The following update is published on behalf of Robert Francis, Chairman of the Council of the Isles of Scilly.
--
Hello and welcome to the first in my new series of regular updates as Chairman of the Council of the Isles of Scilly.
On the run up to the local elections in May, myself and other members took in lots of feedback from the community. One thing we all heard was that people wanted to hear more from their Councillors about their day-to-day activity. To that end, this is the first in a regular series of Chairman’s Updates.
I will publish these three or four times a year, aiming to give a brief and straightforward summary of recent news, things that are currently happening, and what is coming up. I hope it will prove useful for you.
As you may or may not be aware, your Council comprises 16 elected members, 12 from St Mary's, and 1 each from Bryher, Tresco, St Agnes and St Martins. Our new Council formed in May and I'm delighted to welcome Lynn Blackwell (St Mary's), Stuart Nixon (St Mary's), Alex Sandford (Bryher), and Geoff White (St Martins). I wish them all the very best in their new roles. Contact details for all Councillors are available on our website if you need to get in touch.
As a Councillor, I welcome constructive feedback. Councillors need to hear your experiences to continue improving services. However, repeated negative comments aimed at staff and members on social media is both damaging and unacceptable. My colleagues work hard for the community, targeting them personally crosses the line into bullying. I will always listen, but I would ask that you raise concerns respectfully via the proper channels so that together we can focus on making a positive difference.
As a community, we face challenges heightened by our geographical isolation. The rising cost of transport and freight impacts on everything else. Low levels of available affordable housing fuel our own local housing crisis and we all feel the cost-of-living crisis hitting home here on Scilly. The Council continues to fight for fairer funding based on our unique circumstances.
The Office of National Statistics recently released figures showing a drop in the working age population on the islands and forecast that this would decline further in the next few years. Reversing this decline is essential, and something the Council is committed to. Facing the challenges outlined above is key to this. The Council will continue to appeal to government and work with them to address freight and transport costs, which drives higher building costs for new affordable housing.
There are several housing projects in the pipeline and the Council is seeking further funding from central government to help meet the extra costs of building on the islands.
Of course, it's hard to make progress on many of these challenges without the support of central government. Earlier this summer I welcomed Baroness Taylor of Stevenage (Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Housing and Local Government) to Scilly. Poor weather meant she arrived by boat, which helped give a more genuine feel for how weather affects our day-to-day life. She met other Councillors and Council officers and members of our community. She visited St Agnes where a substantial proportion of the community took the time to tell her about island life and the challenges we face raising a family, trying to run a business and dealing with transport issues and costs. I know she was extremely impressed with our new health and social care integration project. It was clear she understood our challenges and since her visit we've been in contact with her Office to clarify various points. The Council will continue to press central government for fairer funding and extra flexibility but as I know only too well, this isn't as straightforward as it sounds.
On the health and social care integration project, it brings me great pleasure to say that the new hospital wing of the Integrated Care Facility is now open. It’s expected to be operational by the end of October. This is a project that results from many years of challenging work across the Council and NHS Cornwall and Isles of Scilly. It is gratifying to see it come to fruition, creating a modern facility that will provide essential care for islanders for many years to come. The care home wing looks to open in November and the care home service currently at Park House will moving into the new facility before Christmas.
Work on the new Museum and Cultural Centre continues apace with the signing of the main works contract. Contractors have dealt with issues arising from the structural condition of the building’s interior, with simplification of some design elements to reduce cost. It stays on track to open to locals next year, with a full programme for both locals and visitors from 2027.
It's now over 2 years since Ofsted inspected Children's Services and found provision to be 'Inadequate.' A great deal of work has been going on both internally and with partners to address the weaknesses that were found. I look forward to a further meeting with the Department for Education and a Monitoring Visit from Ofsted in the coming months. I'm working closely with colleagues on other activity related to children and young people, including Post 16 provision, a new up-to-date inter-island boating policy and SEND support. I'm delighted the Council has been able to invest in some of the play parks recently.
Something that’s key for the Council is the ability to recruit and keep staff. Many of our policies have required bringing up to date, including our Employee Travel and Accommodation Policy, which lagged behind other local authorities. A new policy was passed at September’s Full Council meeting which should enable us to attract more staff.
On island recruitment is, of course, key. The Council held recruitment events on St Mary’s on the 10th and 12th of June, aimed at highlighting current job vacancies, apprenticeships, and long-term career opportunities within the essential services we provide. Well attended, they generated much interest in current vacancies and the variety of roles within the Council. Many thanks to those who attended, and especially to those who took the time to make them happen.
The Council continues to work with local partners and key stakeholders in our community as we look to the future of the islands. We will, over the coming months, start work on updating our Local Plan. The Duchy of Cornwall are carrying out their own review to enable them to update their long-term Place Strategy for Scilly, which we will input into as well. The Council will also resurrect the Island Futures Board, working with key stakeholders to ensure a thriving future for the Isles of Scilly.
I'm looking forward to the next few months, with a busy schedule of activity including the last in this round of public meetings still ahead of us. We’re holding public meetings on each island and hope to see as many of you at them as possible. Thank you to those who joined us on Tresco and Bryher earlier this month. I look forward to seeing more of you at the meetings on St Martin’s and St Mary's shortly. Work also begins on our new Corporate Plan and on budget setting for next financial year. Full Council meets each month, with other committees scheduled to take place.
Finally, I'd like to pass on my condolences to the family of Sue Pritchard who recently died. Sue served as a Councillor for St Mary's for many years and after that as a well respected member of staff.
Best wishes
Councillor Robert Francis
Chairman of the Council of the Isles of Scilly