News You Can Use on the Doorstep

Leader’s Monthly E-Newsletter for October

Let’s Build on the Decisive Vote for Brexit in Staffordshire

THE course of our history has been changed after the country voted en masse to quit the EU with 17.5 million people voting to leave. We now have a new popular Prime Minister in Theresa May and a Cabinet, including Staffordshire Moorlands MP Karen Bradley, ready to steer us on a very different path than we had imagined or planned.

We cannot, of course, afford to be complacent but our lead in the polls has stretched to 18 points—its biggest in power for 25 years— with Labour at an all time low under its unpopular hardline eccentric socialist leader. Voter support for the Conservatives has hit 47 per cent which is seven points up on September. Labour is down five to 29 per cent and UKIP down three to six per cent.

What Staffordshire people are saying is that after months of debate, conflict and challenges, it is now time to look forward rather than backwards and really get to grips with how post-EU Britain will operate.

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Regardless of how we voted on June 23rd , it is time to unite again and focus on the work we have to do for our mutual benefit here in Staffordshire and nationwide. There are short, medium and long-term objectives we will all want to see and we have vital county council elections coming up in May 2017.

It is important we keep our foot on the pedal and work with the Government and our local private and public sector to help shape the country and the county to maintain momentum and proactively manage the transition.

The EU is not perfect and neither is the Eurozone. The agenda pursued by an unelected Brussels elite of ever closer political and financial union will now face opposition from other EU countries. The Prime Minister has announced the process of unpicking with Europe will begin in earnest next Spring.

We have massive leverage in the Brexit discussions we will have with Brussels. The EU trade deficit with the UK was a massive €24 million in the first quarter this year. We need to play every single advantage. As European funding fades away, we must see Staffordshire get its fair share of the money previously sent to Brussels.

Here in Staffordshire, we must remain committed to continue growing a stronger economy—for instance in igniting the Northern Gateway Development Zone delivering tens of thousands of new jobs and homes for the area by 2040.

As a county that is good at making things, and as confidence returns, the weakening of the pound against the dollar will be good for our exports around the world. So what might the future look like for ourselves, our children and even our grandchildren?

We could keep EU regulations that are common sense and change those that aren't;

NATO will remain the cornerstone of our defence;

Negotiate through the World Trade Organisation bilateral trade deals with the Commonwealth countries such as Australia, New Zealand, Malaysia, Singapore, India and Canada as well as the U.S., China, and the EU;

Research could be funded through independent bodies;

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And other advantages

EU state aid rules which stop us helping our steel industry will be gone;

Procurement rules which require adverts in the Official Journal of the European Union will be gone;

We'll be able to sell our produce in pounds and ounces;

We can bring in agricultural policies which suit our climate, the crops we grow and our British environment;

And most important of all – the return of Common Law as interpreted by our courts, applying statute laws made by people we elect.

Many would argue that the EU has become a monolithic, inefficient bloated bureaucracy not fit for purpose.

We now have that chance to change and change for the better. Britain is a small island but with the fifth largest world economy. Importantly we are now part of both a global economy and a digital world.

When the UK joined the European Economic Community on January 1, 1973 it was a very different world. It was the same year that Dr Martin Cooper crossed Sixth Avenue to make the first call from a cell

phone. It would be another 12 years before the mobile phone would be launched in the UK, but the rest, as they say, is digital history. Advances in technology have not only opened up communications channels but opened up the continent. Effectively 'shrinking' the modern world bringing opportunities to do business across with closer to home.

It is time for us to reach out and think global. This is a brave new world, but not one we should fear.

Staffordshire Leader Elected Vice Chairman of County Councils Network

I am pleased to inform you I have been elected as one of three vice chairman of the County Councils Network (CCN). The CCN provides a national voice for all the country’s 27 county councils and 10 county unitary councils. This appointment gives us the opportunity to promote and strengthen the key role county authorities such as Staffordshire have in shaping economic growth, health and care, planning, education and local government funding.

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Spanish Automotive Supplier Expands to New Site in Staffordshire

The Spanish automotive supplier Gemstamp has demonstrated its confidence in Staffordshire by expanding to a new site at Bericote Four Ashes. The car parts supplier is planning a new £56.3 million manufacturing facility with a £70 million investment in new equipment and fitting out. It will secure 800 jobs and the business rates will help boost the local economy in the county.

This is excellent news for our area, and further proof that Stoke-on-Trent and Staffordshire is a great location for businesses to grow and flourish – and it is a big vote of confidence in the UK economy. This announcement is the culmination of months of hard work by the local Gemstamp management and ourselves to identify the right location for Gemstamp to expand, retaining this important business in the Staffordshire area, facilitating the move and ensuring that local jobs are safeguarded.

