Date: 20 November 2006 21:51

December Report 2006

Praise for Children and Young People's Services

Services provided by Cambridgeshire County Council, for children and young 
people across the county, have been praised by Government inspectors.

The three main areas assessed were all rated as 'good' and graded three out 
of four - where four is the highest. The contribution of Cambridgeshire's 
social care services rose from grade two last year to grade three this year. 
The other two categories maintained their grades of three.

Inspectors from CSCI and OfSTED praised the Council's partnership working 
with the NHS in meeting targets for reducing smoking in pregnancy; 
breastfeeding and MMR vaccinations. They also highlighted the success of 
Cambridgeshire's campaign to recruit additional foster parents locally.

Outcomes in the area of enjoying and achieving were described as good, and 
inspectors noted that the percentage of primary schools in Cambridgeshire 
causing concern was lower than in similar authorities. They said actions 
taken by the authority in supporting schools causing concern were 
'well-judged'.

They also praised the Council's work in consulting young people and taking 
their views into account before drawing up its plans.

Inspectors highlighted Cambridgeshire's management of its services and its 
capacity to improve them further, and praised the Council's shift in 
management culture to one of greater accountability.

The Council was encouraged to improve arrangements for monitoring health 
services for looked after children placed outside Cambridgeshire, and ensure 
value for money in the placements of children.

Inspectors also urged the authority to improve the educational attainment of 
looked after children, improve standards in sixth forms in schools in the 
north of the county and enhance the preparation for independent living of 
those leaving care.

Further Funding for Congestion Study

The County Council has been awarded a further £1m, through the Department 
for Transport's Transport Innovation Fund (TIF), to look into tackling 
congestion.

The funding will be used to investigate a wide range of options for tackling 
congestion including road-pricing and other demand management measures such 
as extensions to the bollard system in Cambridge. Investigations into public 
transport improvements will also be carried out. Additional Park & Ride 
sites, more bus lanes, more bus priority measures and extensive improvements 
to walking and cycling facilities throughout the county will all be 
considered.

The Council was awarded £385,000 from the Transport Innovation Fund in 
December 2005 and has used this money to start a study to find out what the 
effects of road pricing and other demand management measures could be.

An extensive programme of stakeholder engagement has also been taking place 
with representatives from retail, business, health, education and other 
local councils all having their say on ways of tackling the growing problem 
of congestion in the county.

The new funding will enable the Council to undertake detailed studies into 
individuals' travel patterns and extensive traffic, cycling and public 
transport surveys. Home interview travel surveys will focus on identifying 
groups of people who rely on the car for essential daily journeys.  This 
information will provide the Council with a thorough understanding of how 
measures such as road pricing and other forms of demand management would 
affect local people.

Consultation into Recycling and Quarrying Plans

A six-week public consultation was launched on November 6 into plans to deal 
with both Cambridgeshire's waste management and mineral extraction over the 
next 15 years. A series of exhibitions and roadshows are being held across 
Cambridgeshire and Peterborough to encourage people to have their say on the 
proposals.

The draft preferred options form part of the emerging Minerals and Waste 
Plan for Cambridgeshire and Peterborough - a long-term strategy for dealing 
with mineral extraction and waste management.

The County Council has recommended that no new landfill sites are opened in 
Cambridgeshire and that more emphasis should be put on recycling.

Councillors suggest that more emphasis should be put on the development of 
an extensive network of modern waste recycling facilities. They also propose 
that new quarries should be located where they can help protect and enhance 
the environment.

Guided Busway Well Underway

Preparations for the construction of the Cambridgeshire Guided Busway are 
well underway. The project will provide high quality, reliable and frequent 
bus services on a segregated route away from the A14 and other congested 
roads. The £116.2m scheme is being paid for by the Department for Transport 
and housing developers in the area.

The County Council's contractor, Edmund Nuttall Ltd, is establishing its 
main site offices near Longstanton, on land that will ultimately be used for 
one of the new Guided Busway Park & Ride sites.

The contractor will set up a special manufacturing plant to make the 15m 
long concrete beams for the busway. The beams will then be moved along the 
busway route (the disused railway corridor) on a specially adapted vehicle 
and put into place using a moveable gantry. Each beam will weigh about 15 
tonnes.

Work at the main site compound at Longstanton started in October and should 
take approximately five months to complete. The offices will be occupied 
from January 2007.

Construction of the busway will start at Longstanton and work towards 
Cambridge. A 1.5km test section will be completed near Longstanton in Summer 
2007. The section between Cambridge Railway Station and Trumpington Park & 
Ride site and Addenbrooke's will then be built, with the final section from 
St Ives to Longstanton being the last section to be completed. The scheme 
will open as a whole from St Ives to Trumpington by February 2009 at the 
latest.

