Agenda item

QUESTIONS FROM MEMBERS OF THE PUBLIC NO. 1

 

Under Procedure Rule No 10. Mr Huw Loxton, of Tamworth will ask the Leader Of the Council, Councillor J Oates, the following question (in his absence the Chief Executive read the question out):-

 

In July 2020 the Audit and Governance Committee decided to proceed with the process to appoint up to two independent members to the said committee.

 

Could you please provide an update of what steps have been taken since then to appoint said independent members, what is currently being done, and the timescale for when those appointments will be made?

 

Councillor J Oates gave the following reply –

 

This question relates to the decisions of Audit and Governance committee which operates independently of the cabinet and so decision and process of recruitment of independent members sits with that committee. I will make the request of the chairman of that committee to write to Mr Loxton with an answer.

 

 

 

 

QUESTIONS FROM MEMBERS OF THE COUNCIL NO. 1

 

Under Procedure Rule No 11, Councillor Dr. Simon Peaple will ask the leader of the Council, Councillor Jeremy Oates, the following question:-

 

“As the GBSLEP’s latest report shows that unemployment in Tamworth is the highest amongst Staffordshire districts and rising; what is Tamworth Borough Council going to do to assist local people to find work.”

 

Councillor J Oates gave the following reply-

 

Whilst  the report you refer to was accurate at the time the latest updated figures show unemployment is falling. Unemployment and universal credit claimant rates in Tamworth are dropping, with both being below West Midlands and Great Britain averages. Based on experience from the previous challenges. Tamworth traditionally has high levels of unemployment initially but recovers quickly. Indications seem to show this is the case currently, with Tamworth having the third best improvement in uc claimant numbers in Staffordshire based on October 2021 figures.

 

Unemployment: Tamworth currently estimated to be around 4.0% of economically active, WM 5.4%; GB 5.0%

 

Universal credit: Tamworth currently 4.5%, WM 5.9%, GB 4.8%

Dropped from 6% in October 2020 – approx. 700 people difference.

 

With regards assisting local people to find work, the Borough currently plays a significant coordinating role in ensuring partners with responsibility for this area of work are connected, in particular Job Centre plus; Employment Skills Board – both LEPs; agencies directly contracted with the Department of Work and Pensions.

 

Funded by the GBSLEP until end of March 2022 Tamworth Borough Council provide an officer to support the operation of the Southern Staffordshire Employment & Skills Board. This board comprises leading individuals from business, local authorities, education and training providers with a purpose of identifying skills and employment opportunities, ultimately aiming to reduce unemployment within our area.

 

The board joins up the relationships between employers, schools, colleges and all stakeholders involved in skills and employment throughout our area.

 

Playing a central role in this board, allows TBC to directly identify opportunities, connect opportunities for jobs and training to local businesses, build key relationships with stakeholders and get intelligence on local activity and employment trends.

 

The officer leading this project regularly passes on and promotes relevant employment / training opportunities to partners and businesses that lead to employment. They also attend the local Employment Action Group which brings together very localised stakeholders that focus purely on Tamworth.

 

Jobs 22 recently opened in Ankerside, as part of 3 year project to proactively support those furthest from the labour market back in to work. Through the TBC employed Skills Officer, the Council is able to actively promote this activity and support Jobs 22 with local intelligence and connections in order to make the most impact.

 

TBC are also part of the Mercia Park Employment Action Group for the Mercia Park development at Junction 11 of the M42 and through the Employment and Skills Board, they have promoted opportunities such as:

•           a Recruitment Fair

•           training opportunities that have been running at the site

•           encouraging local schools and colleges to make use of free facilities so that local students can get a feel for what it’s like to work on a construction site.

 

 

I appreciate you would not have previously been aware of the cabinet changes I have just made so I will re iterate. Skills now features in the Skills, Planning, Economy and Waste Portfolio with a direction to push the skills, especially NVQ level 3 equivalent for post 16’s.

 

Councillor Dr S Peaple asked the following supplementary question -

 

 

Would the Leader agree with me that if he wants to answer a question about what the council is going to do then it would be better to focus on that, would it also be better to focus on unemployment?  The stats that I quoted were only a week and half old from their publication so I’m not sure how easy it is to know what else we can judge it by on this claimed drop in UC (Universal Credit) claimants which is a very different thing to whether people are back in work properly.  So can I ask the Leader in future to ask officers of the Council what they can do, for example by increasing the amount of local value put into council contracts, which as not happened enough in the past we were told it was down to Europe and now it isn’t so can you pick up on that and other methods for finding the best possible routes for giving people work experience because one of the biggest hurdles is that they haven’t got work experience to demonstrate and the council could do more to do that so I ask him to arrange to see me to discuss those ideas. 

 

Councillor J Oates gave the following reply-

 

As Councillor Peaple knows I am happy to meet him and discuss matters.  The figures I refer to are actually dated on the 13th so these are figures that came out yesterday so that is the latest update.

In terms of what we can do directly as a council and local value, Council Peaple refers to the procurement rules that we operated with particularly when we were part of Europe. Members will be aware that the Future High Street fund project does have a number of targets in there for local value in terms of tendering and in terms of the construction part of the project that the local value does appear in those terms and in that offer, so we have listened and we have built that in to that particular project, I am more than happy to meet Cllr Peaple and we can have that discussion. 

