borough, or very close to the boundary where residents use these stations with ticket offices. On the South Western rail network Earley, Winnersh Triangle, Winnersh and Wokingham. On the Great Western main line Twyford and, on the North Downs line, Crowthorne.
It is important to note that each train company has produced its own proposals, so there are 13 separate consultations running simultaneously rather than one national consultation. Having people comment on specific stations or, at a train company level, helps to ensure that any views or objections expressed are recorded against the appropriate consultation.
The Council is unable to hold an Individual Executive Member Decision during this short time period. I therefore urge all Members in this Chamber to submit their views on the proposals on behalf of their residents. However, please read the proposals fully before coming to a conclusion.
Thames Valley Park and Ride Site. From Sunday 23 July, the Reading Station to Heathrow Rail Air coach will now call at the Thames Valley Park and Ride site. This will be a 30 minute service. Passengers must book their tickets on the Rail-Air website. Parking payments at the site will need to be made at the car parking machines. Also, under new arrangements with the Royal Berks Hospital, the 300 bus service will operate from the Thames Valley Park and Ride site, on a 20 minute frequency to the hospital. This service is open to staff, patients and visitors. More information is available on the My Journey Wokingham website.