Agenda item

Members asked questions of Portfolio Holders in accordance with Procedure Rules 8.1 and 8.2 as follows:

·         Councillor Yeulett said that the recent Overview & Scrutiny Committee meeting was curtailed due to the non-attendance of the Portfolio Holders. Council Tax is Councillor Mrs French’s portfolio holder responsibility. We have not heard why she did not attend this meeting. Councillor Boden has made an apology for his failure to attend due to a Combined Authority meeting. The dates of full Council meetings were changed at the behest of other authorities at the last meeting. Do we have to alter all the dates of our committee meetings to suit the diaries of county councillors and over-committed members of this administration? Councillor Boden stated he felt the last comment to be inaccurate in that he was undertaking a responsibility as Leader of this Council and the meeting was nothing to do with County Council. Nevertheless, Councillor Yeulett accurately pointed out that it is essential to have proper coordination of dates between the different tiers of authority. Councillor Boden gave assurance to full Council in May, and again today, that next year the procedure will be done in a far more timely fashion to ensure there is less chance of there being meeting clashes between the different authorities. In respect of the Overview and Scrutiny Meeting, Councillor Boden has accepted responsibility and issued an apology to all members of the committee and officers present, together with a personal apology to the Chairman for the inconvenience. He stated it was his failure to communicate properly with others which caused the error and the necessity to curtail the meeting. He has learned from that, and a new system has been put in place, with the support of officers, to ensure the same sort of problem will not happen again in the future. Councillor Yeulett thanked Councillor Boden.

·         Councillor Yeulett said there is a footpath between Creek Road and Station Road leading towards New Park which is well used by the public. There is a streetlight, FDC1, located part way down the path which follows the boundary off St John’s Cemetery. The lamp has been removed so there is now no light. He asked that the Portfolio Holder investigate and have the light reinstated. Councillor Mrs French thanked Councillor Yeulett and confirmed she will investigate and report back.  

·         Councillor Booth asked Councillor Clark for an update on the progression of having KPI’s put in place at the Freedom Leisure facilities. Councillor Clark thanked Councillor Booth for the question, saying she will look into this and get back to him.

·         Councillor Booth asked for members to be given more information about the local household waste recycling centres so councillors could promote their use. He had not been aware there were so many local bring sites across the district and promotion may help increase recycling rates. Councillor Tierney advised that more information could certainly be made available and he recommended Councillor Booth email the Portfolio Holder concerned who would be happy to follow this up.

·         Councillor Booth would like to see information regarding environmental patrols and enforcement in the villages as the Portfolio Holder report only mentions the market towns. 25% of the population live in rural areas and we need to ensure the report is fit for purpose by containing information about what we do in the villages.

·         Councillor Booth was interested to read on page 41 of the report states a pipeline development of 1054 affordable homes. When Clarion came to the Overview & Scrutiny meeting earlier this year, they had a pipeline figure of about 450 homes. He wondered what the discrepancy was. Councillor Hoy said she will obtain further information on exactly what those figures are and will get back to Councillor Booth, adding that there are other affordable home providers other than Clarion. Councillor Boden added that there is a difference between social housing and affordable housing.  Not all affordable housing is social housing and given the delivery targets that we need to meet in Fenland, it may well be that a percentage of affordable housing which will need to be provided by social housing will reduce in future years.

·         Councillor Mrs Bligh stated she was very pleased to hear about the ‘Essentials by Sue’ scheme, having been the first member to bring the subject of ‘period poverty’ to full Council in September 2018. Although a great start, it is not quite what was envisaged as she was hoping to find funding externally, working with firms such as Proctor and Gamble, to have packs supplied to schools to help the girls who suffer in silence.  She was disappointed that she had not been kept informed of the work in this area and asked if Councillor Wallwork would work with her in this area to pursue an answer closer to Councillor Bligh’s vision. Councillor Wallwork responded that she would be delighted to work with Councillor Bligh in this area to support young people and make the work sustainable. Councillor Bligh thanked Councillor Wallwork.

·         Councillor Bligh asked the Leader, in the absence of Councillor Murphy, now that Wisbech St Mary has become the 17^th Street Pride group of FDC, which is something she is very proud of. However, she is not proud of the amount of dog fouling which the litter pickers come across. She asked if the Leader would support her in implementing a stencil containing the FDC logo, to be issued to each Street Pride group to use as they see fit. Similar stencils are being used by East Lindsey District Council. Councillor Boden thanked Councillor Bligh for her suggestion; he has sympathy for the efforts of all groups in this regard and unfortunately dog fouling is not unique to Wisbech St Mary but anything that can be done would be welcome and he would support the idea subject to what Councillor Murphy may say regarding the idea given his vast knowledge in this area.

