County Councillor Report for Parishes – January 2023 – Cllr Anna Bradnam
Best wishes for 2023 to all residents in Waterbeach Division.
FULL COUNCIL
Full Council meeting 13 December
Of the five motions for debate, one was withdrawn, two were passed, and two were defeated. The two motions passed were
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- A motion calling for managed divestment from fossil fuels by the Cambridgeshire Local Government Pension Scheme and a timeline to reduce carbon emissions with an aim of reaching net carbon zero earlier than the Paris Accord;
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- A motion committing to the development of a local, county-wide ‘Place of Safety’ pledge, which supports the right of all to seek services, advice, support and representation without fear of adverse consequences; establishing a councillor ‘migrant champion’ role; and asking the Chief Executive to write to the Home Secretary to highlight the challenges faced by asylum seekers and refugees in Cambridgeshire and to call for safe and legal routes for asylum and adequate funding for local authorities to support resettled communities in Cambridgeshire.
Staffing
The full council meeting appointed a new Service Director Legal and Governance (Emma Duncan) and a new Executive Director of Finance and Resources (Michael Hudson). Frank Jordan will also join Cambridgeshire County Council in the Spring as the Council’s new Executive Director of Place and Sustainability.
Government settlement
Just before Christmas the Government issued its ‘provisional local government finance settlement’—the annual indication to councils of the money they will have available for local services next year. The Government proposes that Cambridgeshire County Council’s ‘core spending power’ (the overall revenue funding available for council services) should increase by 9.5 %. So far so good…
However
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- That is less than the current rate of inflation, so overall it will buy less.
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- Half of the 9.5 % is from the council’s power to raise council tax—in other words, the Government expects local tax-payers to shoulder a lot of the extra costs.
Some of the remainder replaces lost business rates income.
ADULTS AND HEALTH
Director of Public Health – Annual Report
The annual report of Cambridgeshire’s Director of Public Health to the Adults & Health Committee in December argued strongly in favour of universal, rather than targeted, approaches to health inequalities. She observed that targeted public health interventions risked missing the majority of people who need these services. Her conclusions and recommendations included:
The renewed interest and commitment to tackling health inequalities as a result of the pandemic, is very much welcomed. The automatic response to tackling inequalities is to target, however, as demonstrated in this report, universal approaches can be far more effective at reducing inequalities, than targeted approaches. Universal approaches are also necessary in identifying those individuals in need of further intervention. Targeting has also often been carried out on geographical basis or using the Index of Multiple Deprivation but that can miss the majority of individuals in need.
To reduce inequalities in health outcomes, proposals included:
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- Focus on universal interventions.
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- Plan those interventions to give equal access to all, with additional support to those who need it.
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- Start early (pregnancy and childhood) before inequalities become entrenched.
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- Evidence-based intervention.
COMMUNITIES, SOCIAL MOBILITY AND INCLUSION (COSMIC)
Births, deaths and marriages
A report to the Committee in December on the Council’s registration services included the following information about the numbers of births, deaths, marriages, civil partnership ceremonies, and new British citizens in Cambridgeshire in the last two years.
|
2021/22 |
2020/21 | |
| Births registered | 7,760 | 7,135 |
| Deaths registered | 5,779 | 6,115 |
| Notices of marriage /
civil partnership |
5,417 | 2,737 |
| Marriage / civil partnership ceremonies | 1,925 | 608 |
| New British citizens | 2,322 | 874 |
Mobile library service review
Mobile libraries – Cambridgeshire County Council
Mobile Libraries stop monthly in Landbeach (2nd Friday), three stops in Milton (2nd and 4th Friday) and Horningsea and Fen Ditton (3rd Tuesday). Waterbeach has its own Community Library run by volunteers Waterbeach Library (cambridgeshire.gov.uk).
A review of the Council’s mobile library service took place last year, resulting in a number of improvements. Twenty-one additional stops were added and routes were rearranged, enabled by storing vehicles within communities, rather than centrally.
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- Mobile libraries are now available to the public nearly 20 per cent longer, due to reduced driving between stops.
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- 150 fewer miles travelled a month and so less fuel used.
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- 300 new members joined between May and September; and there were 6,296 visits to the vehicles and over 20,000 items issued—a stronger recovery than many of the service’s static libraries to pre-pandemic levels.
ENVIRONMENT AND GREEN INVESTMENT
POPs in WUDS (yes really!)
Persistent Organic Pollutants (POPs) are found in various Waste Upholstered Domestic Seating (WUDS) such as sofas and upholstered dining chairs. For this reason, furniture materials should not be landfilled.
