Agenda item

To consider a joint report of the Director of Place Management and the Director of Public Health.

The Mid-Year Portfolio Performance and Resource Reports (PPRRs) for the Communities, Culture & Sport and Parks, Highways & Transport Services Portfolios are presented for consideration by the Committee.

The Portfolio Reports are based on the 2024/25 Portfolio Performance and Resource Agreements (PPRAs), which were considered by the Committee on 10 June 2024 and approved by Cabinet on 25 June 2024.

The Mid-Year Reports focus on delivery of the portfolio priorities from April to September 2024 and includes forecast performance and financial data (where this is available) for the Portfolios, along with an update on the portfolio savings programmes.

The Scrutiny Committee is recommended to:-

(1)  Consider the Mid-Year Portfolio Performance and Resource Reports.

(2)  Review the progress against delivering key projects, priority outcomes, targets and budgets for 2024/25.

(3)  Highlight key areas of and responsibility for taking forward corrective action to address any performance or resource issues.

(4)  Highlight any significant issues or changes to be fed back to the Cabinet alongside the Corporate Performance and Resource Report.

(5)  Identify how areas of strong performance and good practice can be shared in other services.

Officer contact: Alan Lawson by email: alan.lawson@stockport.gov.uk or Kora Yohannan by email: kora.yohannan@stockport.gov.uk

The Director of Place Management and the Director of Public Health submitted a joint report (copies of which had been circulated) setting out the Mid-Year Portfolio Performance and Resource Reports (PPRRs) for the Communities, Culture & Sport and Parks, Highways & Transport Services Portfolios.

The Portfolio Reports were based on the 2024/25 Portfolio Performance and Resource Agreements (PPRAs), which were considered by the Committee on 10 June 2024 and approved by Cabinet on 25 June 2024.

The Mid-Year Reports focussed on delivery of the portfolio priorities from April to September 2024 and included forecast performance and financial data (where this was available) for the Portfolios, along with an update on the portfolio savings programmes.

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

The following comments were made/ issues raised:-

Communities, Culture & Sport

·         It was noted that incidents of anti-social behaviour had increased in recent years; this was a trend across the country and resulted in partly from a welcome increase in reporting of anti-social incidents.

·         There were many reasons for the increase in anti-social behaviour. The council continued to work with police to tackle this issue and some examples of action included the town centre operation and work to tackle off-road bikes.

·         The newly appointed Chief Superintendent Lewis Hughes had expressed a wish to attend a future meeting of this committee to discuss this work.

·         It was noted that 101 calls to the police were being answered in a timely manner.

·         It was noted that the police had successfully employed drones to discover where off-road bikes were being stored.

·         The portfolio holder undertook to talk to police about a heat-map of anti-social behaviour.

·         Members requested that the Greater Manchester Police website include a calendar of Police and Communities Together (PACT) meetings.

·         The Communities, Culture and Sport portfolio showed a deficit of £0.085 million; this was a result of not having generated as much income within the portfolio as forecasted. 

·         The Uniforms for All initiative had been launched at the Climate Action Now (CAN) summit and had resulted in school uniform being donated in an amount the equivalent of the weight of a camel. Framing the initiative as being related to CAN as well as addressing socio-economic matters had worked well.

·         It was further reported that most donations had been for primary school uniforms and the initiative would be expanded to incorporate Family Hubs and other community venues to allow more residents to access the scheme.

·         In response to a question about socio-economic impact assessments across the council, it was reported that additional groups had been added to the equality impact assessment. The council had adopted the Greater Manchester integrated assessment tool which would help it to make better decisions by having a greater level of granularity and understanding of the different ways in which areas within the borough experienced socioeconomic disadvantage.

·         The school poverty-proofing scheme was voluntary and some schools had been more open to it than others. School governors were encouraged to ask schools to take part in the poverty-proofing scheme. It was also reported that more primary schools than high schools had taken part in that scheme.

·         It was noted that the council had sought to support networks with accessing sustainable funding and that work had resulted in an increase in the number of successful funding bids.

·         In terms of the diversity of the VCFSE sector, efforts were underway to create as diverse an alliance as possible with community networks working proactively to ensure a wide breadth of representation.

·         The amber rating for libraries reflected that savings were being made through natural turnover and the council was, therefore, unable to make all its savings immediately.

·         It was reported that artists and groups were currently putting in bids to work at Stock Room.

