Good afternoon everybody um and Welcome to our live streamed February executive meeting I’m Richard Henry I’m the uh leader of the council and I’ll be chairing today’s meeting I hope that those watching um will have an opportunity to see and hear what we’re doing on behalf of the town’s residents and
Businesses for the benefit of members of the public who have joined us this afternoon and for those who choose to watch the meeting later on YouTube um the council’s executive considers committee considers policy strategy and service related matters with the aim of improving how we serve our residents including those related to
The delivery of our future Town future council’s corporate plan um the corporate plan has been uh thoroughly reviewed and um we will be changing the name at po Council um in later on this month and renaming it the steerage even better plan um so hopefully people will be looking towards
Um our new corporate plan as we launch it next in a couple of weeks so these activities include the actions we are taking to transform Our Town Center our program to construct more social affordable and good quality housing and our very important work work across the town in the neighborhoods to
Engage with local people to understand how they would like us to improve their living environments I’ll now ask the members of the executive to introduce themselves and uh what their portfolios focus on and I’ll start with Jackie this time thank you very much good afternoon everyone I’m Jackie holwell I’m coun for
Simon’s green Ward and my portfolio includes Community safety qualities and older people and health thank you thank you L Lou hello I’m lurine ratti I’m a councelor for the Oldtown Ward uh and I lead on uh culture Leisure and information technology thank you very much Lloyd thank you shair uh I’m councilor
Lloyd Brisco uh and the counselor for one of the councelors for Martin’s wood hord and I’m also the executive portfolio holder for economy Enterprise and transport thank you very much Janette thank you chair I’m councelor Janette Thomas I represent the pink green W I have responsibility for housing and Housing Development and I’m
Also the deputy leader thank you very much Sandra thank you leader my name is councelor Sandra bar I repres presentes St Nicholas Ward and my gift from the B council is neighborhoods communities Cooperative counseling and I also have a responsibility for uh young adults and children in the town thank you
Simon follow that gift um I’m Simon spell I’m a sheer counselor H my portfolio is environment which includes climate change and performance and I’m thean Charlie re Gunner for today is sitting thank you very much um so I’m looking forward to what I’m sure will be another productive executive meeting um
The executive are supported by a number of officers and um they will introduce themselves when they um speak um before we start though I would like to introduce Adrien Hawkins who has kindly joined us um this afternoon for item four and that’s the stems sector skills framework Adrian Hawkins OB is
The chair of stevenage development board the chair of hars local Enterprise partnership main board and also um and more pertinent to this afternoon the chair of the Harts local Enterprise partnership skills and employment board Adrian has championed the skills agenda particularly working with the council the college and local businesses
To address skills shortages so agent thank you for joining us and we should get to item four shortly um where after a brief introduction from myself and councelor bar we’ll ask you to um address the council okay so welcome so um as we move on to the agenda um item one apologies for
Absence and any Declarations of interests do we have any thank you sh Ian G Democratic Services we have apologies from councelor Mrs Joan Lloyd thank you thank you very much Ian item two is the minutes of the uh 17th of January council meeting um that’s in the agenda
Pack um starting on page five um are these agreed excellent thank you very much um we now have the uh minutes of the overview and scrutiny committee and select committees and I will ask the Strategic directors starting with Richard prro to provide a pre review of the most re recent committee meetings of
Which there are a number to consider at today’s meeting so rich over to you thank you chair yes um the community select committee met on the 8th of January um it had two main items of business the first related to a draft report um that incorporated a set of
Recommendations linked to the housing repairs scrutiny review the committee has been undertaking um the recommendations were approved by the committee and the next steps are for those recommendations to be presented to the to councilor Thomas as the portfolio holder for housing for consideration and for comment the second
Item uh related to an urgent um part two um business proposal relating to um activity activity uh business proposals for Fairland Valley Sailing Center and the main Lake um the council’s cultural well-being and Leisure Services manager provided an outline to the committee of the proposals and the report was noted and
The members comments raised at the committee were actually presented to the executive committee in January when the executive considered the part two report and on that note chair I’m happy to take any questions thank you Rich any questions uh Janette just to comment that uh my response to the community select
Committee is work in progress at the moment but we’ll get back to them in the time scales required thank you okay thank you for that Janette any other questions or comments no okay if we’re happy to move on so I can now ask um Tom Pike um to
Give an update on I think the avaro andon economy committee thank you Tom thank you than you leader the environment and economy select committee met in mid January and looked at two particular reports the first was the draft report looking at the bus scrutiny review uh members will recall that the bus
Scrutiny review uh came about following the announcement that the zero emission uh electric bus scheme for steage between ARA and uh Department of Transport County Council uh would not progress as the business case um did didn’t make didn’t add up uh but the the committee have had a good review of bus
Operation within the town looking at issues like pedestrian access uh seating um looking at routes in and around the bus station opening hours and then other other facets of the bus service a final report is being drafted at the moment it’s not yet complete it’ll be with the portfolio holder councelor Brisco and
Officers shortly uh and of course some of the recommendations will relate to our partners at HCC who are the uh transport Authority and also for private operators such as ariva over whom we’ve got no uh contractual relationship the second item looked at the draft report in relation to the cost
Of living scrutiny review reflecting that there is continued uh extreme Financial pressure in some parts of the community uh and there are some significant ongoing impacts again the committee noted the great work and partnership effort through the social inclusion partnership and a number of steps that have been taken to create
Warm spaces and other uh other ways of supporting within the community but there is a need to continue to Lobby the government for proper Local Government funding and funding to go into the community so a report on that will be forthcoming shortly thank you Tom I know um many of
Us were very uh unhappy about the the collapse of the electric bus SCH because that’s something that certainly my predecessor was championing for many years and I know um the cabinet are very unhappy with that do any me other members have any comments or questions no okay well thank you very
Much Tom and Rich for those um updates um we’ll now move to the um the first main agenda item which is item four the stems sector skills framework um so I’ll do an introduction before I ask Sandra to come in and then um Adrian Hawkings so I’m really pleased
To bring this report to the executive today um and with Sandra and the officer team I’d like to thank particularly uh daral chowski who has worked very hard on this for uh for quite a long time bringing it to um executive many of you will know that I
