Minutes:
a. Mayoral Scrutiny
The Chair welcomed the Mayor to the meeting and invited him to update the Committee.
The Mayor apologised that he had not been able to join the meeting in person and thanked Members for allowing him to participate virtually. He informed the Committee that he was attending a full day session as part of the Pathways to Work Commission in Barnsley which he had committed to earlier in the year. This would be a yearlong process exploring the reasons for economic inactivity in the area and would potentially lead to a regional response to the issue.
Since the previous meeting, he advised that a Mayoral campaign around bus funding had been launched. He had been holding public meetings across South Yorkshire to engage with communities about the challenges facing the region’s bus network. 30,000 letters had recently been sent out to randomly selected households across the region inviting them to express an interest in the Citizen’s Assembly, and of these, 100 would be chosen to participate. Participants would hold varying views on climate change as well as being demographically representative. The Assembly was expected to be run over a number of weeks later in the year. The Mayor hoped that the Citizen’s Assembly would improve understanding of what South Yorkshire residents want from the compromises that would need to be made to achieve net zero by 2040.
Members informed the Mayor of concerns around the 10/10A bus service. The service had previously been used by people to get to the GP surgery on Duke Street which was no longer served. Members of the public had also brought attention to safety issues around double deck buses travelling down Donnington Road, a residential street in Sheffield. An accident involving a bus had already been reported. The Mayor observed he had been pleased when the 10/10A service had been reinstated and he was aware that there had been discussions between Stagecoach and the MCA about the route. He expressed frustration over the lack of control that the MCA had over public transport, especially when faced with further impending cuts.
ACTION: The Director of Public Transport Operations to contact Stagecoach and explore possible alternative routes for the 10/10A service and write to Cllr Richards with details of the outcome of this.
In response to a request for an update on the proposal to transfer the responsibilities of the Mayor and the Police & Crime Commissioner (PCC), the Mayor advised that he hoped to be able to share confirmation imminently. At present the dialogue between the MCA and Government was positive but ongoing.
ACTION: The Mayor to ensure the Committee was informed as soon as possible should Government confirm that they will progress with the proposals to transfer the PCC functions into the Office of the Mayor.
In terms of the recent decision by Sheffield City Council (SCC) to modify the Nether Edge Active Travel Neighbourhood, the Mayor stated that he understood that changes had been made to the scheme after taking public feedback into account and praised this approach. The Mayor reiterated his support for active travel and advised that the MCA was working to make sure that this was a viable option across the region. The MCA had recently expanded the team working on Active Travel and the Mayor had been working with the Active Travel Commissioner to develop plans for the next 12 months.
Regarding Doncaster Sheffield Airport (DSA), the Mayor reported that City of Doncaster Council (CDC) were currently in negotiations with Peel Group about a potential lease arrangement while also progressing parallel work on a compulsory purchase order (CPO) in the event that negotiations were not successful. Should an agreement be reached, the MCA had committed to providing financial assistance to support CoDC with its work.
The Mayor stated that he was ambitious for the tram in South Yorkshire and agreed that the network should ideally to connect both Barnsley and Doncaster. The main obstacle to this vision was funding, but this would be kept under review and progressed should any resources become available.
ACTION: The Director of Public Transport Operations to communicate a timetable for the development of the tram network to the Committee.
Internationally, the Mayor also reflected on the opportunities presented through Harvard Bloomberg, where he was working with mayors from around the world and keen to develop relationships. Due to the success of the Advanced Manufacturing Research Centre, he had been invited to attend the opening of an equivalent in St Louis, America where he also hoped to be able to foster ties.
ACTION: An update to be provided on the MCA skills agenda to be provided to the next meeting, and to include community education.
(The Mayor left the meeting.)