Agenda item

Report of the Leader of the Council, detailing the successes of Southampton City Council since July.

The report of the Leader of the Council was submitted setting out the details of the business undertaken by the Executive.

 

The Leader and the Cabinet made statements and responded to questions.

 

The following questions were submitted in accordance with Council Procedure Rule 11.1:-

 

1.  SEN Sector

 

Question from Councillor Guest to Councillor Paffey

 

QUESTION:  Will the Cabinet member commit to ensuring the support and resources are put in place to support the SEN sector and ensure their needs are catered for in Southampton?

 

ANSWER: The Labour administration is committed to ensuring that children and young people with Special Educational Needs and Disabilities receive the support they need. Members will be aware of the current proposals for the expansion and reconfiguration of the city’s special schools, a programme launched when we were previously in office to ensure the best educational opportunities and support possible for Southampton’s children. With all feasibility studies now complete, we anticipate bringing forward the next stage and going to full public consultation shortly.

 

Further work is ongoing to improve our offer for pupils with SEND in mainstream education, with the aim of developing consistent and inclusive provision across the city. This is in line with the Inclusion priority in the SEND, Education and Children’s Services strategies, and will include a bid to government for more investment in this area.

 

2.  Children’s Homes

 

Councillor Guthrie to Councillor Paffey

 

QUESTION: What are the Cabinet Member’s plans to ensure that the city’s children’s homes are adequately and sustainably staffed once they are completed and can care for children?

 

ANSWER: Recruiting the highest quality staff is a priority in ensuring our proposed children’s residential homes can improve outcomes for children in our care.

 

We plan to stagger the opening of children’s homes, allowing for the recruitment and establishment of teams in stages. This will avoid creating recruitment pressures in a short space of time, and will help to ensure sustainability of multiple homes.

 

Staff will be supported through therapeutic clinical supervision which will be available on a group and individual basis as required. The aim will be to establish stable, supported, and resilient teams across the homes.

 

Staff salaries have been benchmarked and we are confident that renumeration will be competitive and attractive in the current market. 

 

Finally, leadership is key to operating a successful children’s home and so the salary of the registered manager position will attract an experienced manager with an established track record for delivering excellent services to children. 

 

3.  Youth Offending

 

Councillor Vaughan to Councillor Renyard

 

QUESTION: First time offenders within Youth Offending are not having their cases heard for up to two to three years. Instead of going to court for one minimal crime, a young person can end up going to court for three of a more serious nature. Can the Cabinet Member advise what the administration is doing to resolve this issue?

 

ANSWER: We welcome your interest in the matter.

 

First time entrants (FTE) are children and young people who receive a youth caution or above. FTE for Southampton reduced from 2020 to 2021. The rates in Southampton are in line with our statistical neighbours.

 

 

Two thirds of Southampton Youth Justice work is dealt with ‘out of court’, i.e. away from the court system: each week a Joint Decision-making Panel carefully considers all children who have been referred by the police following investigation.

 

Once a referral is received the Council Youth Justice Service acts quickly in response. We do not have control over the length of police investigations. The Youth Justice Service has developed a diversion programme and is developing a prevention offer to reduce the risk of offending early.

 

Some young people, generally those with more serious offences, by-pass the out-of-court system and miss the opportunity to be diverted from Court.  On occasion, for a range of reasons, it takes a long time for a case to reach court. For these young people the period between the alleged offence and appearing in court, can be challenging for the young person, the family and agencies who are supporting them.  This means that they do not face the consequences of their offending swiftly and do not, as a result, receive the intervention and support they need in a timely way.

 

The primary factors contributing to the delays between arrest and criminal justice outcome are the volume and resource pressures within the Police which result in investigation taking longer, backlogs within the Crown Prosecution Service, and availability of court time due to these pressures, as well as the pandemic having an impact on this. These factors contribute to situations where some young people are waiting between 12 and 18 months for an offence to be dealt with.