Uh was a lecturer for 10 years at North arts college and I’m deeply committed to opening doors and opportunities for the people of our town that means working hard to make sure young local people can access the Fantastic employment opportunities on their doorstep if they choose but I like Council Sandra bar and
Other counselors are also advocates for disability action and for equality as well through this approach we’ll be making commitments to help make sure all the people of our town can access diff different opportunities the skills framework has been developed jointly with hartfordshire local Enterprise partnership and I’m delighted
That Adrien Hawkins is here as we show our shared commitment at its core the stevenage work skills framework is about making sure local people are at the heart of and benefit from our once- in a generation townwide regeneration we do this in lots of ways through our culture and Leisure work led
By Council roati so that the facilities of the town are highly quality are high quality and accessible we do it too through our work with the healthy Hub citizens advice and other partners to make sure we can support those who need it and we have made great strides to put
Skills at the heart of our regeneration and now our corporate plan as I mentioned earlier on will come to full Council later on this month as I mentioned at Council in January the stevenage works program has had a wonderful impact engaging over over 500 young people to explore construction careers raising £50,000 for
Local community activities helping 150 people into jobs in the sector and our work with North arts college job center plus also stands out for example the opening of the new Marks and Spencers building helping 70 local people into good jobs we have a once- in a generation
Opportunity not only are we home to the third largest cell and Gene cluster in the world but also to a strong and growing space and defense cluster with Airbus announcing plans recently for a space Catalyst we are home too to vital Public Services like our colleagues colleagues
At the NHS who make such a difference to our lives Council services and not just us but the new HQ for hartfordshire County Council soon to be based in stevenage we also have wonderful Leisure and cultural offer offers too so far we’ve attracted 2.7 million funding to help our community access
Skills and jobs including the very exciting Mission 44 project we hosted a visit from number 10 last year and I’m delighted that following that visit we have been asked to Pilot a project that helps support 150 people with disabilities to help develop new skills or access work or to
Be supported to be able to remain in work and put the right support in place to be able to thrive so we have a solid foundation to build on this strategy is a draft and I know councel Rob bro and the environment and economy select committee will be working through this
I’m also pleased that we’ll be running further sessions with the stevenage development board seeking their views and continuing the many conversations we’ve had in particular with young people so that’s my introduction I’d now like to ask Sandra bar for comments thank you leader as you would expect as a
Community-driven person this work on skills and opportunities very close to my heart I’m very proud of my role as a voluntary School governor for several schools in this town for over 40 years in addition to my tenure as a local counselor and a portfolio holder I’ve watched stevenage grow mature and Thrive
And I’m very proud to consider myself a resident I am deeply invested in the journey towards enhancing ing the lives of our residents and that exactly what this work this work is about it is my mission to ensure that work reaches those who need it most helping to break
Down those most Dee rooted barriers where challenges may be generally entrenched as Richard noticed this approach comes at the right time building on the work of our once- in aik generation Town Center regeneration and the commitments outlined in our corporate plan few towns like stevenage although I
Would say stevenage is unique but then I would could boast opportunities to be rocket scientists defense defense Specialists doctors nurses genetic scientists engineers and much more we want to make sure that our residents are best equipped to make the most of these diverse and high value roles whilst not
Every resident may be able to take up the opportunity to work in one of our Industries but especially the lead stem organizations we want to make sure that the doors are open to them if they choose to do so likewise we want to provide the same commitment to other key
Sectors for the town including construction where stepich works is already making significant strides as well as our cultural and creative sex sections which we know are equally essential Richard and I have already seen firsthand the impact of some of this work having attended the launch events for our work with Mission 44 at
Airbus and North hartfordshire College over the last few months seeing young people so committed to their future and opening doors for themselves is a wonderful thing to see the work we’ve been doing so far has been shaped in partnership with young people educational providers businesses and our partners to best understand their
Perspectives and ensure they are given agency and owners ship of our approach naturally this will be a core element in the work going forwards this is a hugely exciting project for us all that truly shows our ambition to improve the life chances for all our residents and
Highlight Steve n as an Exempla not only throughout Harper year but also regionally and nationally thank you thank you Sandra um and as mentioned we are joined by um Adrian Hawkins and I know Adrian is is passionate um a passionate advocate for ensuring that our community have outstanding opportunities to develop skills which
Can open doors without doubt the development of the delivery of the skills framework is a partnership effort from the local Enterprise partnership the stevenage development board businesses and education providers and it’s only by working together that we can uh secure the best result for local residents and employers so having said
That agent would you kindly address add the executive thank you Adrian Hawkins thank you very much indeed uh councelor Henry and um I appreciate the opportunity to speak before you today um yes very much so the the skills agenda is very close to my heart um has been
For for nearly 20 years having been a governor and um chairing various uh organizations related to skills and um it’s been a delight that um four years ago we were offered the opportunity by government to provide a town investment fund um narrative for the town and um as a
Result of that opportunity we were able to look at the the needs of our local people um and our local employers and trying to find ways that we can bind those great opportunities together so that our local people can look towards getting uh improved skills or skills that actually meet the local
Requirements for for employment and our local factories our local businesses can actually employ local people that are skilled correctly for them for the future so at that time four years ago when we put our bid in we we came out with the narrative around um improving skills within the locality to suit the
Businesses that are also based here about 8 years ago the hure local Enterprise partnership supported the development of the stevenage bioscience Catalyst shortly after that we supported the development of the um cell and Gene catapult and um both of those organizations have now led to International businesses wanting to set
Up their companies within the locality of stevenage and North hars generally that presents a huge opportunity for stevenage some something between 7 and a half after 10,000 jobs will be arriving in steelage over the next 3 to four years and we really just need to prepare our curriculum our our
Agenda locally to to suit that additionally having been the chair of the skills and employment board for the harer local Enterprise partnership for the last 10 years I’ve noticed having spoken to lots of schools and lots of colleges that the engagement with local businesses was a crucial aspect to them