The law against landfilling of POPs was introduced in 2007 and the Environment Agency announced in August 2022 that it would soon expect councils to cease landfilling upholstered seating, and instead to incinerate it. However, it published its Final Regulatory Position Statements on this matter on Monday 19 December 2022, with implementation starting on Sunday 1 January 2023. The Environment Agency has not identified facilities that offer an appropriate incineration service.
The short notice over Christmas has provided little time to organise incineration capacity, and the Council is therefore seeking an extension of at least a month while it works through options and liaises with its waste contractor Thalia (formerly Amey) and with the district councils who collect Cambridgeshire’s waste. This does however mean that from 1 January 2023 the Council will not be able to dispose of soft furnishings until a method of disposal acceptable to the Environment Agency has been identified and put in place.
Swaffham Prior energy scheme in the spotlight
The flagship renewable energy scheme at Swaffham Prior, initiated by residents and supported by the Council, was covered by BBC Radio 4 in its Money Box programme between Christmas and New Year. BBC Radio 4 – Money Box, Heating the homes of the future
HIGHWAYS & TRANSPORT
20 mph schemes
The Highways & Transport Committee approved the changes to the Council’s policy on 20mph speed limits. The proposed timetable for applications for funding for new 20mph speed limits is as follows.
- Go ‘live’ with application process on-line for new schemes (February 2023)
- Application period (February to April 2023)
- Prioritisation (May to June 2023)
- Committee report for approval (July 2023)
- Programming and delivery of schemes (August 2023 onwards)
Unlike a 20mph limit which covers individual or a small number of streets and requires signs only, 20mph zones typically cover larger areas and require both signs and markings.
The former is more cost effective, but the latter have been found to have a greater effect in reducing traffic speed, especially when accompanied by traffic calming measures.
The committee has already set aside £400,000 up to 2024/25 to introduce new 20mph zones as part of a commitment made by the Joint Administration to make them more widely available to improve road safety, encourage more active travel and to reduce noise and pollution.
Local Highway Improvement (LHI) scheme updates
The deadline for applications for Local Highway Improvement schemes for the 2023/24 round is 5:00PM on Friday 6 January 2023. Applicants can apply for funding of up to either £25,000 for complex projects or £10,000 for non-complex projects. These can include applications for lorry weight limits. The applicant is expected to provide a minimum of 10 per cent towards the total scheme cost.
Making Connections consultation
The Greater Cambridge Partnership Making Connections 2022 consultation closed on Friday 23 December. Around 23,000 responses have been received, and the Greater Cambridge Partnership expects to publish a final report on the consultation outcomes and next steps, for consideration by its Board in June 2023.
The consultation is about proposals for public transport improvements, and better cycling and walking options, as well as about the element which has been most talked about—a congestion charge, proposed to be introduced in 2027/28 .
Any decision on a charge for driving on roads in Cambridge—or anywhere else in the county—would be a matter for Cambridgeshire County Council. It is to be expected that the proposals in the consultation, will be modified in the light of the public response.
Civil Parking Enforcement
The County Council is taking the legal steps required to introduce Civil Parking Enforcement (CPE) in Fenland, Huntingdonshire and South Cambridgeshire. (It is already in place in Cambridge City.) This would mean that parking enforcement could be managed by parishes and District Councils, rather than by the Police. It is however, a complicated legal process and once a Designation Order has been made, it cannot be rescinded.
See the agenda report from Highways and Transport Committee on 6 December here
Council and committee meetings – Cambridgeshire County Council > Meetings (cmis.uk.com)
Funding – in South Cambridgeshire the Greater Cambridge Partnership has committed to cover all associated set-up costs and also committed to covering an estimated annual operational deficit of £30k-£50k. This is because CPE in South Cambridgeshire has been identified by the GCP as being one of the measures through which travel demand can be managed within the Greater Cambridge Area.
Signs and lines survey – A major part of the preparation for commencing CPE, is ensuring that Traffic Regulation Orders (TROs), signs and lines associated with parking restrictions are accurate, enforceable and comply with current Traffic Regulations. This is to ensure the motorist understands the restrictions in place and traffic orders can be robustly enforced through the appeals process. The signs and lines surveys for all Districts have been undertaken by RTA Associates (RTA) a company who are experienced in Decriminalised Parking Enforcement and have undertaken over 100 similar studies for other authorities. In South Cambridgeshire this survey work was paid for by the GCP and completed in March 2022. The information collated from these surveys form the basis of the Remedial work package design. Timeline: In South Cambridgeshire – stakeholder consultation, the review of signs and lines and the review of Traffic Regulation Orders have all been completed. Other works in S. Cambs include:
Undertake remedial design works (inc. Target cost) – June 22-Apr 23
Development of the draft Agency/Financial Agreements and Approval – Dec22
Development of the Application Approval and Approve (H&T) -Mar23
Submit application to DfT – Mar23
Undertake remedial works – Feb23 – Nov23
Designation Order created and CPE brought into effect – Dec23
Gullies
The Council is in the process of delivering a two-year programme of works to clean and plot all gullies and surface drainage features countywide using the Kaarbontech Asset Management System.