 

We are working with Police and the CPS to address these issues, which are national, including trying to push expediency of youth cases. We welcome the appointment of a new Superintendent for Southampton (Supt. Phil Lamb) and look forward to meeting with them at their earliest opportunity with this item as a key component of that agenda.

 

4.  Uncapped rises on energy bills

 

Councillor Blackman to Councillor Kaur

 

QUESTION: Could the Leader of the Council report on what representations have been made to central government on behalf of businesses, schools and other organisations in Southampton to press for support in the face of uncapped rises in energy bills this autumn?

 

ANSWER: Since you submitted your Question under Liz Truss the Government has introduced some support for energy price rises this autumn.  To reassure you, we continue to lobby Central Government as Southampton does not receive enough resources, something that all three of the City’s MPs highlight and advocate.  As a Council we will continue to fight for our fair share so that local residents and businesses can continue to benefit from much needed investment.  We are part of several campaigns that the LGA and other national organisations run.  This week I signed, along with other Leaders from across the County, a letter to the Chancellor ahead of his Autumn Statement tomorrow. 

 

5.  Portswood Corridor

 

Councillor Moulton to Councillor Keogh

 

QUESTION:  In light of significant concerns around the Administration’s proposal, as part of the Portswood Corridor Transforming Cities scheme, to close a section of Portswood Road to traffic and concerns expressed around the online consultation, will the Leader / Cabinet Member agree to extend the consultation date and to amend the survey to expressly ask if residents support the road closure proposal?

 

 

ANSWER:  The scheme for the Portswood Road corridor has been on consultation from 26 September to 23 October 2022 and has been since extended to 11 November 2022. As part of the consultation process,  a consultation brochure was prepared, provided information on the Connecting Southampton website, written to 6,487 residents in the area twice, held an information session at October Books store on 4 October 2022, met with the Portswood Residents Gardens on 31 October 2022, held drop in sessions at Portswood Broadway on 4 and 5 November 2022, attended an information session at Highfield Church Hall on 8 November 2022 and attended a drop in session at Southampton University on 9 November 2022.

Over 1,300 responses and comments to the online survey and via email responses were received, and it will now be analysed. The next phase of consultation and engagement will occur in the new year. This will focus on updating the proposals for the area which will take into account the responses received, and if there are gaps identified from the previous consultation, these will be addressed in the future consultation to facilitate community co-design and support.

 

6.  Unadopted roads

 

Councillor Moulton to Councillor Keogh

 

QUESTION: Does the Cabinet Member plan to put in place a policy which sets out what support and action the council might take in respect of unadopted roads which are in desperate need of repair?

 

ANSWER: Officers have recently updated the council’s road maintenance webpage to include reference to an intervention procedure when receiving a request to intervene to repair an unadopted road.  The Council has a procedure in place for intervening to repair defects on an unadopted road only in exceptional circumstances and if it deems, by way of an assessment, that there is a need to urgently remove a clear and present danger to persons or traffic. Southampton City Council has no statutory responsibility to repair privately maintained highways and private streets (both also commonly referred to as unadopted roads). In most circumstances, maintenance of such roads is the responsibility of the adjacent landowners whose property fronts onto them.

 

This is in line with highways legislation, in particular the Highways Act 1980 which contains provisions granting Highway Authorities limited powers to intervene in certain circumstances. 

 

7.  Savings Breakdown

 

Councillor Hannides to Councillor Leggett

 

QUESTION: Can you provide a more detailed breakdown of the £15m of savings already found as part of the budget process? The items identified in the recent public presentation accounted for only £1.1m.

 

ANSWER: A detailed breakdown on savings will be sent.

 

8.  In-Year Savings

 

Councillor Hannides to Councillor Leggett

 

QUESTION: With a further £29m of savings required to be identified over the next 3 months, can you indicate which areas are under consideration?

 

ANSWER: All options are being looked at to address the budget for next financial year.