Getting to understand what in local employers need let alone what um local um schools agendas need to be so um we’ve managed um through the steam development board to bring lots of local employers together and um we’ve listened and heard their voice and they’ve said that they need more and more people
Locally to work within their businesses and that’s got to be great for stevenage um as indeed has the fact that our local college has already started to develop scitec the steelage innovation and Technology Center with stage one uh which was focused purely on life sciences and hopefully with other stages
To come in terms of developing um the engineering electronic engineering and you know sustainability and all the other factors that are starting to appear in our um modern day world that we live in and um so from that point of view we actually have funds ready to be invested from the stevenage development
Board and the stevenage Barrow council’s perspective Ive and it’s been an absolute Delight to work with an organization like the stage Bar Council who are so Keen to make the Regeneration of stevenage work not just in buildings but in people that make them and fill
Them and you know do all the things that they have to do to earn a living because at the end of the day we all live our lives around what we can earn and how we go about um delivering the best opportunities for our families and the
Burough Council has done a fabulous job in that respect and um I’d like to um congratulate them from all sorts of sectors that have said to me that it’s great to be working in this environment so hopefully that gives everybody a sort of an understanding as to what we’re
Trying to achieve with regard to skills elevation and um skills delivery and it doesn’t have to just be in stem it can be in construction it can be in any number of subjects the important thing is that we’re all focused on making that happen so thank you very much
Indeed thank you Adrian and can I take this opportunity to thank you for all the work that you’ve done in driving this agenda forward I know it’s been a passion of yours um and I think at every meeting that we attend together I hear the word skills and employment coming
From from yourself so um thank you on behalf of the council and the town for for all the work that you’ve done over the years we’re now going to have a very short um presentation from darl gidowski before we open it up for any questions
Or comments do you want to come in now or after the short presentation yeah that fine thank you Simon yeah okay over to you darl thank you leader just wait for the slides to appear on screen okay there’s not too much air time to fill bril so just a few slides provide
Some some introductions give a brief headline of the proposals that are contained within the um the report and the attachments so next slide please so first and foremost this work Builds on a lot of ongoing mentum activity around skills and a lot of these have been referenced by the by the
Three speakers previous to me but just to touch on a few um Stephen works is a partnership between the council job center plus and North Halford College which since 2017 has been designed to get people into training and jobs and as the leader referenc at the last meeting
Of the council since its formation step Works has supported over 500 people to attend training courses put in place over 50 apprenticeships and secured over £50,000 in investment for the local community alongside this there’s also alignment with the council’s Regeneration Ambitions as as ad reference Steven development board was
Was formed in 2020 as a senior multi-stakeholder partnership to oversee the development of of a town deal for stevenage and again this has resulted in 37.5 million secured through the towns fund to support stevenage Town investment plan and to complement this again as referenced by the leader um
We’ve also been successful in securing 2.7 million of funding to support local skills development and our community wealth building Ambitions through the Community Renewal fund UK shared Prosperity fund uh and most recently our partnership with Mission 44 which is a teral foundation founded by St Louis hon
Um framing all of this work is a really strong set of local assets and there’s a lot more we could list but just to give a slight favor I’ll touch on three um generation stevenage careers fair for young people in stevenage uh to meet with local employeers and discover the
Amazing local local employment opportunities stem Discovery Center which is an Interactive Science and Engineering education center located at the Airbus campus um run by North har Street College with support from the haret local Enterprise partnership and scitec which is a new Venture um opening in opened in March 2023 uh provide space
For local people to build the necessary skills required by science and technology businesses and Industry within the area so it’s clear that there’s already significant momentum underway in this area and a real opportunity to further build and augment these activities next slide please so at the heart of this work is a
Commitment to engage with and listen to key stakeholders uh this slide tries to distill that feed pack into 10 key headlines um fundamentally voices have been loud and clear in saying that they want jobs to be made tangible and real through experiential opportunities access to Industry role models and
Mentors stronger links between careers and subjects in the classroom and all of this is underpinned by desire to start these conversations as early as possible and to ensure that key influences in people’s lives are provided with um knowledge and understanding to help support these decisions whilst also providing Equity of opportunity to those
Who most May face the most barriers finally it’s also clear that we communicate um these opportunities uh to to all stakeholders uh and ensure that the relationship building between these groups uh is strong next slide please um so how are we going to take that feedback and act on it so this
Shows uh this slide shows a broad four-stage overview of the approach to highlight the opportunity that’s available which we touched on the first slide has has been referenced to clarify our ambition which needs to ensure that it’s suitable for all target cohorts to recognize the spoke challenges faced by
Stevenage residents and to develop a focused approach to respond to these which will result in the creation of an action plan that will evolve over time and be own jointly by key Partners next slide please so just to dig a Little Deeper on the right we’ve got the the key
Stakeholder groups who who we feel need to be supported people in employment supported to make career changes and in identify career progression and development opportunities people outside or with barriers to employment to ensure that targeted work is being undertaken to address those with greatest barriers and finally uh young people to ensure
That the next generation of stevenage residents is given the best set of tools to make the most of the excellent opportunities on their doorstep the left looks at the three uh foundational elements that underpin this approach um which is building on the key ethos and brand of stevenage Works into other key
Sectors using it as a template for future skills and careers development ensuring that this work is in step with our bu in a generation Town Center regeneration activities and all of this with the goal of creating a Steven center of excellence and skills and careers development which harnesses the
Momentum of all this ongoing activity next slide please finally uh this last slide looks at a number of of key sectors and I think this has been referenced throughout um the initial version of this framework focuses more broadly on skills but also includes a sector uh specific overview focused on stem this
Was an obvious First Step as not only does our partnership with mission for 4 specifically focus on stem opportunities but we also know that stem Industries account for 30% of Industry groups in stevenage and in turn in turn these industries recruit 49% of all stevenage employees stevenage has also been
