Agenda and draft minutes

Apologies for absence were received from Councillors Dickinson, Dunn, Foster and Jackson.

The minutes of the Castle Morpeth Local Area Committee held on Monday 20 November 2023, as circulated, to be agreed and signed by the Chair.

The minutes of the Castle Morpeth Local Area Council held on Monday 20 November 2023, as circulated, were agreed as a true record and signed by the Chair.

To reply to any questions received from members of the public which have been submitted in writing in advance of the meeting or asked at the meeting. Questions can be asked about issues for which the Council has a responsibility. (Public question times take place on a bimonthly basis at Local Area Committee meetings: in January, March, May, July, September and November each year.)

As agreed by the County Council in February 2012, the management of local public question times is at the discretion of the chair of the committee.

Please note however that a question may possibly be rejected if it requires the disclosure of any categories of confidential or exempt information, namely information:

1. relating to any individual;
2. which is likely to reveal the identity of an individual;
3. relating to the financial or business affairs of any particular person
4. relating to any labour relations matters/negotiations;
5. restricted to legal proceedings
6. about enforcement/enacting legal orders
7. relating to the prevention, investigation of prosecution of crime.
   
   

And/or:

?      is defamatory, frivolous or offensive;

?      it is substantially the same as a question which has been put at a meeting of this or another County Council committee in the past six months;

?      the request repeats an identical or very similar question from the same person;

?      the cost of providing an answer is disproportionate;

?      it is being separately addressed through the Council's complaints process;

?      it is not about a matter for which the Council has a responsibility or which affects the county;

?      it relates to planning, licensing and/or other regulatory applications

?      it is a question that town/parish councils would normally be expected to raise through other channels.

If the Chair is of the opinion that a question is one which for whatever reason, cannot properly be asked in an area meeting, he/she will disallow it and inform the resident of his/her decision.

Copies of any written answers (without individuals' personal contact details) will be provided for members after the meeting and also be publicly available.

Democratic Services will confirm the status of the progress on any previously requested written answers and follow up any related actions requested by the Local Area Committee.

No questions had been submitted in advance and none were asked at the meeting. 

(a)    Receive any new petitions:

This item is to receive any new petitions. The lead petitioner handing in a petition at the meeting is entitled to briefly introduce their petition, and a response to any petitions received will then be organised for a future meeting.

(b)   Consider reports on petitions previously received:  No petitions received.

(c)      Receive any updates on petitions for which a report was previously   considered: any updates will be verbally reported at the meeting.

(a) Receive New Petitions – No petitions were received.

(b) Petitions Previously Received – None

(c ) Receive any updates on petitions for which a report was previously considered – There were no updates.

Representatives from Northumbria Police will be in attendance to provide updates on policing within the Castle Morpeth area and to answer questions from Members.

Sergeant L Robson and Inspector K Benson were in attendance to provide updates on policing within various localities of the Castle Morpeth area.  An update had also been circulated in advance of the meeting from Inspector W Daniels who was unable to attend which covered the areas of Lynemouth, Ellington, Stakeford and Choppington.

Sergeant L Robson advised that within the Morpeth area itself there had been an increase of 6.82% which equated to 200 more reported incidents.  This had included an increase in the number of public safety/mental health incidents however, a new scheme where the right care/right person from partner agencies would respond to incidents of this type instead of the Police was to be introduced.  There had been a 27% increase (31 incidents) of anti-social behaviour (ASB) and reports of youth disorder especially around the bus station was being dealt with and enforcement action being taken. Additional patrols from the Community Safety Officer and extra staff had been deployed in this area.  There had been a 0.5% increase in crime however this was due mainly to an increase in motor vehicle incidents and following the arrest of a person there had been no further incidents reported.  There had also been an increase in violent crime linked to domestic incidents and work was ongoing to try to reduce this type of crime.  There had been a reduction in the number of incidents related to theft and drugs.   The target for the next 12 months was to be more proactive, and more enforcement action taken in relation to youth disorder with more community engagement undertaken. 

