Agenda and minutes

To approve as a correct record and sign the Minutes of the meeting held on 25 November 2024.

The Minutes (copies of which had been circulated) of the meeting held on 25 November 2024 were approved as a correct record and signed by the Chair.

To consider whether it is in the public interest to exclude the press and public from the meeting during consideration of Agenda item 8 – ‘Local Electric Vehicle Infrastructure (LEVI) Fund Procurement Report’ as an appendix to the report contains information ‘not for publication’ by virtue of Category 3 ‘Information relating to the financial or business affairs of any particular person (including the authority)’ as set out in the Local Government Act 1972 (as amended).

The Chair invited the Committee to consider whether to exclude the public and press from the meeting during consideration of Agenda Item 8 – ‘Local Electric Vehicle Infrastructure (LEVI) Fund Procurement Report’ as an appendix to the report contained information ‘not for publication’.

RESOLVED – That the press and public be excluded from the meeting during consideration of Agenda Item 8 – ‘Local Electric Vehicle Infrastructure (LEVI) Fund Procurement Report’ as an appendix to the report contained information ‘not for publication’ by virtue of Category 3 ‘Information relating to the financial or business affairs of any particular person (including the authority)’ as set out in the Local Government Act 1972 (as amended).

Councillors and officers to declare any interests which they have in any of the items on the agenda for the meeting.

Councillors and officers were invited to declare any interests which they had in any of the items on the agenda for the meeting.

The following interest was declared:-

Personal Interest

To consider the call-in of executive decision CMDHPL166.

The decision has been called in by Councillors Asa Caton, Leah Taylor and Matt Wynne,

The call-in deadline was 4.00 pm on 30 December 2024.

The Scrutiny Committee was informed that on 18 December 2024 the Cabinet Member for Parks, Highways and Transport Services had given approval to:-

(1)  The proposed separate arrangement for the provision of discretionary community grit bins on the highway that are outside the scope of the borough-wide risk-based approach taken in the Council’s Winter Service Policy and Plan.

(2)  The Council’s Policy and Plan being reviewed in the Summer / Autumn of 2025, prior to the next winter season.

The Chair reported that the decision of the Cabinet Member for Parks, Highways and Transport Services had been called in by Councillors Asa Caton, Leah Taylor and Matt Wynne.

Councillors Asa Caton and Matt Wynne attended the meeting and outlined their reasons for calling-in the decision, namely that they were concerned about the amount of funding required for the installation of grit bins; being £3,000 per bin. They stated that the report contained no context setting out how the figure of £3,000 had been arrived at. They further stated that they had examined the costs of installing and filling grit bins at other local authorities, along with checking the prices of bins and grit,  and found that those costs were significantly lower than the amount quoted for grit bins in Stockport. Councillors Caton and Wynne stated that they wanted to ensure that the Council and Stockport’s residents were getting value for money.

The following comments were made/ issues raised:-

·       Councillors Caton and Wynne confirmed that, other than the costs, they were satisfied with the policy that ward members could use their discretionary highways budget for the installation of grit bins. However, that the wider grit bin policy required to be reviewed as it did not meet the requirements for grit across the borough. It was also noted that, reports containing costs did not contain detail about how those costs were arrived at.

·       Members queried whether it might be possible for residents to refill grit bins themselves at a cheaper cost. In response, it was reported that grit bins might require multiple refills per year, for example, if there was more than one cold snap or where rain washed grit away.

The Cabinet Member for Parks, Highways and Transport Services (Councillor Grace Baynham), the Director of Place Management (Mark Glynne) and the Assistant Director for Infrastructure (Jamie Birtles) attended the meeting to respond to councillors’ questions.

It was explained that the Council’s Grit Bin Policy had determined the sites where grit bins were placed based on a risk assessment.

At the Council Meeting on 21 November 2024, members had resolved that:-

·       The relevant Cabinet Member arranges for the review of the Borough’s current winter policy around grit bins forthwith and amend it so that grit bin requests are dealt with through a common sense approach and that Ward Members can use the Highways budget delegated to them as they see fit on priorities residents set.

·       This review takes place imminently before freezing temperatures are upon us.

·       All Members are updated by December 2024 on this to allow wards to select locations for grit bins outside of the risk-based approach.

The new approach was un-funded and the council was required to cover the costs of additional grit bins. The cost for a discretionary bin and five years maintenance of the bin had been set at £3,000 in advance, to be charged to the Ward Delegated Budget.