Recognized as the third largest sell Eng cluster in the world and the largest in Europe it’s been awarded the prestigious Life Sciences opportunity Zone identified by the government uh for promoting uh the UK’s life science capabilities on the global stage and finally has been designated as a high
Opportunity area by the department for international trade but but there’s always the opportunity to include other key sectors over time for example construction where stevenage works is already making brilliant strides public sector Services which is a key link with not only the list of hospital here but obviously also he County Council roles
Coming in um and not to forget the creative and cultural and Retail and Hospitality Elements which link directly with the council’s cultur L regeneration approach to the town center that’s it for me but absolutely happy to answer any questions thank you thank you darl while we’re getting the
Screen back to uh show people in the uh chamber um I just wanted um to point out the importance of um creative and cultural opportunities because I know when I’ve been going around um businesses both the large businesses and smmes um they want to attract the best
Quality of staff and they want good cultural and um creative opport opportunities in the town as well so I pleased that we’ve got that as a strand okay um I’ll now open it up so Simon you were wanting to come in first thank you very much Richard uh and first
Off to say how much I support what you say about using your links with North arts college over many years I also particularly want to associate myself with the lead portfolio and Sandra for her commitment to making employment and work relevant for all groups in the community not those who can look after
Themselves and who have favorable home backgrounds that promote that and thirdly can I back up Adrian who is in a long list of wonderful local people who took on and Lead an employment role my personal friend Steve hollinsworth was a site director for British Aerospace at
Bristol and stevenage in the 80s we used him as a critical friend on a performance review of a mayor role I remember being particularly insightful um and challenging and um and I think this report uh Dar must be paid credit is absolutely brilliant uh I I have
Three substanti points to make one is that it’s an incredibly difficult job to do this uh and the skills framework sits besides all the other things we need to do you can’t build buildings and you can’t create jobs on paper unless you match the skills to your local resident
Working population and as Sandra said that’s not just the usual suspects it’s going to be for everybody all skill levels and giving everybody that sense of Pride that when they go home of a job well done and I think the strategy addresses it but it also stretches
Across to what we aim to do on environment and climate change and I’m glad to see the reference to we’re going to do this in a sustainable and green way and by doing that we as a Bor Council will be an Exemplar for other large organizations in the town we have
To remember we’re probably still the fourth fifth largest employer in stevenage and we had to act that way so uh and and and that’s that’s probably the Strategic point I want to make my second point is really picking up recommendation 2.3 because it’s nice to have a strategy but we’ve got to have
The muscle to make it work so I particularly support the delegated authorities of a leader and a portfolio holder to make any structural or other organizational changes needed we are way way past the time where we foot around uh organization charts and this and that we’ve got to be absolutely
Ruthless in the pursuit of this objective we have to be lean and mean we know as we’ve always had to we have to do more with less that is not going to change anytime soon and this strategy through its multi multiple multipartner approach stakeholder approach addresses
That issue it’s not just on us but we play a crucial role and I’d like to now go back a bit to Adrian’s point about our founding fathers U 40 years ago Steven has suffered a crisis when at one Fell Swoop Between 1979 and 1981 he lost about
8,000 jobs and it was a very simple task to try and find agencies who prepare to recover that task by about 1984 which is 40 years ago Steven the B Council using a power under the 1972 local government section 137 which is the power to raise
Of the product of ay rate is to spend money on discretionary matters and we spent it all through Me Like You darl on employment promotion and skills development as a result we built an employment advice center near the library we supported the youth training center at Richmond Park we created the
First scitec Information Technology Center for which I was the company secretary in Richmond Park we had a promotion campaign that culminated in the arrival of blacko Smith Klein in 1988 we helped create and we are a CO co-founder member of The Business and Technology Center what other Council can
Say that I was a long-standing board member for stener’s business initiative and then later the Hartford Business incubation Center uh funded largely through work from ason University we’ve always being a good partner we need to be a good partner now and we’ll always have to be a good partner so I canot say
How important this report is but it’s a piece in a jigel it can’t do it all on its own so well done Adrian well done Richard and good luck sander thank you very much thank you Simon um I was just wondering when you’re when you were
Talking we should have got a badge for agent saying wonderful local person but maybe next time Janette I feel a bit sad I to follow Simon and all that that history um I quite like the fact that this report is not just looking to employ young people
But people who have either lost their jobs because of the epidemic a pandemic should I say um or who may be doing things like care enrolls where they don’t have the same opportunities so I like the fact that this is open to anybody in our community that actually
Needs to get back into work or to retrain uh to to help them with the cost of living or anything else that may be going on in their life and it gives them a chance for the future thank you thank you Janette um Lorraine thank you uh this is really exciting and an
Amazing opportunity for people in stevenage um and Beyond um I think it should be actually be called Dare To Dream because that’s what this offers people who um and when I was younger I was in a similar position and I know a lot of other people in this chamber may
Have been too is that you when you were young you went in into jobs without necessarily thinking about the future and then get to an age where you think what am I doing in life uh this can’t be it surely but sometimes you know if you
Haven’t got the money or you haven’t got the opportunity it can be really really hard to get out of a rut and this I hope will provide that those opportunities for people 21 plus who are not in education but particularly I’m interested in the opportunities that this affords to
People 30 40 50 even 60 plus who want to do something else um who uh want to earn more money um and need need the qualifications to do that it is incredibly hard now if you don’t have things like uh basic basic gcses like English and maths and a science to
Actually do that at evening classes they they’re not there used to be but they’re not anymore and if you try and fund it privately it’s about 500 to do a gcsc uh online well hardly anybody I know has got that money to to throw about um so we need to help
People to help themselves and make it easier uh to help themselves now we know and it’s a it’s a very old saying there’s no success without sacrifice uh so people can’t have this handed to them on a plate they need to work for it but let’s not make it
Impossible or make the barriers so high that nobody can get over it let’s bring that those barriers down and help people to cross over uh and this is a fantastic uh opportunity for stepen each people to harness their dreams and to start knocking on people’s doors and
Saying I want to do this how are you going to help me to do this and uh let’s get people uh particularly those people who are uh in uh the more deprived areas of stevenage um where you have uh generational deprivation um to help them to think that there are other
