In accordance with Procedure Rules Nos.11 and 35 a period of 10 minutes is allocated for members of the public to address the meeting on any matter relevant to the work of the body in question. Individual members of the public may speak for up to 5 minutes but the Chairman or person presiding will decide how the period of time allocated for public speaking will be apportioned where there are a number of speakers. Members of the public are not required to give notice to use this facility. However, as a matter of courtesy, a period of 24 hours’ notice is encouraged.
Members of the public wishing to ask a question at the meeting should provide at least three clear working days’ notice in writing and should include the question with that notice. This will enable an informed answer to be given.
Minutes:
Carolyn Lowe of Sandbach Town Council asked that savings achieved from the closure of the Arclid household waste recycling centre be removed from the 2017 budget, with appropriate savings being made elsewhere, to enable alternatives to the closure of the site to be considered before a decision on the site was made.
The Portfolio Holder for Regeneration responded that this had been considered at a meeting the previous day and that the specific proposals put forward by the Town Council would be submitted to Ansa to see if any savings could be made, although it was not clear that the income generated would be sufficient. He also pointed out that there were a number of other household waste recycling centres within five miles of the majority of the residents of Sandbach.
Jonathan Shaw of Cheshire East UNISON referred to a proposal in the pre-budget consultation report to save £5 million pounds from the Council's workforce budget across the three key directorates, which would see further service restructures and staffing reductions. He also commented that the pre-budget report and the Corporate Plan used the phrase ‘focus on what matters’. He asked the Chairman to confirm ‘who or what exactly mattered now in Cheshire East’, and why such vital information that would affect services and undoubtedly staff was ‘buried’ on page 107 of the pre-budget report.
The Chairman responded that she was clear that Cheshire East Council was focussed on delivering quality services fairly and equitably to meet the needs of its local residents and that the strength and resilience of its local communities and the prosperity of its residents was of the highest importance. None of this could be achieved without the talent, commitment and expertise of the Council’s staff. She expressed disappointment at the perception that the proposed savings had been ‘buried’ within the budget consultation report and was satisfied that with the support of the Finance Team the budget proposals had come forward in a timely manner with consultation, consideration and scrutiny as well as staff engagement. She also referred to page 109 of the pre-budget report which showed an estimated spend of an additional £10.5M over the next three years to meet pay and pension increases for staff. Finally, she said that the Council would engage with all affected staff and their representatives on any proposed changes to staffing structures or terms and conditions.
The Portfolio Holder for Corporate Policy and Legal Services, referring to the Workforce Strategy, said that the proposed savings would be achieved
through a combination of a reduction in consultancy and agency requirements and core staffing costs, alongside increased productivity and further workforce initiatives which would be done in consultation with staff and their representatives. He added that if it became necessary to impact on staff directly in order to meet the budgetary savings, the Council would make use of the turnover factor.
Dot Flint, Chairman of Town Partnerships, spoke about the work of the partnerships and the benefits they achieved for their local communities. She also outlined some of the projects with which some of the town partnerships were involved. Supporting information on the work of the partnerships was circulated at the meeting. She mentioned that at present, the partnerships received funding from Cheshire East Council on an annual basis. She asked if Cheshire East Council would consider three year funding to provide stability in the partnerships and enable them to plan for the future.
The Portfolio Holder for Communities and Health replied that he would speak on the matter when the related report on the agenda was considered.
At the conclusion of public speaking time, the Chairman thanked the speakers for attending the meeting and taking part.