Councillors and committees

Agenda item

LEADER'S STATEMENT

The Leader to make a statement.

 

There will be an opportunity for Members to ask questions and/or make comments.

 

Minutes:

The Leader made a detailed statement. A copy of the statement is attached as Appendix A.

 

          Members raised the following topics:

 

·         Paid tribute to staff for their extraordinary efforts in spite of the challenging circumstances of the pandemic and that local solutions worked best.

·         Noted that the announcement of the Spending Review 2020 came too late in the year for local government, it was a short-term one-year settlement which made future planning difficult.

·         That local government was unloved and underfunded by central government, highlighting that there was no funding to address the issue of adult social care on a permanent basis and the Green Paper remained delayed.

·         Noted that councils could increase Council Tax by 5% composed of 2% for general funds and a further 3% ring-fenced for adult social care; despite the difficulty for some in affording the current level of Council Tax and the public sector pay freeze. 

·         Queried how the shelving of plans to build Crossrail 2 due to the withdrawal of the Treasury’s funding, would affect Surrey in the future.

·         Asked the Leader to provide reassurance that the £42 million write-down of the Eco Park Shepperton investment was not a real loss and whether that cost would be recouped in full.

·         Welcomed the Report of the Mental Health Task Group and the Mental Health Summit, that enthusiasm must be translated into real action with early intervention a priority.

·         Noted the end of an era with the closure of County Hall and wished all a Happy Christmas and best wishes for 2021.

·         Stressed major concerns including the challenging national funding picture, the large shortfall in adult social care and the effect of a no-deal Brexit on workforce sustainability.

·         Paid tribute to teachers and headteachers in the county who were on the Covid-19 frontline.

·         Emphasised the importance of the All-Age Autism Strategy rollout and called for a joint approach between Cabinet Members and the Adults and Health Select Committee, with input from Members; noting the positive collaboration with the London South Bank University.

·         Noted disappointment that the recent consultation on Special Educational Needs and Disabilities (SEND) funding for 2021/22 was difficult to find.

·         Welcomed the Leader’s focus on addressing the challenges of poverty and the failure of Universal Credit to meet the needs of many families, urging that more needed to be done to address child poverty and engage with families to ensure that children would not go hungry over Christmas.

·         Asked the Leader to confirm whether the Council had full sign-up from the health sector and schools on the Climate Change Strategy and if those partners were included in the delivery plan.

·         Thanked the Leader for his wide-ranging statement on key focus areas and responsibilities that the Council continued to undertake despite Covid-19.

·         That 2020 had been dominated by the challenges of Covid-19 and asked whether the Leader agreed that the vaccine rollout from Pfizer-BioNTech was a huge matter of national pride as the UK was the first in western world to have developed, fully tested and approved a vaccine in less than a year.

·         Noted excitement on the move to a new headquarters back into Surrey, thanking the Leader and the Cabinet for their impetus.

·         Requested that teachers and those in education had a higher priority in the vaccine rollout programme then what they appeared to have at present.

·         That the Spending Review 2020 outlined the government’s ambitious plans and hoped that Surrey would take advantage of the opportunities within the review such as the £4 billion Levelling Up Fund to invest in infrastructure and for Surrey to facilitate its own ambitious economic and green recovery.

 

Supporting documents: