Agenda item

A copy of the tabled questions and answers are attached.

The Mayor advised that six questions had been received from members of the public and Councillors and that these and the answers had been tabled in accordance with the Constitution.  The Mayor advised that he would take the questions in the order in which they had been received. 

Mr Adams asked a question of Councillor Beardsworth as the relevant Portfolio Holder as to how many sheltered housing units were occupied and in terms of floating support how many were in each category.  Mr Adams noted the response as tabled and asked a supplementary question as to what protocol existed between the Borough and County Councils to ensure a full package for emergency and non-emergency care is available.  Councillor Beardsworth referred to her report under item 7 and also referred to the Sheltered Housing Forum which was the main consultative mechanism for sheltered housing tenants.  She stated that the Council worked with the County Council’s Supporting People Department and systems for dealing with emergencies were in place.  She apologised if any sheltered housing tenants had not received their normal service on New Year’s Day due to the emergency.

Councillor Capstick asked a question of Councillor Glynane as the relevant Portfolio Holder in respect of the options appraisal on the future of Brookside Communtiy Centre.  Councillor Capstick noted the response as tabled and Councillor Glynane in answer to a supplementary question noted that Brookside Community Centre had been in a poor state for many years and should be considered as part of the regeneration of the wider area.  There was the possibility of a PFI scheme.

Councillor Capstick asked a question of Councillor Glynane as the relevant Portfolio Holder in respect of the administration’s commitment to allocate more resources to Overview and Scrutiny.  Councillor Capstick noted the response as tabled.  Councillor Capstick noted that the report to Cabinet had identified Overview and Scrutiny as an area of strength and queried whether Councillor Glynane agreed that this would be a risk if support to Overview and Scrutiny was not increased.  Councillor Glynane commented that he agreed with the report that Cabinet had considered and noted that the Chairs of the Overview and Scrutiny Committees had not approached him seeking further support.

Councillor Scott asked a question of Councillor Crake as the relevant Portfolio Holder in respect of all areas of the town to have at least one dedicated Neighbourhood Warden and the current budget consultation which proposed the reorganisation of them.  Councillor Scott noted the response as tabled and in answer to a supplementary question Councillor Crake commented that there were no current plans to make any of the Neighbourhood Wardens compulsorily redundant.

Councillor Malpas asked a question of Councillor Church as the relevant Portfolio Holder in respect of the adequacy of scrutiny of planning applications.  He noted the response as tabled and asked a supplementary question particularly referring to the scrutiny of Section 106 Agreements.  Councillor Church commented that Councillors if they had concerns concerning planning applications or Section 106 Agreements could discuss these with the relevant Planning Officer when an application was due for determination.  Councillors could call-in an application into the Planning Committee.  He suggested that if Councillor Malpas had ideas that might improve the process he should raise them with the Head of Planning or have them raised with the Constitution Working Party if issues of delegation were concerned.

Councillor Malpas asked a question of Councillor Beardsworth as the relevant Portfolio Holder in respect of the late notification to residents of the public meeting in Bellinge and what would be done to prevent a similar situation from occurring in the future.  Councillor Malpas noted the response as tabled and in answer to a supplementary question Councillor Beardsworth noted that leaflets had been posted to residents on 6 January.  Additionally posters had been placed around the estate.  Attendance at the meeting on 12 January had been broadly similar to that of the meeting held in November 2008.  She noted that  100% survey of residents would be undertaken to ascertain their preferred method of communication.  A variety of public events would be held throughout February and March.  Regular communication would take place to encourage public involvement.