Possibilities and and you know I I speak from family experience here of generations of of poverty uh and it takes quite a lot of effort to uh get yourself out of that and to to you know get the education you need and the skills you need to get out
Of that so I’m really glad that we are helping to pave the way for that thank you lorine any other contributions from Members Jackie yeah I certainly want to kind of echo all the um comments that people have have made you know and say thank you to everyone
Who’s worked so hard for this it is absolutely excellent uh report and and very exciting to see but I I particularly want to commend you know that we’ve managed to engage Mission 44 um in in in in this this scheme uh and that it’s not just about encouraging
Uh young people of color young women uh people with disabilities but also care leevers because I think that’s a a group now that we’re starting to recognize is quite a disadvantaged group they’re not recognized through the equalities act particularly as as uh you know the tradition uh with with vulnerabilities
And face discrimination but they undoubtedly do and I think you know there there’s a whole scope of people that that need much more uh you know those barriers coming down and those opportunities for them as well so than thank you for including that I think that’s fantastic so so well done and
Wish you all a great success thank you thank you Jackie any other contributions sandre do you want to come back in yeah I I would I mean I I’m I’m glowing with praise from uh councilor spella but I just have to say um from my perspective I’d like to thank the
Officers involved in this because because they sat and listened to um what I felt as a as a you know a resident of this town um I take on what uh councelor vashi was saying because um I know Children of the 80s that hit these same barriers because we had a huge recession
If you go back to that time when there was Giza job so this will actually give those young people from then who probably went into jobs because that’s all they could get their aspirations were stolen from them now they may have raised children and they’re able now to
Think you know what am I going to do because we have to work longer our pensions come later what can I do now that I could fulfill you know my destiny in this world and I you know I’m I’m really grateful um to Tom and and to Daryl for
The assistance they’ve given me and and their patience in listening to me to me what I have to say so thank you thank you very much Sandra um hopefully you all have heard of the the strength and passion that um members um attach to this as as we go forward
Adrian um and just to remind members that um Rob broom will be looking at this in the environment and economy committee which gives um other members an opportunity to contribute to this draft and Steph development board will also be able to look at this um before we go to recommendations aan would you
Like to come back and make any comments on what you’ve heard thank you very much indeed U lader um my pet praise is that you have to inspire to Aspire and I genuinely believe that um this investment and the support of both the Bar Council and local education providers and employers
Because you know they are absolutely key to getting the right subjects the right curriculum being delivered so that everybody can benefit from the information that’s being pulled and and provided and um yes I generally believe that um scitec the investment in scitec will really help this town deliver
Across employment and also um the general sort of value that we can generate Loc so thank you very much indeed again for your support thank you Adrian and again thank you very much for um Coming for this item um it’s very much appreciated by myself and officers as well as um other
Cabinet members so do we agree the through recommendations on this item fantastic thank you very much thanks Adrian okay we’re now um back on to item four and um sorry no item five um which is the final general fund and council tax setting so over to Janette Thomas for this uh
Introduction thank you leader um obviously not as exciting as the last topic but in all reality without it we couldn’t do the last topic so this is very important this report sets out the general fund budget and council tax proposals for the next financial year ahead of the Council on the 21st of
February as set out in previous budget reports the 20242 budget should be viewed against the backdrop of government grant cuts which total 5.3 million since 2010 and the need for the council to have found Savings of 14 million in this period when inflationary costs are also taken into
Consideration at the time of writing the report the council’s final Finance settlement had not been published the report includes an assumption about the increase in the funding guarantee Grant to the council estimated to be an additional 100 £1,000 and I congratulate Claire on making the right estimate here because
That’s what we got the report to council will be adjusted when the settlement is finally published the general fund budget is also now preclude includes the projections for business rates which were completed by the 31st of January 2024 it is good news in that we have £569 th000 additional income relating to 2023
24 and we are projecting an additional 1 million business rates income in 20242 the draft budget has already accounted for £200,000 of this income however our experience demonstrates that business rates income fluctuates significantly this is demonstrated within the report and given the risk profile the as yet unrealized gains have
Been transferred to the business rates Reserve to support the resilience of the general fund and delivery of the council’s priorities as set out in the report as a result of the changes set out in the report we are not expecting to have a draw on balances for 20242 however members should be aware
That despite a 1 million savings Target for 2526 we are still forecasting the need to use £ 638,000 of general fund balances to achieve a balanced budget the report sets out that if the business rat’s income remains relatively stable we could use a proportion of this to
Reduce the use of balances in 2025 26 the savings and growth package remains unchanged from that included in in the January draft budget report and I welcome the comment from the overview and scrutiny in support of the hvo fuel which will reduce our Fleet carbon emissions considerably I’m also pleased to be a
Ble to confirm that our savings package for 20242 is predominantly funded from our transformation and Commercial activity without the need to make service Cuts very important that finally the increase in council tax remains unchanged at 2.99% with the caveat that we only retain 11% of the overall council tax
Raise because the rest goes to the County Council and the police so thank you thank you Janette and uh as far as I’m aware both the County Council and the police are having quite high rises in tax which means that as you say um our
Accounts tax is only about 10 or 11% of of the council tax that people pay in stage most of it goes to County and the police um before I open it up to members CLA is there anything you’d like to add CLA fet just to strategic director
And chief finance officer I think just to say following on from uh councelor Thomas’s comment about the finance settlement it was finally the final was finally uh published on the 5th of February and we were spot on there was a little change between the C uh the
Categories but it was about 100,000 the other thing that was uh included in the release which wasn’t included in what we call the core spending power uh was we got a little bit extra a levy Surplus for 23 24 didn’t exactly publish the amount but we think about
215,000 and also um bit of a mouthful but we got some compensation for funding uh business rate green plant and Machinery uh which was the massive amount of about 23,000 in 23 24 and 26,000 in 24 25 we get this was actually um part of a consultation back in 2021
That the government umed so we got those extra bit sort of going back to the comment that Council Thomas also made about business rates the one thing I say to you is one we have to realize them which is significant so all of that is a
