Agenda item

Councillor S J Conboy, Executive Leader to present on the activities of the Cambridgeshire and Peterborough Combined Authority including a summary of the activities of the Transport and Infrastructure, Skills and Employment, Environment and Sustainable Communities Committees.

Councillors M A Hassall and J Neish to provide an update on the Cambridgeshire and Peterborough Combined Authority Overview and Scrutiny Committee.

Councillor S J Corney to provide an update on the Cambridgeshire and Peterborough Combined Authority Audit and Governance Committee.

Decision summaries for recent meetings of the Cambridgeshire and Peterborough Combined Authority Overview and Scrutiny Committee, Audit and Governance Committee and Board will be circulated if available in advance of the meeting.

In accordance with the Protocol agreed at the February 2017 meeting, this item provides an opportunity for District Council Members to ask questions and comment on Cambridgeshire and Peterborough Combined Authority issues.

If Members wish to raise questions or issues requiring a detailed response, it would be helpful if they can provide prior notice so that the necessary information can be obtained in advance of the meeting.

In conjunction with the decision summaries of the recent meetings of the Cambridgeshire and Peterborough Combined Authority and a PowerPoint Presentation (copies of which are appended in the Minute Book), the Executive Leader Councillor S J Conboy presented an update on the activities of the Cambridgeshire and Peterborough Combined Authority (CPCA).

As part of the presentation, Councillor Conboy reported that:

¨  Councillor Farooq had been appointed to the Board as the new Leader of Peterborough City Council.

¨  The Board had discussed the outcome of the Code of Conduct Investigation into the Mayor of the CPCA who had had been found to been found in breach of two parts of the Code. Details of the sanctions imposed were outlined to the Council, with recommendations forming part of the CPCA Improvement Plan. 

¨  Progress on the Improvement Plan was now green, and the Board had been contacted by the Independent Improvement Board ahead of their discussions on the outcome of the Code of Conduct investigation to remind all leaders of their expectations relating to conduct and working together for the greater good.

¨  A Single Assurance Framework had now been approved by Government, as required by the Best Value Improvement Notice together with revisions to the Constitution and a new Scheme of Delegation.

¨  Work would be undertaken to develop a 20–30-year vision for the Authority, to unite and benefit all Constituent Partners.

¨  Consultation was due to start on the Combined Authority Budget for 2024/25, outlining a potential significant increase to the Mayoral precept to fund reduced bus fares for the under 25s. Further details were available on the Combined Authority Website.

¨  The Local Transport and Connectivity Plan had now been approved. All Members were encouraged to review the approved document, specifically the sections relating to Huntingdonshire. Councillor Wakeford and Davenport Ray continued to advocate for additional services within Huntingdonshire and specifically the rural communities.

¨  That the needs of those leaving care was now being recognised as a protected characteristic, which the Mayor of the Combined Authority was now recognising within all CPCA policies.

The Executive Leader then moved upon to talk about the Devolution Technical Paper of Level 4 Devolution Framework which formed part of the Autumn Statement. The Council were informed that Cambridgeshire and Peterborough Combined Authority would not be able to access this until the Best Value Improvement Notice had expired.

With the assistance of a PowerPoint slide (a copy of which is appended in the Minute Book) the Executive Leader drew attention to what was on offer to eligible authorities which fell into eight categories – Finance, Skills and Employment, Housing and Land, Transport, Net Zero, Climate Change and Natural Capital, Innovation, Trade and Investment, Culture and Tourism and Health Services. Having talked through each in turn, the Executive Leader reiterated that any future devolution deals provided a real challenge and opportunity for the District, however she emphasised the importance of this being a cross party piece of work both at District and CPCA Board level to benefit the residents of Huntingdonshire and the Combined Authority area as a whole.

In responding to a question from Councillor J Neish regarding the bus improvements which had been obtained from the increase in last year’s precept, the Executive Leader explained she would need to defer to colleagues outside of the meeting for the specific detail. However, it had proved possible to save a number of at-risk services, the District had benefited from demand responsive services and the Authority have engaged for the first time in collective conversations with authorities and a range of bus operators on a regular basis. However, she acknowledged that the real challenge facing the Authority was the need to commission services which could not be undertaken with an increase of the precept at that level. 

