QUESTIONS to be put to the Business Chair, a member of the Cabinet or the Chair of any Committee or Sub Committee, in accordance with the Constitution’s Rules of Procedure No.9.
Minutes:
Question 1 from Councillor Hill to Councillor Renner Thompson
The current consultation on school reorganisation within the Berwick partnership area is, as these things always are, complex and final decisions are simply incapable of pleasing everyone. Could I please have an assurance that this will not be used as an excuse for the Administration to row away?from the commitment to invest £40m in new school buildings for Berwick??
Councillor Renner Thompson advised that the commitment from the Administration remained a key Cabinet priority as it had with other major school projects, and the money was in the MTFP.
Councillor Hill sought assurance that £40m would be ringfenced in the next budget for the Berwick school investment programme. Councillor Renner Thompson replied that he had not seen the exact details, but confirmed that was the case.
Question 2 from Councillor Hill to Councillor Horncastle
How many fixed penalty notices have been issued in Northumberland for dog fouling over the last 12 months?
Councillor Riddle replied that eleven fixed penalty notices had been issued for breaches of the current Public Space Protection Order (PSPO). Councillor Hill asked if Councillor Riddle accepted that residents would say that this was a very low number and had the Council given up trying to tackle this problem, along with many others. Councillor Riddle replied that the Authority had not given up and he didn’t agree that the Council had become complacent. The Public Protection, Environmental Enforcement Team undertook regular patrols of "hot spot" areas, focusing on those areas where high levels of complaints had been received and continued to actively promote the Green Dog Walkers Scheme, which had led to a reduction of dog fouling complaints and improved responsible dog ownership. During covid, there had been a massive increase in dog ownership.
Councillor Horncastle commented that dog fouling was an issue across the County and there was only a very small team to deal with a vast geographical area. It would really help the wardens if they had the benefit of some local intelligence.
Question 3 from Councillor Swinbank to the Leader
It is understood that Northumberland County Council has submitted a list of potential Investment Zone sites via the North of Tyne Mayoral Authority to the Department for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities.? In the interests of transparency for all Councillors and the communities they represent, please could the Council be updated today on the details of this Expression of Interest.
The Leader responded that Investment Zones, which could boost economic growth through tax incentives and “accelerated” planning, were in the early stages of development and the Council, with the North of Tyne Combined Authority, was in early discussion with Government to inform this.
The North of Tyne Expression of Interest was focussed on two existing economic corridors which spanned all three local authority areas. The Arc of Energy Innovation focused on development sites and existing businesses where there were real opportunities to create thousands of green jobs; increase UK growth and exports; accelerate the transition to net zero; and increase energy security. For Northumberland, this included the Energy Central site. The Northumberland Line Economic Corridor would enable the reintroduction of passenger services between Ashington and Newcastle Central Station to deliver transformational change to communities and their access to jobs.
A fully up to date Local Plan and well-regarded ways of delivering major inward investments schemes through the Planning process via the Planning Performance Agreements were in place, and the Council had not submitted any proposals to streamline any environmental or community considerations in decision making.
The Government was reviewing investment zones so it was too early to say whether they would proceed or not but the Council had made its intentions clear through the two sites that if they became available, it would want to use them but with certain safeguards.
Councillor Swinbank asked if the Leader could give an absolute guarantee that planning safeguards would not be overruled in relation to investment sites. Residents expected the requirements of the Local Plan to be adhered to and the democratic process to not be overruled.
The Leader acknowledged the point being made but felt the Government needed to be given more time to decide what they wanted to do and what an investment zone would look like. The Council would make sure that its position was clear that this should not be to the detriment of the environment.
Question 4 from Councillor Murphy to the Leader
In the local press on 18th?and 19th?of October, there have been alarming reports about the perilous state of care homes in Northumberland. A local care provider has warned, "the industry is on the brink of collapse, due to the actions of NCC in recent years". This is an alarming statement, and will be causing untold anxiety to staff and residents of these homes and their families.