The factors determining the cost included ensuring that discretionary grit bins would be in place for a minimum of five years; the council did not wish to undermine the trust of residents by removing grit bins. It also included the cost of the grit bin at approximately £350, the cost to refill a grit bin, which incorporated the cost of the grit itself, along with cost of the driver. It was not known how frequently grit bins would need to be refilled. 

It was acknowledged that the  ...  view the full minutes text for item 4.(i)

There were no further call-in items to consider.

To consider a joint report of the Cabinet Member for Communities, Culture & Sport and Cabinet Member for Parks, Highways & Transport Services.

Following the November meetings of the Scrutiny Committee, the report provides further detail on the budget change proposals, taking into consideration the feedback received to date. The appendix to the report outlines the budget proposals being considered by cabinet to address our financial challenges and balance the rising cost of delivering services to the people in our communities who need it most.

The Scrutiny Committee is requested to comment upon the report and proposals presented that are relevant to the committee’s remit.

Officer contact: Gill Lawton on 0161 474 3686 or email gill.lawton@stockport.gov.uk

The Cabinet Member for Communities, Culture & Sport and Cabinet Member for Parks, Highways & Transport Services submitted a joint report (copies of which had been circulated) providing further detail on the budget change proposals, taking into consideration the feedback received to date. The appendix to the report outlined the budget proposals being considered by cabinet to address our financial challenges and balance the rising cost of delivering services to the people in our communities who need it most.

The Cabinet Member for Parks, Highways and Transport Services (Councillor Grace Baynham) and the Cabinet Member for Communities, Culture & Sport (Councillor Helen Foster-Grime) attended the meeting to respond to councillors’ questions.

The following comments were made/ issues raised:

·       It was recognised that smaller teams would result in fewer staff to provide cover. Members asked what impact that was likely to have on place-based services such as Family Hubs. In response, it was stated that enquiries had been made about staff joint-working to ensure the protection of staff and efforts were underway to fill vacancies in place-based roles.

·       It was also reported that services would be delivered in a more streamlined and joined-up way going forward including delivering a single one-stop neighbourhood approach.

·       The single induction programme was coming to an end and this would be replaced by another programme which was currently in development, whereby all of the neighbourhood workforce would undergo the same training. This would ensure residents received a similar level of support or signposting no matter which service they approached.

RESOLVED – That the report and proposals presented that were relevant to the committee’s remit be noted.

To consider a report of the Director of Place Management.

The report advises Councillors on the progress of the delivery of the Walking and Cycling Strategy and the wider commitment to active travel in 2024.

The Scrutiny Committee is recommended to note and comment upon the report.

Officer contact: Jamie Birtles on 07356 120 423 or email jamie.birtles@stockport.gov.uk

The Director of Place Management submitted a report (copies of which had been circulated) advising Councillors on the progress of the delivery of the Walking and Cycling Strategy and the wider commitment to active travel in 2024.

The Cabinet Member for Parks, Highways and Transport Services (Councillor Grace Baynham) attended the meeting to respond to councillors’ questions.

The following comments were made/ issues raised:-

·         Members thanked officers for their work in securing funding for the creation of active travel schemes, including the helix ramp at Stockport Interchange, the A34 network and the Romiley scheme.

·         The report set out Greater Manchester’s ambition for 50 per cent of people to use public transport or active travel to commute to work by 2040; members stated that to achieve such a goal, more schemes and more integration of schemes was needed.

·         Members stated that the safety of women and girls would be incorporated into the overall ambition to increase the use of public transport and active travel.

·         In relation to mapping active travel routes with socio-economic duty, it was reported that the council would focus on making active travel routes a network in order to link different parts of the borough together. Members were requested to provide suggestions for locations of active travel routes.

·         Clarification was sought about the proposed cycling scheme which would run parallel to the A6. It was reported that there was not a scheme currently in development but that there was a potential for future development through Mayoral Funding.

·         Members requested further information on Access Controls at a future meeting of this Scrutiny Committee.  

·         Members welcomed the work undertaken to encourage children to engage with walking and cycling, which should help to foster lifelong habits.

·         Members commented that, although the report had not identified any potential sites for pedestrian crossings with count-down signals, the road crossing underneath the bridge adjacent to Asda in the town centre would be a potential candidate for the use of a count-down signal.

·         It was reported that there was an ongoing GM project looking at improving urban pathways.

·         In terms of the maintenance of active travel schemes, it was reported that there were two elements of funding, the capital funding for the development and implementation of a scheme and the revenue funding which was used for ongoing maintenance. Additional maintenance funding was required as there was likely to be an increased maintenance liability going forward. The council was allocated a maintenance block annually for funding which was required to cover all transport and highways schemes across the borough including surfaces, draining and structure repair. It also had a separate internal revenue scheme for potholes and patching. Decisions on maintenance was made on the basis of risk assessments. 

