Agenda item

To receive a statement from the Leader of the Council in accordance with Council Procedure Rule 9.

The Leader was invited to present his statement. He welcomed the new Chief Executive, John Edwards, to his first Council meeting and congratulated Councillor Tony Harrison on his recent victory in the Keppel by-election.

The Leader noted that the Crematorium had achieved Green Flag status and Clifton Park had achieved Green Heritage status. Further, the next stage of funding for the mainline Gateway Station proposal had been secured which was a big step forward.

Reference was made to the significant stagging challenges recently faced by the Household Waste Service which had resulted in delays to collections, especially garden waste collections. The Leader sought to reassure Members that additional resources were being put in place and the team were working hard to address the backlog. The position had improved over the last few days, but further changes were required to get things back on an even keel.

The Leader wished to focus on Marcia Grant. The Inquest into Mrs Grant’s death had closed earlier in July and had found grounds to believe that Rotherham Council had played a contributing role in her death. Mrs Grant had been a much-loved and highly respected foster carer, and a central figure within Rotherham’s fostering community. She was caring and compassionate, providing a home and support to some of the borough’s most vulnerable children. The Leader offered the Council’s deepest and sincerest condolences to Mrs Grant’s family, stating that he was truly sorry for their loss and for any failings on the Council’s part.

Whilst the Leader was limited in what could be discussed due to potential legal action, he did want to assure everyone that changes had already been made following the incident two year’s prior. The Council was awaiting the Prevention of Future Death report and would take robust action in response to that report. The Fostering Service had already begun making improvements to strengthen processes before the inquest began, including in relation to record keeping and risk assessment recording. They continually strove to improve the way that the Council worked with and interacted with children, young people and foster carers.

The Council continued to invest heavily in creating new residential homes for Rotherham’s children, because the national market for placements was both full and broken. The Leader had asked the Strategic Director of Children and Young People’s Services to produce a comprehensive action plan which would be reported to the Improving Lives Select Commission for scrutiny.

The Leader stated that social work teams made incredibly difficult decisions every day that change the course of people’s lives in profound ways. Every decision balanced risks and challenges. The Leader was enormously grateful for what they did with care and professionalism. When it went wrong, as it had in this case, there were nothing more serious.

The Leader of the Majority Opposition Group, Councillor Z Collingham, was invited to respond to the statement. He also welcomed the new Chief Executive to his role.

Councillor Collingham stated that the conclusion by the coroner that failures of the Council had contributed to the circumstances giving rise to the death of Mrs Grant had been one of the hardest things he had had to read as a Councillor. He acknowledged that the service were looking at the issues raised and appreciated that it was right to wait for the full report. Councillor Collingham was grateful for the reassurances provided by the Leader and Chief Executive. There had been an openness about the process going forwards as there would be a members briefing and the opportunity to understand the detail. However, Councillor Collingham was concerned that these possible failings in practice and procedure happened only two years ago which was after the Council had turned many corners in relation to Children and Young People’s Services. He sought assurances that the Council was doing all it could to ensure that no other children were placed into foster care without the right steps being taken and that the Council would face up to the outcomes of the full report as a matter of principle.

Councillor Collingham also referenced Baroness Casey’s National Audit on Group-based Child Sexual Exploitation and Abuse (CSE). The Audit had stated categorically that Rotherham Council and South Yorkshire Police were in a different place to that off the early 2000’s. However it did show how far the country had to go to identify, understand and combat group-based CSE. For example, the same crimes were not being recorded under the same definitions in different areas; the information being collected was not adequate; ethnicity and nationality were not always being recorded; statutory agencies were not being held to account and out of area taxi licensing was still being allowed. These issues put children across the whole country, including in Rotherham, at risk. Councillor Collingham asked the Leader if he now saw the value in a national inquiry and if the Council would take every opportunity to support the 12 recommendations? He also asked if Rotherham Council could provide a model of good practice on things like taxi licensing?

