We heard during the week that Monitor, the health regulator was giving the Trust Special administrators extra time to agree how essential services at Stafford and Cannock hospitals could be funded. We have argued since the beginning that the TSA’s recommendations didn’t add up and before any restructuring of health services goes ahead, we need to be clear that the proposed changes answers the health questions for Staffordshire rather than raising further questions on the future funding of health care generally.
We have made our concerns on the future funding of Stafford absolutely clear and in our opinion the TSA has failed to meet its own remit. Instead of addressing the wider impact on the whole of the county of Staffordshire, these proposals will only see the burden shifted to other trusts.
It was great to get a mention last week by Children’s Minister Edward Timpson MP who highlighted three of our innovative projects at a recent conference. He called for innovation on a local level asking local authorities to drive innovation, explaining that this would allow them to improve faster and provide better value for money. I look forward to working closely with Mr Timpson in driving forward change and improvements for children and their families.
I am also delighted to report that our purchasing teams have been awarded a gold standard award by the Federation of Small Businesses West Midlands for buying locally and supporting local companies. Most of the county council’s goods and services are now sourced within Staffordshire – a commitment recognised by the Federation, that keeps local money in the local economy and supports jobs and businesses to grow. The FSB said our efforts to keep the Staffordshire pound in Staffordshire through a range of initiatives are making a real difference to the local economy. They also described us as a national leader in terms of sourcing goods, services and supplies locally with around £270million being spent locally each year.
Last week we joined colleagues from over 150 other local authorities from across the country and took part in ‘Our Day’. This was a special, one day social media awareness day to promote the work of councils and the individuals who deliver the services.
We are incredibly lucky to have some great people doing a fantastic job here in Staffordshire every single day and this was our chance to highlight the work they do. From the highways crews preparing for winter, to the registration staff giving people their big day to the customer service staff who answers around 1230 enquiries from the public every day. I spent some time myself in our Customer Contact Centre answering tweets and email enquiries from members of the public. Big Thanks to all the teams who made the day a great success and to the staff in the contact centre for making me so welcome.
On a sadder note I attended the funeral service of Frank Lewis at Lichfield Cathedral. Frank was a former Chairman of Staffordshire County Council from 2011 to 2012, Alderman and the Chairman of Rodbaston Agricultural College, now part of South Staffordshire College. Frank was very well liked by his colleagues and will be missed. Our thoughts are with his wife Barbara, his daughters and his family.