Minutes:
The Leader of the Council, Councillor Colin Smith, attended the meeting to respond to questions from the Committee. Councillor Smith gave a brief introduction highlighting the following issues:
· Two new Directors had recently joined the Council. The review of succession planning was ongoing and remained a corporate priority.
· The new Corporate Plan – Making Bromley Even Better – had been finalised.
· The 2021/22 staff pay award had been implemented in a timely manner in April 2021.
· The Council’s Loneliness Strategy had been launched and would soon be having a positive multi-generational impact across the Borough.
· Preparations were underway for next year’s budget.
· A number of housing schemes had recently been launched.
· The tree planting programme was underway.
· The Electric Vehicle Strategy was moving forward and the Open Spaces Strategy had been considered at the Environment and Community Services PDS Committee on 17 November 2021.
· Good progress was being made in the Adult Care and Health Portfolio and the Council had a nationally recognised Hospital Discharge Strategy.
· The pandemic was a long way from being over and the Leader urged all those who were eligible to take up the offer of a vaccine and for all Members to keep hammering that message home at every opportunity possible.
Councillor Smith then responded to questions, making the following comments:
· The Loneliness Strategy straddled both the Adult Care and Health Portfolio and the Children, Education and Families Portfolio. Programmes would be developed led by the Executive Assistant to the Leader who was working closely with the relevant Portfolio Holders and PDS Chairmen. The Committee noted that Members of the Children, Education and Families PDS Committee had been invited to the Adult Care and Health PDS Committee meeting the following week to engage in the discussion around the Loneliness Strategy.
· The Leader confirmed that there was no intention sell parks, although it was acknowledged that the initial wording of the draft Open Spaces Strategy may have been clumsy and led to confusion. In terms of the differing response rates to consultations, the Leader suggested that difference could be attributed to levels of interest for specific issues across the Borough as well as the ways in which different consultations were publicised.
· The Council’s Communications Team had been further enhanced and a new member of staff had joined the team. Work was underway to improve communications across the Council.
· In relation to the Afghan refugee issue, there had been a pan-London hiatus, although there was an understanding across London that the families needed to be evenly spread across the 32 boroughs. Significant numbers of families remained in hotel accommodation as there was a basic shortage of available housing and a decision from Government was still awaited in terms of locating families outside London.
· Discussions with the Government continued around fairer funding and the need for a three-year settlement.
· The Committee noted that the Leader had been nominated as the Conservative Lead for homelessness/rough sleeping reduction at London Councils and had accepted the role until next May.
· Further details were awaited around planning reforms now the new Secretary of State was in place.
The Committee thanked the Leader to his update.