Decision Maker: Council
Decision status: Recommendations Approved
Is Key decision?: No
Is subject to call in?: No
Members were reminded that they had been emailed a copy of the Chair and Vice Chair engagements carried out since the last meeting.
The Leader announced they wish to formally thank Councillor Sue Sanderson for her input to Children’s Services and Education over many years.
She had let colleagues know at the end of last month that she was standing down as a Councillor with immediate effect.
Councillor Sanderson had been suffering from deteriorating health for some time and considered that she could no longer undertake her Council tasks in the way she would like and that it was the appropriate time to step down.
The Leader noted she had been a dedicated councillor for many years having previously served as a member of Cabinet on both South Lakeland District Council (SLDC) and Cumbria County Council.
Councillor Sanderson was also Deputy Leader at SLDC and had a number of other roles during her period of Office, culminating in her Portfolio responsibilities for Children’s Services with the Shadow Authority and latterly here at Westmorland and Furness.
Councillor Sanderson had led the Children’s Services Team brilliantly, through the transition period and onwards to the achievement of a Good Ofsted rating earlier this year.
The Leader noted this as a fantastic record of accomplishment and achievement and expressed his thanks publicly her for her hard work in the Council and in the communities and parish Councils she had represented, so ably for so long.
He added that she would be leaving on a high note and he wished her well on her retirement.
He had asked Councillor Janet Battye to take on responsibility for Councillor Sanderson’s portfolio as the Cabinet Member for Children’s Services, Education, Inclusion and Skills (Statutory Lead Member for Children’s Services).
The Leader then announced that he wanted to say a few words today to mark the retirement of Cllr Phil Dew. Cllr Dew was a long standing and much respected councillor. He had recently moved on to new pastures and to a new chapter in his life.
Cllr Phil Dew had not just been a valued elected member, but was as well, a popular Methodist minister. Prior to being a Councillor with the Westmorland and Furness Council – he had also been an elected member at the previous Cumbria County Council and Eden District Council - as well as being an elected as a Town Council member.
He had an outstanding track record in representing the needs and aspirations of his community and constituents in the Upper Eden area and his decision to move on to pastures new will be a loss for his community and also for Westmorland and Furness Council.
Councillor Dew had many interests and passions including being the Chair of the Upper Eden Railway Heritage Partnership.
But his absolute passion was in making sure that young people had the absolute best start in life. It was much, much, more than an interest and he worked tirelessly to play as large a role as possible in achieving this. That is why he was a great person to Chair the Children and Young Peoples Scrutiny Board.
The Leader wished Councillor Dew every success in his new ventures and we send him on his way with our very best wishes.
The Leader also provided an update on the outcome of the lessons learnt audit of the development of Voreda House in Penrith. He advised that the report would assist in the management of capital projects going forward, in areas such as risk management and communications. He added that Voreda House was a state of art facility that had secured the Council’s presence in the heart of Penrith.
The Leader informed Council that in July 2024 the Deputy Prime Minister had sent a letter seeking expressions of interest in a devolution by 30 September 2024. Although little detail was known the Leader stated that more detail was expected as part of the English Devolution Bill and that any expression of interest would not be binding on the authority. He explained that the expression of interest would seek a preference on the geographical footprint for a deal and preferred governance arrangements. If going forward a devolution offer was received it would be subject to a full consultation process.
The Cabinet Member for Sustainable Communities and Localities informed Members that the Council’s Emergency Plan had been in place since vesting day, but today she announced that the next iteration of the Emergency Plan was now in place.
This second version of the plan had included key updates and lessons identified from previous emergencies and had benefitted from input from all directorates within the Council. She thanked all staff who had been engaged, and had co-produced, the collective arrangements in the new plan.
Since vesting day, a number of Major Incidents had occurred. The Council had demonstrated its arrangements and had protected the most vulnerable in our society by responding effectively to these emergencies working jointly with Cumberland Council and other key partners of the Local Resilience Forum (LRF). The Council’s commitment was to continue to develop, debrief, learn, adapt and prepare again after each emergency.
The Cabinet Member for Sustainable Communities and Localities also announced that this week was National Inclusion Week in the UK, a week dedicated to celebrating inclusion and taking action to create inclusive workplaces, and Westmorland and Furness Council were pleased to be taking part in it.
The theme of National Inclusion Week 2024 was ‘Impact Matters’. a call-to-action to everyone in our council, from leaders, to inclusion professionals through to teams and individuals to apply an impact mindset to equality, diversity, and inclusion. Our vision for Westmorland and Furness was to be a great place to live, work and thrive. For everyone to live work and thrive. ‘Impact Matters’ had a powerful message that centres around understanding, identifying and measuring impact on marginalised groups and taking actions that make for genuine, sustainable change that matters.
In March 2024, Cabinet recommended the Council’s EDI position statement, including the Council’s first set of statutory equality objectives, and an EDI action plan. The EDI statement, our objectives and linked action plan, set out how we will build the foundations for this as we continue to bring together the systems and processes of four legacy councils and develop a new approach for Westmorland and Furness Council.
She was pleased to welcome Jamie Hooper, the Council’s Corporate Equality, Diversity, and Inclusion Advisor who had been driving the Council’s EDI work forward.
A Members EDI briefing session would be held in early November. A Members EDI Resource Pack would also be available via the member’s hub.
The Cabinet Member for Transport and Regulatory Services informed Members of planned “Car Free Days”. These were days where officers were encouraged to use their cars less and use alternative methods of transport when traveling. That was designed to support conversations with central government regarding funding for public transport in Westmorland and Furness.
Publication date: 23/10/2024
Date of decision: 26/09/2024
Decided at meeting: 26/09/2024 - Council