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Cabinet - Thursday 7 November 2024 9.00 am

November 7, 2024 View on council website Watch video of meeting
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Summary

The meeting approved the Council Plan, Digital Strategy, Ofsted Action Plan and All Age Carers Strategy. The meeting received a Financial Monitoring report and a report on election processes from the Communities Scrutiny Committee.

Council Plan

The meeting approved the updated Council Plan 2024/25 to 2026/27.

The key priorities were to ensure that everyone in Telford and Wrekin lives well in their community and benefits from a thriving economy, that neighbourhoods are great places to live and that the natural environment is protected. It was recognised that there were some areas of significant deprivation in the Borough and that the Plan would focus on addressing those. The Council would also remain focussed on ensuring that it is a community-focussed organisation providing efficient and effective services.

We recognise that not all of our communities have benefitted equally from the progress that has been made. There are communities that face significant challenges, with some neighbourhoods experiencing nationally significant levels of social disadvantage.

Councillor TJ Nelson asked for clarification on which organisations would be considered 'key partners' in delivering the plan. He also requested that the Council avoid building houses on undeveloped land and that it instead focus on urban densification.

2024/25 Financial Monitoring Report

The meeting received the Financial Monitoring Report.

The Report set out the projected budget for the year, the spend to date and the projected outturn position for each service area. It also included a summary of income from council tax, business rates and sales ledger.

The Council projected an overspend of £4,498,000 against its net revenue budget of £157,295,840. However this would be met by earmarked contingency budgets for social care and by using a portion of the general contingency budget, leaving £1,411,000 for the rest of the year.

The main pressure on the budget was in Adult Social Care, where costs were projected to be £4,269,806 over budget, mainly driven by increased demand and by the rising costs of providing care packages. The Council has already invested £5.9 million in Adult Social Care this year.

The Dedicated Schools Grant was projected to be overspent by £6,000,000 due to budget pressures relating to High Needs provision. However this is not expected to impact on the Council's budget as statutory provisions mean that the Council is not expected to fund this deficit.

The Leader thanked the officers for their work on this, saying that:

A balanced budget had been achieved by hard work and thinking outside the box.

Councillor Nelson asked what the impact of the Government's proposed increases in national insurance would be on the Council's budget.

The Leader explained that the cost of the increase in employer National Insurance contributions would be met by central government.

All Age Carers Strategy 2024-2029

The meeting approved the All Age Carers Strategy for publication.

The Strategy aims to ensure that carers of all ages are identified, valued and supported to maintain their own health and wellbeing and to have a good quality of life.

The meeting heard that around 18,000 residents in Telford & Wrekin are unpaid carers.

Key achievements to date included the provision of admiral nurses, specialist counselling services and replacement care for carers.

A consultation on the draft strategy took place between April and July 2024, and the final document incorporated a number of amendments suggested during that consultation.

The Leader of the Opposition, Councillor Nelson, supported the work being undertaken on this and was particularly pleased to see the focus on young carers. However he queried why there were no quantifiable outcome measures set out in the action plan.

Telford & Wrekin Digital Strategy 2024

The meeting approved the Telford & Wrekin Digital Strategy 2024.

The Strategy aims to:

Create a better borough through digital innovation, providing seamless connectivity for all, encouraging more take-up of information and services online - Telford Connected

It is based around five themes: Digital Customers, Digital Care and Support, Digital Economy and Skills, Digital Place, and Digital Council.

A number of achievements of the previous Digital Strategy were highlighted, including the launch of the MyTelford app, the creation of an Independent Living Centre and the implementation of a pilot scheme to use infrared technology to detect falls amongst care home residents. The Council also worked with partners to provide digital inclusion training and devices for residents, provided grants to young people to buy devices and successfully applied for funding from the NHS Digitising Social Care programme.

Future plans include developing new digital services for customers, working with partners on a Single Health Resilience Early Warning System, supporting businesses to make better use of technology and working to achieve full 5G connectivity for the Borough.

Councillor Nelson welcomed the strategy, noting that the use of technology allowed the Council to do existing work better and smarter and possibly cheaper. He shared an anecdote about a member of his family who had used the Council's Ask Tom chatbot, mistaking it for a real person called Tom. He recommended that the Council be cautious about the use of AI and automation.

Ofsted Action Plan

The meeting noted the findings of a recent Ofsted Inspection of Children's Services which concluded that the service was 'outstanding'.

Telford and Wrekin is the only local authority in the region to have been awarded this rating. Ofsted noted that:

The impact of the stability of the strategic quartet in the leader of the council, the lead member for children, the chief executive and the director of children’s services is impressive as they work together to make sure that children are the priority across the whole council.

They only identified two areas for improvement: the management of contacts within the Family Connect service and the consistency of ensuring that 16 and 17 year-olds who present as homeless are made aware of their rights and entitlements.

An action plan to address these areas was approved.

Report of the Communities Scrutiny Committee – Review of Election Processes

The meeting approved a number of recommendations arising from the Communities Scrutiny Committee's review of election processes.

The Committee was particularly interested in examining how the recent introduction of requirements for voters to produce photographic identification had affected the Borough's elections, as well as reviewing how efficiently the count process was being managed.

They heard evidence from the Council's Returning Officer and Deputy Returning Officer, as well as from an expert witness called Mark Heath, a consultant with experience of organising and evaluating elections.

In terms of Voter ID, the Committee heard that:

In terms of the numbers of electors who were not issued a ballot paper at all, the numbers were relatively small, with 0.3% of voters who turned up at a polling station affected. This equates to 0.0004% of our total registered electors.

They noted that the national figures suggested that, nationally, the figure may be closer to 1.04%. The Committee concluded that the Council's communications campaign prior to the election had been effective, and they thanked the communications team for this.

In terms of the count process, the Committee found that the time taken to complete the count was comparable to other authorities and that the process was being well managed by the Returning Officer and his team. They noted that:

Mr Heath also explained to Members that even though the timings were similar, he would always prioritise efficiency over speed. He explained as the reason for this was that the only thing that was important was the accuracy, and thereby integrity, of the count.

They also commended the Returning Officer's commitment to continuous improvement.

The Committee recommended that:

  • Future candidates and agents attend the briefings provided by the Returning Officer prior to an election
  • Political groups take steps to ensure that their candidates attend these briefings
  • The elections team pilot staggering staff breaks at the next election
  • Where possible, at future elections, candidates be provided with an indicative count plan
  • The elections team review training requirements for staff involved in counting multi-member wards

Councillor Nelson welcomed the report, noting that the work of the officers and staff involved in the election process should be commended, and urged all elected Members to respect the process. He raised a concern with the wording of the recommendation that political groups should ensure their candidates attend briefings, as he could not compel members of his group to attend.

Attendees

Documents