The care provider goes on to say Northumberland County Council has refused to meet with them, refused to provide essential information to them, and is the only Local Authority in the region to have behaved this way. They also claim to have made a formal complaint of malfeasance to the Council.
Could the Leader of the council address these claims, and reassure us our homes are safe? Could he explain to us how his administration intends to help the care home sector out of this crisis? Could he tell us the implications of NCC being found guilty of malfeasance, and what penalties may apply?
In the current political climate of chaos and instability, the last thing the people of Northumberland need is for our elderly and vulnerable residents to be made homeless.
The Leader responded that all local authorities were in a difficult position with staffing and he paid tribute to all care staff. Officers monitored the position in care homes and had seen nothing to suggest that the care home market was “on the brink of collapse.” There were serious challenges for the care service which had increased since the pandemic and the current economic difficulties. The biggest issue was the recruitment and retention of care staff particularly those staff who cared for people in their own homes. The Council had done more than many others to support care providers, including the provision of higher fees which meant that staff could be paid higher wages and the Cabinet had recently agreed to further increase the fees paid to care home providers so higher mileage rates could be paid to staff.
The origin of the stories in the media was a press release by Care North East which represented only a minority of care homes in Northumberland. Officers did discuss fees and contract terms with them whenever changes were being considered. The press release appeared to have been stimulated by a recent correspondence between Care North East and Council officers, in which officers repeated the Council’s existing published view that there was currently no need for new care home developments in the County. This was not news, only a few months ago, officers in adult social care told the Strategic Planning Committee considering a planning application for a new care home in Ashington that in their view it was not needed. He was happy that any correspondence between the Authority and this organisation could be made available to members if they wished. However, he could not make any comments on any potential claim.
Councillor Murphy asked if the Leader could give an assurance that if any member was considering placing a loved one in a care home that members could be reassured that the home would not be closed. The Leader replied that he was not in a position to do that because he didn’t know what was going to happen next in this area. However, he was meeting with key staff regularly to monitor the position and if real problems emerged, then all members would be kept informed.
Question 5 from Councillor Dale to Councillor Pattison
Following the concerns I raised at the last Full Council concerning the care service provision, please could you give this Council confidence that the Council officers are working closely with Care North East to ensure the future of care homes in Northumberland and that there is no loss in capacity available for those in need.
Councillor Dale advised that her question had already been answered.
Question 6 from Councillor Ball to Councillor Renner Thompson
As we see the last of frontline youth services delivery drift across to the community and voluntary sector, how will Northumberland County Council ensure delivery of youth services when the community and voluntary sector are under more and more financial strain as running costs increase? For clarity when I say youth services, I mean the delivery of youth clubs, diversionary activities, and the non-measurable outcomes, not the crisis point interventions that could be prevented with earlier engagement.
Councillor Renner Thompson replied a review had been commissioned in 2016 which had made a range of recommendations, one of which was the grow your own model of universal youth club and service delivery. Looking forward to today, the plan was to move the youth service staff into the family hubs which would further enhance partnership approaches to the early identification of and support to young people and their families and was a key element of the Council’s plan to address inequalities. The Authority spent more on the youth service than its neighbours and he stressed cuts were not being made. Moving youth service staff to the family hubs allowed access to government funding for those family hubs.
Councillor Ball did not consider the role of a youth worker to provide career advice but to be a role model and to make sure young people did not reach crisis point. She asked Councillor Renner Thompson if he would find some funding to reinstate front line youth services, not crisis point services, through the provision of proper youth clubs in Northumberland.
Councillor Renner Thompson replied that there had been a move away from the traditional type of provision but the Council would continue to help other organisations provide those kinds of services.
Question 7 from Councillor Ball to the Leader
We are seeing strike action in many sectors what are Northumberland County Council doing to ensure our workers do not feel the need to strike and how are we supporting them as the cost of living, and inflation hits hard?
