Agenda item

The Mayor stated that he would like to highlight the following five issues:-

 

Covid-19

 

The Mayor advised that Middlesbrough had the worst rate of infections across the Tees Valley. He stated that the connection between infection and hospitalisation had changed. He stated that it was really important that people were vaccinated. The numbers were high but they were coming down. Neil Ferguson, a respected scientist had indicated that infection rates should have lowered by October.

 

The Mayor urged people to continue to wear masks in shops and on public transport.

 

Affordable Housing

 

The Mayor stated that a lack of high quality affordable housing had a negative impact on family’s mental health and on how well children performed at school and after school.

 

The Council was currently involved in the following schemes which involved the building of affordable homes:

 

Tollesby shops – work had commenced on site.

 

Captain Cook site – high quality social housing was being built.

 

Gresham – Following a £21m investment from Thirteen (which was part of a £30m investment), housing would be delivered within a year.

 

Policing/behavior/crime

 

The Mayor stated that he was disappointed that the current Chief Constable, Richard Lewis was leaving his post as he had stabilised the force. The Mayor stated that he was optimistic for the force going forward. He stated that he hoped that whoever was appointed, would build upon the work of the current Chief Constable, and continue to drive the police force going forward.

 

Roads/Potholes

 

The Mayor stated that there was lots of anger about the state of the roads in Middlesbrough, particularly in relation to potholes. The Council had spent more money on potholes in the last year then it had over a period of years.

 

There had been a lack of spending on roads over the last 10 years and as a consequence, it would cost millions of pounds to repair the roads to an acceptable level.

 

Over the next two months, there would be a challenge for the Executive and Senior Officers, to look at how the funding would be found.

 

Middlesbrough Wild Flowers and Trees

 

The Mayor stated that the planting of trees and wild flowers in the town was cheering people in the town up and lifting spirits. In the next few days there would be floral displays placed throughout the town. The Mayor asked if anyone had any other ideas about improving the town that would not cost too much, to let him know

 

Councillor M Storey stated that he was pleased to see the demolition of Tollesby shops and that work had commenced on the site. He thanked the Mayor and the Council for following through with the plans. He stated that Councillor Dean deserved some credit as she had worked hard on this issue for many years, together with previous labour Councillors and the MP for Middlesbrough.

 

In respect of the roads and potholes, the Mayor and Executive Members had initiated the pothole purge, and the expectations of residents had been raised to thinking that all potholes would be repaired. He stated that in future the Mayor and the Executive needed to be careful how things were worded. There needed to be a programme of repairs so that the public could see which potholes were included within that programme.

 

The Mayor stated that the scale of the damage and neglect had not been appreciated. He stated that a lot of money needed to be spent. The Executive would come up with a solid proposal.

 

Councillor Cooke stated that in terms of Covid, 100 people had been vaccinated in Newport at the health mobile event and he praised the staff, the NHS and locality staff. There would two more vaccination mobile events, the first was the following day in Southfield Road Mosque between 11.30am and 2.30pm and on Friday at Albert Park at the same time.

 

In terms of Richard Lewis, he stated that he had previously had bad experiences with the police and thought he would find it hard to appreciate his work in the role. He found however that he was a very knowledgeable and caring man. He suggested that members should formalise their thanks by signing something to show their appreciation of Richard Lewis’s work with the force, which would then be given to him when he left the force.

 

The Mayor stated that it was a good idea in respect of signing something to show the Council’s appreciation in respect of the Chief Constable. In respect of the work being carried out in Newport Ward in relation to vaccinations, the Mayor thanked Councillor Cooke and stated that he was doing a great job in the Ward, and that he was a role model and the Mayor thanked him.

 

Councillor Higgins stated that at a recent Children’s Social Care and Services Scrutiny Panel meeting, she had praised the Council for their work with Covid. She stated that she had been shocked with regard to the number of children getting Covid. Although children were not getting really ill with Covid, they were still able to pass it on. She stated that she would like the Council to publicise it on the radio with regard to these facts. Councillor Higgins thanked the staff for all their work in relation to Covid.  

 

The Mayor stated that children were getting Covid and passing it on to older relatives and it was right that this should be publicised.

 

Councillor Hobson raised concerns regarding the quality of repairs of the potholes and she stated that this needed to be looked at.

 

The Mayor stated that an explanation needed to be obtained from the department with regard to current procedures for repairing potholes.

 

Councillor McTigue stated that members should have been asked if they wished to comment on the former councilor. The Chair stated that the councillor had been deceased for some time prior to the Council meeting, however he apologised for this omission.

 

Councillor Coupe stated that some families had contracted Covid from their children. One 30 year old was currently very ill, in hospital with Covid. This was likely to continue until everyone was vaccinated.

 

In relation to Richard Lewis, having sat on the Police and Crime Panel and being involved in the appointments of previous Chief Constables, he queried whether neighbourhood policing and having named contacts at the police could be made a priority.

 

The Mayor stated that the new Chief Constable would have great ambitions. Most forces faced the same issues because of the number of officers and the lack of resources. The Police needed more funding to appoint more officers.

 

Councillor McTigue stated that there was not necessarily a problem with the number of police officers, it was the judicial system. Prisons should be a place where criminals did not want to return to but most criminals were not afraid about returning to jail.

 

The Mayor stated that if a person was put into prison, it removed them from the streets and gave the victims a sense of justice. Prisoners needed to be re-educated to be given the chance to learn and build skills. The Courts were also too soft.

 

Councillor Arundale stated that some years ago he had submitted a proposal to the environment on how to repair and seal potholes. The majority of repairs to potholes had been repaired correctly.

 

Councillor Uddin queried whether the town could re-introduce facemasks, social distancing and the washing of hands.

 

The Mayor stated that people needed to be encouraged to wear masks on public transport and shops, wash hand and encourage social distancing. The Council could not enforce any of these measures, it could only provide guidance.