The Executive Leader, Councillor R B Howe to address the Council on the State of the District.
(The Chairman will invite the Leaders of the Opposition to respond to the address. A Member may speak once in the ensuing discussion).
Minutes:
In accordance with Council Procedure Rule 12, the Chairman invited the Executive Leader, Councillor R B Howe to address the Council on the State of the District. In support of his presentation, a copy of the Annual Report 2016/17 had been laid on the table together with an accompanying PowerPoint presentation (copies of which are reproduced in the Minute Book).
Councillor Howe reported upon the uncertain times that the Council had been experiencing currently, particularly with the House of Commons and the effect of Brexit on jobs, taxes, migration and the economy as a whole. He also made reference to the pervasive threat of terror with the recent terrorist attacks around the country. With this in mind Councillor Howe indicated the importance of ensuring high quality services for the residents of Huntingdonshire continuing to be provided with fair value. Attention was drawn to improvements made to the operational services of the Council, with new arrangements for grass cutting and weed management resulting in a reduction of customer requests. The round reconfiguration for refuse collection resulted in a number of persistent problems during March and April 2017 and Councillor Howe placed on record a formal apology to the residents for these issues that had resulted from these changes.
In referring to the Annual Report 2016/17 that highlighted the achievements in the previous year and outlined the strategic objectives, the Council noted the objective of sustainable growth and Councillor Howe referred to the Gross Value Added (GVA) of incomes into new businesses in Huntingdonshire was significantly less than neighbouring Cambridge, as many residents commuted to other areas for work. With this in mind Members’ attention was drawn to the importance of the Oxford to Cambridge corridor and the St Neots Market Town Masterplan, together with planned improvements to the infrastructure to support further employment opportunities in the area.
Councillor Howe reported upon the continuing problem of insufficient affordable homes, despite the acceleration of house building in the District, and indicated that the emergence of a new Housing Strategy had been developed to identify and accelerate the development of affordable homes. He was hopeful that this combined with an innovative approach to land use utilising rural exception sites and consideration of modular homes, as well as revising the Community Infrastructure Levy (CIL) rules could assist in achieving a better supply of new and affordable housing.
Members’ attention was drawn to the development of policies and priorities, whereby Councillor Howe referred to ensuring the governing of the Council was an inclusive and democratic process for all Councillors and the appointment of Councillor Ms A Dickinson as Executive Councillor for Community Resilience and Well Being would support this role through her work on the Market Town Strategy Programme and engagement of more Members in the process and referred to the forthcoming Members’ Summit that had been designed to engage Members more in shaping policy development.
Further attention was drawn to policy priorities, including the strong emphasis on upgrading the main trunk roads and strategic road and rail developments in support of economic growth. With reference to the importance of customer service throughout the Council, Councillor Howe reported that the Customer Service Centres would now not be closing until it was sure that the needs of the customer had been properly looked after. Members noted that there would be a review of the Planning Department to improve the efficiency of planning to deal with more transactions in a more efficient and productive way. Councillor Howe reminded Members of the Devolution deal and support from this authority. In so doing, he expressed his gratitude to his fellow Cabinet Members for his support during this transition period and in particular to the Managing Director, Mrs J Lancaster and her Team of Officers who had continued to deliver services despite the reduced resources, as well as the successful delivery of two impeccable elections.
In concluding his presentation, Councillor Howe outlined his objectives for the forthcoming 3 – 4 years, with a focus on stimulating economic growth, accelerating house building, maximising the use of the Combined Authority influence, providing services that meet and exceed the expectations of residents in the District and ultimately making it a great place to live, work and invest.
The Leader of the Principal Opposition, Councillor B S Chapman was invited to respond. In so doing, he indicated his support that St Neots had been identified and recognised as an area for development and also echoed the Executive Leader’s views of thanking the Officers for the quality of services provided in the face of change in direction. With this in mind Councillor Chapman reported upon the need to ensure the robustness of reserves and ensure that Council Tax levels were kept low.
In thanking Councillor Howe for his presentation, Councillor Mrs S J Conboy asked that the PowerPoint presentation be circulated to all Members. With reference to the points that had been highlighted by Councillor Howe, Councillor Mrs Conboy expressed concern regarding the time and energy that the Combined Authority agenda was taking away from this authority and, although supported the work on commercialisation of services, she was concerned at the customer expectations and the requirement for more investment. With these issues in mind Councillor Mrs Conboy questioned whether any commitment would be made to explore a business case to remove the County Council tier as well as devolving more power enabling parishes. In response to the questions raised, Councillor Howe explained the importance of the role of the Combined Authority and believed that Devolution would lead to revolution in public service. He reported that the Combined Authority had decided to establish a commission to look at the structure of local government in Cambridgeshire, with the intention of producing recommendations to rationalise and reduce costs. It was noted that Councillor Howe understood the importance of Towns and Parishes in the District and had charged Councillor Ms Dickinson with taking this forward, already through the establishment of six-monthly meetings held with all Town and Parish Councils.
Councillor P D Reeve thanked the Executive Leader for his presentation and in so doing highlighted his concerns for the level of resource required by the Combined Authority following Councillor Howe’s appointment as Deputy Mayor, as well as the powers of the Overview and Scrutiny Committee of the Combined Authority. With reference to the challenges that had been faced by the District Council, particularly with the refuse round reconfiguration, he indicated that these issues had been addressed efficiently and effectively by the Managing Director and Executive Councillor J White. He also indicated his concerns with the National Planning Policy Framework combined with making the planning system more efficient, as well as the authorisation of gypsy and traveller sites. In outlining his disappointment that the Council had not continued with the appointment of opposition Members to one of the Overview and Scrutiny Panels, he understood the reasoning and endorsed the Council’s programme of creating a leaner and more efficient authority that would be supported by the excellent Senior Officers led by Mrs Lancaster.
In response to the points raised by Councillor Reeve above, Councillor Howe explained that with the appointment of two representatives from each constituent authority on the Overview and Scrutiny Committee of the Combined Authority Members should expect to see more opportunities for engagement. In terms of his capacity with the additional workload of the Combined Authority, Councillor Howe indicated that he had been challenged by it but had delegated much of his work to his Deputy and other Cabinet Members and continued to refine how this would work going forward.
With reference to the Executive Leaders address on the GVA, Councillor M F Shellens questioned whether any consideration had been given to the implications of Brexit and its impact on the potential reduction of Eastern European workforce and the availability of skilled labour in area. In response Councillor Howe explained that the Combined Authority would be undertaking a review of the implications of Brexit over the next six months with the intention of ensuring that funding would be retained in Cambridgeshire to address such issues.
Councillor D A Giles outlined his support for the presentation, in particular the references and vision for St Neots, with house building, Enterprise Zone, Oxford to Cambridge corridor as well as supporting working with Town and Parish Councils in the area.
In concluding, Councillor J D Ablewhite endorsed the comments of the Executive Leader and congratulated the leadership as well as support for Mrs Lancaster. He echoed the support for a continual drive to protect services for residents working on a stable financial platform.
Actions:30 Minutes.