The Leader replied that GMB, Unison and Unite Trade Unions had submitted a pay claim for 22/23 requesting an increase of a number of allowances and a pay increase of £2,000 or the current rate of RPI (whichever is greater) on all pay points. National Employers, the body responsible for pay negotiation on behalf of local authorities, responded to the claim and made a full and final one year offer of an increase of £1,925 on all NJC pay points and an increase of 4.04 per cent on all allowances from 1 April 2022. In addition, from 1 April 2023, an increase of one day to all employees’ annual leave entitlement was offered. The offer from National Employers was significantly higher than has been seen in recent years and was the highest flat-rate offer made to the public sector this year. The offer would see employees at the lower end of the pay scale receive a 10.5% increase in pay and more than three-quarters of employees would receive a 6% pay rise or more. Trade Unions balloted their members, GMB and Unison members voted to accept the offer, Unite voted to reject the offer. However, following a meeting on 1 November, the pay award had now been accepted and this was now being actioned in employees’ pay.
Firefighters had been offered a pay increase of 5% effective from 1 July 2022 by National Employers, who also negotiated pay on behalf of all Fire & Rescue Services across the UK. This offer was made following the rejection of the previous offer of 2%. National Employers were currently awaiting a response from Trade Unions.
To support employees who may be suffering financial pressure, the Council had developed a range of financial wellbeing resources, these included:
- Referral pathways to the Money Advice Network (MAN) via the Health and Wellbeing Service
- Payroll deduction scheme with Northumberland Community Bank
- Health and Wellbeing portal with signposting to free, non-profit debt advice agencies
- Access to the Psychological Wellbeing Coordinator to create a bespoke plan to support mental and physical wellbeing and undertake bespoke signposting
- A one-stop guide with details of where to find support.
Councillor Ball had concerns about some of the language being used in county hall and the cost of living and she referred to some posters which were displayed for staff in the building. The Council needed to be supporting its staff. If staff were struggling, she feared what it was like for the wider community. The email which had gone out had been really disappointing.
Question 8 from Councillor Robinson to Councillor Wearmouth
I asked about the inflationary pressures on this year’s budget about 6 months ago and was told it was something Council were aware of and were looking at how to tackle it.??We then hear the initial estimate of £17M is the figure we could well be looking at.??As the Financial officer advised using contingencies and savings already accrued, still leaves a figure of over 12M??and we have seen the advice and changes with regard to finance which has recently come out.???My question therefore this time is a bit more precise.??Are we to see any change to capital projects within the new financial ‘guidelines’ which have been issued and of course I’m thinking about the Bedlington redevelopment in particular???
Councillor Wearmouth replied that there was a lot of flux currently in the system for various reasons including what the local government settlement would be. The capital programme would be looked at as usual but there was no plan to look at the Bedlington scheme with the aim of reducing the funding.
Councillor Robinson asked if the scheme would be delivered within this financial year or would the funding in this year be used elsewhere. Councillor Wearmouth replied that the money was in the budget and there had to be a scheme which was deliverable, Councillor Ploszaj could provide an update on its progress.
Question 9 from Councillor Robinson to Councillor?Ploszaj
Given the disturbing speculation surrounding the flagship economic development at Cambois by British Volt are there any plans to ask the management to come in and explain directly to us what’s exactly happening????
The Leader replied that there were no immediate plans for this because the situation was very fluid. He couldn’t comment on where the company currently was but the Council had done everything it could to bring this development and BV had invested a significant amount of money into the site. He hoped there would be some kind of development soon.
Councillor Robinson commented that the buy back clause should provide the leverage to be included in any negotiations should the site move on to another party and hoped that it would be included in that.
