South Cambridgeshire District Councillor Bill Handley’s Report to Over Village News March-April 2024

Council budget 

Full Council recently voted to approve the administration’s Budgets and Business Plan for the next 12 months.  

Unlike many other councils, SCDC is on a very sound financial footing. Well targeted commercial investments bring in around £7M per year, which mitigates the huge cut in Government support that all councils have endured in recent years. If it were not for the threat of the Government’s Fair Funding Review, which threatens to strip district councils of business tax revenue and give it to bigger, unitary councils, SCDC would have a projected surplus all the way to 2029 (and few councils can say that). 

When it comes to Council Tax, SCDC remains one of the lowest taxing authorities in the country, with a £5 per year increase – 42p a month – for the average band D home, equivalent to a below inflation rise of around 3%. It is remarkable that three parish councils in South Cambs have a bigger council precept than SCDC. 

The Council Tax relief threshold has been increased in line with inflation so that people on the lowest incomes can continue to claim. SCDC is one of the few councils offering up to 100% relief for those residents  in most need. 

Two more Environmental Enforcement Officers (Envirocrime) are being employed to tackle the increasing problem of fly-tipping and two new posts created for highways litter-picking. 

We’re also adding more staff support to the Zero Carbon Communities Grant scheme – so it should be easier than before for parishes to get support from SCDC on projects to help save energy or generate it. 

Other News from Full Council 

SCDC passed a motion where it will now treat care experience as a protected characteristic – meaning that when the council makes decisions moving forward, as part of its Equality Impact Assessments, it will now also assess the impact on care leavers. This is a positive step towards treating care leavers more inclusively in society and was agreed unanimously by district councillors. The County Council, Combined Authority, Peterborough City Council and Cambridge City Council have all passed similar motions. Part of the motion was to call on town and parish councils to also take a similar step in support of care leavers. 

SCDC also passed a motion in support of the White Ribbon Campaign, after a decision was taken to seek accreditation with them. White Ribbon are a domestic abuse advocacy organisation who work to provide education about domestic abuse, in particular violence against women. This motion was also agreed unanimously. 

SCDC also approved all the parish council precepts at full council. We also approved an updated pay policy, which included the pay ratio between the highest and lowest paid workers at SCDC (1:6.1), this ratio is fairly typical for local government and is lower than that City Council’s ratio. 

Over GP Surgery and Day Centre S106 Improvements 

Over’s GP surgery has opened an extension with three new consulting and examination rooms, thanks to funding secured from developers building homes nearby.  Also, Over Day Centre for older adults is planning to expand its premises with an air-conditioned conservatory thanks to monies from the same funding pot.  

More than £135,000 was secured from five developers by South Cambridgeshire District Council, which was passed to the NHS to help fund the GP surgery expansion. A further £33,000 was secured for an extension for Over Day Centre. The funding for both projects was negotiated by SCDC via a Section 106 agreement as part of planning permission issued for six housing developments in Over and in nearby villages. 

The funding went towards the development of rooms at the surgery that will deliver primary care services for patients and provide a greater range of both community and social care services locally.  The expansion will also give the practice additional space to accommodate student nurses and GPs, having been accredited as a training practice. 

The expansion at Over Day Centre will provide further space as a boost for clients at the busy setting which is used by residents across the District. 

Over has had a number of new developments in recent years so this is a great example of the Greater Cambridge Shared Planning Service ensuring new developments contribute to improvements that benefit local people. 

4-day week update 

SCDC’s 4-day week trial finished at the end of March. The Council undertook the trial because of the acute recruitment and retention issues it faces, which is amplified in Greater Cambridge due to the high cost of housing. A full report where we will assess how well the 4-day week has gone will be compiled after the end of the trial, although it will not be possible to complete the financial analysis until there is clarity as to whether the Government will carry out its threat to “pull financial levers” in their bid to stop the democratically elected administration at SCDC from using an innovative approach to improve the services to the residents they serve.  

You may be interested in a few highlights that are already emerging: 

  • From September 2022 to 31 December 2023 the Council spent £434,000 less on agency staff by filling posts that that were previously identified as hard to fill; this includes planners, HGV drivers (waste service) and business analysts. 
  • It is possible to operate a four-day week working practice without jeopardising performance and service delivery. 
  • Route optimisation of waste collection (necessary anyway because of the increase in growth in the Greater Cambridge area) has been successful with few resident complaints. 
  • There has been a positive impact on colleague health and wellbeing and a reduction in days lost due to sickness. This is especially positive amongst waste crews where musculoskeletal injuries are commonplace due to the physical nature of their work. 
  • There is considerable support from other councils and local government organisations for SCDC’s 4-day week trial. The council has been shortlisted for two prestigious awards by the iESE (Public Sector Transformation Award) and the Local Government Chronicle (LGC) Innovation award, both citing the 4-day week.   

Cambridgeshire Home Improvement Agency  

Cambridgeshire Home Improvement Agency (Cambs HIA) is a strategic partnership between SCDC, Cambridge City Council and Huntingdonshire District Council and is dedicated to enhancing the living conditions of residents, particularly focusing on older adults, individuals with disabilities, and those with limited incomes. Last year it helped more than a hundred families in South Cambs to access grants such as Disabled Facilities Grants and Special Purpose Grants to undertake adaptations and repairs in their homes to help prevent accidents, assist people to cope with long term health conditions and to live comfortably and independently. Further information can be found here: frances.swann@cambshia.org or 01954 713456.   

Western Park Sports Pavilion, Northstowe 

The management company running the pavilion, Elite Sports, is encouraging sports clubs of all kinds to the facility. In the coming months, they plan a number of specific action days to draw attention to the facilities available and to the sports and community groups (including those from Over) that are, or will be, using them. They have appointed a Sports Development Officer who will join the team in April, who is tasked (amongst other things) to establish a wide programme of activities for the Northstowe community and the surrounding area.   

The 4G pitch is open at certain times for use by young people free of charge. The facility is open for bookings here: Email westernpark@elitesportsuk.com   

Facebook page: http://tinyurl.com/5dsc8bnb  

Bill Handley March 2024.  

Contact 01954 200287 (please leave a message) or email cllr.handley@scambs.gov.uk