One of the first tasks to be undertaken is the establishment of a wildlife 
area at Over cutting. This will take place from now until March next year.

Papworth Everard Bypass Nears Completion

Works on the new £8.7 million Papworth Everard Bypass are currently running 
six weeks ahead of schedule and it is due to open in January 2007. The new 
bypass involves the construction of a new single-carriageway road 1.7 miles 
in length, which includes creating an upgraded B1040 road constructed 
northwards. The upgraded B1040 will tie back into the existing A1198 via a 
new roundabout.

Traffic calming measures will be introduced in the village and are being 
designed in consultation with the Parish Council and other local 
organisations. A public consultation is taking place this month on the 
traffic calming and includes two staffed exhibitions and leaflets 
distributed to villagers. Once complete, the traffic calming scheme will 
play a major part in diverting around 7,800 vehicles from the centre of the 
accident-hit village onto the new bypass, everyday.

Council Welcomes Sure Start Colleagues

The Council has welcomed employees from two Sure Start Local Programmes, on 
secondment from the Primary Care Trusts, into the Office of Children and 
Young People's Services (OCYPS).

The Council is now responsible for the local programmes and also for rolling 
out Sure Start Children's Centres.

Sure Start was set up by the Government to ensure that every child has the 
best possible start in life, and to help parents confidently choose a 
balance between their work and family commitments.

Sure Start Children's Centres, initially in the most disadvantaged areas, 
offer access to a wide range of high-quality integrated early years services 
and, by 2010, every community will have easy access to a Children's Centre.

New duties on local authorities under the Childcare Act 2006 will support 
these new services, which set out to increase the availability of childcare, 
improve the health, education and emotional development of children, and 
support parents both as parents and in their aspirations towards employment.

Consideration to Development of Shared Services

The County Council's Cabinet has approved a three-month consultation on the 
development of shared services provided with the support of an external 
partner.

Because of continued under funding from Government and growth in demand for 
services, the Council is looking at making cost savings by sharing 'back 
office' systems with other similar organisations supported by using external 
companies. Shared services could include invoice production, payment 
processing and financial and HR administrative functions.

The consultation will include staff, trade unions, and potential external 
service providers. If the proposals go ahead, it is estimated that back 
office cost saving of around £1 million will be achieved by 2008/09 - money 
that will be invested in front line services and facilities such as social 
care, schools, roads and community facilities. Further savings in future 
years are also predicted.

The proposal will not have a direct impact upon the front line services that 
the Council provides and it will not reduce the number of social workers, 
teachers or highways engineers. The measure is about seeking more efficient 
and effective ways to manage resources and could result in the development 
of services, not reductions.

Local Public Sector Agreement (LPSA) Targets

The achievement of LPSA targets across 12 priority areas has the potential 
to deliver performance reward grants up to the total value of £12.6 million. 
To receive reward grant from central government we need to achieve at least 
60% of the distance between our normal targets (baseline) and our 'stretch' 
LPSA targets.  The higher we perform over the 60% threshold the more reward 
money we will receive.

There is good news on a number of indicators with reward grant secured in 
eight areas.  For these indicators we are currently eligible to receive an 
estimated £1.7 million in reward grant.  The latest figures for other key 
indicators are encouraging, if performance for 2006/07 follows current 
trends an additional £4 million could be secured.  In order to minimise the 
risk of under-performing, the Council will ensure that we continue to focus 
on planned interventions between now and the end of the LPSA period to 
maximise achievement of targets.

Local Area Agreement (LAA)

As the LAA gains momentum it is becoming much clearer which areas may 
provide added value by becoming part of the joint priorities to be delivered 
under the agreement.  Partners are making significant progress in setting 
the appropriate direction for the LAA and in building stronger relationships 
across organisations and partnerships

Although we are only five months into this three-year agreement some early 
benefits have already been identified:

* Improved coordination across services and investment of public funds
* Continued strength of partnership working and continued commitment across 
organisations to find joint solutions for shared problems
* Rationalisation of pre-existing partnerships in block four reducing the 
resource pressures put on partners
* A clear commitment to increase community engagement and a recognition of 
the role of the voluntary sector in helping to identify, shape and deliver 
local services
* Tackling key long-term challenges which are faced by local partners and 
local communities and which cannot be effectively addressed by a single 
organisation or single area - e.g. growth, climate change

The LAA is currently undergoing a refresh in time for the start of the next 
financial year.  The local government white paper and anticipated Lyons 
report place additional emphasis on LAAs and it is likely that they will 
develop as a focus for funding and for assessment of local services.

John Reynolds