I spoke to senior Council officers on Tuesday at a leadership briefing session. The two main themes were urging a focus on efficient and economic delivery of the services you need and expect and the importance of effective partnerships with other agencies. This is central to so much of what we do and to achieving the best results for you, our residents.
The King’s speech outlined a series of new laws that we will be expected to implement and follow. Much of it we will only be able to accomplish by working with others.
An example of this approach is our Health and Wellbeing Board (HWBB) which I now chair. Its job is to improve the health and wellbeing of people in Solihull from pre-birth to end of life, to reduce inequalities and improve the quality of health and social care services.
It’s made up of partners, including Police, Solihull Community Housing, local NHS colleagues, and representatives from the voluntary and education sectors.
The HWBB meetings are held in public so you can see how they work. As HWBB chair I had the pleasure of telling members of the Council’s Health and Adult Social Care Scrutiny Board our priorities for the coming year there is a delivery plan, consulting on a refreshed Joint Local Health and Wellbeing Strategy and how each meeting will ‘spotlight’ a particular issue so Board partners can collectively work to find solutions.
We are rightly proud of that, but we need to ensure this applies with equal intensity to all our residents. Working with partners in health, education, business, the police, and transport we must be ambitious. Solihull, the whole of Solihull, can and should be somewhere people can live safely, happily, with good access to education, training, and employment.
Speaking of health matters, Wednesday’s Economic Development, Managed Growth and Skills Scrutiny Board considered the results of the air quality consultation undertaken eight months ago. You told us you want better information, regular air quality updates and alerts. In response we will continue to improve our monitoring with additional monitoring equipment so we can provide regular updates throughout the year.
You are also concerned about the effect on air quality of wood burners, especially as we know it is the largest source of small particle air pollution. We will raise awareness of the health impacts of wood burners and ensure people understand the legislation regarding their use.
Car idling particularly around schools was a key issue raised by the respondents. We will do our best to raise awareness of how damaging vehicle idling is and strengthen our approach to enforcement.
Please switch off your car engine at every opportunity, particularly outside our schools. Many schools run successful campaigns to educate parents to stop idling, but it is something we are all responsible for.
Talking about the environment, I was really pleased to see two homes in Shirley benefitting from a scheme offering free energy efficiency upgrades. The two homeowners in Collister Close have had upgrades including innovative air source heat pumps, photovoltaic (PV) solar panels, and radiators. The works were funded through the Government’s Home Upgrade Grant Phase 2 (HUG2) and will cut their fuel bills, reduce their carbon footprint, and make their homes more comfortable. The energy performance certificate (EPC) of both homes has now gone from E to C! For more information about energy efficiency grants follow this link.
Returning to the King’s speech I welcome the Better Buses Bill, which could allow a regional body, such as Transport for West Midlands (TfWM), to take over responsibility for running bus services. As ever the devil will be in the detail (and the cost!!!).
But investment and better coordination of our bus services is not a new idea. The previous Midland Mayor Andy Street managed to cut a deal where TfWM continued operating bus services at current levels for several more years, despite the post-Covid special funding running out.
Under the agreement £40m of the region’s £88m Bus Service Improvement Plan (BSIP) grant was reallocated to keep services running ‘while a long-term sustainable funding solution is found’.
Yesterday at Cabinet we discussed the new Productivity Plan which we were instructed to provide by the last government. To be honest, we’ve been told to cut costs the whole time I’ve been in the Council, and this is the latest ‘plan’ on that theme.
We have a good story to tell. We have been in the business of looking to deliver services in different ways that not only is more cost-effective, but also improves the service for many years now. We think the new digital revolution with provide more opportunities to allow us to make better decisions; to ensure the services we provide are the one you need or want. However, as I said at cabinet, we must be mindful of those who are not online or not comfortably online to ensure they are not left behind.
As a confirmed parks aficionado, I cannot help myself being immensely proud of the borough having 16 Green Flag parks and now receiving its 17th green flag award for the Hope Coppice. Some of you will remember this 15-acre woodland was created in response to the Covid pandemic and it has proved a fantastic addition to Solihull’s wonderful selection of parks.
I can only echo what Keep Britain Tidy said about the award of the new Green Flag: “Hope Coppice is a vital green space for communities in Solihull borough to socialise, enjoy nature, for children to play safely and it provides important opportunities for park users to improve their physical and mental health.”
Finally, I am sure we are all disappointed at the result on Sunday. Commiserations to the England team and best wishes to Gareth Southgate. He led the team in a wonderful manner with dignity and respect. Let us hope this talented generation of footballers gets the chance go the final step at the next tournament.
Have a great weekend everyone, go out and enjoy your local park, but make sure to be careful in the sun and hot weather.
Councillor Ian Courts, Leader of Solihull Council.