Agenda and minutes

Apologies were received from Mrs J A Brunner and Mr C B Taylor.

Mrs F M Oborski declared an interest in Item 5 – Local Transport Plan 4 as she was Chairman of the Wyre Forest Local Plan Review Panel.

Members of the public wishing to take part should notify the Head of Legal and Democratic Services in writing or by e-mail indicating the nature and content of their proposed participation no later than 9.00am on the working day before the meeting (in this case 6 November 2017).  Enquiries can be made through the telephone number/e-mail address below.

None.

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The Minutes of the Meeting held on 4 October 2017 were agreed as a correct record and signed by the Chairman.

The Cabinet Member with Responsibility (CMR) for Economy and Infrastructure, the Transport, Planning and Commissioning Manager and the Transport Strategy Officer were in attendance for the discussion on the Local Transport Plan 4 (LTP4).

LTP 4 was part of the Council's Policy Framework and as such was required to be considered by Scrutiny and agreed by Council. The Plan was considered by Cabinet on 2 November 2017 and would be considered by Council at its meeting on 9 November 2017.  The Board's views would be considered as part of this discussion.

From December 2016 to March 2017, the draft LTP4 was subject to an extensive public consultation exercise.  As part of the consultation, the draft LTP4 was considered by the Economy and Environment Overview and Scrutiny Panel at its meeting on 20 January 2017 and the comments made by the Panel were fed into the process.

By way of introduction, the CMR advised the Board that he was content with the LTP4, which would run from 2018 to 2031. It was a strategic document which detailed the county's transport aspirations not all of which would necessarily be achievable.

It was felt that it was the right time to review the previous plan LTP3 as technology had moved on, funding streams had changed and to ensure that it was in sync with local plans. LTP4 focused on three main areas: travel technology, capacity enhancements and travel choice.

There had been a good response rate to the Consultation.  Every response had been considered, responded to and the responses were published in the Plan. Where appropriate, the Plan was amended to reflect the comments.

During the discussion, the main aspects of the Plan discussed by the Board were:

·       The District Council Plans and how the County Council would look at the relevant transport modifications after the Plans were agreed albeit there was an acknowledgement that there was significant overlap between the infrastructure and the delivery plans

·       The Economy and Environment Overview and Scrutiny Panel considered the Plan in January 2017 and the Panel Chairman, reported that questions raised by the Panel relating to cycling had been answered.  However, the challenge for the Council was about delivering the schemes outlined in the Plan, especially for cycling where much of the finance was reliant on external grant bids

·       The role of the A38 across the county as a "relief" road for the M5 had led to inconvenience and distress for many residents when the M5 had been closed or been operating with restrictions for a long time.  Panel members were concerned whether the Plan contained appropriate infrastructure provision in areas such as Bromsgrove to deal more appropriately with traffic from the M5.  It was also suggested that Highways England could be more proactive in the information provided to local residents about planned work and associated closures. Arising from this discussion, the Board asked the Economy and Environment Overview and Scrutiny Panel to examine the role of, and the County Council's relationship with, Highways England

·       It  ...  view the full minutes text for item 1006.

Environment and Economy Overview and Scrutiny Panel

The Chairman of the Panel advised that at its last meeting the Panel had discussed Highways Development Management Processes – Section 278 and 106 Delivering for Cycling Footways.  The review had identified that funding for this was from grants where bids had to be made.  Arising  from this the Panel would be pressing for a set budget for cycleways to be included in the Directorate's budget from 2018-19 onwards.

Crime and Disorder

The Lead Member for Crime and Disorder reported he was linking with the Health Overview and Scrutiny Committee (HOSC) and Adult Care and Wellbeing Overview and Scrutiny Panel in terms of scrutiny of the community safety budget.

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Children and Families Overview and Scrutiny Panel

The Chairman of the Panel reported that on 3 November the Panel had received a briefing on alternative delivery models for Children's Services which was open to all councillors.

The Panel was also planning to have link councillor for certain areas of Children's Services.

The Chairman of Children and Families and Adult Care and Wellbeing Overview and Scrutiny Panel had been looking into the Transition Service and had met with some young people who had previously attended special schools.  The members were reassured to hear that the young people were very happy with the service they had received.  They were now looking to speak to young people who had attended mainstream schools with specialist units to hear about their experience of the Service.

Health Overview and Scrutiny Committee (HOSC) and Adult Care and Well-Being Overview and Scrutiny Panel

The Chairman of HOSC report that the next meeting was being held jointly with Adult Care and Well-Being Overview and Scrutiny Panel since the main area of business was scrutiny of the budget.   The Overview and Scrutiny Performance Board agreed that budgets for adult services and public health should be looked at jointly, because of joint working.

Forward Plan

No comments were made.

Call-in: Proposed Engagement on Options for Future Delivery - Connect Short-Term Service and Council - Provided Day Services for Adults with a Learning Disability

The Chairman of the Board advised that a call-in in line with the rules and procedures within the Constitution had been received in respect of the Cabinet Decision taken on the 2 November in relation to 'the Proposed Engagement on Options for Future Delivery - Connect Short-Term Service and Council - Provided Day Services for Adults with a Learning Disability'.

The Call-in would be considered by the Board at its next scheduled meeting on 6 December at 10am. Meanwhile, implementation of the decision taken by Cabinet would be suspended until the outcome of the call-in process.