To receive such announcements as may be made by the Leader and Deputy Leader.
Minutes:
The Leader of the Council, in summary:
· Reported, in relation to the coronavirus pandemic, that the government would announce what tier of restrictions Cheshire East would be in over Christmas, later today. The speed of decrease in the infection rate had levelled off recently and in the last few days had started to rise again. He urged all residents to remember the basic steps needed to keep safe.
· Reported that, in September, when it was clear that the second wave was starting, Cllr Craig Browne and he had written to the Secretary of State asking for more local control of Test-Trace and increased powers to enforce restrictions locally. The Council had now been granted most of the powers it had requested in September. The Council would use the new powers to work with businesses to ensure that their establishments were Covid-secure. However, the powers available to the Council, which included the power to issue improvement notices and immediate restriction notices, would enable the Council to act more quickly where businesses were in breach of the regulations and people were put at risk.
· Reported that, in October, all leaders of Cheshire local authorities had jointly submitted a request for financial support from Government to assist local businesses. A reply was still awaited.
· Reported that the Pfizer vaccine was now being rolled out across Cheshire, and the AstraZeneca vaccine was not far behind. Although it would take some months for the vaccination programme to be rolled out, he felt that, once we were through what was likely to be a difficult winter, we could look forward to a better 2021. He wished everyone a merry and safe Christmas.
The Deputy Leader of the Council, in summary:
· Reported that there had been a positive response following the consultation on the Corporate Plan. The Council would be considering all feedback received and making some refinements to the Plan in the new year.
· Reported that, following consultation in 2019, the draft SADPD had been amended, removing a number of green belt sites from local service centres. Further representations were being received and would be sent, with the final draft, for examination by a planning inspector.
· Reported that Covid restrictions had had an impact on planning applications, enforcement, Section 106 Agreements and Discharge of Conditions applications, which were all taking longer to process. The Council was intending to address this through additional staffing resource but in the meantime was making some temporary changes to services, the details of which would be notified to all members.
· Reported that the Council’s response to the Greater Manchester proposal for a Clean Air Zone had been submitted on 3rd December. A response was expected in the spring.
· Reported that the Council’s response to the HS2b Western Leg Refinements consultation had been submitted on 11th December.
· Reported that the Chancellor had presented his Spending Review 2020 on 25th November. The details of this would potentially have implications for the Council’s MTFS, and those details were expected to be announced tomorrow. The Council had launched its own consultation of the MTFS on 2nd December, and people were encouraged to submit their responses to the Council’s proposals on the Cheshire East website.
· Hoped that everyone would be able to celebrate Christmas in a way that was special to them, and looked forward to returning to a more familiar way of life in 2021.
The Mayor echoed the comments of the Leader and Deputy Leader that everyone keep themselves healthy and safe over the Christmas and winter period.