·         The funding for the majority of the borough’s transport schemes was obtained from TfGM.

·         Members suggested that the safety of the borough’s cycle routes should be advertised to its residents. It was also suggested that an increase in maintenance of cycle routes would encourage more residents to use them.

·         Members referred to schemes within the report which had been marked as complete. One in particular, the Offerton to Stockport scheme had been marked as completed but was, in fact, awaiting completion.

·         The council had considered the introduction of cargo bikes, however a funding stream would be required to introduce them.

·         In relation to pavement parking obstructing cycling lanes, it was reported that the council was awaiting further powers to deal with that problem and in some instances, traffic regulation orders (TROs) were required. In the meantime the council had attempted to design schemes which mitigated that issue.

·         It was reported that, should the government introduce legislation to ban pavement parking, TROs would be required to allow for pavement parking rather than to ban it. In those circumstances, it was prudent to await an expected imminent government decision on pavement parking rather than introduce TROs now to ban pavement  ...  view the full minutes text for item 6.

To consider a report of the Assistant Director for Legal & Democratic Governance.

The report sets out planned agenda items for the Scrutiny Committee’s next meeting and Forward Plan items that fall within the remit of the Scrutiny Committee.

The Scrutiny Committee is invited to consider the information in the report and put forward any agenda items for future meetings of the Committee.

Officer contact: Jacqueline Kramer on 0161 474 2978 or email: jacqueline.kramer@stockport.gov.uk

A representative of the Assistant Director for Legal & Democratic Governance submitted a report (copies of which had been circulated) setting out planned agenda items for the Scrutiny Committee’s next meeting and Forward Plan items that fall within the remit of the Scrutiny Committee.

RESOLVED – (1) That the report be noted.

(2) That the Assistant Director for Legal & Democratic Governance be recommended to programme the following items into the Scrutiny Committee’s work programme for the 2024/25 Municipal Year:-

·         A report on Access Controls.

·         A review of outcomes of schemes funded by the Delegated Highways Budget.

·         An update on the Cultural Development Fund.

To consider a report of the Director of Place Management.

The report advises Councillors on progress with the Local Electric Vehicle Infrastructure Fund (LEVI) and requests permission to authorise Transport for Greater Manchester (TfGM) to undertake the preparatory procurement arrangements that need to be undertaken to deliver the LEVI Programme on behalf of Stockport Council in accordance with Transport for Greater Manchester’s existing Constitutional arrangements.

(NOTE: The ‘not for publication’ appendix to the report has been marked ‘to follow’ and will be published at a later date).

The Scrutiny Committee is recommended to:-

(1)  Note and comment upon the report.

(2)  Note that Cabinet will be requested to approve the following:

(i)           TFGM be authorised to exercise the Council’s procurement functions on the Council’s behalf in respect of the delivery of the Local Electric Vehicle Infrastructure Programme.

(ii)          Authority be delegated to act on the Council’s behalf as required to give effect to the authority agreement for the local electric vehicle infrastructure programme with Transport for Greater Manchester, Stockport Council and each of the other Greater Manchester local authorities to the Director of Place Management in consultation with the Cabinet Member for Parks, Highways and Transportation Services.

(iii)        Authority be delegated to the Director of Place Management in consultation with the Cabinet Member for Parks, Highways and Transportation Services to:

(a)  decide the process by which members will be consulted through area committee in connection with the development of the list of sites for the installation of electric vehicle charging infrastructure; and

(b)  agree final approval for locations of Electric Charging Infrastructure on the Highway Network following consultation with Area Committees.

Officer contact: Jamie Birtles on 07356 120 423 or email jamie.birtles@stockport.gov.uk

The Director of Place Management submitted a report (copies of which had been circulated) advising Councillors on progress with the Local Electric Vehicle Infrastructure Fund (LEVI) and requesting permission to authorise Transport for Greater Manchester (TfGM) to undertake the preparatory procurement arrangements that need to be undertaken to deliver the LEVI Programme on behalf of Stockport Council in accordance with Transport for Greater Manchester’s existing Constitutional arrangements.

The Cabinet Member for Parks, Highways and Transport Services (Councillor Grace Baynham) attended the meeting to respond to councillors’ questions.

Members commented on this report.

(NOTE: This report contained information ‘Not for Publication’ that had been circulated to members of the Scrutiny Committee only).

RESOLVED – That the report be noted.