In responding to Councillor Neish’s further comments relating to the cumulative impact of potential increases from a number of precepting authorities, the Executive Leader explained that indications were starting to emerge as to the budgetary discussions of all precepting authorities within the District. It was a an almost impossible challenge facing all authorities to increasingly deliver services with less available resources.

At the suggestion of Councillor S Wakeford, the Executive Leader encouraged all Members within the Chamber to respond to the Mayor’s consultation on the Authority’s planned activities and spending plans. Reference was also made to the current consultation - The Road to Better Buses, which provided a mechanism and opportunity for Members to suggest potential future bus routes for consideration as part of the use of the Mayoral precept.

In response to comments from Councillor R J West regarding the outcomes achieved by the Combined Authority for Huntingdonshire residents, the Executive Leader explained that work was needed to develop a list of what Huntingdonshire wants but it was a difficult challenge to articulate the District’s ask. The Council were reminded that Huntingdonshire were benefiting from work around the market towns and other work with the District. However, it was her future aspiration to be able to ask members what they had seen across the region that benefits their communities – whether it be economic growth, transport, skills or employment etc. She was pleased to report that Board Members were increasingly beginning to realise that they could achieve more collectively than individually.

With reference to bus services in the rural areas and as a councillor in one of these areas, Councillor Gardener expressed some disappointed that he had heard very little regarding work which was ongoing in these areas. In response to which, the Executive Leader explained that Bus Working Groups had been set up comprising representatives from all political groups and that it was anticipated that these would be a mechanism for all Members to bring forward issues for attention. She also encouraged all Members to feed any individual issues through either herself or other members of the Combined Authority without waiting for invitation. Members were also encouraged to read and digest the approved Local Transport and Connectivity Plan which detailed lots of opportunity for engagement within the rural areas. 

Councillor J A Gray commented on the Code of Conduct Investigation into the Mayor of the Combined Authority and the findings that the Mayor was found to have breached the Code regarding both Civility and Disrepute. In doing so he made specific reference to some of the investigator’s findings and the sanctions imposed.

Councillor Gray then went on to seek clarification from the Executive Leader as to whether she would be supporting the 200% increase being proposed in the Mayoral precept. In response to which, the Executive Leader explained that she would need to take into consideration the results of the public consultation, together with the views of members within the Chamber who have not yet had an opportunity to discuss the matter. Whilst she did wish to see changes in public bus services, she could not see an alternative mechanism for funding this. Councillor S J Conboy went on to encourage all Group Leaders to respond to the consultation on behalf of their groups, alongside all members of the public.

With reference to the previous comments regarding bus services in rural communities, Councillor Ferguson referred to his own difficult experiences trying to justify increases in precepts in those parishes that did receive any bus services. Whilst rural bus services were not commercially viable and had to be subsidised there needed to some quid pro quo. Councillor Ferguson went on to outline his support for the precept provided that it started to deliver services for the communities that councillors represent.

With the assistance of a PowerPoint presentation (a copy of which is appended in the Minute Book) Councillor J Neish provided an update on the Cambridgeshire and Peterborough Overview and Scrutiny Committee.

In so doing, Members were informed that the Committee were being supported by officers in preparation for their scrutiny of the proposed CPCA budget for 2024/25.  As part of their workload, the Committee had been undertaking a deep dive into issues relating to Confidence, Culture and Capacity within the organisation and it was reported that whilst the situation is now more positive, staffing was still fragile mainly due to high levels of previous staff turnover.

Councillor Neish reported on the Committee’s discussions regarding the Bus Strategy and the difficulties when buses were not being effectively utilised and which had a high cost per journey. Reference was also made to the ongoing Ting Pilot and in response to which, Councillor S Wakeford reported that the Combined Authority had now been encouraged to improve the Pilot to focus specifically on journeys for rural residents not covered by scheduled bus services.

With reference to the report at the last meeting regarding the appointment of rapporteurs and in response to a question as to whether any feedback had been received from other committees, Councillor Neish reminded the Council that he was the rapporteur for transport and infrastructure and outlined his intention to gather feedback now that he had returned from his trip away.

Due to the absence of Councillor S Corney at short notice, Councillor M L Beuttell reported that she was unable to provide a report. Members were encouraged to read the full papers on the Combined Authority website.

Finally, in drawing this item to a close, the Chair reported that going forward an electronic link to decision summaries would be provided as opposed to the full decision summary document.