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 referenced the developments and challenges faced in relation to Liberty Steel and the nearly 1,500 people across the borough and wider sub-region employed by the business. The announcement by the Government that they would take indirect control of the steelworks was pleasing. However, this was time-limited, and the Leader stated that it was essential that a long-term solution was identified to ensure the continued success of the steelworks. He confirmed that he had written to the Secretary of State along with the South Yorkshire Mayor and Leader of Sheffield City Council. Assurances were required from Government about a long-term solution.

The Council had held its annual Social Value event in July, bringing together partners from the public and voluntary sector as well as over 70 representatives from the private sector. The successes of the social value initiatives were celebrated along with the impacts on the borough such as employing local people and providing training and skills. The Council’s procurements team publicised upcoming contracts and advised firms on how they could access those opportunities.

An initiative had been launched to support the retail sector in the borough’s principal towns with £270,000 of potential investment. Shop Unit Business Grants of up to £25,000 would be available to help high street businesses improve their overall look, feel and vibrancy.

The Leader congratulated those who had received their A-Level and GCSE results over the summer. Early analysis showed that A-Level students had achieved a pass rate of 97.6 % for grades A to E and, with more than 3 ,000 students collecting GCSE results, more than 60 % of those had received passing grades in English and Maths. Work continued to do better.

Work continued at Thrybergh Country Park and the Leader echoed the words of the Mayor in celebrating the success of the Rotherham Show. Over 95,000 visitors attended, and it continued to be the largest free outdoor cultural festival in the north of England.

The Leader of the Majority Opposition Group, Councillor Z Collingham,

was invited to respond to the statement. He echoed the Leader’s comments on Liberty Steel and welcomes the government’s intervention in taking on the wages and costs whilst a buyer was sought. He welcomed the representations made by the Leader. Councillor Collingham also welcomed the announcement of the funding for Doncaster Sheffield Airport which he said was vital for the region.

The inability of the Council to resume a full programme of bin collections was referenced, particularly in relation to garden waste which residents had paid for and were not getting. Councillor Collingham asked why the Council was still not able to source the necessary staff and what making amends actually meant.

Councillor Collingham also thanked all those involved in the Rotherham Show, particularly the Assistant Director, Polly Hamilton. He noted that hundreds of attendees had engaged with the Conservatives campaign regarding installing solar panels on rooftops and brownfield sites, not greenfield sites. Following this, he asked if the Leader had had any further engagement with the Whitestone Solar Farm proposals given local members were firmly against it.

In concluding his statement, Councillor Collingham asked the Leader if he was prouder to be associated with the former Deputy Prime Minister who did not pay her taxes or the Labour Council Leader who though that young girls in Rotherham were white trash.

The Leader was invited to respond to Councillor Z Collingham and thanked him for his support in relation to the reopening of Doncaster Sheffield airport. There was still some way to go before the airport could reopen and discussions had to be had with the landholder around the least. It was essential that the right terms were agreed to ensure good value for the taxpayer.

In relation to the bin situation, the Leader stated that some progress had been made over the summer and garden waste collections had resumed although not as frequently as he would have liked. In relation to sourcing staff, the Leader confirmed that a permanent recruitment process was underway but that was taking longer than expected. There were particular challenges around recruiting HGV drivers, but this was not a recent issue. The lack of availability of agency staff had been a challenge. It was hoped that the situation would improve in the next couple of weeks. In relation to what making amends meant, this could not be known until the extent of the disruption was known. The plan was to get through the challenging period, get the service running as it should and then make amends appropriately and commensurately.

With regards to the Whitestone Solar Farm, the Leader confirmed that he had not had any further direct contact on the matter. He had had conversations with officers about how the Council would fulfil its statutory duties in responding to a national planning decision.

The Leader stated he was proud of Angela Rayner for her work on restoring Council housing and moving away from selling it off under the Right to Buy Scheme. He was proud that she and Jim McMahon MP had restored the principle of funding councils based on need, ensuring that money was provided to those that most needed it. He acknowledged that people make mistakes, and Angela Rayner had had to live with the consequence of those mistakes.  The Leader concluded by saying that he was proud of the Labour government that worked in a progressive way to support communities meaningfully, after they were let down and betrayed for the course of the previous 14 years.

Questions on the Leader’s statement were invited from all other Members. Councillor A Carter echoed the comments made in relation to Liberty Steel. He specifically asked about what support had been given in relation to the apprentices that were due to start at the steelworks but had now been lost. In relation to the Shop Unit Business Grants, Councillor Carter asked if the Leader shared his concerns that smaller district centres would miss out on investment? A question was also asked about the level of public investment required in Doncaster Sheffield Airport, the implications of competition law and the risk to Council Tax payers. Finally, Councillor Carter raised concerns regarding the communication with residents who did not use email in relation to the garden waste collection issues.

In response the Leader stated that support had been offered by the providers to those 30 people who were supposed to be starting their apprenticeship, and he understood that they were now largely resolved. In relation to the Shop Unit Business Grants, the Leader confirmed that there was only so much money available and that would be prioritised accordingly. He did not believe the grants would disadvantage other businesses but if successful, the Council would want to look at how it could be extended to businesses across the borough. The Leader stated that the risk to Rotherham Council Taxpayers in relation to the airport was very limited. The regions leaders had been given assurances that all actions were in accordance with competition laws. On bins, the Leader apologised that some residents had still not received the relevant information. Email users should have received two emails and the 8,000 service users who did not use email should have received a letter. If there were any individual issues Councillor Carter wanted to raise with the Leader, the Leader would pick those up.

Councillor Reynolds also asked about the bin collection issues and stated that he had not heard an explanation as to why it had happened, just excuses. He also stated that the South Yorkshire Council needed to get the airport situation sorted.

In response the Leader stated that the terms and conditions of the refuse collectors had to be amended to ensure they were equitable. Those emptying the household waste bins were on different contract to those emptying the recycling bins and this was not appropriate. The service also could not continue to rely on agency staff. There were also new legal responsibilities imposed on the Council. As a result, a review was undertaken and changes made.

Councillor Bacon referenced the investment in businesses and the need for businesses to operate in a crime-free environment. He asked why the Council was allowing the Safer Rotherham Partnerships Strategy to only talk about perceptions of antisocial behaviour as opposed to tackling it. He also asked if this failure showed that a weak leader created weak times for residents.

The Leader stated that perceptions of antisocial behaviour was a legitimate thing for the Council to be worried about. The realities of crime and antisocial behaviour needed to be tackled with the best information that the Council had, and it was important to make sure that that the Council were talking to people and helping to make sure they were not fearful when they did not need to be.

Councillor Tinsley referred to the Shop Unit Business Grants and asked if it was fully subscribed. He also asked if it would disadvantage small businesses who did not have the resources to fill out grant applications.

The Leader confirmed that there had been a huge demand for the shop front grants. Applications would continue to be accepted until the deadline and then the money allocated to ensure value for money. As stated previously, the Council would access the effectiveness of the scheme before decided on any further schemes.

Councillor Ball asked how much money Liberty Steel owed in business rates and whether this had been written off. He also asked why the Leader had broken off his quarterly meeting with Tata and Liberty.

The Leader confirmed he would provide a written response in relation to the question on business rates. He did not know what meetings Councillor Ball was referring to as he continued to have productive conversations with management on site.

Councillor Steele echoed the positive comments on the Rotherham Show.