Question 10 from Councillor Hunter to Councillor Horncastle
Northumberland County Council have only 3 testing stations in Northumberland which are based at the following locations:?Hexham,?Stakeford, and Alnwick to carry out all MOT's and interim tests for all taxis as well as undertaking other work. This means a taxi based in Berwick has to travel a minimum of 60 miles round trip to obtain a MOT and compliance test, however, if for any reason the Alnwick testing station has an issue and is unable to carry out tests the only other available options are approx 100- or 150-miles round trip. As Portfolio Holder, do you support Northumberland County Council only having the identified 3 locations for the taxi/compliance tests, as this is also impacting on the carbon footprint and climate change reductions?
Councillor Horncastle replied that the role of the County Council when undertaking its duties in respect of the licensing of hackney carriages and private hire vehicles was to ensure the safety of the travelling public. It was incumbent on the County Council to ensure that it had suitable arrangements in place for the inspection of vehicles. The use of NCC Testing Stations ensured that all inspections, which exceeded the MOT standard, were carried out independently and to the agreed standard. Further, by using NCC Testing Stations, the Council was able to authorise the MOT Vehicle Testers to suspend a vehicle licence if the test requirements were not met, and thereby, protect the safety of the travelling public.
In terms of the location of those Testing Stations, it was acknowledged that there was no NCC provision in Berwick, but, subject to the overall mileage, taxis and private hire vehicles were only required to attend an NCC testing station a maximum of two times per year. In many cases that would only be once.
With regard to the "carbon footprint", through the Licensing and Regulatory Committee, the Council had recently introduced new vehicle emissions standards to reduce carbon and overall emissions.
Question 11 from Councillor Hunter to Councillor Horncastle
As we all know the cost of heating our homes is going to rise over the winter, which could lead to the safe central heating systems we all use becoming too expensive to use for many families. Therefore,?some families may no option but to look at alternative cheaper ways to heat their homes, which could increase the risk home fires, and hopefully not the loss of life, as the alternative options may not be as safe to use as the certified heating systems.?Will the Northumberland Fire & Risk Service be issuing warnings about using cheaper alternative heating and how to stay safe.
We all want everybody to stay warm during the winter, however, we also, want all residents to stay safe
Councillor Horncastle replied that as part of the ongoing safety messaging and communications to our residents, NFRS would be ensuring that home safety and fire prevention messaging continued throughout the winter period, and those messages would be cognisant of the potential for people to use alternative forms of heating within their homes.
Although a thorough discussion was always held with residents by NFRS Community Safety personnel and operational staff conducting Home Safe and Well visits, the staff would also be briefed to be extra vigilant for signs that residents were not following safe practices regarding home heating. Staff would liaise with Northumberland Communities Together to ensure that where necessary, those residents would be signposted to whatever additional support may be available to them.
Councillor Hunter asked that this include information about cheap heating sources and information put on the staff Facebook page so it could be shared. Councillor Horncastle replied that NFRS had its own Facebook page and this information was included on it.
Question 12 from Councillor Dickinson to the Leader
After seeing some disturbing interviews from the Conservative Party conference can the Leader of the Council confirm that he does believe charities and hard-working families when they say they skip meals to feed their children?
The Leader replied that for the first time, the Council had tackling inequalities as one of its key priorities supported by an action plan and a budget. He referred to the leaflets which had been circulated by NCT to all members. There were now 147 warm hubs across the County and he expressed thanks to all partners helping on this. In 2021, 28% of parents said they would skip a meal for their children. In 2014 it was 20%, in 2012 it was 20%, in 2004 under Labour Government it was 46%. He would listen to anyone who needed help but he was grateful to the Cabinet and all members for supporting the work being done to tackle inequalities.
Councillor Dickinson thanked the Leader for reminding members about all of the good work done by NCT. It was unfortunate that demand for foodbanks was higher than ever. He asked if the Leader would join him in apologising for the recent remarks of a Cabinet Member. The Leader replied that he would not agree with something that The Journal had printed. He had complete commitment to the work being done by NCT and the work done to tackle inequalities.
The Business Chair suspended the meeting at 3.50pm due to disturbance by a member of the public. The meeting was reconvened at 4.25 pm.