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A new fire station in Horsham will be one of the topic of discussion at this morning's @WSCCNews cabinet meeting. It starts at 10.30am and the agenda is here: https://westsussex.moderngov.co.uk/ieListDocuments.aspx?MId=2306&x=1. You can watch the goings-on via the webcast https://westsussex.public-i.tv/core/portal/webcast_interactive/503598 #LDReporter
Mr Marshall has started by paying tribute to the pilots who fought in the Battle of Britain 80 years ago. Respect @WSCCNews #LDReporter
First up is Horsham Fire Station/training centre - and Cllr Duncan Crow said he is having trouble containing his enthusiasm for the project https://www.wscountytimes.co.uk/news/politics/decision-due-new-ps21million-fire-station-horsham-2964181 @WSCCNews #LDReporter
"It's not great to not be masters of our own destiny when it comes to training" - this from Cllr Crow re the fact @WSCCNews has to 'buy' live fire training for its firefighters as it can't provide it itself. That will change with this new station #LDReporter
Fire chief Sabrina Cohen-Hatton said one of the key areas which will be improved in the new station would be incident command. This was one of the area's criticised by inspectors in 2019 @WSCCNews #LDReporter
The building of this new station would allow @WSCCNews to sell the Horley and old Horsham stations as well as buildings either side of Worthing fire station. This could bring in £3.8m #LDReporter
Lib Dem leader said this was 'long overdue'. He has asked about response times given some firefighters will have 2-3 miles further to travel to get to the station @WSCCNews #LDReporter
Dr Walsh also asked when Littlehampton would get a new fire station. Labour leader Michael Jones called the new Horsham station 'a good idea in principle'. He wonders if residents will think this is the right way to spend money - why not more firefighters? @WSCCNews #LDReporter
Deborah Urquhart wants assurances that every possible saving will be made on this project and @WSCCNews doesn't build a Tesla when a Mini would do. Nice imagery #LDReporter
This project has been going on for a number of years. Mr Marshall recalled discussing it as a district councillor when it included the police & later the ambulance service, both of which fell through. He called this project 'absolutely crucial' @WSCCNews #LDReporter
The £3.8m from the sale of the old fire stations won't go back into the fire service. It will go into @WSCCNews coffers &, said Mr Marshall, would ease pressure on borrowing #LDReporter
Sabrina Cohen-Hatton has called out the use of 'firemen' rather than 'firefighter'. Quite right, too. @WSCCNews #LDReporter
Sabrina Cohen-Hatton said the original budget for this project was £26m. It's now £21m, so some savings have been made @WSCCNews #LDReporter
Cllr Crow has hit back at Cllr Jones, saying he could have asked his questions as a member of the Task & Finish Group but 'he didn't attend' @WSCCNews #LDReporter
They're voting on the recommendations. It's been agreed - unanimous @WSCCNews #LDReporter
On to the Total Performance Monitor report for the first quarter - "Currently we are projecting a potential overspend between £9m and £19m for this financial year for both the impact of Covid-19 and business as usual activities" @WSCCNews #LDReporter
Jeremy Hunt, cabinet member for finance said West Sussex faced an 'extremely difficult & challenging economic future'. They're not alone. Every council in the country is trying to make too little money stretch too far @WSCCNews #LDReporter
The council thought it would receive £1.2m from government as part of the proposed compensation scheme for income losses. Mr Hunt said @WSCCNews would actually on receive £600k #LDReporter
Mr Hunt is dreading a 2nd lockdown. He said any further restrictions would have a 'really devastating impact on our already fragile economy' @WSCCNews #LDReporter
Over to the opposition leaders. Dr Walsh has had to leave the meeting. Mr Jones has stressed the need to make the 'mental health of our employees top priority'. There has been an increase in sickness due to stress and anxiety @WSCCNews #LDReporter
Bob Lanzer said the wellbeing of staff was taken very seriously. @WSCCNews #LDReporter
The end of year overspend for adults & health will be £30m - higher than any other portfolio. Cabinet member Amanda Jupp has paid tribute to staff saying they have 'risen magnificently to the challenge' & she is 'always there to promote their case' @WSCCNews #LDReporter
Mrs Jupp said there was a 'mood of optimism' within her team that, apart from the Covid-19 overspend, they will be ab;e to meet their budget @WSCCNews #LDReporter
Ugh. Hate it when my phone rings in the middle of these meetings and, when the call ends, I've lost track of what's being discussed! @WSCCNews #LDReporter
We're hearing from the chairs of the various scrutiny committees. Andrew Barrett-Miles is talking about the highways team & the new contracts for maintenance etc. He congratulated the team for their work over the 1st quarter @WSCCNews #LDReporter
With most of the overspend down to Covid costs, councillors plan to continue calling on the government for more funding. Hopefully West Sussex MPs will carry on supporting this call @WSCCNews #LDReporter
Mr Hunt said the next year and beyond would be challenging (under-statement) with the most optimistic budget gap being £108m between now and 2024 @WSCCNews #LDReporter
On to the Appointment to Outside Bodies report - they just want to appoint Roger Elkins to the Local Government Association Coastal Special Interest Group until May 2021. Yup, that's approved @WSCCNews #LDReporter
Next up is an update on the council's response to Covid-19. CEO Becky Shaw said the key issue was access to testing and the turnaround of those tests @WSCCNews #LDReporter
"West Sussex County Council has been notified that the laboratory capacity to test for COVID-19 has been reached. This has resulted in a decrease in the availability of COVID19 Pillar 2 testing in areas of the country with a low incidence of COVID19". @WSCCNews #LDReporter
Amanda Jupp say more availability will be coming through in the next 5-6 weeks & the council will keep shouting for more @WSCCNews #LDReporter
There have been 103 new cases of Covid in West Sussex in the last 7 days. That's 13.4 per 100k. The national average is 32.8 per 100k There were 13 cases in Worthing as a result of a family gathering @WSCCNews #LDReporter
Stephen Horsley, the council's interim director of public health, has thanked the people of West Sussex for mostly doing what needs to be done re social distancing and mask wearing. It's a shame not everyone can do the same. @WSCCNews #LDReporter
Paul Wagstaff, director of education, said attendance was 'high' when schools re-opened. Lots of well-deserved praise for teachers and school staff. They really have been outstanding @WSCCNews #LDReporter
Mr Wagstaff confirmed that all schools are open & there have been no significant issues. Attendance was 89.2% at the end of last week, which is above the national average @WSCCNews #LDReporter
Mr Wagstaff said 'some schools are stretched to capacity with staffing', which could be an issue if there are any absences @WSCCNews #LDReporter
Bryan Turner has pointed out that some people on social media blamed the Worthing outbreak on a local business. It wasn't. As said, it was a family gathering. Mr Turner has stressed the damage such rumours can cause @WSCCNews #LDReporter
Mr Jones has asked how many positive C19 tests there have been among children since the schools re-opened. He hasn't received an answer yet @WSCCNews #LDReporter
That's the end of the meeting. Time for some lunch. Have a good afternoon @WSCCNews #LDReporter
