To receive a report from the Leader of the Council and other members of the Cabinet on the conduct of Cabinet business since the last Council Meeting.
Minutes:
The Leader of the Council and Cabinet Member for Devolution (Councillor Elise Wilson) reported one of the priorities of the Cabinet had been to protect and provide essential services that residents relied on and creating opportunities for the people of Stockport. It was stated that work continued at Stockport Interchange as part of a joint development between the Council, Greater Manchester and Homes England and was a crucial element in the shift towards sustainable transport while also providing homes and the greening of the town centre.
It was then stated that when Councillor Wilson become Leader of the Council, she had stated that she would work to address health inequalities in the borough by building relationships with the NHS to tackle this issue together in partnership. It was stated that partnership work between the Council, Stockport CCG and the Foundation Trust had recently been nominated for two Health Service Journal awards for their work in supporting people to get home from hospital.
Councillor Wilson then reported that work to rejuvenate Weir Mill had recently been approved as part of a public and private investment project which would save the Grade II listed building from dereliction and provide new homes.
Councillor Wilson then referred to her support for the Stepping Hill NHS Foundation Trust's bid to develop a new state of the art hospital in the town centre which was part of a seven-point plan to transform healthcare in the borough.
Councillor Wilson then stated that as the regulations that enabled the Council to hold its meetings remotely had expired, work had taken place to ensure that council business could be held in a way that was safe and respected the concerns of councillors and officers. It was noted that the Scrutiny Co-ordination Committee would be shortly be considering the format of future meetings of the scrutiny committees and reconfirmed the Cabinet’s commitment that it would continue to attach the same weight to the recommendations and comments of those meetings held remotely as it would face-to-face meetings.
The Deputy Leader of the Council and Cabinet Member for Resources, Commissioning & Governance (Councillor Tom McGee) reported that the universal credit uplift ended on Tuesday, 5 October 2021 that had been relied upon by many members of the public during the pandemic. It was noted that the Council had been awarded £2.16 million under the government’s Hardship Fund which would go some way to compensate for that reduction and would allow the Council to provide some support for those who were most in need.
Councillor McGee then referred to White Ribbon Day that was due to be held on 25 November 2021 and work was taking place for the Council to obtain White Ribbon Accreditation.
Finally, Councillor McGee reported on the progress towards the implementation of the Greater Manchester Clean Air Zone including ongoing consultations with regard to the effect of the proposals on motorhomes and Showman’s Guild vehicles.
The Cabinet Member for Sustainable Stockport (Councillor Sheila Bailey) reported that there remained issues with the green bin collection service arising from problems relating to the availability of HGV drivers. It was stated that it was not possible to alternate the impact of these missed collections with other collection streams due to the disproportionate impact this would have on these services due to the frequency of those collections.
Councillor Bailey then stated that progress had been made with regard to the commitments in the CAN strategy for climate change with reference to trees, woodland and meadows, and specifically the planting of 11,500 trees in parks and along the highway by 2030, the creation of an orchard in every ward and the creation of one woodland each year for the next ten years in partnership with community groups.
The Cabinet Member for Children, Family Services & Education (Councillor Colin Foster) reported that prior to the commencement of the Covid vaccination programme for 12-15 year olds, there were two cohorts of clinically vulnerable children that had been identified for vaccination by their GPs. Clinics had been established for these vaccinations and where those had not yet been undertaken, they would be able to receive this as part of the general vaccination programme. It was stated that the programme was being delivered by school nurses with extensive support from the Council and pharmacy partners as part of an eight-week delivery plan that would be completed by 19 November 2021.
The Cabinet Member for Economy & Regeneration (Councillor David Meller) reported that the granting of the development application for the regeneration of Weir Mill was a key moment for the Stockport Mayoral Development Corporation
Councillor Meller further reported that a bid of approximately £1 billion had been submitted as part of the City Region Sustainable Transport Settlement that included some key proposals for Stockport, including potential funding to support Hs2 connectivity for Stockport Station, creating quality bus transit corridors within the borough, and plans to bring Metrolink to Stockport.
Councillor Meller then stated that the Cheadle Towns Fund Board had been working on cross-party and cross-community proposals to bring a railway station to the area and consultation on that work was due to begin shortly and residents were encouraged to participate in this.
It then reported that work on the Local Plan was continuing and Councillor Meller thanked members of the Development Plan Working Party for a thoughtful and constructive first meeting and that by working together it was hoped that a viable plan for Stockport could be supported by the Planning Inspectorate.