Agenda item

The Chair invited Members to raise items for general discussion arising from the Information Booklet of Executive Member reports which detailed activities carried out within the respective Executive Member portfolios (Section 1), Executive decisions taken (Section 2) or to be taken where known, prior to and following the meeting (Sections 3 and 4).

The Chair advised that 6 questions on Executive Member reports had been received.

 

 

Question on the Executive Member for Adult Social Care and Public Health report

 

Question from Councillor Mawston regarding Track and Trace.

 

Councillor Mawston congratulated the Public Health Team on the work they had carried out in order to set up the local Track and Trace system. In response to a question with regard to how the Track and Trace system worked and how people were being contacted, the Executive Member advised that Middlesbrough had become one of 17 local authorities to launch the local Test and Trace Service known as Local0, as part of a national pilot. The aim of the Track and Trace service was to contact people by telephone within hours of them getting their positive result. The contact officers were required to ask a series of standard questions, identify contacts and use their local knowledge to better understand the information provided by the case. Advice on isolation was provided on a more individual and local basis. Support needs were also identified for those in isolation and arrangements could be put in place quickly to provide assistance.

 

If it was not possible to contact people within 6 hours, a letter was delivered by hand to their home address which provided guidance and advice. The pilot scheme had commenced on 1 March 2021 and to date, 424 people had been contacted within 6 hours. To date the Local Test and Trace Service was achieving contact with 94% of cases of COVID19 and providing isolation advice and offering support to them. 

 

The Executive Member thanked the staff involved in setting up the Local0 Track and Trace service.

 

Questions on the Executive Member for Environment report

 

Question from Councillor Arundale regarding LED Lighting

 

In response to a question regarding whether the LED Lighting scheme was achieving the expected savings envisaged, the Executive Member advised that the use of LED had achieved savings of £588,000 on street lighting per annum, this equated to nearly 2,500 metric tonnes of carbon saved due to the new LED lights compared to the sodium lights, which equated to a 1% increase in Council Tax.

 

Question from Councillor Cooke regarding Highway Projects

 

In response to a question regarding why Parliament Road was not included on the list of potential highway projects, the Executive Member advised that the current list was not a definitive list and the list could be reprioritised. The Executive Member suggested that he meet with Councillor Cooke to conduct a site visit of the area.

 

 

 

Comment on the Executive Member for Finance and Governance report

 

Comment from Councillor Hellaoui regarding the Registrars Service

In response to a comment from Councillor Hellaoui congratulating the Registrars Service for the excellent way in which they carried out their duties during the Covid-19 pandemic, the Executive Member advised that she would pass the comments on to the Registrars Service. The Executive Member advised that she would like to add her appreciation to the Registrars Service for their performance during the pandemic.

 

Questions on the Executive Member for Regeneration report

 

Question from Councillor Branson regarding LIP Consultation – Executive 16 February 2021.

Councillor Branson commented regarding the sharp decline in bus public transport as a result of the Covid pandemic and concerns regarding what would happen when bus subsidies were removed to the services. He acknowledged that the Government was offering £3b funding for bus subsidies and he queried with regard to what steps the Council was taking to ensure that Middlesbrough received some of the funding.

Councillor Waters stated that the Council’s officers would be working to obtain funding to ensure that Middlesbrough maintained the current level of bus services and improve services, where possible.

Question from Councillor Hellaoui regarding Linthorpe Road Cycling and Walking Improvement Plan – Consultation

Councillor Hellaoui commented on the recent consultation document regarding the Linthorpe Road Cycling and Walking Improvement Plan. There had been over 400 responses to the consultation and 71% of the respondents had indicated that they were against the proposals. Councillor Hellaoui stated that one of the issues with the plan was the location of the cycle path along Linthorpe Road and many of the local businesses based on Linthorpe Road and the Ward Councillors were concerned about the negative impact of the proposals on businesses.

Local businesses had received a letter from the authority mitigating their concerns. Councillor Hellaoui queried whether there could be a pilot scheme to see if the mitigations proposed by the Council, addressed the issues. If this was not possible, Councillor Hellaoui queried whether the improvement plan could be monitored to see what the impact of the plan was, as it progressed.

Councillor Waters stated that the concerns of businesses had been listened to and as a result they had proposed mitigations. He stated it was unlikely that there would be a pilot scheme, however he agreed that the improvement plan should be monitored. Councillor Waters thanked the TVCA for providing the funding, as it was important that the town had a healthy infrastructure going forward.