To receive such reports as the Leader of the Council may wish to bring before the Council.
Minutes:
The Leader opened his report by wishing His Majesty
the King a swift and full recovery following his recent cancer
diagnosis.
Turning to matters of business, the Leader reminded everyone that
the County Council’s Future Services Consultation is open for
responses until 31 March. The
consultation seeks Hampshire residents’ views on proposals
that could help lower costs in 13 service areas in future, and what
it might mean if the County Council were to deliver these services
differently after April 2025. All
residents are encouraged to take part, especially those living in
the district council areas of Basingstoke & Deane, Gosport,
Havant and Rushmoor, where the County Council is keen to hear from
more people.
To mark the second anniversary of Russia’s invasion of
Ukraine, the County Council will fly the Ukrainian flag outside the
Great Hall on Saturday, as a demonstration of solidarity with the
people of Ukraine.
The Leader was pleased to report the success in Hampshire of the
Homes for Ukraine scheme, with more than 1,784 Ukrainian families, made up of
nearly 3,500 individuals, having re-settled in the county in the
last 24 months. Working closely with
district and borough councils and community partners, a wide range
of services and support is available to help Ukrainian guests
rebuild their lives. The Leader
thanked County Council officers, especially officers
in the Children’s Services Directorate, for their hard work
together with a heartfelt thank you to the Hampshire residents who
continue to host Ukrainian families, and volunteer for local
charities and community groups supporting families in Hampshire and
Ukraine. In recognition of this
support, Hampshire hosts receive a monthly thank you payment of
£700 until the end of March this year - £200 a month
higher than the current rate set by the government -.
The Leader also reminded anyone who is interested in hosting a
family from Ukraine to register on the Government’s Homes for
Ukraine website – more prospective hosts coming forward to
offer their support is always welcomed.
The Leader was pleased to see the recent Home Office announcement
that a Ukraine Permission Extension Scheme would be open from next
year to enable families from Ukraine to apply for a further 18
months’ permission to stay in the UK when their current visa
expires. Under the new Extension
Scheme, it will be crucial that local authorities continue to
receive grant funding from central government to keep providing
essential support to Ukrainian families and their
hosts. The Leader looked forward to
working with other Council Leaders to have those discussions with
Ministers in due course.
Hampshire County Council welcomes the Government’s
announcement to protect the health of children and young people
through a ban on disposable vapes and a restriction on vape
flavours and marketing. The resolution
on Underage Vaping passed by Full Council last year highlighted the
environmental harm caused by disposable vapes, as well as their
potential to harm children and young people through nicotine
addiction, negative effects on brain development, and other unknown
long-term effects from vaping.
Under the leadership of the Director of Public
Health, the County Council continues to lead the work for a
Smokefree Generation through its multi-agency Tobacco Control
Alliance. This includes working with schools, parents, and carers
to prevent smoking and vaping in children and young people and
supporting people to quit through its commissioned ‘stop
smoking’ service. The Leader
recognised the work of the County Council’s Public Health,
Education and Trading Standards teams, and also thanked the four
Cabinet Members – Councillors Roz Chadd, Liz Fairhurst,
Russell Oppenheimer and Steve Forster – who work closely with
those officers to ensure Hampshire is among the leading authorities
in the country in tackling smoking and underage vaping.
In turning to the importance of digital connectivity the Leader
reported on the success of the national Superfast Broadband
programme, with almost 98% of premises across Hampshire benefiting
from higher internet speeds. In
acknowledging that 2.2% of premises in the county, equating to
around 22,000 properties, are not currently benefiting from the
programme, the Cabinet had recently approved Hampshire’s new
Digital Future Strategy, which underlines the need to ensure that
no part of Hampshire is left behind in an increasingly digitised
world. In this regard, the Leader would
be writing to the Secretary of State for Science, Innovation &
Technology to seek assurances that the 22,000 premises that did not
benefit from the Superfast Broadband programme will have their
internet speeds upgraded at the earliest opportunity.
In regard to other correspondence, the Leader had recently signed a
joint letter with Leaders of seven upper tier councils in the South
East on the impact of utility company street works on the road
network. In his response, the Minister
for Roads and Local Transport expressed an interest in engaging
further with the seven councils on this subject.
Finally, the Leader highlighted some of the challenges that wintry
weather conditions bring for several County Council teams,
particularly for Highways, Countryside and Property:
·
January alone saw three named storms and a cold snap
strike the UK - Storm Henk caused significant disruption in
Hampshire, with heavy rainfall and wind gusts in excess of 60 miles
per hour.
·
Between the 2 and 9 January, the County
Council’s highways teams received 4,166 enquiries on the
effects of Storm Henk, raised 164 emergency jobs related to fallen
trees, and closed more than 100 roads due to flooding or
trees.
·
An increase in tree issues across the County
Council’s Countryside sites, the Basingstoke Canal and Sir
Harold Hilliers Gardens and Arboretum, mainly due to the impact of
storms. Storm Henk resulted in around 185 tree issues being
reported on the rights of way network, 66 trees affected on the
Canal, and 40 impacted at Hilliers.
·
The continuing wet weather continues to have a
detrimental impact on the rights of way network, with paths
waterlogged or impassable in places and requiring additional
maintenance.
·
On a positive note, most flood prevention measures
across the County Council’s wider built estate were
successful. A reminder that residents
can report flooding and other local issues through the County
Council’s new mobile app, called OurHants. The app can be
downloaded free of charge from your phone’s app
store.
Finally, the Leader expressed deep concern regarding
an incident involving one of the County Council’s gritter
drivers who was salting roads on the A325 through Bucks Horn Oak in
the early hours of Monday 15 January.
The window of the gritter vehicle was shot and shattered by a large
ball bearing which came from a passing vehicle. Thankfully, the driver of the gritter vehicle was
unharmed because of his quick reactions, however the Leader urged
anyone who witnessed the incident, or might have information about
it, to contact Hampshire and Isle of Wight Constabulary.
The Leader concluded his report by extending a big thank you to all
of the County Council’s frontline teams who work around the
clock in very challenging and changeable weather conditions
throughout the winter months to support vulnerable residents and
keep road users safe.