Now Let’s Ensure the Skills for Jobs in the Future

Big employers in Staffordshire, and across the country, are crying out for skills and knowledge in STEM subjects (science, technology, engineering and maths), yet many students shy away from them.

If you’re helping your son or daughter decide on GCSE or post-16 learning

options, make sure you understand STEM. The school year may have only just

started but parents with children going to primary or secondary school next

September 2017 need to think ahead about choosing a school for their child.

It pays to do your homework when choosing a school, and the county council is very pleased to unveil its new school search tool. By entering a postcode, parents can now see and compare schools easily, including their Ofsted rating, average GCSE results, pupil to teacher ratio, if it is a catchment area school – even what percentage of pupils went on to further education and apprenticeships. It’s easy to use and a straight-forward way to help parents make the right choice for their child’s school. You can find the tool here on the Staffordshire County Council website. Parents can also find out how they can help their children on their continuing school journey by visiting www.staffordshire.gov.uk/brightfuture.

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Integrated Health and Social Care Moves Ahead

In Staffordshire we have been swift to recognise the need to integrate health and social care to support more people in their homes and in their communities rather than languish in hospital unnecessarily. This is not only more affordable and more sustainable, but the best thing to do for Staffordshire people. The Partnership Trust took on the role of delivering adult social care back in 2012 and we recently took the opportunity to take stock and look at what has worked well and what we can do even better going forward. The Cabinet and the Trust’s board are now putting in place a new s75 agreement to deliver integrated care until 2020. This will be subject to a short period of consultation this autumn.

Alan White, Cabinet Member for Health, Care and Wellbeing, told The Times: “In Staffordshire we have been integrating NHS and social care since 2012. We have had many successes but a key challenge has been trying to rebalance funding away from acute services in the care of the NHS policy of protecting funding for hospitals. This has restricted our ability to invest in services in the community that give people the help they need earlier, thus avoiding

the point where acute care is the only option.

“Councils need to work with the NHS to promote better health choices, but fundamentally we have to not just talk about integrated health and social care, we have to deliver it and even more crucially fund it.”

Staffordshire goes for gold

Where did most Olympic UK gold medalists come from? The results reveal, perhaps unsurprisingly, that London is the native home of most medal-winners. Gold-winners Mo Farah, who was born in Somalia but moved to the city as a child, and dressage rider Charlotte Dujardin both hail from the capital. But the rest of the table reveals some interesting findings. West Yorkshire, birthplace of Nicola Adams, Alistair Brownlee and Katie Marchant, comes a close second with two golds, a silver and two bronze medals.

Third place is tied on two gold medals each by Greater Manchester, Hertfordshire and Staffordshire - representing some top Team GB talent in Jason Kenny, Max Whitlock, Adam Peaty and Joe Clarke respectively.

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Opportunity for Groups to Run Four Community Libraries

We’re now inviting organisations to come forward and take over the running of Cheslyn Hay, Great Wyrley, Loggerheads and Talke libraries. We are keen to see our smaller libraries in the hands of the communities they serve, so decisions can be taken at a local level to make them more responsive, and more able to provide what’s

needed locally. While groups will take care of the day to day management and running of their library, the council will still take care of maintenance and utility bills. Plus groups will have access to library services, IT systems and their own dedicated professional member of the library service to advise and support them.

We started this process in February 2015 with the first two rounds of applications proving very successful and are confident we will get groups to come forward. Organisations have until 20 January 2017 to apply and there’s further details at www.staffordshire.gov.uk/communitylibraries.

Foster Parents Needed in Staffordshire

Now to another important area of work for us. With children back at school, or teenagers off to university, we know that there will be parents out there looking to take on a new challenge. Our Fostering Service is now asking people if fostering could be for them and to get in touch.

We are always looking for foster families to come forward and provide a loving home for our looked after children and over the next three years we need to recruit around 150 more families. As often is the case, there is a particular need for carers for teenagers and sibling groups so again, if you think you could help out then please get in touch.

Most people can foster. You simply need to care about children, have good communication skills, have a spare room and be ready for that challenge. When I meet many of our foster carers they always say what a rewarding thing it is to do and comment on the range of support they get from our staff too.

Fostering is making a real difference to the lives of hundreds of local children in Staffordshire every day, so if it’s for you, then please get in touch with the service at www.care4child.org.