Projection if we don’t get that money in we have to pay it back to the collection fund because we collect business rates on behalf of the government and also for Harts County Council um and you will see within the report there are massive fluctuations between years so the what I
I’ve recommended is that we put those uh business rates in a reserve that helps with our resilience we don’t know where Government funding is going in terms of future years um we can only make an assessment but we’re a drawing a quite a big amount in 25 26 and actually those
Monies will help us during that period so I recommend that we transfer those amounts into a reserve to allow us to stay resilient help us with our priorities and plans uh so that we remain financially secure thank you chair thank you CLA and um I take this
Opportunity to thank you and the team for well this and other reports that that come to executive and Council um that unlike a number of councils around the country we have got a balanced budget um and I’m grateful if you could just remind me how much we’ve had to
Shave off the net budget this year to to um achieve uh a balanced budget um thanks so we’ve had to make Savings of 1.2 million I think when you look in the report inflation is par has been particularly high in 23 24 and 24 25 and when you think we’ve got
Inflation of in excessive a million pounds and we get an extra 00,000 saying council tax that’s a big gap and that’s one of the big reasons why we have to make savings annually because an increaseing count Tas because we only keep 11% just doesn’t cover that Gap and I know from discussions we’ve
Had um after February the 21st Council we start the budget preparation for the following year because we’ve got to save more money off the budget unless the government um wake up to the fact that local government is really struggling in this country so any contributions from Members okay we have 13 recommend ation
On this item are they agreed thank you very much um so item six is the final Capital strategy and again um Janette could you make the introductions on this please thank you Richard this report updates members on the capital strategy for the general fund and housing revenue account
Including revisions to the 2023 24 program and the presentation of the final Capital program for 20242 the general fund Capital proposals are unchanged from the January report as do the founding challenges which which we Face the program other than that funded from third parties remains very much a
Fix on fail however the October Capital report to the executive outlined a strategy for future proofing our assets which officers and are now striving to implement overview and scrutiny committee considered this report in January and commentary from the committee has been included in the report the housing revenue account
Capital program also remains unchanged and the spending plans are included in the final budget and rent setting 20242 report which was approved at Council in January thank you thank you Janette CLA would you like to come I think one of the things just to point out to members is as we know this
Capital program is not as big as we would like it to be and that’s because we are currently working on a fix on fail because we do not have a bottomless pit of capital resources that enables us to do that but we do have a plan we’re
Working on plans on how we can invest in our community assets um and and so we are looking at that and um this is sort of an interim position whereby we are doing the works that we have to do and also spending other people’s money such
As the large amount of money we got for Town’s fund so I like that when we’re spending other people’s money but in the main it is a fix on fet we all like that c um and as we discussed earlier on when um Adrian was here we’ve worked very
Hard with businesses and the local Enterprise partnership and the Steven development board to bring money in to um do what we want to do in terms of regeneration house building and all that um and I just think it’s worth reminding people that we’ve um been looking at um
How we work in the building and the transformation project has made some very positive changes as reported in previous meetings um so generating savings but also delivering a better service um and I know the feedback from the teams that are working very closely together in the reception and the atrium
Um that’s a very positive um story um that staff are finding um working with their uh colleagues across Council um areas are very beneficial so um you know we are constantly working to become more efficient within the council ourselves any other members wish to contribute to
This okay fantastic um so we have 14 recommendations on this paper are they agreed excellent thank you very much and item seven um this is a a technical report I believe that has to come to Executive um and that is the annual treasury management strategy and Janette
Thomas is going to make the introduction on this one thank you Richard again this report sets out the council’s annual investment strategy along with the presedential indicators and agrees the boundaries for the council’s borrowing and Investments for 20242 I am pleased to report there have been no breaches of the treasury management
Strategy so far this year and the report sets out our investments and borrowing and how we manage them the returns achieved on the council investment are based on the current bank of England base rate and the risk appetite of the treasury management strategy which is compliant with the advice from the council’s treasury
Advisor link Asset Management there are no changes recommended for part counterpart limits as the existing limits have allowed us to remain flexible with respect to Vol volatile cash balances held by the Council on a short-term basis in considering the council’s level of cash balances I would
Ask you to note that the general fund mtfs and capital strategy have a planned use of resources over a minimum of five years and the HRA business plan has a planned use of resources over a 30-year period which means whilst not all of the funds are committed in the current year
They will be required in future years the treasure treasury management strategy is in line with the latest SI for treasury management and credential codes issued in December 21 please note that there are two Corrections required in the report these are one in paragraph 4.1.1 the sentence should read the
Returns on investments have averaged 5% not 3.48% and the total interest earned was 1.9 million and not 1.29 million this has been updated for the February Council report and two the table in paragraph 4.15.18 231 million and not 234 231 million and total public WS Public Works loan
Board I’m assuming that’s debt at 31st of December equals 234. n87 million and not 2.24.18 7 million thank you can you just run us past that last paragraph again okay thank you um any comments CLA did you want to come in I think it’s quite a dense document and and apologies
And you you got through that councelor Thomas very well thank you very much for for putting those Corrections forward I think basically it’s quite a dense report but in essence what this is doing is making sure that we’ve got sound procedures to make sure that we invest
The council’s cash wisely with the right people and taking no risks but also making that money work for our general fund and HRA and it also ensures that we borrow at the right time and at the right rate and within what counselors and members have approved so that that’s
The essence of a very long report thank you CLA any other comments from Members okay so um there’s one recommendation for this and then I believe all it does go to full Council in February any other comments no do we agree the recommendation on the paper
Fantastic thank you very much um now we come to another exciting um item on the agenda agenda and um welcome to the um officers that have just come in for this next item so this is item eight um the stevenage cycle hire scheme um so Lloyd would you like to make the
Introduction certainly would CH thank you very much um mikees the planning policy team uh have been developing a project for a cycle High scheme in stevenage and in 2019 stebo Council commissioned the consultancy transport initiatives to to carry out a feasibility study into public cycle share High scheme within