·         The legacy of Stockport Town of Culture included the Stockport Sunday Spectacular, the markets and opening of new bars. It was reported that people had come to Stockport to attend its Town of Culture events and had wanted to return.

·         The Hat Museum had used the Town of Culture as a springboard for its reopening.

·         It was also reported that there was greater confidence in the artworld community which had nurtured connections made during the Town of Culture period.

·         Officers undertook to provide an update on the £2.6 million awarded through the Cultural Development Fund.

·         It was reported that the Inclusive Job Fairs which had taken place within local communities had been successful and achieved positive feedback. Further Inclusive Job Fairs were planned throughout the borough.

·         Members requested an update at a future meeting of this Scrutiny Committee on the new governance model for socio-economic duty, including the powers to hold the council to account.

Parks, Highways and Transport Services

·         In terms of strategic transport projects, improvements to access at Reddish North and Bredbury stations were noted. It was reported that the council had been in regular talks with TfGM about improving access to other railway stations across Stockport.

·         Work at Cheadle railway station was expected to commence in January 2025.

·         In response to a question about the Metrolink coming to Stockport, it was reported that this was a scheme requiring national government treasury approval. Stockport was required to demonstrate that there was a strong business case for this scheme.

·         The business case being worked on was a line from East Didsbury to the centre of Stockport with hopes for an extension to Hazel Grove.

·         Consultation on the business case for the Metrolink was expected to run into the spring of 2025 and from there it would be considered by the Treasury. It was hoped that the result of this bid would be known by the end of 2025.

·         Should the council be successful in its bid to bring Metrolink to Stockport, it was likely that a Transport and Works Order Act would be required along with statutory and planning approvals. The Metrolink was not, therefore, an immediate prospect but the council had a route to delivery.

·         Members commented on the work of community volunteers who helped frontline services. Those groups were supported by the council, for example by the removal of green waste following clearance exercises.

·         Members also commented positively on the council's District Centre Managers who had made a big difference to the borough’s district centres and had brought traders together. This work had enabled local residents to use their district centres more regularly and to shop locally.

·         The process for the implementation of a 20 mph speed limit on roads where average speeds were below 24 mph was through Area Committees for signage funding and took approximately six to twelve weeks. Larger schemes which required traffic calming took twelve months minimum to implement.

·         School were able to approach the council for information on the School Streets scheme. There was tailored approach to the delivery of these schemes based on the school and location. School Streets were a human resource intense initiative and schools were required to be fully invested in a scheme prior to implementation. 

·         It was reported that road safety around schools was an ongoing initiative undertaken on an annual basis.

·         Local job fairs had been successful in recruiting a number of school crossing patrol officers who were currently being trained.

·         Officers undertook to provide an update on the provision of EV charging points to a future meeting of this Scrutiny Committee.

·         Members commented that the street cleansing outcomes reported within the portfolio performance and resource report did not necessarily match residents’ perceptions. In response it was stated that measures of street-cleansing had been based on the efficiency of the work of TLC and officers undertook random inspections of street cleansing work undertaken by TLC.

·         A borough-wide spring clean was scheduled for 2025 where volunteers would be asked to identify problem areas for street cleansing.

·         It was reported that gritting had been undertaken across all priority routes following a recent cold snap but that heavy rain had washed the grit away. That period of heavy rain had been followed by zero temperatures. It was reported to have been a unique set of weather conditions.

·         Members noted that TLC wagons had been converted to gritters during the cold spell and were pleased by the flexible approach. Members also commented positively on the level of communication from officers on the gritting undertaken in that period.

·         It was noted that no grit had been placed at the entrance to the Stockport Interchange, leading to dangerous conditions; this would be reported to TfGM.

·         The RAG rating within the portfolio for bereavement services was noted to be amber, however it was reported that two mechanisms were now working and that bringing the bereavement service in house had been a positive move.

·         It was planned that a report would be submitted to all Area Committees on the subject of free and permitted parking.

RESOLVED – (1) That the Mid-Year Portfolio Performance and Resource Reports be noted.

(2) That the progress against delivering key projects, priority outcomes, targets and budgets for 2024/25 be noted.

(3) Highlight key areas of and responsibility for taking forward corrective action to address any performance or resource issues.

(4) Highlight any significant issues or changes to be fed back to the Cabinet alongside the Corporate Performance and Resource Report.

(5) Identify how areas of strong performance and good practice can be shared in other services.