Councillor Philip Jackson made his maiden speech as leader at last night’s full meeting of North East Lincolnshire Council.
The Conservative group gained five seats to take a majority in May’s elections.
At Grimsby Town Hall yesterday, he said: “For the first time since 2012, NELC has one party with an overall majority and, for the first time in the history of this authority, it’s a Conservative majority.
“We are only two months into the new administration and in this, my first leader’s statement to council, I’ll set out how we intend to deliver differently for the residents, communities and businesses of North East Lincolnshire.
“We made some very clear commitments in our election manifesto, commitments we intend to do our utmost to progress. My Cabinet colleagues have hit the ground running, engaging with officers to start delivering our manifesto pledges and continue to take this borough forward.
“When there is a significant political change, it is important that all members continue to have access to effective, professional and impartial advice from officers. Great credit to our officers for the way in which they have continued to fulfil their professional and statutory responsibilities since the change in administration and the very positive relationships that are developing between officers and the new administration.
“On May 2nd we made a net gain of five seats and polled almost 15,000 votes across the borough compared to 8,500 for Labour. This was against a national backdrop where, frankly, the Conservative Party did not have one of its best election results.
“One of the main reasons we bucked the national trend is that we listened to residents, we engaged with them, particularly on the local issues that matter to them, and that is exactly what we intend to keep doing. Already, for example, because we have listened, we have made some important changes to plans to the ongoing and very important Cleethorpes regeneration programme, with my Cabinet last week approving a revised Sea View Street scheme.
“It is not our intention to change everything just for the sake of it or to make a point. We will seek to make pragmatic and common-sense changes where we firmly believe that a better outcome will be achieved for residents, businesses and council taxpayers and one that chimes with their wishes. We will be responsible when it comes to use of council resources and meeting the financial challenges that face local government as a sector generally.
“One specific issue that resonated across the whole of the borough during the election campaign and, indeed during the months and years leading up to it, was the future of Toll Bar roundabout. My administration retains its reservations about a possible traffic light-controlled junction in terms of both addressing congestion and pedestrian safety. Revisiting the current proposals was a key manifesto commitment. We are actively and urgently reviewing all options to deliver both road safety and capacity improvements and I will update members as soon as this work is completed. The previous administration procrastinated for over three years. We will not do that.
“We have also taken early action to massively improve the performance of the kerbside waste recycling collection service; a service that had been failing since Christmas under the previous administration. However, North East Lincolnshire is still well behind the curve on recycling performance compared with many other local authorities, thanks to previous Labour inaction, and we need to pick up the pace in this area.
“We immediately showed our commitment to addressing some of the pressing challenges we face in Children’s Services – that are not unique to this council – with full Cabinet support for a one-off investment of £2-million, targeted at specific areas including social work recruitment and strengthening the services’ ‘front door’. This was an important investment with the case clearly and professionally made by officers. This is non-recurrent, transformational funding. It is essential that it is effective in bringing about better performance and efficiencies in the future.
“The message is clear. We will not throw money at every challenge we face; rather, we will focus on fiscal responsibility and effective budgetary control, ensuring that finite council resources follow our key priorities. I recognise the financial challenges and demands across major areas of spend, specifically children’s and adult services, and I support the lobbying that the Local Government Association continues to do for the sector as the Government’s spending review approaches.
“Indeed, as I publicly stated at March’s Full Council meeting, the excessive delay in Government bringing forward green paper proposals on the future of adult social care and the wider future funding of local government is totally unacceptable.
“On a very positive note, last week’s further Town Deal visit and announcement by the Minister for the Northern Powerhouse was excellent news for the borough. A reminder that the Town Deal continues to bring key partners together to focus on an ambitious and exciting regeneration agenda for Grimsby and the borough, and continues to enjoy full support from the Conservative Government.
“As I’ve reminded members in this chamber before, we never saw this level of commitment from past Labour Governments.
“The council, working with our MPs and the Greater Grimsby Board, remains focused on the 4 key limbs of the Town Deal:
- Driving economic growth.
- Accelerating housing delivery.
- Education and skills.
- Town centre and port regeneration.
“Last week’s news, confirming the council’s acquisition of the strategically important Garth Lane and West Haven Maltings sites, reinforces the will and ambition of the council and key partners to revitalise and re-purpose Grimsby town centre and take the area forward.
“The Youth Zone project, to be developed at West Haven Maltings, shows the commitment we all have to ensure that children and young people sit at the heart of what we are all striving to achieve for the town and borough, raising aspiration and widening opportunity.
“The continued progress of the Town Deal would not be happening without the effective support and challenge from the Greater Grimsby Board, chaired by David Ross; the continued support of our MPs; and the engagement and contribution of public and private sector partners, including ABP, Orsted, the University of Lincoln and Onside.
“As leader, I am absolutely committed to furthering the work that has already started and ensuring delivery of key projects on the ground. I look forward to reporting to Council further on key developments.
“I would also remind members that, as well as the Town Deal, we are also currently seeing millions of pounds of grant monies from Government being invested in regeneration schemes across the resort of Cleethorpes.
“We are, as members know, engaged in a ground-breaking partnership with our NHS Clinical Commissioning Group. So, I would like to take the opportunity to congratulate the CCG on receiving a good rating from NHS England as part of the annual performance assessment of all CCGs. The ongoing development of the union arrangements was one of the key factors in securing such a positive rating.
“It further reinforces the importance of strong partnership working and integration with our NHS colleagues as we aim together to improve health, care and wellbeing outcomes for patients and service users, and make best use of precious council and NHS resources within North East Lincolnshire.”
He continued: “Along with the Leaders of North Lincolnshire Council and Lincolnshire County Council, I signed the UK Steel Charter. Also, initial discussions have started with both of these authorities about how we might collaborate more on service delivery to bring mutual efficiency improvements and reduce costs.
“Armed Forces Weekend once again proved to be a great success, profiling all that is good about our wonderful resort of Cleethorpes and our borough. Well done to the Armed Forces events team and all volunteers and the many council staff involved behind the scenes in the event preparation, planning and delivery. I look forward to next year and hopefully even greater things.
“The forthcoming Festival of the Sky, to be held in Cleethorpes in early September, will also be an exciting event that will, once again, place our resort on the map and further boost our credentials as a place to visit, work and invest.”
Councillor Jackson added: “As we approach the weekend, it would be remiss of me not to wish all the runners in the Great Grimsby 10k the very best of luck. One or two members and officers in this chamber will be taking on the 6.2-mile course and I urge them to manage their pace, their expectations and their hydration.”
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