The town this study used the methodology applied by TI in studies for several councils which includes Guilford Watford Manchester and Derby it included an overall assessment of the potential for bike High highlighting areas of Highest Potential the study was published in 2020 but due to the covid-19 pandemic no
Further progress has been made until recently considering the changes in bike High schemes since 2019 in 2023 the council commissioned transport initiatives TI to update the existing study the main task was to consider how to progress with the scheme within steage considering the substantial development planned within the
Town there are a range of policy objectives which aligned with the local plan steam local cycling and walking infrastructure plan steamish cycle strategy steamish Mobility strategy and National active transport policy direction for the cycle scheme to respond to and these include specifically Four Points first one is reducing greenhouse and local pollutant
Emissions in stevenage to help tackle climate change and improve air quality second point is to improve quality accessibility and affordability of clean modes of active transport within steage and offer people an efficient way to connect with public transport as alternatives to using their car the third point is improving Journey times
And connectivity in and around stevenage and the fourth point is to encourage a modal shift in cast of Articles climate change is one of the most important objectives within the cycle scheme higher I scheme to respond to the council declared under climate emergency in June 2019 and reconfirmed a
Commitment to tackle climate change as it impacts by setting a Target to ensure that stevenage has Net Zero carbon emissions by 2030 added to this the government has strategic targets to have net zero emissions by 2050 so the council has been proactive in producing a climate change strategy and outlined a climate
Change action plan both the strategy and the action plan are being updated to ensure that the council’s commitment to battling climate change is kept at the top of its priorities the cycle hire scheme in Steven can offer several economic benefits and these include increasing tourism where cyclists are more likely
To stop and shop generating revenue for local businesses furthermore operating and maintaining a cycle higher scheme can create jobs in areas such as maintenance customer service and administration the scheme offers the opportunity to enhance mobility within steage to improve access to Affordable convenient Transportation options this can support improve access to jobs
Services and enhance the attractiveness of stevenage potentially leading to increasing property values stevenage probability strategy December 2016 places a high priority on active travel ie walking and cycling the approach Embraces the national planning policy and promotes a strategy that is consistent half County council’s transport Vision 2050 a business and Community engagement
Event was or was organized in September 2023 last year to provide stakeholders with an opportunity to understand what a scheme in St could look like uh case studies from around the country this initiated early Dialogue on how the scheme is shaped at the events partici were able
To meet and greet cycle hire operators demonstrate a variety of Cycles give their views on what cycle hire scheme should be within stevenage and complete a cycle High consultation survey during the event some members here attending would would remember that event up at the stage football club public consultation and similar to
The AAP the council used its largest its latest consultation platform called commonplace for the Steven cycle hire consultation common place is suitable for mobile phones as well as desktop users the design of the site was tailored to hold detailed planning documents and in consult to visually analyze the area through maps and assist
With preferred Hub locations and identify where what could uh help users feel safe uh cycling and stevenage the platform could engage residents businesses and different demographics and separated topic areas to assist in their understanding a total of 1,13 37 public representations from 899 respondents along with representations from Key
Stakeholders the seven key points from the cation included a scheme design key destinations cycle Hub locations accessibility and wave finding the Town Center itself cyle High recovery and social value and inclusivity that concludes my brief on that so I’d like to take from there chair thank you thank you Lloyd um
Before I open it up for any member contributions um Sarah or Lewis would you like to um address the executive it’s an opportunity to shine thank you chair yeah L clar plan proy manager plan regulation um obviously L’s gone through a lot of details and the report details lot of
The General sort of information about the scheme and the progress to date there’s been a lot of good progress I think in the last 6 months at least uh since the event in September uh and ultimately I think add to what the been saying and the report what the report
Says um it links with our wider aspirations to promote ACD travel I think sustainable travel in the town um we work with ob County and other uh Partners on that uh some wi initiatives this be very good example of a of a pionering scheme that goes towards those Ambitions and objectives going forward
Um if Sarah said anything afternoon chair Sarah Martins principal planning policy officer um yes obviously linking on to the recommendations but really um the first report was just to really give you um uh to take the executive on the journey that we’ve been through in order to um
Design um and build a psycle high scheme which would be relevant to stepen AG um we wanted the executive just to take into account the um consultation work and the engagement work that’s been initiated very early on we would hope that uh an operator will continue the engagement um
With local businesses and the public um and if really just to um assure the executive that we have taken the comments from um the environment and uh economy select committee on board within the report um and happy to answer any question further questions on that fantastic thank you very much both
Of you um we’ll go to the open debate now Simon I suppose it’s not too surprising I put my hand up quickly but I was at an event with you Richard um and I just wanted to pay tribute to the work done by the officers and Lloyd who has an unrevealed Talent
As a Master of Ceremonies I need to say this in public to the all of people of stevenage you never know what people have got in their locker until they have to put it out so I’m not sure that you’ll ever played for bar although you could they could have used you last
Night I know but I just want to say it I I think what I like about this uh it’s really good that we see that our planners do get their hands dirty with practical projects and real Community engagement not just pieces of work and um uh 1 to 10,000 uh diagram showing the
Master plan for the future or something but this is a really really good project and it’s all better that we are on a late adapter Richard and everybody not an early adopter uh I did notied that when we get on to the issue at a later
After part one that if you look at all the schemes it’s interesting where they operate and what I will notice is that the stevenage challenge is stevenage is not flat so anyone can run a cycling system in Cambridge oh yes you can it’s flat as a pancake stevenage has Hills no not just
The six Hills but it’s got loads of Hills as soon as you come away from the Town Center in sub because I’ve already found a bike or two for counselor bar and for counselor Thomas but they’re not allowed to reveal it until after part two um but
I just say Well done fair wind uh May May May the wind always beat your back on a bik bicycle because it’s much easier when the wind’s in your face that odds always against you I’m I’m I’m sure that as the scheme progresses after we agree this and hopefully agree the
Recommendation part two uh that Stevens will be absolutely um a wash with tourists cycling all over the place probably up and down the spine of the old London Road because that bit is flat thank you Richard thank you Simon I thought you were going to say that um now we’ve got
