Agenda and draft minutes

The Chair noted that the meeting was inquorate, and therefore the recommendations arising from the meeting and from 18 March 2024 would be required to be approved at the next meeting of the committee.

Apologies for absence were received from Councillor Emma Marshall (Worcestershire Non-Constituent Local Authorities), Councillor Saddak Miah (Birmingham), Councillor Ian Nellins (Shropshire Non-Constiuent Local Authorities) and Councillor Ian Ward (Birmingham).

Members are reminded of the need to declare any disclosable pecuniary interests they have in an item being discussed during the course of the meeting. In addition, the receipt of any gift or hospitality should be declared where the value of it was thought to have exceeded £25 (gifts) or £40 (hospitality).

No declarations of interest were received.

The chair welcomed the committee and noted that the meeting was an additional one programmed to ensure that all of the work generated by the committee would not carry over into the next municipal year. He highlighted the successes of the committee having established itself, the activities of the scrutiny chairs throughout the year and where resources could be engaged over the next year. He reported on a letter received by Michael Gove and noted the impended departure of Councillor Richard Worrell from Walsall Metropolitan Borough Council, to which the committee wished him luck.

The chair presented the minutes. Items regarding ring and ride, real time information we raised for amendment. It was noted that any other business cannot be a standing item in the agenda topics raised were to be recorded in Member Engagement.

Recommended:

The minutes were reviewed and agreed upon, subject to the inclusion of the aforementioned points and any necessary changes.

Councillor Timothy Huxtable reported on matter arising out of the minutes in terms of items to be raised at a Rail Member Engagement Group meeting. He reported that as per the request of Councillor Robert Tromans, the Rail MEG had a productive discussion around the Elephant and Bear Line. He also shared that real time information regarding railways, trains and Metro and Park and Ride, raised by Councillor Robert Alden was also discussed.

The chair reported on The Effectiveness of the WMCA’s Member Engagement & Development Task & Finish Group. He thanked the members of the committee who were involved in the task and finish group before he shared the key findings and considerations identified by the report. He closed with the reports recommendations which he added one regarding specific reference to the two WMCA Overview & Scrutiny Committees to increase engagement. He also raised the committee’s inquoracy and confirmed that the constitutional quoracy cannot be changed and the recommendations for in person attendance should also be added to the report.

Recommeded:

The conclusions and recommendations of the task & finish group we endorsed for submission and consideration by the WMCA Board on 14 June 2024.

The Strategic Lead for Rail Policy presented a report on the recent HS2 announcements and the funding of Network North projects. He report on government announcements delivered in February and informed the committee on where the approved funding would be distributed. He confirmed that £123million would enable the detailed design work and full business case on all the central Birmingham aspects of the Midland Rail Hub but also confirmed that it did not include funding for developing anything beyond Worcester out towards Great Malvern and Hereford or the Water Orton corridor.

Councillor Tomity Huxtable raised and noted that the Castle Bromwich station was detailed within the report presented and highlighted its importance to the people in the East Birmingham and Solihull area.

Recommeded:       

The report to be noted.

The Regional Road Safety Manager delivered a presentation on the annual review of regional road safety. He highlighted the strategy presented to the WMCA board early in the year, originating from the Local Transport Plan (LTP). He shared the vision zero aspiration goal along with the 2030 target and safety performance indicators. He also presented validated data on Killed or Seriously Injured (KSI) incidents, including insights into areas of deprivation.

He shared with the committee key themes identified from the road safety survey, particularly focusing on speeding and inconsiderate behaviour before providing an update on partnerships and engagement with local authorities (LAs), the NHS, and various charitable organisations within the community. He updated the committee on enforcement and addressed moving traffic contraventions and speed enforcements, highlighting speed camera reviews and plans for re-initiating spot speed cameras that had been deactivated since 2013.

He also discussed the relaunch of collaborative campaigns, the introduction of new social media campaigns to enhance road safety awareness, consultation on an action plan and the development of working agreements for new speed and plans for establishing a community champions forum.

Finally, he expressed hope that the upcoming national road safety conference would mark the launch of new road safety plan.

Councillor Robert Tromans queried the expected updates on projects Ivory and Phoebe and `it was confirmed that legal considerations regarding joining Project Ivory, despite its seven-year duration, were also raised.

