Minutes:
The Leader of the Council reported that two weeks ago the Chancellor had delivered the Autumn Statement amid hopes that this would provide some respite from six years of austerity and a growing national funding crisis in areas such as health and social care. Unfortunately the statement said very little on these subjects and it seemed clear that the Council’s original projections of three more years of deep cuts would soon become a reality, with some talk of austerity even continuing into the 2020s.
This was extremely disappointing news and the Council now awaited the local government settlement, which on the basis of recent years would arrive very late. Last year’s settlement had provided more generous funding mainly to councils in the Home Counties for which there had still been no clear justification. The Council would continue to lobby for a fair funding deal for County Durham.
Next week the Cabinet would consider the Council’s Medium Term Financial Plan 7, 2017/18 Budget and budget consultation which had been carried out in the Autumn, which followed major consultation undertaken on the public’s priorities in 2010 and 2013. This year’s consultation had involved talking to more than 3,000 people across County Durham, with nearly 2,000 consultation forms completed. Events ranged from the Council’s fourteen Area Action Partnerships to other community meetings, roadshow events at supermarkets and a special event for young people.
From the budget consultation 63% of respondents stated that the Council’s proposed approach for 2017/18 was a reasonable way to go forward. The public’s verdict of how the Council had made savings so far showed 60% giving a mark of 6 or higher compared with 17% who marked at 4 or lower. Although many people had noticed the impact of the cuts on council services, the responses also showed that many had not seen an impact. There was also strong support for the prioritisation in earlier budget consultation events for services such as protecting vulnerable children and adults, support for adults in their own homes and job creation. The Leader thanked all of those who took part in the budget consultation, which, as in previous years would form a key part of the Council’s budget decisions.
The Leader informed Council that the initial proposals of the Boundary Commission for England for new Parliamentary constituency boundaries, which were out for consultation and comment by 5 December 2016, were considered by the Constitution Working Group on 11 October, 9 November and 24 November 2016. The Constitution Working Group had concluded that it wasn’t possible to reach agreement over a combined response to the consultation other than to confirm all Members’ opposition to the separation of the East and West electoral divisions of Barnard Castle between different constituencies. A response to this effect had been submitted for the Council.
The Leader referred to ongoing discussions with trade unions in relation to teaching assistants. Constructive meetings had been held with Unison on 17 November, 29 November and 2 December which had resulted in a way forward.
A number of issues were raised in relation to the range of duties, training and qualifications required for teaching assistant roles and the Council had agreed to undertake a joint review with the recognised trade unions. This review would look at the teaching assistant role, function, job description and activities that were undertaken within schools, to establish whether current job descriptions adequately described the role. The timescale for completion of the review was by 1 September 2017.
The Council had agreed to suspend the formal notices of termination and re-engagement that were issued in October 2016 pending the conclusion and outcome of the review.
The review process would commence immediately and an initial meeting had been set up for Friday and the Council would work closely with the recognised trade unions, which were Unison, GMB and Unite, to conclude the review by 1 September 2017.
Given the urgency of the issue, a delegated decision to suspend the dismissal and re-engagement process was taken by the Director of Corporate Resources and Director of Children’s Services in consultation with the Chairman. This was in line with the Council constitution and a report would be submitted to the January Council meeting.
In concluding, the Leader thanked everyone for all their hard work during 2016 and wished all Members and officers a Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year.
Councillor Stoker informed the Council he was very disappointed with the lateness of the notification which had been sent to schools to inform them that the proposed industrial action by teaching assistants had been called off on the Wednesday, with many schools not being notified by noon on the Tuesday. This had caused disturbance to both pupils and parents. An email was sent to schools at 3.45 p.m. on the day before the strike action was due to take place. Councillor Stoker stressed the need for better communication.
Councillor Henig suggested that Councillor Stoker should forward his views to the trade union concerned as the timing of the suspension of industrial action was a matter for it rather than the Council. He was pleased that the industrial action had been called off and that the review was taking place.
Councillor Stoker replied that the County Council was responsible for contacting schools, who then in turn contacted parents. The Chief Executive informed the Council that schools could only be notified when the County Council received information from the trade unions.