This policy if we pass it it’s all downhill from here but sorry Sandra thank you lead I I I suspect that the officers will be answering this question for me but um as you was expect from um a counselor whose uh heart is in the community um I’m just wondering how
Long do you envisage the time lapse between Phase 1 a and and 1B lther if you like to come in on that I at the moment I I generally feel it’s um a discussion point to have with the operator um the operator will H um have their expertise in that field in
Terms of um how quickly that can come forward um or um whether there needs to be any other considerations to that so I think it be like a joint discussion with that but we would like to see the scheme up and running as soon as possible I’m
Not sure if saying um if I could add um thank you chair um so Z assistant director for plan and regulation um in the part two but the report the funding is the key um so I think at this stage um we’re saying strategically we definitely want it all to be done as
Soon as possible you’ll have seen it in other um authorities um Watford for example but most of they start small than they grow um I think what we’re trying to achieve with the funding ask later on is that we’ve got a a deliverable schill scheme that can be
Delivered at scale and then subject to funding it can be rolled out further and further thank you any other contributions um Lorraine and then Jackie as the lead for leisure I’m very pleased to uh see this as well and uh um although the focus of the report
Tends to be on a sustainable transport and the environment this is for me very much about encouraging local people to move more to uh use Leisure Time um and uh and to maybe explore cycling if they haven’t in the past uh bikes tend to be quite expensive if if you’re going to invest
In one um but if you can rent one for a few hours see whether you like it exp you know T do a a cycle taster uh that I’m quite excited by the idea personally of electric bikes um especially with all these Hills um because I I and I will
Hold up my hands up uh unlike councelor spell I am not uh an avid cyclist um I have a tendency to fall off uh so uh having an electric bike uh could help immensely um but I this is really uh a every every contribution to helping people in stevenage to be healthier live
Healthier uh can only be a good thing I think you’re absolutely right on that uh there is uh reports that suggest people just going outside is good for them um so I’ll see you on your bike soon Lou Lorraine Jackie yeah thank you I kind of really
Wanted to Echo what uh Len just said really about kind of get getting it it’s a really going to be an interesting scheme and I look forward to seeing how the uh the developer you know it takes it Forward um because you know it is a
Bit of a challenge as to how we get that modal shift from car users to more bikes to moving more and all the rest of it I have to admit that I have cycle work cycled from uh ch’s Manor down to six way in farham house it’s nice going cuz
It’s all downhill it’s coming back is the problem um but but also you know there are issues such as weather and clothing and things like that which do don’t don’t help but also about storage and you know whether you can uh change once you get to work and things like
That it’s all right when you’re going home that’s obviously not a problem um but um but I think also it’s something to to recognize that we’ve got some fantastic cycle ways you know I can it’s I think it’s only one small bit of that Journey do I have to actually go on a
Public road um whereas the rest of it is all cycle ways and when you can whiz past the traffic people sat in their cars pumping out all kinds of CO2 that that’s a good thing so I I look forward to seeing how this develops so thank you very much for bringing it
Forward thank you Jackie sorry um so I’ve got a a question um for either Zade or the officers and then just a question for Lloyd but I’ll do uh the officer question first as has been said I always see it as our cycle network but we know it’s owned by the
County Council and you talked about funding um Zade I’m just wondering if there’s any opportunity to get section 106 or s from Harts County Council to enhance their cycle Network and our cycle Network um and then I’ll I’ll I’ll ask Lloyd’s question so he can think about
It um while you’re speaking Zade it’s just about the locations both mentioned in the report and I think you highlighted that um I’m just wondering whether you would be able to have discussions with local Council as local Wards about um citations of the um charging units or the storage units um
So that members and as well as interested groups are involved in those decisions um but I’ll come to Zade first or one of you might you may wish to delegate it to that’s fine um thank you l so the in the part two report we’ll look at the funding for
The scheme itself um which um we will be looking to apply um section6 funding um that we”ve been able to secure both from the Bor Council and from alfer County Council um we’ll certainly take it away um to the the county Council to see about improvements to their own
Network because obviously as you rightly said that’s a key element of making the scheme work is that the the surfaces are correct the the roots are safe and and well lit so um we’re aware we do have um monthly corly leasons with them about um improvements and we’ll certainly add that to the
List thank you Zade that’s very helpful Lloyd did you want to yeah thanks for the question J appreciate that um yes it’s a good question you ask has been raised before by a number of councilors um uh about their uh know sensus of their own Ward particular ws and social but I think
This should be extended as a cross party initiative so I’m likely to refer to uh the chair of the economy environment committee to see if that’s the better process to which to drive this initiative and to find out uh the views from other counselors throughout the council thank
You thanks L yeah I welcome that Assurance um and obviously before any anything cited um talking to the local Ward counselors um I think would be really helpful okay any other contributions Simon waving if it’s helpful on the very last point because I think it’s quite important how do you
Roll it out it might be so since we’re talking new Civic year that the best way would be something simple particularly with a new Council of an all member but quite practical thing like on site and then break it up like you do with police priorities and I know Sandra’s thinking
About this in a more General way the community but the best way would to do a general thing and then make localize it with the individual members maybe using Sandra’s new approach to Community Management I I think it might be quite a good example pilot because I think I I
Agree with Lloyd you know where would you really start and we do have to cover the whole of town and whatever happens there will be 39 Council is elected to the new Council in May thank you thank you s I think that’s helpful okay any other contributions no can I thank Lloyd and
The team for bringing this scheme and I look forward to its um development and just to say I I declare an interest as a keen cyclist um so we have four recommendations are those agreed fantastic thank you very much and U we now move into urgent part one business I
Don’t know if we have any Mr chief executive no leer thank you okay thank you very much Matt um so item 10 is the exclusion of public and press so um we now conclude the open part of the agenda and we now move into what we call part two of our meeting
Today where we consider items which are deemed to be confidential and not at this time for discussion in the public Arena the reasons for the items being marked is confidential vary but can relate to matters such as ongoing contractual negotiations high value contract Awards which contain Financial or other important information about
Winning or losing biders so thanks to everybody that has been um watching uh this afternoon or is tuning in later today on YouTube and I very much hope that you found this meeting helpful and interesting so um I move the recommendation is that agreed thank you very much