To receive such reports as the Leader of the Council may wish to bring before the Council.
Minutes:
The Leader opened his report by echoing the Chairman’s comments on the prestigious awards that Hampshire County Council had received and extended his congratulations to the officers and partners involved.
Turning to finance, the Leader confirmed that the detail of the
Chancellor’s Autumn Statement was being closely looked at to
understand what it would mean for the long-term budgetary pressures
faced by the County Council. The
Chancellor’s announcement of additional funding for adult
social care and schools was welcomed, although disappointing that
the grants had only been confirmed for two years. Despite the County Council’s strong track
record of responsible financial management, the Leader reported
that without immediate financial assistance and a clear plan for
long-term financial sustainability, forecasts indicate that the
County Council would not be able to close future budget gaps
through its own actions alone, with the worst case scenario being
the need to issue a Section 114 notice within the next two years.
The Leader emphasised the timeframe of ‘within the next two
years’, not within a few months, as mistakenly suggested in
recent news reports.
The Leader referred to the recent letter to the Prime Minister,
Chancellor, Levelling Up Secretary and local MPs sent by himself
and the Leader of Kent County Council, Cllr Roger Gough, clearly
setting out the financial position for both Councils, requesting
urgent financial assistance, and for legislative changes and
fundamental reform of the way local government is funded and
allowed to raise revenue together with meaningful dialogue by the
end of the year. The Leader commented
that whilst it was acknowledged that Government had given greater
flexibility to local authorities around council tax, it was not the
remedy to the sector’s overall funding challenges
particularly at a time when household budgets were already facing
considerable strain.
The Leader also referred to devolution and greater freedoms and powers and was encouraged by the Government’s ongoing commitment to roll out more devolution deals across the country. The County Council would continue to work with partners to maintain progress in regard to a County Deal for the Pan-Hampshire area for which a prospectus had been submitted to Government.
In the meantime, the provisional local government settlement next month was awaited, which would provide the detail required to prepare the County Council’s budgets for 2023/24.
The Leader reported that he and the Deputy Leader had engaged in useful discussions with Hampshire MPs about the seriousness of the County Council’s financial position and was pleased that some of the MPs had written and spoken to Ministers as a result of these discussions. The Leader and Deputy Leader would continue to keep Hampshire MPs updated and work closely with them in the coming weeks and months. In the meantime, the County Council would remain focussed on continuing to deliver its services and make the case for a long-term fairer funding settlement for the local government sector as a whole to place it on a more sustainable long-term financial footing.
The Leader drew attention to Item 8 on the Agenda setting out some Constitutional Changes consequential upon the new organisational structure from 1st January. The Leader also gave notice that he would be proposing a further change to the Constitution to enable Chief Officers to answer any technical questions on reports prior to Members moving on to debate, which would require a change to Standing Orders. A report would be prepared for consideration at the next County Council Meeting on 23 February 2023.
The Leader was pleased to announce that in addition to the extra payments the County Council was making to the hosts of Ukrainian guests to cover energy and heating costs over the winter, the County Council intended to make a £200 payment to each guest and £250 per host to support them over the Christmas holiday period funded by the Government grant to support upper tier local authorities to implement the Homes for Ukraine scheme locally.
Finally, the Leader paid tribute to two Directors and the County Council’s Monitoring Officer who would be leaving the County Council.
Felicity Roe, Director of Culture, Communities & Business Services joined Hampshire in 1993 working in senior roles in Performance, Communications and Children’s Services before her appointment as Director of CCBS in 2018. Felicity has managed more than 30 different services within the CCBS directorate over the last four years, which was testament to her leadership, dedication and determination to rise to every challenge.
Stuart Jarvis, Director of Economy, Transport & Environment has had a distinguished career in local government working in Dudley, Southampton, Pembrokeshire and Somerset before joining Hampshire County Council as Deputy Director of Environment in 2004. Stuart was appointed to his current role as Director of ETE in 2011, with his impact in that role reaching far beyond the County Council to many partner organisations and MPs.
Barbara Beardwell, the County Council’s Head of Law & Governance and Monitoring Officer joined the County Council as a Senior Solicitor in the Planning team in 2002. Barbara was appointed Monitoring Officer in 2009, and took on responsibility for Governance and Legal Services in the years that followed. Many Members and officers past and present had benefited greatly from her encyclopaedic knowledge of local government law and legal expertise.
All three officers would leave with the County Council’s gratitude for their years of excellent service and with very best wishes for the future.