Minutes:
The Budget consultation process would start on 4 December 2024. This would be the start of the reset for the Council. The proposed figure for Adults and Children’s services would be 79% of the budget rather than the previous 83%. This would allow the Council to reset priorities and invest funding into front line services including area care and youth provision. The Mayor was hoping for cross party support for the budget and invited any Member or Group who wished to do so, to meet with him to discuss the proposals.
The Mayor thanked all Members who had been involved in the recent appointments of the new Chief Executive and Director of Finance and acknowledged the time and effort that had gone into the process. The Mayor also thanked Councillor Jackson for standing in for the Chair of the Chief Officer Appointments Committee to present the report later in the agenda and hoped that all Members would support the recommendations. Good wishes were sent to Councillor Thompson for her recouperation.
Councillor McClintock raised an issue in relation to Linthorpe Community Centre which was currently facing closure. The Mayor agreed that the situation with Linthorpe Community Centre needed to be reviewed and the Deputy Mayor was currently investigating. The Mayor invited Councillor McClintock to meet with him, the Deputy Mayor and the Ward Councillor for Linthorpe to discuss the matter further. The Mayor also commented that it was timely to reassess and take stock of what the Council should be delivering to enable communities and ensure that lease terms on property were fair and equitable for all parties.
Councillor Smiles expressed her disappointment that the Eton College project had been paused by the Education Secretary and asked the Mayor for his thoughts on the current situation. The Mayor stated that if the project was to be paused he hoped that Middlesbrough would still receive the funding and produce a bid to rival the Eton College project. Middlesbrough College had already expressed interest in proposals to upskill students and offer equally good levels of education without having that resource drain or losing staff to other areas. The Mayor commented that when he took up his current role he contacted the Department for Education in relation to the promised new secondary school in Middlesbrough that had still not been built. This was the priority for Middlesbrough and the secondary school was required as a matter of urgency. The Mayor further commented that he did not believe the Eton College project had been at the point of being able to deliver, for several reasons, when it was paused.
Councillor Kabuye welcomed additional funding for youth provision and asked the Mayor if this would continue.
Subject to approval of the Budget, the Mayor stated that there would be additional funding of £100,000 for the Universal Youth Contract and confirmed that this funding would be ongoing. In addition, in the current year, £150,000 had been re-allocated from funding received from the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government to help with community cohesion and specifically target young people and projects in schools.
The Chair requested that Members note the Mayor’s statement.
ORDERED that the Mayor’s statement was noted.