Minutes:
County Councillor Carl Les thanked the Chairman for the invitation to attend the committee. He said that he welcomed the feedback from committee members on what was happening in their local area and the issues that are important to them and the electorate that they represent.
County Councillor Carl Les noted the apologies for County Councillor Gareth Dadd and then updated as summarised below:
· A lot is still unknown as the Covid-19 Omicron variant and the impact that it will have locally upon health, social care and businesses
· The number of infections appears to be rising steadily
· The Council and partners is continuing to monitor the situation will respond as needed. The focus will always being upon protecting the vulnerable and ensuring the continuation of front line services
· The Structural Change Order has been signed off by the Secretary of State. This then means that the County Council will be the continuing authority and that there with be 89 divisions and 90 Councils at the May 2022 County Council elections
· The County Council and the seven district and borough councils are working closely together on the development of the 13 work streams that have been identified as needed to enable the implementation of the new unitary authority. The work is overseen by the informal Implementation Board, made up of the County Council Executive and the Leaders of the district and borough councils, which is then supported by an Implementation team of officers from across all eight councils
· No significant decisions about the shape and form of the new unitary authority will be made until after the May 2022 elections
· Today is the financial settlement day. A tough settlement is expected, as it is recognised that the Government faces a large number of financial demands and pressures
· A member seminar will be held in January 2022 to go through the settlement in detail. The six Area Constituency Committees will also be reviewing the local impact of the settlement at their January 2022 meetings.
County Councillor David Chance provided an update on his portfolio, as follows:
· The Community Support Organisations (CSO) are continuing to support vulnerable people in the community during this next wave of the pandemic. This involves welfare checks, befriending and general support
· The CSOs are funded through to March 2022 but will be maintained as long as is needed
· The Household Support Fund (£3.5million) is underway and people can apply for support with household essentials. Upon application, a total of £250 per household is available with £125 in December and £125 in January
· The Department of Education Holiday Fund is also available over the Christmas holidays to support activities for school children.
County Councillor Patrick Mulligan provided an update on his portfolio, as follows:
· The new Covid-19 variant is spreading fast. The intention is to do all that is possible to keep schools open but the increase in infections will inevitably impact upon the availability of teaching staff. Fortunately, remote schooling at home is well established and could be used as needed in January 2022.
There followed a discussion, s summarised below:
· The Locality work stream is looking at the development of the role and responsibilities of the Area Constituency Committees (ACCs)
· The ACCs will have an important role to play in the new unitary authority and the views of the existing Chairs and Vice Chairs will be sought as the work develops
· The Covid-19 booster campaign has been a success to date but more local vaccination centres could be opened up.
County Councillor Carl Les noted that the Local Government Association (LGA) had recently undertaken a peer review of the County Council response to the pandemic and the Council was assessed as having done well. Whilst this was good to hear, it is important not to forget the number of deaths and severe illness that occurred in the county over the past 18 months. A report had been taken to the Executive at the meeting on 7 December 2021.
Daniel Harry said that he would circulate the link to the Executive report.
County Councillor Mike Chambers MBE summed up and thanked the Executive Members for attending and updating the committee on key issues and priorities.