 

 

QUESTIONS FROM MEMBERS OF THE COUNCIL NO. 2

 

Under Procedure Rule No 11, Councillor Dr. Simon Peaple will ask the Leader of the Council, Councillor Jeremy Oates, the following question:-

 

Following his announcement today (Thursday), that Tamworth Borough Council is supporting the bid for a County Deal for Staffordshire, would the Leader of the Council explain to members what evidence he has that this will enhance the delivery of services  for Tamworth residents?”

 

Councillor J Oates gave the following reply-

 

Thank you Councillor Peaple for your question on this exciting matter.

This is not just about delivery of services this is about tackling wider maybe even national issues that effect Tamworth.

This County Deal is in its very early stages but is about Collaboration. We have a track record to prove how we already work well together.

•           Covid-19– our unified response along with community groups protected the most vulnerable and supported those in need locally, Notable successes include supplying food to the most vulnerable in our communities, PPE support to care providers, targeted action in hotspot areas, from vaccinations in mosques, to testing migrant workers on fruit farms

•           Creating jobs and opportunities –Supporting businesses and our economy to recover from Covid, through a countywide package of support– Staffordshire Means Back to Business.

•           Town Centre regeneration –reimagining and reshaping our High Streets and Town Centres through the Future High Streets Fund and Towns Fund.

•           Waste – we can proudly boast zero waste to landfill in Staffordshire thanks to our strong Waste Partnership. The Partnership has led local efforts to reduce waste, and maximise reuse, recovery and recycling. It has also, through joint procurement exercises, produced significant efficiencies and economies of scale across Staffordshire.

This track record, and the solid foundations in place across our two-tier system, mean Staffordshire is perfectly positioned to turn central government’s Levelling Up agenda into reality.

 

If I may Mr Mayor I would like to add a couple of points.

This deal is about keeping our two tier structure, building an argument against and blocking an unitary suggestion, whilst  keeping sovereignty of our decisions at Tamworth, this is about additionality with a unified offer to call upon government and draw down extra powers and funding as the levelling up white paper and devolution white paper (sometime next year). The additional areas we would like to target are

 

Staffordshire County Deal – Proposed Focus

We believe a County Deal should not be a one-off bid, but the start of a new, ongoing dialogue with central government, that builds on Staffordshire’s strengths, and addresses national challenges at a local level. We believe a County Deal will accelerate our ambitious programme, improve public services and deliver excellent returns for both the people of Staffordshire and the UK. We are proposing that we focus our County Deal on the following priorities:

•           Climate Change – The UK has set its ambition as an international leader in Climate Change; with further powers and funding, we can accelerate our plans, and place Staffordshire as a leading location for the green economy.

 

•           Social Care Workforce – Nationally and locally, we are facing a crisis in recruiting and retaining social care staff.  We want to use devolved powers and funding to help us produce an exemplar, in order to recruit, develop and retain more staff, improve care and ease pressure on the NHS.

 

•           Logistics – UK supply chains are fragile and disjointed. Our central location, excellent transport links, and existing strengths in the sector, means we are already a national centre for logistics, but we believe this sector can offer more to our local and national economy. Bringing all of the instruments at our disposal to bear, along with devolved powers and funding, will allow us to further grow develop the sector and support our logistics sector to be innovative, cleaner, greener and higher value.

Key powers we are seeking from central government, to allow us to achieve the above, include:

•           Access to a single, devolved investment fund for growth, that is managed and delivered locally

•           Devolved powers and funding for the post 16 skills agenda

•           Responsibility for a single devolved transport budget, and powers to develop an integrated transport network

 

Councillor Dr S Peaple asked the following supplementary question -

 

Can I thank the Leader for his detailed response. Councillor Jeremy Oates and I share the view that a two tier well worked system is actually the right one and I wanted the council as a whole to hear what the issues are about.  Would he therefore take back to the Leaders meeting that Tamworth and the other borough’s/districts will be keeping a close eye on what this means because what we want is real opportunities to deliver more for the local people as we so eloquently spoke about earlier on and in particular I am keen to see that the skills agenda that’s been devolved to mayoral authorities will also get devolved here and therefore give us the chance to address the needs of local people not on some one size fits all basis but on the basis of local need and I have asked the leader to take those points back as this will be debate that goes on longer than tonight but I wanted the issues out there. So can I thank the Leader and ask him to take those points there.  

 

Councillor J Oates gave the following reply-

 

Thank you Mr Mayor whilst I welcome the progress and discussions on the County Deal I am always the first to jump up at the Leaders and Chief Executive meeting if I am not happy with something or if I feel there is a suggestion that this would take anything away from us as a Borough Council in Tamworth or any of the other Districts.  Yes I am more than happy to feedback particularly as Councillor Peaple as asked me these questions in public and therefore it’s not just about the Leaders in the room it’s about the rest of the Council’s and other elected members keeping an eye on things and making that challenge.

 

In reference to the specific point around skills there a number of priorities that the County Deal focusses on Climate change, Social Care workforce and Logistics but the key powers from Government that we are currently seeking is to allow us access to devolved investment funds for growth, devolved powers for funding for post 16 skills and this is the one that Councillor Peaple raised.  This is for us is about being able to behave and compete on an even keel with elected Mayors and MET’s and those who have devolved powers.  The other responsibility that we are particularly pushing for in terms of seeking powers is the responsibility for single devolved transport budget and powers to develop integrated transport networks.  The whole thing for us is about having a Staffordshire County and District offer that rivals the Manchester’s, Birmingham’s of the world in terms of the powers that they have available to them and we believe we should have those powers available to us rather than Whitehall making the decisions and telling us how transport should work in Staffordshire