Councillor Collingham referenced the recent Keppel By-Election which had been caused by one of the Labour members resigning. He also referenced the number of Labour members that had become independent or had moved to the back benches. Councillor Collingham expressed concern that the Council was losing stability and continuity in decision-making at the top level which damaged everyone in the short term. He asked to be kept informed about any further changes.

The Leader was invited to respond to Councillor Z Collingham. He provided assurance that the Council were moving forward and had already acted on the issues raised. It was important that the action plan went to Scrutiny so that members could look at the detail, talk to professionals and get that in depth understanding.

In response to the comments regarding the Baroness Casey report, the Leader expressed his disappointment that assurance had not been found in the way CSE was dealt with nationally and therefore it was right that there be a national inquiry. It was right that police forces had been asked to re-examine cases where no further action had been taken. The Leader wanted the inquiry to be transformative and not just pick off four or five localities. He absolutely supported the recommendations and was pleased that Baroness Casey had referenced Rotherham’s taxi licensing policies (albeit not by name) as an example of best practice.  The Council would offer it’s support wherever possible.

The Leader stated that he appreciated Councillor Collingham’s unexpected concern for the Rotherham Labour Group and would notify him of further changes when required.

Questions on the Leader’s statement were invited from all other Members.

Councillor Reynolds referenced the missed bin collections, specifically the garden waste collections that residents paid extra for. He stated that residents were frustrated and felt let down.

The Leader stated that he understood residents frustrations and apologised. It was important to prioritise resources and therefore general household waste had to be collected first. He could not make any promises regarding the service, but he stated that the Council would look at would could be done for residents once the service returned to normal.

Councillor Bennett-Sylvester paid tribute to former Councillor Sheila Walker and placed on record his thanks to all officers, elected Members and members of the Muslim Liaison Bereavement Group who had worked hard to secure Green Flag status for East Herringthorpe Cemetery. He asked the Leader if the fines issued to Dignity could be reinvested in the provision of toilets and communal facilities at the entrance to the crematorium?

The Leader explained that he thought that the toilets fell outside the remit of the contract with Dignity but the Council would look into what could be done in terms of investment to enable improvements.

Councillor Bacon asked for an update on the ambition for Ulley Park to be awarded Green Flag status as he felt it had been neglected over recent years. He also made reference to the bin collections and previous concerns he had raised about missed collections. Councillor Bacon asked if the press statement released by the Council saying that the bins had not been emptied because of the bank holiday was true?

The Leader confirmed that work was still ongoing regarding Ulley Country Park Green Flag status. It was also confirmed that public litter bins had previously been impacted by the bank holiday due to reduced capacity and more waste.

Councillor Bower referenced the Gateway Station development and what impact the shelving of the electrification of the Midland Main Line scheme would have on the business case for the station development? He described the shelving of the scheme as a major blow to the local economy and found it hard to believe that there would be no impact on the new station.

The Leader explained that the Council would continue to back the Midland Mainline electrification scheme, and the decisions made by the previous and current Government to shelve the scheme were wrong. He was happy to make representations to Government on that matter. However the Leader did not think that the electrification scheme was part of the business case, but he would get back to Councillor Bower in writing.

Councillor Yasseen referenced the Marcia Grant Inquiry and sought assurance that scrutiny would be involved in reviewing the outcomes of the full report. She also echoed Councillor Bennett-Sylvester’s comments regarding the work of the Muslim Liaison Bereavement Group at East Herringthorpe Cemetery. Councillor Yasseen asked for recognition for Mr Sarad Yousaf who had noticed a significant fire during the night at a large building in Moorgate. He had managed to enter the building and wake the residents to ensure they all escaped. Councillor Yasseen stated that many lives had been saved because of this and she asked the Council to recognise this heroism.

The Leader explained that information regarding the Marcia Grant Inquiry would be shared with members when and where possible. He also thanked the Muslim Liaison Bereavement Group for their work on East Herringthorpe Cemetery, particularly Mr Azam. In concluding, the Leader stated that the Council owed Mr Yousaf a debt of gratitude for his heroic actions that saved many people’s lives.