Residents to wait longer for answers under new County Hall guidance

PLUS: The challenge for Lancashire County Council's adult social care services

Hello and welcome to The Lancashire Lead.

Today we report on changes at County Hall that will mean residents could wait longer to get answers from their local elected officials.

Under new guidance, the wait for answers could take as long as four weeks, rather than two as previously. Frustrated councillors say the extended time has never been necessary before and isn’t good enough.

Perhaps unsurprisingly, both Labour and Conservative councillors have criticised the Reform UK administration for the changes, believing they contradict the vows from County Hall to put residents first.

We also report on this week’s publication of the inspection into Lancashire’s adult social care services. It featured some positives - but ultimately it was declared that significant improvement was needed. It’s only fair to point out that this inspection came before Reform UK took control of County Hall in May.

‘How can councillors do their job if they can’t get answers?’

County Hall. Credit: The Lancashire Lead

By Luke Beardsworth & Jamie Lopez

People who raise concerns with their local county councillor will have a longer wait for a response under new guidelines brought in by the Reform administration.

When a member of the public raises a concern or query - such as identifying a pothole - with their local councillor, the councillor will then seek answers from officers at County Hall and previously that could take two weeks.

But now the wait has been extended to four weeks and County Hall reportedly said that this is due to increased volume of queries and reduction in staffing during the summer holidays.

Both the Conservatives and Labour believe that the changes aren’t good enough and will impact members of the public who are waiting for answers.

Cllr Aidy Riggott, the leader of the Conservatives at County Hall, told The Lancashire Lead: “I was shocked and surprised to discover within weeks of taking office, not only have Reform extended the timescales for responding to casework issues raised by councillors on behalf of residents, or by residents themselves, from the long-established two-week period to now four weeks, they saw fit to blame it on an “increased volume of inquiries during the summer holidays and a temporary reduction in staffing levels due to the holiday period”

“Reform may be surprised to discover that summer and holidays come around every year. I await with bated breath to see their sudden shock when winter arrives and to see how that impacts on service delivery and who they then find to blame their failures on.

“Extending the response window to four weeks is something that the previous Conservative administration never needed to do and this should act as a sharp reminder that Reforms focus needs to be on service delivery in Lancashire, and not the latest diktat issued from central office.”

Cllr Samara Barnes, for Rossendale West, told The Lancashire Lead: “We know how overworked the officers are, but having the time frame for responding to councillors queries increase from two weeks to four weeks is just not good enough. Since Reform took control, it's been one thing after another when it comes to this sort of thing.

“They reduced councillor contact with officers by bringing in a new casework management system (meaning we can no longer contact officers directly), they are stifling scrutiny by changing the way we ask questions and put forward Notices of Motion at Full Council meetings and they have stopped scrutiny committee members input into work planning.

“How can councillors do their job well if they can't get answers for the residents' queries in a timely manner and are unable to properly question and scrutinise the administration?

“They didn't put that in their press release when they shared their 'achievements' in their first 100 days did they?”

The Lancashire Lead asked Lancashire County Council what the reason for the extended response time was and if they could confirm whether it was a temporary measure or permanent but their statement did not address those points.

A spokesperson for Lancashire County Council said: "We recently introduced a new system for responding to enquiries, and the most recent data shows we responded to over 70 per cent of enquiries within our usual timeframe of ten days.

"Areas that we are focusing on include highways and schools. Schools enquiries can face some delays during the summer holidays. We are working to respond to enquiries as quickly as possible, and plan to further enhance our processes.

"Our councillors, along with district, parish and town councillors, MPs and officers, have played a key role in design, providing resident feedback and shaping improvement. Digital training is being made available.

"This ensures the best possible outcomes for all involved and for the people of Lancashire, who are at the heart of everything we do."

Reform UK recently celebrated 100 days leading County Hall and has prioritised financial stability. In June, it was agreed that there would be a review of council finances as promised ahead of the local elections.

Cllr Stephen Atkinson, leader of Lancashire County Council, said: "Our goal is to see everyone in Lancashire live their best life, have a sense of civic pride, and feel supported by the county.

"We have been clear that we will be focusing our policies on what is most important to residents so we can make a real difference.

"It's vital that we secure the financial stability of the organisation and demonstrate that every pound of taxpayers’ well-earned money is making a difference.

"We also need to confront long-standing challenges head-on, particularly services for children with Special Educational Needs and Disabilities (SEND) and Adult Social Care.

"We are determined to rise to these challenges and will ensure that residents – the people we democratically serve – are always at the forefront of our thinking."

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Adult social care services must improve, County Hall told

By Paul Faulkner

Lancashire County Council’s adult social care services have been ordered to improve after an inspection found residents left waiting for support and staff struggling under the weight of “unsustainable workloads”.

The Care Quality Commission (CQC) assessed the authority’s performance in relation to its duty to help those in need of assistance with their day-to-day lives.

While inspectors praised several aspects of the service on offer – including the commitment of staff and the positive experiences of many of those receiving support – they found sufficient evidence of “shortfalls” to give the county council a 50 percent overall score and a ‘requires improvement’ rating.