 

9.  Disposing of Assets

 

Councillor Hannides to Councillor Leggett

QUESTION: Due to the inevitable rise in interest rates, the increased cost of borrowing will deprive front line services of much needed revenue, what steps are you taking to reduce debt by disposing of assets?

 

ANSWER:  The council continues to review its corporate operational and commercial assets to seek to ensure that they meet service needs and provide the best return for the council. This involves reviewing the potential ongoing revenue return, the opportunity of future regeneration and development together with disposal opportunities. 

 

10. Anti-Social Behaviour

 

Councillor Vaughan to Councillor Renyard

 

QUESTION: What improvements are the administration making when it comes to ASB with Motorcycles and cars driven by young people off-road?

 

ANSWER:  Southampton City Council has limited powers, with enforcement being primarily the domain of the Police and activity taking place on private land not within SCC’s remit to resolve.  A motorbike nuisance task force was set up and has been an effective multi-agency forum to work through proposals to target harden hotspots in a way that supports accessible access for all residents. We have worked closely with the OPCC on its ASB Task Force which has secured the equipping of new dirt bikes and training of Police Officers.

 

Engagements with communities have effectively promoted the importance of reporting, to share intelligence with the Police and raise confidence that action can be taken.  Stronger Communities has conducted ASB surveys in Sullivan Road and Millbrook.

 

The Safer Neighbourhoods Fund, has secured CIL money to progress preventative works in Coxford Ward. This will allow us to pilot new techniques and area improvements that can inform actions in other parts of the city.

 

SCC is working with Police (Operation Trail) in the West of the City using Safer Streets funding to prevent thefts of motorcycles. We are in regular contact with the Insp to support their activity (see Southampton Cops FB).

 

11. Safer Neighbourhoods Fund

 

Councillor Vassiliou to Councillor Renyard

 

QUESTION: Can the Cabinet Member for Communities explain why when rebranding the Community Fund to the new "Safer Neighbourhoods Fund", the Protecting Communities element of this has been removed and where has the money previously allocated to the Protecting Communities element now gone?

 

ANSWER:  The Protecting Communities element will now be managed centrally by SCC to ensure coordination of works on a data and intelligence led approach, including working with the CCTV Working Group. 

 

The new Safer Neighbourhoods capital strand, has also removed the ‘cap’ that was in place with the previous fund, as this was not sufficient for some larger projects which required both a different process as well as being able to look more strategically at requirements across the city.

 

In total, the overall budget for the Safer Neighbourhoods Fund has increased.

 

There is strong alignment with Safer Streets activity as well potential within UKSPF to supporter effective targeting of resources to priority hotspots that will benefit from target hardening.

 

As cabinet member for safety, I am happy to continue to receive suggestions as to where those needs might be and work with officers to review the data and intelligence around such suggestion and put together realistic and sustainable plans to deliver them, if there is a demonstrable need. 

 

12. Solar Panels

 

Councillor P Baillie to Councillor Mitchell

 

QUESTION: The HRA own hundreds of walk up blocks and thousands of houses. In the middle of an energy crisis, please would you explain why your department feels that solar panels are not a good idea.

 

ANSWER:  Solar energy will be part of the energy strategy for the city. The immediate priority is to improve energy efficiency so that not as much energy is needed to power a home. 

 

Our focus is a fabric first which directly works to reduce residents’ energy needs.  This is also a cheaper and easier approach to energy efficiency which would have the greatest benefit to tenants.  Typically, these types of work are insulation of homes (i.e. loft, cavity, floor), installation of new energy efficient windows and doors, and installation of high energy efficiency electric heating (i.e. Quantum electric heating appliances). 

 

13.Tenant Controlled Heating

 

Councillor P Baillie to Councillor Mitchell

 

QUESTION: Over 4000 council homes do not have the ability to regulate their own heat, & thus regulate their bills. Aren’t you ashamed of that figure in 2022?

 

ANSWER:  Within the constraints of the HRA capital programme, SCC has a dedicated work programme to install space heating systems and remove tenants’ landlord supply.  The planned investment is £2.6M for the next 4 years.