To receive a Report from the Outgoing Leader.
Minutes:
The Outgoing Leader, Councillor Keith Mans congratulated Councillors Marge Harvey and Patricia Stallard on being appointed Chairman and Vice-Chairman of the Council respectively, and expressed his condolences to the family of former County Councillor and Honorary Alderman Sharyn Wheale.
Since the last full Council Meeting, the organisation had moved to a new phase of the pandemic, namely ‘living with Covid’ which gave individuals more responsibility regarding the precautions they take. The organisation was also progressing carefully towards a post pandemic working environment.
Despite the challenges of the pandemic over the last two years, Councillor Mans reported on an impressive list of Awards to the County Council:
2022 Awards:
RIBA South Regional Award: Barton Farm Primary School.
Civic Trust Award: Barton Farm Primary School.
SPACES Awards and Civic Building of the Year Shortlisted: Hamilton SEMH School Reading, Petersfield Museum.
SPACES Year Book: Cornerstone Primary School, Hamilton SEMH School Reading, Jermyn's House, Petersfield Museum.
2021 Awards:
AJ Architecture Awards Shortlist: Barton Farm Primary School
Civic Trust Award: The Lookout, Lepe
Civic Trust Awards Regional Finalist: Oakmoor School.
LABC Building Excellence Awards National winner for the Best Public or Community Building: Stoneham Park Primary School.
People and Place Awards Shortlisted: Stoneham Park Primary School.
RIBA South Awards Regional Shortlisted: Oakmoor School.
SPACES Awards Highly Commended: Barton Farm Primary School.
SPACES Awards and Civic Building of the Year Shortlisted: Barton Farm Primary School, Endeavour Primary School, Netley Chapel
SPACES Year Book: Oakmoor School, Queen Elizabeth Country Park, Sir George Staunton Country Park, Stoneham Park Primary Academy, Winchester Theatre Royal
Structural Timber Awards Shortlisted: Stoneham Park Primary Academy
More recently, the County Council has also welcomed in excess of 1500 refugees from Ukraine; a similar number to Surrey and Kent County Councils with the three Councils being the leading recipient counties in the country.
Turning to the County Deal, a revised prospectus had been prepared to inform further discussions with District and Borough Councils looking at governance, and follows a meeting Councillor Mans and the four Hampshire Unitary Council Leaders had with MP Neil O’Brien last month.
Councillor Mans broadened his remarks by looking over the last 10 years and reflecting on the continuing difficulties faced by all County and Unitary Councils regarding the challenge of meeting their statutory responsibilities for Social Care and Special Educational Needs with the funding provided by central Government, which had not kept pace with service demand. This had led to the necessary refocussing of resources away from discretionary services in order to meet the funding shortfall. Disappointingly, the new social care national insurance levy had not helped to meet the shortfall. It was hoped this position would change in the future and that the Government would allow Councils to find further sources of income other than the Council Tax if there was a continuance of capping Council Tax at a figure well below inflation.
Finally Councillor Mans expressed his thanks to Councillor Melville Kendal for the work he had done as Chairman of the County Council over the last two years and Councillor Mans paid tribute to all the officers led by the County Council’s Chief Executive, Carolyn Williamson and her predecessors for the work they do.