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Optimism Grows Amongst Staffordshire Businesses

We’ve had some more good news this month with the latest unemployment claimant count for the county now at 1 per cent, proving that there is great optimism amongst Staffordshire’s businesses about future growth, profitability and taking on new staff. Once again, our figures are well below the national

average at, 1.7 per cent, and regional average, at 2.3 per cent which is encouraging news.

In the first quarter Staffordshire Economic Survey which was published recently, 28 per cent of businesses questioned had seen an increase in the number of employees in the previous three months, while 28 per cent thought there would be an increase in the number of staff over the next three months. Twenty-seven per cent said investment in training had increased over that period. Over the next 12 months, 65 per cent of businesses surveyed expected turnover to improve in that time, with 64 per cent expecting profitability to improve.

Meanwhile we are seeing development sites progressing well (See Gemstamp above) which will lead to further job creation in the county. More recently, the new General Electric development at Redhill in Stafford and the company’s commitment to fund its second facility on site is also a prime example that Staffordshire is a great location for business

Another priority is Stafford. I’ll be meeting with cabinet colleagues to move the Stafford Western Access Route project another step forward. We want to see the scheme delivered as soon as possible to help secure the future prosperity of the county town. We will be agreeing the additional funding required and the compulsory purchase powers, meaning land for the development can be bought without delay.

This new road is an essential part of Stafford’s ambitious growth plans and will enable thousands of new homes to be built, provide for new employment land to create thousands of jobs and relieve traffic congestion in the town centre. The route will also unlock millions of pounds worth of future investment as well as improving access to increased rail services through Stafford and its connection to HS2 further down the line.

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New Weapon to Zap the County’s Potholes

The New Roadmaster machine in action.

We are rolling out a new weapon to zap the county’s potholes to help improve our roads. Earlier this year the Department for Transport awarded us just over £1 million to help us fight against potholes and maintain our 6,400km of roads. Now we’ve purchased a new high-tech pothole-patching machine and hired two more to help repair our roads more quickly.

The 18-tonne ‘Roadmaster’ is part of a package of measures to speed up repairs on the county’s highway network. It can patch a pothole in one pass and is a pretty impressive machine to see in action. It single-handedly clears an area, seals any potholes, bonds the ground and applies the aggregate and tarmac before passing over to finish the job. The machine also creates no waste and is more environmentally friendly than other methods.

By investing in the very latest technology we have a less labour intensive and more cost-effective way of repairing potholes more quickly, while giving tax-payers better value for money. During good weather crews are now fixing 350 potholes every week. Updates on road repairs can be found on the Staffordshire County Council website. You can also report any potholes you find via the website or by downloading the MyStaffs App.

Congratulations to Our Staffordshire Students

And congratulations to all our AS Levels, A-level and GCSE students over the past few weeks. GCSE students across the country have received their results and Staffordshire’s schools came out ahead of the national averages which is great news. The final results are still being collated, but early indications show 59.5 per cent of our students achieved 5 A* – C grades including English and Mathematics. This is compared to 56.1 per cent last year. I want to congratulate each and everyone involved on their achievements and remind people that we will continue to support our schools to help them improve even further.

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The Staffordshire Hoard seven years on

About this time seven years ago, our archaeologists were busy digging out the largest ever haul of Anglo-Saxon treasures known in Britain.

I don’t think any of us will forget the find but it was a metal detectorist who used the proper channels to report his find when he quite literally struck gold in a field in Hammerwich.

The cache amounted to just over 5 kilos of gold, 1.5kilo of silver and 3,500 cloisonné garnets and was valued at £3.285 million.

It’s hard to believe it was seven years ago but after years of research, conservation, cleaning and reconstruction, secrets of the hoard are still being revealed today. And now, hundreds of small pieces have been painstakingly reassembled to recreate the objects they once made up 1,300 years ago. These are now on display in the Birmingham Museum and well worth a visit.

The discovery of the Hoard is an amazing story and still has people talking today, and without doubt it’s certainly helped to put Staffordshire on the international map. With designs of the objects now being linked to many regions across Europe, it’s now part of our fascinating history and giving people another great reason to visit Staffordshire.

And Do You Know Christmas is Almost Here?

The National Memorial Arboretum is attempting to break the World Record for most signatures on a Christmas card. They need to get 21,000 signatures by mid December 2016. On 2nd November the card will be in Staffordshire Place 1 reception for staff, councillors and library members to sign between 11.00am and 2.00pm. The card will then go on a tour around Staffordshire to gather signatures and when complete will be presented to the Chief of the Army as a gesture to say thank you to our armed forces. All it takes is a couple of minutes to be part of the world record.