Inspector K Benson advised that comparing the figures for the last 8 weeks with those for the last twelve months there had been within the northern part of her command which was the Belsay area 19 incidents in total with 12 linked to transport including 2 deaths and some serious injuries from accidents on the A696; 2 damage to motor vehicles and 8 road/highway offences following proactive testing and an increased police presence. There had been 5 public safety incidents, 2 reports of crime and no ASB.  The previous year there had been 12 incidents in total. Within in the Matfen and Stamfordham area there had been 32 incidents with 17 transport; 2 ASB (1 motor cycle disorder and 1 neighbour dispute) compared to 20 incidents for the previous year.   Within the Ponteland/Darras Hall area there had been 56 incidents with 43 crimes which was on par with similar sized population areas such as Hexham and Prudhoe.  There had been 38 traffic incidents and 11 incidents of ASB which was quite low with very few incidents of youth ASB.  ASB was the lowest it had been over the last 3 years and had been steadily declining since October with the peak being July/August.  The team had increased numbers of staff with new officers deployed in Ponteland and a lot of work undertaken to reduce incidents.  The priority for the next 12 months was to further  ...  view the full minutes text for item 14.

This presentation will outline the Council’s strategy to the 2024-25 Budget within the context of the Corporate Plan.   The presentation will provide details of the approach to setting the budget for the next financial year and the broad impact this will have on the delivery of services. 

Councillor Wearmouth, Deputy Leader and Cabinet Member for Corporate Services, provided a presentation on the Council’s Corporate Plan and budget for 2024-25 where the options for achieving a balanced budget were given.  (A copy of the presentation would be enclosed with the signed minutes.) He outlined the consultation process taking place between 12 December 2023 and 26 January 2024 which included presentations at all 5 of the Local Area Committees, an online questionnaire, policy conference, briefings for the political groups and individual meetings, and an online Question and Answer session by the Leader on 31 January 2024. 

The Council’s three priorities of Value for Money; Tackling Inequalities and Job Creation ran all through the proposed budget with more detailed information on proposed savings available within the Cabinet papers for the meeting on 16 January and further detail regarding initiatives and schemes would be presented at a meeting of the Corporate Services Overview and Scrutiny Committee which all Scrutiny members would be invited to.

Councils had four main sources of revenue, namely:

•       Council Tax;

•       Government grants;

•       Business Rates; and

•       Fees and charges for services

Members were advised that the Council constantly lobbied Government in relation to sustainable funding for local services.  Increased pressures on budgets were in part due to rising energy costs and prices for supplies and services along with pay inflation.  Savings would be made by reducing the cost of overheads and potential efficiencies in the way services were delivered and Members were advised there would be no cuts to front line services.  The Council’s reserves were in a healthy position and could be used where necessary to manage any transition.

The background to the Council’s finances was provided with the baseline gross budget for 2023/24 as follows:-

·       Enabling Services (Transformation) - £147.948 million - providing professional and technical services to support residents and businesses directly and enable frontline services. 

·       Adults - £235.033 million - supporting vulnerable adults to live independently; assessment and good quality care and support services; safeguarding vulnerable adults; and protecting care services.

·       Children, Young People and Education - £269.210 million - providing good quality schools (with 94% currently rated good or outstanding); SEND provision; skills opportunities and supporting families; and investing in the future.

·       Public Health, Inequalities and stronger Communities - £32.831 million- providing public health functions; Communities Together; leisure and culture; and partnerships with voluntary and community sector.

·       Place and Regeneration - £131.699 million – supporting business start-up and growth; regenerating communities; investing in towns and villages; investing in jobs and skills development and highways maintenance and improvements.

In response to a question related to not being able to rule out compulsory redundancies for staff it was commented that it would not be the intention of the Administration to use compulsory redundancies as the reduction in the number of staff could usually be managed through a natural process such as staff retiring or leaving the Authority.   Whilst it was possible that previously the budget for Adults Services had been larger  ...  view the full minutes text for item 15.

To note the latest version of agreed items for future Local Area Committee meetings (any suggestions for new agenda items will require confirmation by the Chairman of Council after the meeting).

The Chair reminded Members that anything they wished to be added to the work programme should be forwarded either to himself or L Little, Senior Democratic Services Officer.  Councillor Towns advised that there had been meetings and further developments in connection with a petition regarding the Island outside of Blossom Park, Pegswood and asked that an update be provide to a future meeting.

The Chair advised that there was to be a Local Area Chairs’ Briefing on 29 January which would be discussing the separation of the planning part of the meetings and any feedback from Members would be appreciated.

RESOLVED that the work programme be noted.

The next meeting will be held on Monday 12 February 2024 in the Council Chamber, County Hall, Morpeth immediately following the Castle Morpeth Local Area Planning Committee.  This is an additional meeting to discuss the Draft Local Transport Plan. 

An additional meeting of the Local Area Committee specifically to consider the Local Transport Plan would take place following the scheduled Planning meeting on Monday 12 February 2024.  The time would be confirmed.