King Charles III coronation street parties
The Council has published guidance for local groups seeking to organise street parties and highways events to mark the coronation of King Charles III in May 2023. All street party applications (to close a road) must be received by the County Council at least eight weeks in advance (Friday 10 March 2023) via the Council’s website. Highway Events applications must be submitted at least twelve weeks in advance (Friday 10 February 2023).
More information about the process can be found at
CAMBRIDGESHIRE AND PETERBOROUGH COMBINED AUTHORITY
The Combined Authority is the transport authority responsible for passenger transport across our area, working within a legislative framework and a deregulated bus system. The following is a summary of the various bus workstreams currently being undertaken by the Combined Authority.
The Combined Authority Board agreed a draft Bus Strategy on 30 November—consultation is planned to start in the week beginning Monday 9 January for six weeks. The Strategy will then go to the Combined Authority’s Transport & Infrastructure Committee and the Board in March. The Strategy will form part of the suite of documents associated with the Combined Authority’s emerging Local Transport & Connectivity Plan (LTCP). The Government is expected to issue national LT(C)P guidance for local transport authorities early this year, and Cambridgeshire & Peterborough’s draft LTCP will be assessed against that guidance before being presented to the Board.
Cambridgeshire & Peterborough was one of a majority of local transport authorities to be given no funding by Government for its Bus Service Improvement Plan. This funding is intended to support new approaches to bus provision, not directly subsidise bus routes. The Combined Authority is working with partners to prepare a revised Plan reflecting the priorities of the emerging LTCP and the draft Bus Strategy. This will be presented to the Transport & Infrastructure Committee and the Board in May / June.
Bus franchising is the Mayor’s preferred solution for bus services in Cambridgeshire & Peterborough. Under this model the local transport authority takes control of the public transport network, specifying and contracting bus services, as opposed to the deregulated arrangement which has prevailed since 1986. Work is ongoing to refresh the outline business case for franchising. This will explore all potential funding options and assess the benefits of franchising against the current system. The business case will also review other issues including geography, contracting, depots, vehicles, and branding. This work will continue in parallel with the Bus Strategy and Bus Service Improvement Plan work above. Engagement with operators and other stakeholders will be vital if franchising is to progress to the next stage following the outline business case work. It will also be essential to identify reliable ongoing revenue funding.
The majority of bus services in Cambridgeshire & Peterborough are run commercially by private operators, and the Combined Authority has no control over these. The Combined Authority currently subsidises 73 services across its area. Full support for eighteen services and partial support for a further five began in October 2022 after Stagecoach withdrew from these services. There is an option to extend the contracts for these by one year from the end of March, and final decisions on these will be taken in February or March following the setting of the Combined Authority’s budget and taking account of the draft Bus Strategy. Contracts for a further six of the 73 services expire at the end of March 2023 and a procurement process has begun to retender these. The Combined Authority will set its budget for 2023/24, including bus support, at its Board meeting on 25 January.
The Transport & Infrastructure Committee will consider a Bus Assessment Framework in January. This will draw on the emerging LTCP and Bus Strategy and be used to inform decision-making on bus subsidies in future.
The GCP Making Connections proposals include an enhanced bus network and mechanisms for both upfront investment and ongoing subsidy. The Combined Authority will need to consider the effect of this on its own work. The GCP would develop any necessary outline business case, and any decision on road charging would rest with the County Council.
In an initiative with Stagecoach and the Greater Cambridge Partnership, the Combined Authority secured Government funding for thirty zero emission buses for Cambridge. These are expected to be available from March.
The Combined Authority Board agreed on 30 November to extend the contract for the TING Demand Responsive Transport service in Huntingdonshire for a further year. The Combined Authority is also exploring the case for further Demand Responsive Transport services elsewhere.
Finally, the Combined Authority is also working with bus operators to understand the scale and effect of driver shortages and how it can provide support through its skills programmes.
Anna Bradnam
You can contact me at anna.bradnam@cambridgeshire.gov.uk 01223 862364