·         Councillor Meekins raised the subject of the environment to Councillor Tierney. He said that when the Boathouse opened, some of the key features were its green credentials such as grey water harvesting and use of a roof-mounted turbine to generate electricity. He asked Councillor Tierney to confirm if the grey water is still being collected and used.  Also, Councillor Meekins stated he cannot remember the last time he saw the turbine in operation. He asked if it is still in working order, if yes why is it not being used, and if not, should it not be repaired or removed. Councillor Tierney stated it would be useful for Cabinet members to be given questions in advance as meaningful answers could then be given on the day. He stated that he would come back to Councillor Meekins with the answer to this. Councillor Meekins thanked Councillor Tierney. 

·         Councillor Sutton advised Councillor Mrs Laws, that last month 11 appeal decisions were made, five were upheld. He asked if this was a blip or trend. Councillor Mrs Laws advised she thought this to be a blip, of which she is concerned, but it is something she is looking into.

·         Councillor Sutton stated that a very successful Golden Age Fair had been held last week. He paid tribute to Councillor Wallwork, saying that she had fitted in very well to her new role and he appreciates her efforts. He asked Councillor Wallwork if she could assure him going forward that should any savings need to be made; this is one area that would escape.  Councillor Wallwork responded that this is not something that has been discussed therefore is not a rising issue that she would have to fight. She said it was inspirational to see the founders and their passion; some of the officers, and the information they gave, are absolutely outstanding and this is exactly why she wanted this role. Councillor Sutton thanked Councillor Wallwork. Councillor Boden felt that as that was a budget question, it would be appropriate for him to also respond.  He had briefly attended the Golden Age Fair at Wisbech St Mary but was very impressed by what he saw, the commitment and the number of different agencies to make contact with people of more advanced years and their families. It is a difficult group to engage with, and these fairs achieve so much for very little cost through the outreach work of volunteers and FDC officers.  He does not know what the budget position will be next year but it is not on the horizon to reduce the amount of spend on Golden Age Fairs for subsequent years. Councillor Sutton thanked Councillor Boden for his reassuring statement, saying that there is no other scheme that provides the benefits to residents that this does.

·         Councillor Booth asked Councillor Wallwork if she could share the details of the Street Drinking action plan being developed. There is much publicity about this issue in Wisbech and he would urge action within definitive timescales. Councillor Wallwork confirmed that a robust plan is in development and although it cannot be shared at this moment, it will be shared once all the details have been agreed.

·         Councillor Booth asked if anyone attended the recent event at Parliament where the A47 Alliance went to lobby for investment and has anything come out of that yet? Councillor Seaton confirmed he attended the meeting along with local businesses, our MP and Mayor of the Combined Authority. There was a very positive discussion with the Roads Minister and much goodwill, but it needs putting into action.  Councillor Seaton advised he is very committed to the Alliance, saying we need to be part of it as weighting has so far been heavily in favour of Norfolk and we are trying to change that.

·         Councillor Booth addressed the Leader regarding the Kings Dyke issue. When the project was put forward, Fenland District Council paid £800,000 to the A14 upgrade project on the basis that we would get the crossing. At that time he raised reservations and asked for commitment and guarantees; as this keeps stalling do we still have the commitment that the project will be delivered? Councillor Boden confirmed that we did make a significant contribution to the A14 and there was the promise of a significant amount of capital funding from the County Council to the Kings Dyke project. That is still the current position, the capital funding is still in place and available and the Leader of the County Council has continued to express his support for the need for a Kings Dyke bridge.

·         Councillor Booth addressed Councillor Tierney regarding some of the metrics in the portfolio holders report and the effort it takes for officers to gather. Citing page 81 of the report as an example, which states the percentage of satisfied customers who use our conference facilities; responses were received from just 5 people expressing 100% of satisfaction.  He asked if we could look to remove these metrics where there is a very low response so concentration can be given to grittier issues.  Councillor Tierney responded that this was a fair point, and he would welcome any assistance moving forward to ensure that all information is fit for purpose and has value.  He intends to look at consultations and questionnaires across the board to ensure this. Councillor Boden said he agreed that the portfolio holder reports need to be less formulaic, briefer and more to the point. This is something he intends to discuss with officers and see if some changes can be made perhaps in time for the next full Council meeting.

·         Apologising for the lack of notice, Councillor Sutton addressed the Leader concerning the emergency works on Wisbech High Street. He asked if the costs for this work are underwritten by the Combined Authority or Fenland District Council.  Councillor Boden thanked Councillor Sutton, unfortunately given the short notice he was cautious of giving an answer that may have to be retracted or corrected later. However, these are urgent emergency works as a result of structural problems with what remains of the buildings on that site, undertaken to ensure public safety. Regarding recovery of costs, he will ensure a statement is made definitively to all members. Councillor Sutton thanked Councillor Boden for the explanation.