Full Council (July 2024)
Summary
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- the live broadcast and recording of this meeting
- the agenda pack of this meeting
- the minutes of this meeting
1. Apologies for Absence
2. Mayor’s Announcements
3. Declarations of Interest
Members are reminded that they must disclose any interests they know they have in items of business on the meeting’s agenda and that they must do so at this point on the agenda or as soon as they become aware of the interest. If the interest is a Disclosable Pecuniary Interest they are also obliged to notify the Monitoring Officer within 28 days of the meeting.
4. Minutes
Minutes of meetings on 20 March and 15 May 2024.
5. Public Questions
To receive questions from members of the public in accordance with Council Rules 10.1 to 10.6.
Any member of the public who wishes to submit a question or statement to this meeting should email it to committees@chelmsford.gov.uk 24 hours before the start time of the meeting. All valid questions and statements will be published with the agenda on the website at least six hours before the start time and will be responded to at the meeting. Those who have submitted a valid question or statement will be entitled to put it in person at the meeting.
6. Cabinet Question Time
The Leader and Members of the Cabinet to answer questions submitted by Members of the Council in accordance with Council Rules 10.18 to 10.22.
7. Report from the Cabinet on 9th July 2024
7.1 Proposed changes to the Constitution
To consider the attached report from the Leader of the Council
8. Treasury Outturn 2023/24
To consider the attached report from the Treasury Management and Investment Sub Committee
9. Budget Framework 2025/26
To consider the attached report from the Cabinet Member for Finance
10. Notice of Motion
In accordance with notice duly given, Councillor M Steel to move:
There is continuing concern that there are insufficient medical facilities in Chelmsford to cope with the increase in the City’s population and all Political Parties highlighted this in their recent election literature.
Whilst it is the duty of the Integrated Care Boards to deal with the provision of medical services, and in particular GP surgeries, the City Council is currently consulting on the Local Plan to further increase the housing supply which will in turn increase the pressure on these facilities.
Officers from the City Council do regularly engage with the ICB on planning matters and in particular on the major new housing sites to ensure land and buildings are available for medical facilities.
Whilst our Planning Officers are able to negotiate S106 and recommend CIL payments for provision and timing of physical buildings, the real outcome of a surgery being ready to operate, is being delayed because of the complex requirements of setting them up as businesses. It is clear that there is an ever increasing shortfall between new builds and primary care services.
City Council Planning dept can only place obligations on the applicants of new development, hence they are limited to such things as the buildings from which a surgery would operate.
It is noted that City Council planning dept do include healthcare infrastructure requirements in the Local Plan and engage with the ICB on the Infrastructure Delivery Plans that support the Local Plan and that officers are invited to the Healthcare Providers Strategic Estates Group organised by the ICB.
However, these are not resulting in satisfactory outcomes with surgery provision not keeping pace with new occupations.
It is therefore proposed that
The City Council works much more closely with the ICB to create better outcome plans and commitments by:
1. Encourage and assist ICBs to produce strategic plans which address the demands created by major new housing estates
2. Ensure that Local Plan Infrastructure Delivery Plans and major housing estate application, align with such strategic healthcare planning undertaken by the ICB to help drive improvements to primary care delivery outcomes.
3. Encourage ICBs to use such plans to increase their funding requirements on S106 and CIL to ensure that sufficient monies are obtained from developers to cover all of the costs of new healthcare facilities.