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Staffordshire – Opening doors and paving the way

Our Open Door programme is also going from strength to strength, helping people who face difficulties in finding work by offering them a 12 week work experience placement. First introduced in 2009 it has already supported over 600 people from across the county, helping many secure full-time work. Just recently, our trading standards department welcomed Karen Seamen to their team as a technical support officer after spending the last 20 years unable to work because of a disability.

German and Staffordshire teenagers unite to commemorate the Great War

Many people may not be aware that a small part of Staffordshire land belongs to Germany. The German Military Cemetery on Cannock Chase, which is the only one of its kind in the country, holds the graves of 5,000 German and Austrian soldiers who lost their lives

during both World Wars. It is a poignant and respectful place that honours the shocking impact world wars had on our nations.

This year, teenagers from across Staffordshire again welcomed students from Bremen, in Germany, for a two week exchange programme to commemorate the Great War. Amongst the sightseeing and activities to take in the very best of our county, the young people cleaned and tended the graves at the cemetery besides researching the lives of some of the soldiers buried there.

The exchange is a fitting way for our younger generations to build friendships and take part in the commemoration efforts of the county. This is an annual exchange, running since 1962 and is a partnership between the County Council and the German War Graves Commission.

The teenagers also visited the National Memorial Arboretum, the Staffordshire Regiment Museum and laid wreaths at the German Cemetery and Coventry Cathedral.

Two weeks ago we marked the centenary of the start of the Battle of the Somme and it is still a poignant time for remembrance. I’m very pleased our young people get this chance to spend some time with their new continental friends and practised their language skills while learning about such an important part of our history.

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Staffordshire’s apprentices graduate

Apprenticeships play an important role in growing our local economy, and are also the first step in many young people’s careers. Teaching key industry skills that our employers need, they provide the training to set people on the right path to quality

jobs. Anyone who completes an apprenticeship should be very proud of their achievements and take it as a great reason to celebrate.

We’ve just held the Apprenticeship Graduation ceremony, a day for apprentices to take centre-stage and graduate from their schemes in full robes and regalia. This is the second year we’ve held such a celebration and over 120 apprentices turned out to receive their certificate, along with their families, friends, training providers and employers. It was also great to see lots of our top employers there who are helping to highlight the benefits of taking on an apprentice, including JCB, KMF, Leoni Wiring and the Francesco Group.

Future engineers, teachers, retailers, business leaders, and IT specialists, to name but a few, all graduated and are now ready for the next step of their careers.

Unlocking the Value of Our Property Estate

Plans to unlock the value of the public property estate to deliver real benefits for Staffordshire people have a received a huge boost. Following the submission of a bid by the county council on behalf of partners across Staffordshire, £256,000 has been granted from the government’s One Public Estate initiative. The initiative delivered in partnership with the Cabinet Office Government Property Unit and the Local Government Association, provides practical and technical support to councils to deliver ambitious property focused programmes that deliver real value at scale. The funding will be a used in a number of ways. Although some of the funding has been allocated for specific projects, including marketing of the vacated offices in Stafford and developing the business case for the potential co-location of services in Codsall, the majority is allocated to setting up a new and dedicated OPE Programme Management Office.

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National Trust Embraces Shugborough Estate

The National Trust is adding another garden to its portfolio by taking back control of Shugborough Estate in Staffordshire and is planning a 'significant shift' outdoors.

Staffordshire County Council held a 99-year lease for the grade-I listed property and 364 hectare grade-II* park farm and walled garden since 1966 but has given up the lease to save money. The National Trust (NT) takes back control on 1 November.

The council had been losing around £650,000 a year running Shugborough and said it expects to save £35m by giving it back to the trust. Of the 68 staff members, 12 are transferring to trust employ and 56 are being made redundant, of which 18 were permanent staff members.

Shugborough’s two gardeners are staying, however, and the NT plans to recruit a lead gardener to join them.

Prior to the lease being discussed, the NT commissioned landscape architecture firm Cookson and Tickner to produce a Parkland Management Plan, in 2014. Now it will close the garden for the winter to undertake improvement works. Fence clearance, planting, reducing roadways and restoring the historic landscape are planned and will be done in-house in preparation for reopening on 21 March 2017.

A NT spokeswoman said: "A significant shift is being made towards the outdoors at Shugborough. This will mean that we will take away stock fencing and open up new estate walks to take in the monuments and follies that pepper the 900 acres of historic Grade I landscape. Other work, such as restoring the Samuel Hill walled garden will take longer."

The trust said it will bring more volunteers and plans to open year-round.

As part of the agreement, Staffordshire County Council has said it would give the trust £20.5m, spread evenly over three years, towards future grounds maintenance and general repair costs.

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And finally…..