Councillor Timothy Huxtable raised concerns about cross-city bus route safety and provided feedback on moving traffic violations on Livery Street. In addotin to Councillor Timothy Huxtable’s comment, Councillor Robert Alden suggested a review of traffic barriers to assess their effectiveness and potential counterproductivity. It was noted that accidents occurring were significantly over speed limits and was suggested that changing speed limits might not have a substantial impact on excessive speeding.

In response to Pervez Akhtar’s comments on the implementation of average speed cameras and their effectiveness, the Road Safety Manager highlighted the importance of understanding regional data fully to make informed decisions about their placements. He emphasised the need for strategic placement to resolve road safety problems effectively and confirmed that the ongoing assessment of every location's effectiveness would inform the development of a business case.

The item concluded with an action to examine road safety to be detailed work program.

Recommended:

The review of road safety activity delivered during 2023 and 2024 was scrutinised.

The Head of Transport Portfolio gave a verbal update on the Capital Performance Report. She reported that reported contained summary report data and an update progress of capital schemes across the delivery portfolio. She shared that the report included two appendices. The first one was a view of any of the projects across sustainable transport, metro and rail presented in a high-level summary of the updates since the last report in January. She reported that the majority of capital schemes were performing to baseline across the portfolio and noted several projects that were completing notable milestones in month. She reported that all projects were either reporting as green, amber or amber/red with no red projects, before reporting on project timelines for capital projects.

Councillor Pervez Akhtar expressed concerns about ticketing procedures during peak times for the metro he touched on the challenges faced by passengers in purchasing tickets amidst overcrowding situations. In response Executive Director for Transport for West Midlands provided clarity on the implementation of the “buy before you board" scheme. She also addressed concerns regarding the potential impact on current staff, assuring plans for their transition into alternative roles without redundancies.

Councillor Robert Alden and Councillor Timonthy Huxtable raised accuracy of completion dates for various projects. Discrepancies were noted between reported deadlines and actual progress, raising concerns about the need for a more realistic assessment of project timelines. The importance of ensuring accountability and timely delivery was raised and suggestions were proffered to enhance the clarity and detail of future reports with regard to project descriptions and completion statuses.

Councillor Timonthy Huxtable provided an update on plans for a site visit. He informed the attendees about the postponement of the visit due to but expressed optimism about rescheduling it later in the year. Additionally, requests were made for more comprehensive information on specific rail projects listed in the report. The committee discussed the importance of thorough scrutiny by the committee which is enabled by transparency and accuracy in reporting project statuses, underscoring the need for continual improvement in reporting practices.

Recommended:

1) The update and progress on key capital delivery schemes progressing in Transport for West Midlands be noted.

2) The working draft roadmap for capital delivery portfolio be noted.

Councillor Timothy Huxtable updated the committee into the Midlands Railway Open Access proposals, acknowledging the approval in principle by the combined authority. He emphasised the importance of the proposed route from Shropshire to Wolverhampton, utilising the reopened Wolverhampton to Walsall line. Additionally, he highlighted the significance of the proposed new stations at Darlaston and Willenhall, with a potential stop at Aldridge. He stressed the importance of providing connectivity between Walsall, Warwickshire, and London. He then shared an update on the discussion, proposed by Councillor Robert Tromans, on the Elephant and Bear Line and highlighted and the the value of non-constituent members in the overview and scrutiny committee in their contributions.

Councillor Robert Tromans raised concerns about the lack of resilience in driver resource planning within rail operations, urging for more robust plans to accommodate sick leave, vacancies, and other issues.

Councillor Gurmeet Singh Sohal inquired about plans for metro connectivity to Walsall, to which Councillor Timothy Huxtable responded by committing to raise the question in future Member Engagement Group.

Councillor Pervez Akhtar raised representation of the committee on the Midland Metro Alliance and West Midland Metro. Councillor Timothy Huxtable also committed to raising this at the next Member Engagement Group.

Recommended:

          The report be noted.

a) Transport Delivery Overview & Scrutiny Work Programme

b) WMCA Forward Plan

The work programme was presented by the Statutory Scrutiny Officer for noting. It was reported subject to the inclusion of Councillor Robert request for committee members to have an in depth look at Road Safety within the region. The committee were also directed to the forward plan and were reminded to come forward if they think there's an area that the committee should be looking at next year. The Director of Integrated Transport noted that future bus delivery options and ring and ride would be discussed in a specially convened session in May.