Agenda and minutes

Apologies were received from Councillors Beverley Nielsen and David Ross.

None.

Members of the public wishing to take part should notify the Democratic Governance and Scrutiny Manager in writing or by e-mail indicating both the nature and content of their proposed participation no later than 9.00am on the working day before the meeting (in this case 17 January 2023). Further details are available on the Council’s website.  Enquiries can also be made through the telephone number/e-mail address listed in this agenda and on the website.

None.

Previously circulated.

The Minutes of the meeting held on 8 November 2022 were agreed as a correct record and signed by the Chairman.

The Panel considered the draft budget for 2023/24 for the areas within its remit relating to the Environment including Net Zero Plans, Highways, Flooding and Waste.

By way of introduction, the Chief Financial Officer made the following main points:

·       Cabinet had agreed the Council’s draft budget for 2023/24 on 5 January and a programme of public engagement would run throughout January.  Comments from the Overview and Scrutiny Panels would be reported to the Overview and Scrutiny Performance Board on 30 January.  The draft budget and comments received would be discussed by Cabinet on 2 February and the budget would be agreed at Council on 16 February.

·       The Local Government Settlement had been announced on 19 December.  It was a one-year settlement and contained net additional grant funding for the County Council of £26.3m.  The Government had also published a policy statement which suggested that core funding grants would increase by inflation in 2024/25 and a funding review was anticipated for 2025/26.

·       In response to a question from the Panel Chairman, it was confirmed that Worcestershire County Council’s settlement was average in relation to other County Councils and this was a good result for the County.

·       It was confirmed that this was the last year of the New Homes Bonus which would be replaced next year by a new ‘Housing Grant’ covering all councils.

·       It was proposed that Council Tax would be increased by 2.94%, plus a 2% Adult Social Care Levy, giving a total increase of 4.94%.

·       Pressures on the budget included inflation and latent demand in some services such as adult and children’s social care and home to school transport.  Additional borrowing would support the capital programme and public transport would be supported by the use of reserves.

·       The proposed increase in Council Tax would mean an average £1.33 increase per week for a Band D household.  The annual cost would be £266 less than the highest County Council and Worcestershire would remain in the lower quartile.

·       Representatives of the County Council would continue to lobby the Government on Fair Funding.

·       In response to a Member’s question, it was confirmed that, if the Council had proposed increasing Council tax by 4.99% (the maximum allowed by Government), this would have raised an additional £152k and meant an extra 70p per year on Council Tax bills for a Band D property.

·       The Council expected that Department for Transport grants would be received by 16 February (the date the Council would set its budget).  Lobbying had been to increase grants in line with inflation but this had not yet been confirmed by Government.

The Deputy Chief Finance Officer summarised the draft budget for areas with the remit of this Panel.  The following points were raised in the ensuing discussion:

·       Members were reminded that the figures in the Cabinet report (included at appendix 2 to the Panel’s agenda report) included areas within the remit of the Economy O&S Panel.  The total budget for areas within the remit of the Environment O&S  ...  view the full minutes text for item 28.

The Panel had requested an update on new developments and efficiencies in highway maintenance which could benefit Worcestershire residents.  Representatives of Ringway, the Council’s Highways Maintenance Contractor, attended along with the Cabinet Member with Responsibility for Highways and Transport and Senior Officers from the Economy and Infrastructure Directorate.

The Panel received a presentation from the Divisional Director, Ringway.  In the course of the presentation and the ensuing discussion, the following main points were made:

·       Representatives of Ringway had previously attended a meeting of the Economy and Environment O&S Panel in January 2020.  The presentation covered action since then and followed up on information previously requested by the Panel.

·       The Panel had previously been informed that defective repairs would be redone at the contractor’s expense.  It was agreed that confirmation of how many repairs this had applied to would be provided after the meeting.

·       It was confirmed that all asphalt repairs were carried out using AC (Asphaltic Concrete) surface course (6mm or 10mm) which had a 99% success rate.  All repairs conformed to British Standard.

·       In response to a Member’s question, it was confirmed that a new JCB machine had been trialled in the County but, although it was a useful piece of equipment, it was not felt to be right for the conditions in Worcestershire.

·       Members were told about a footway workshop that had taken place in June 2022.  The Panel was told about the benefits of micro asphalt and Ringway’s ambition to move towards self-delivery rather than bringing in a supply chain partner.  With reference to Recofoam (a recycled binder course), Ringway now used very little virgin binder course leading to a large reduction in carbon footprint.

·       The Chairman asked for figures to show how much more warm asphalt had been used compared to hot asphalt over the past three years.  It was agreed that this data would be provided after the meeting.

·       It was also agreed that figures would be provided for the past three years showing the percentage of recycled material used to allow trends to be identified.

·       Members were briefed on the use of E-Tech, a machine which ensured that the correct temperature was maintained when using warm asphalt reducing the risk of a job failing.  This was ground-breaking technology and was currently being trialled in Worcestershire.

·       The pros and cons of the different materials available for highway maintenance were discussed as outlined in the agenda papers.

·       It was agreed that details of the Highways Maintenance Service Contract KPIs and associated data would be circulated to the Panel so that trends could be identified.  It was confirmed that there was no cash reward for meeting KPIs.  Instead, the contractor had the opportunity to earn contract extensions up to a total of 6 years.  Earning extensions as the contract progressed (rather than at the end) aided forward planning for both parties.  Members were informed that there were three ‘Gateway KPIs’ which had to be met before other KPIs would be looked at.  To date the contractor  ...  view the full minutes text for item 29.

Members discussed the Panel’s work programme for 2022/23.  It was agreed that:

·       The draft Rail Investment Strategy would be removed from the work programme as it came within the remit of the Economy O&S Panel

·       Road Diversion Signs would be considered in May 2023

·       The update on Street Lighting would be considered in July 2023 and should include an update on the LED roll out

·       An update on the Councils approach to Solar Power Generation and use would be considered in July 2023

·       An update on Buses would be considered in September 2023

·       An update on the Net Zero Plan would be considered in November 2023

Members were reminded that:

·       The Children and Families O&S Panel would be considering Home to School Transport on 22 March 2023 and all Members of the Environment O&S Panel were invited to attend.

·       A pre-meeting (for Panel Members only) was held before each Panel meeting to allow preparation of lines of enquiry.  If Members were not able to attend the pre-meeting, it would be helpful if they could submit in advance any questions they would like to ask.