Council Procedure Rule 12.6 provides for questions by any member of the Council to the Leader or any Portfolio Holder, without notice on:
(i) reports under item 7 above; or
(ii) any other matter of a non operational character in relation to the powers and duties of the Council or which affects all or part of the District or some or all of its inhabitants.
Council Procedure Rule 12.7 provides that answers to questions without notice may take the form of:
(a) direct oral answer from the Leader or, at the request of the Leader, from another member of the Cabinet;
(b) where the desired information is in a publication of the Council or other published work, a reference to that publication;
(c) where the reply cannot conveniently be given orally, a written answer circulated later to the questioner; or
(d) where the question relates to an operational matter, the Leader or a member of the Cabinet will request that a response be given direct to the questioner by the relevant Chief Officer.
In accordance with the Council Procedure Rule 12.8, a time limit of twenty minutes is set for questions. Any question not dealt with within the time available will receive a written reply. The Chairman may extend this period by up to a further 10 minutes to ensure that all political groups and independent members may have their questions answered.
Minutes:
(a) Broadway Parking Review
Councillor C C Pond asked the Safer, Greener and Transport Portfolio Holder when the Broadway Parking Review would commence given that the Buckhurst Parking Review was nearing completion?
Councillor Waller advised that a date could not be given but as soon as the Buckhurst Hill Review had been completed, the Broadway Parking Review would commence.
(b) Public Safety
Councillor Murray asked the Leader of the Council, whether
(1) He shared the concern of Councillor Murray and the general public at the escalating number of serious and violent crimes within the District?
(2) Whether he would like to comment on the near invisibility of the local police?; and
(3) Did he have anything to say about the hundreds of workers in the District who will have to walk to public transport in the dark for the next six months due to the lights being switched off till 6 am.
Councillor Whitbread advised that public safety was always a concern and that the Council would work together with the police to make sure that there was adequate policing in the District. He advised that the perception of crime was worse than reality and he was working together with the Local MP to do their best to deal with the issues and make sure that the Police were committing adequate resources.
(c) Safety and Disturbance
Councillor J H Whitehouse asked the Portfolio Holder for Safer, Greener and Transport about an update on the work of the Night Time Economic Group and whether he felt there were lessons to be learnt from the recent disturbances in the District.
Councillor Waller advised that there was great concern about the recent stabbing in Epping but neither the victim nor the alleged perpetrator were from the District. Both clubs involved cooperated with the Safer Communities Team and Police providing CCTV images. Unfortunately the High Street was closed for some time and people were concerned about the greater impact of the two clubs on Epping High Street. He advised Members that the Licensing Committee would consider whether any licensing concerns had been raised and the matter would be brought to the Licensing Committee’s attention.
(d) The Royal British Legion Covenant
Councillor Angold-Stephens asked the Leader of the Council if he would consider a proposal from the Royal British Legion regarding a Community Covenant to disregard military payments when it came to means testing residents for housing support and prioritise the Disability Aids Grant to residents who serviced in the Armed forces, if these factors were not already taken into account by the Council.
Councillor Leader advised that the Council would look into the Covenant.
(e) Highways Repairs
Councillor Whitehouse asked whether the Council would consider the Essex County Council offer to match fund £50,000, for highways issues. He advised that in conjunction with the significant underspend on the Councils general fund last year of £383,000, the Council could match the offer to facilitate the badly needed highways repairs in the District, in particular the repairs to the pavements.
Councillor Waller advised that this had not yet been considered by the Cabinet. The Leader of Council advised that the Council had been looking into these options, although the underspend of the budget last year would assist this years budget.
(f) CAB Premises
Councillor Thomas asked if there were any more information on the new premises for the CAB in Epping and Loughton.
Councillor Kane advised that she had been working with the CAB to find solutions to the relocation of their premises. The CAB had undertaken to provide a detailed financial situation and different options for providing the service in future and she would be attending their AGM.
(g) Standards Committee
Councillor Knapman enquired about whether the terms of reference for an Independent Member of the Standards Committee included restricting political activity in the post?
Councillor Philip advised that there was no political bar in legislation, although applicants for the position of independent member were asked about political membership in interviews.
(h) Designated parking - Traps Hill, Loughton
Councillor C P Pond enquired about whether anything could be done about the parking on the approach road and grass verges to the Traps Hill car park on a Saturday and Sunday as it is not covered by the off street parking order.
Councillor Waller advised that he was aware of the situation and the inconvenience caused by parking on the grass verges. He was looking into bringing into effect a clause in the Essex Act, to enable enforcement action against vehicles parked on the grass verges. Although he was unsure whether enforcement could be taken because the Council owned the car park, but he would consult with officers and would gladly work with Councillor C P Pond on this issue.