COUNTY COUNCIL
Following the election, the make-up of the 61-seat council is:
|
Liberal Democrat |
31 |
Labour |
5 |
|
Conservative |
10 |
Green |
3 |
|
Reform UK |
10 |
Independent |
2 |
ANNUAL MEETING 20 May 2025
The meeting appointed Chairs and Vice Chairs of Committees and representatives on some of its major partner bodies.
ADULTS AND HEALTH
NHS England has published what has been described as a ‘draft blueprint of the future model of ICBs’. These local Integrated Care Boards are responsible for planning, funding, and commissioning NHS services for their local populations. Spending per head by ICBs, which varies across the country from £49 to just under £21, will be cut to £18.76 per head. Plans on how ICBs will meet this new and demanding target should have been submitted by 30 May.
There will also be a shift in the functions of ICBs, including to neighbourhood health providers. Boards were told in March they must cut their running costs by around half by October 2025 and to focus on reducing duplication when making cuts. Health minister Karin Smyth recently revealed that no impact assessment had been conducted of the decision to reduce ICB running costs.
Adult learning services – good and outstanding
Ofsted found that learners and apprentices studying through Cambridgeshire County Council’s adult learning services thrive due to the warm, nurturing and inclusive learning environment and substantial new knowledge and skills they learn.
Cambridgeshire Skills offers education and training for adult learners, the largest programmes of which are tailored learning, adult skills and family learning. Courses are run by sub-contractors and are offered online and in around 87 community venues across Cambridgeshire, including community centres, libraries and schools. The service works closely with the county council’s Learning and Development team to provide apprenticeship opportunities.
The Ofsted inspection of the two teams, which took place in late April and early May, reported 29 May found the overall effectiveness of the service to be ‘Good.’ It judged the behaviour and attitude of learners to be ‘Outstanding’, with a rating of ‘Good’ awarded in every other category.
The report highlights a range of areas of good practice, including widening participation and transforming lives. They noted that subcontracted partners are selected carefully so that courses are targeted precisely at communities most in need, such as traveller communities and refugee centres.
Inspectors also found that: ‘Curriculums are well structured allowing learners and apprentices to build their learning in meaningful steps. Tutors plan logically, allowing learners to build foundation knowledge before tackling more complex topics.’
The report praises the behaviour and conduct of learners as being exemplary, adding: ‘They benefit from a warm, nurturing and inclusive environment where they thrive, gain confidence to make new friends and develop their social networks.
Also recognised by inspectors is the support for learners and apprentices with SEND: ‘Leaders have suitable arrangements to identify and support learners and apprentices with SEND. Tutors provide a range of appropriate support mechanisms, such as in-class support and individualised learning resources. As a result, learners and apprentices with SEND progress well on their courses.’
The report includes three areas where the service needs to improve. Due to the self-assessment element of the Ofsted inspection process, the teams were already aware of these and had put steps in place to address them:
- Increase the proportion of learners who achieve their functional skills mathematics qualification at levels 1 and 2.
- Help tutors teaching accredited courses to provide learners with useful feedback on how they can improve their work and skills further.
- Provide effective career information, advice and guidance for learners on accredited courses.
CHILDREN AND YOUNG PEOPLE
National inspectors from Ofsted and the Care Quality Commission (CQC) published their report (May) on provision for children and young people with special educational needs and disabilities (SEND) in the county.
The County Council and the NHS are jointly responsible for the planning and commissioning of these services as part of the Cambridgeshire Area SEND Partnership, for children and young people with SEND in Cambridgeshire. The partnership has been given the middle rating of three possible outcomes.
The inspectors highlighted several areas of good practice, including a clear and coherent strategy, the capacity to improve provision, and strong relationships across the partnership.
It made five recommendations for improvement:
- Improved timeliness and quality of Education Health & Care Plans.
- Improved access and shorter waiting times for specialist mental health pathways and neurodevelopmental assessments.
- Better opportunities for ‘co-production’ with children and young people with SEND, so their voices and views are more fully included.
- Improved support for children and young people with SEND as they prepare for adulthood, especially in mainstream schools.
- Better communication of the local area partnership’s offer, so that schools, services and families know about and understand what the area seeks to provide.
The council has already invested £500,000 to manage the increased demand for Education Health & Care Plans and approved a further £920,000 annual investment in February this year.
The full report is at https://files.ofsted.gov.uk/v1/file/50276860
COMMUNITIES, SOCIAL MOBILITY AND INCLUSION
Who do you think you are? Cambridgeshire Libraries give you access to Ancestry, the database where you can search millions of historical documents and genealogy resources, including the 1921 census? Ancestry is available at the County Council’s 33 libraries and is free to access with your library card.
ENVIRONMENT AND GREEN INVESTMENT
Disposable vapes – From 1 June it will be illegal to sell or supply disposable vapes. The government ban is being introduced to tackle the impact of these items on the environment.
It is also hoped the move will help cut the number of children and young people vaping. Retailers caught breaking the law in England face a minimum £200 fine, with a prison sentence of up to two years for repeat offences. Trading Standards will be able to seize any single-use vapes they find. It is estimated that almost five million single-use vapes a week are either littered or thrown away in general waste in the UK. It is regrettable that re-useable vapes are being manufactured to look almost indistinguishable for disposable vapes and at a similar price point; the fear is that re-useable vapes will disposed of as disposable vapes were.
Battery charging – safety reminder
Charging batteries have caused six fires in homes across the county so far this year. Firefighters have been called to fires involving batteries being overcharged, resulting in thermal runaway from the lithium-ion contained in them and causing significant damage to people’s homes.
The fire service is urging residents to only use official charging cables and devices, avoid overcharging, and never buy cheap battery conversion kits that may not meet UK safety standards.
HIGHWAYS AND TRANSPORT
PR1123 Proposed waiting restrictions – Cambridge Road Industrial Estate, Milton
“Introduce additional lengths of no waiting at any time (DYLs) on roads in Cambridge Road Industrial Estate in Milton, between the Cambridge Road roundabout and the access to Milton Country Park, including the road leading to Crane Industrial Estate.”
Currently there are existing DYLs with some gaps. The proposal is to fill in those gaps with double yellow lines which would mean that all on-street parking on the industrial estate roads would be prohibited. You can look at the proposal and give your views here
https://consultation.appyway.com/south-cambridgeshire/order/
and look at DoSC CEA WRSPP Order 2023 Am 17 Milton Ind Est
The consultation ends on 19 June 2025
A1307 (old A14) maintenance works continue
Maintenance work continues on the A1307, with 40MPH speed limits expected to be lifted by the end of the summer. The County Council took over responsibility for this road from National Highways in 2024, with serious outstanding issues with the barriers between Godmanchester and Huntingdon and drainage problems at both Fenstanton and Hemingford.
Highways & Transport Committee pressed County Council officers a few months ago to try to expedite this work, which has taken much longer than planned, so it is excellent news that an end is in sight for these temporary speed restrictions.
Delivering Transport Strategy Aims (DTSA)
Ditton Lane, Fen Ditton – Widening the west side footway to create a shared use path.
Update – The slabs at Nos 106 and 104 will be replaced with the Tobomore wall. This work will commence during the summer holidays. Survey work will be required before commencement.
Lodes Way Waterbeach – “Waterbeach – over the river on Lodes Way – investigate improvements for non-motorised users through completion of an options report (DTSA Option 14)”
Update – options for a route and engineering are being considered. Currently anticipated for delivery in Q3 2026/27. Consultation will be conducted in due course.
Cllr Anna Bradnam anna.bradnam@cambridgeshire.gov.uk 30 May 2025