To receive a report from the Executive Leader and other members of the Executive on the conduct of Executive business since the last Council Meeting.
Minutes:
The Leader of the Council (Policy, Reform & Finance) (Councillor Sue Derbyshire) reported that she had recently attended the Health and Social Care Congress that had been held at Edgeley Park which had provided a useful forum for the Stockport NHS Foundation Trust, Pennine Care NHS Trust, Stockport Clinical Commissioning Group and the Council to discuss ways of ensuring the better integration of services, reducing duplication and making better use of resources. Councillor Derbyshire stated that arrangements would be made for an all-member briefing to appraise members of the current situation within the Stockport ‘health economy’.
Councillor Derbyshire also referred to the progress of the Council’s budget and that she would welcome the contributions of all councillors towards the compilation of the final budget proposals.
The Executive Councillor (Lifelong, Learning & Achievement) (Councillor Shan Alexander) reported on the Annual Report of Her Majesty's Chief Inspector of Schools which had identified that Stockport had one of the highest percentage of leadership and management teams that had been judged as being good or outstanding in the north west. Councillor Alexander noted that there remained work to be done to close the attainment gap, but that Stockport was well placed and had the necessary skills in order to achieve this.
Councillor Alexander also reported that on 26 October 2014 Moat House School had gained the Outstanding School Team of the Year 2014 in the Pearson Teaching Awards.
It was further stated the Minister of State for Schools (The Rt Hon David Laws MP) had written to both St Joseph’s Catholic Primary and St Christopher’s Catholic Primary Schools congratulating them on the quality of education that they provided.
The Executive Councillor (Adult Care Services) (Councillor Keith Holloway) reported on the recent widely reported pressures on accident and emergency units nationwide resulting from increases in the number of admissions. Councillor Holloway stated that this was not the case at Stepping Hill Hospital where the number of admissions had remained static, but that there had been an increase in demand from primary care services such as GPs and the out of hours service. This issue had been compounded by the number of people presenting themselves at Stepping Hill Hospital with serious illnesses and in particular with chest and respiratory problems.
Councillor Holloway then referred to the Reablement and Community Home Support service which had been expanded to take on responsibility for end of life care in the light of data which showed that only 30% of those who were reaching the end of their lives and wanted to be able to die at home were able to do so. Following the expansion of the service, over 90% of persons engaged by the service were now able to die at home.
The Executive Councillor (Economic Development & Regeneration) (Councillor Patrick McAuley) reported that Stockport Homes and the Council had been working together to gain more capacity in the system to deal with the recently reported increase in the number of people who were homeless and that a report would be brought to a future meeting of the Adult Care Services & Housing Scrutiny Committee with proposals for increasing homelessness provision.
Councillor McAuley reported that significant progress had been made in the last quarter with regard to the construction of new homes in the borough with 51 homes having been built in North Reddish on the site of the former Fir Tree Primary School while at the meeting of the Planning & Highways Regulation Committee on 8 January 2015 consent had been given for over 500 new homes to be built in Hazel Grove and Brinnington.
Finally Councillor McAuley reported that the employment rate in Stockport was now 76.8% and that Stockport remained the best performing local authority in Greater Manchester in this regard.
The Executive Councillor (Children & Young People) (Councillor Wendy Meikle) reported that Integrated Children’s Service became operational on 8 November 2014 which provided intensive, integrated whole family support based around early intervention and prevention. The intention was that by provided integrated services between the Council, the NHS and other partners, this would remove barriers to timely and effective work.
Councillor Meikle then reported that the Council had been successful in its bid to the Department for Education’s Children’s Social Care Innovation Programme and had been awarded £3.02 million to assist in integrating social work into a locality based approach. This would build on the work already undertaken with the Integrated Children’s Service and the Multi-Agency Safeguarding Hub, and which aimed to build strength in families and the community using a more restorative approach.