Agenda item

(A)      Mr Charlesworth asked the following question of the Leader or his nominee:

 

“There have been quite a few planning applications at both Oadby and Wigston Borough Council and at the County Council’s Development Control and Regulatory Board which involve a change of use from residential (C3) to a care home for one or more young people (C2).  Could the Leader please advise:

1.          Are all these homes and providers regulated?

 

2.          Do the staff in these homes require any qualifications or training?

 

3.          Are any LCC placements put in unregulated homes?

 

4.          How many young people require a placement by LCC?

 

5.          How many placements by LCC are outside Leicestershire?

 

6.          What is the average cost to LCC of placing a young person in a care home?”

 

Mrs Taylor replied as follows:

 

“1.    All children’s residential homes and supported accommodation for children are required to be registered with Ofsted. Once Ofsted registered, the home will be subject to Ofsted inspections. A useful document to understand the regulations is: Guide to Children’s Homes Regulations, including quality standards.

 

2.     The regulations set out that the registered person is responsible for maintaining good employment practice, including ensuring staff are appropriately qualified, have the necessary experience and receive supervision. In relation to training, regulations set out that the staff should have, or have a date for completion of, the Level 3 Diploma for Residential Childcare or equivalent.

 

3.     The County Council takes seriously its duties and responsibilities to ensure all children in care live in a safe home with suitably experienced and qualified carers. It maintains strong senior management oversight of this, and the Director is informed if we are struggling to identify a registered home for any young person. The Assistant Director reviews all options considered and only if the child has nowhere to live, and officers have not been able to source nationally a registered home, will the Director consider unregistered provision. This is used by the County Council on a very minimal basis and tends to be for a short period of time, pending a registered home becoming available.

 

4.     91.

 

5.     57 (residential placements).

 

6.     The average weekly cost of placing a child in residential care is £5553.”

 

(B)      Mr Mullaney asked the following question of the Leader or his nominee:

 

“There have long been concerns about road safety at the junction of Normandy Way and Ashby Road in Hinckley. Concerns include the speed of traffic along the road and how difficult it can be to cross the road safely at the Ashby Road and Normandy Way junctions. These concerns have been highlighted again following the tragic deaths of Molly Snow and Jordan Hurst in October following a collision on the A47 Normandy Way.

I believe the County Council is proposing safety measures including introducing pedestrian crossings at the Ashby Road and Normandy Way junction. Can I urge the County Council to ensure these works are carried out as soon as is possible. Also, could consideration also be given to other safety improvements to the Normandy Way A47 as a whole, including the possibility of speed cameras but also other safety measures, to reduce the risks of future casualties on this road?”

 

Mr O’Shea replied as follows:

 

“As Mr Mullaney is aware, the improvements at this junction have been identified as mitigation for proposed developments in the area, most recently as mitigation to the Hinckley and Bosworth Borough Council planning application 23/00432/OUT.

 

Whilst it is appreciated that there have been a number of collisions at the junction, up to this point none had involved pedestrians. However, the Council is extremely saddened about the most recent fatalities, and sincere condolences are offered to the families.

 

Following any fatal collision that occurs in Leicestershire, an investigation is undertaken by Leicestershire Police, and a separate inspection of the site is undertaken by the Council to consider the condition of the highway at the location. Following an initial site review, there were no highway factors identified that could have contributed to the collision, however, the outcome of the investigation by the Serious Collision Unit of the Police is currently awaited.

 

The Council lowered the speed limit along Normandy Way from 50mph to 40mph as part of the Bloor Homes Development. Following these changes, multiple surveys along Normandy Way have been undertaken.

Speed surveys were undertaken in July 2023 over a week-long period and showed the following data within the 40mph speed limit (NB: 85^th percentile speeds show the speed at which 85% of drivers are travelling at or below): 

 

 

The above results clearly show relatively good compliance with the existing 40mph limit, with only a minority travelling above the 40mph limit.

When assessing if a road would be considered an area of concern, Leicestershire Police would normally advise that the 85^th percentile speed should be above the National Police Chiefs Council threshold for prosecution, which is 46mph in a 40mph limit. The Police is unlikely to class Normandy Way as an area of speeding concern based on the survey results above, but that is not for the Council to determine.

 

Based on the data, the Council would not consider further road safety measures along the route as a whole; however, the Traffic and Safety team will continue to keep the safety of this route under review as is done for all routes on the County’s network.”