Council Procedure Rule 10.6 provides for questions by any member of the Council to the Leader, Chairman of the Overview and Scrutiny Committee or any Portfolio Holder, without notice on:
(i) reports under item 6 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 10.7 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) direct oral answer from the Chairman of the Overview and Scrutiny Committee or, at their request, from another member dealing with that issue as part of an Overview and Scrutiny review;
(c) where the desired information is in a publication of the Council or other published work, a reference to that publication;
(d) where the reply cannot conveniently be given orally, a written answer circulated later to the questioner; or
(e) where the question relates to an operational matter, the Leader, Chairman of the Overview and Scrutiny Committee 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 10.8, 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) Coalition Government Request for Ideas on Reducing Burdens on Local Government
Councillor Murray referred to the letter received from Grant Shapps, MP, Minister for Housing and Local Government and asked the Leader what consultation had taken place with other members prior to formulating a response. He also suggested that the Leader appeared to have shown a lack of enthusiasm for some of the recent coalition Government initiatives.
Councillor Mrs Collins apologised if she had given a wrong impression about the Government initiatives and emphasised that her concern had been the number of such initiatives which had been received within a very short space of time and the need to decide how to deal with issues in the absence of some of the organisations which had been or were to be abolished. The Leader pointed out that the letter from Grant Shapps had been received on a Tuesday with a reply required by the following Friday.
The matter had been considered at Management Board level and officers had produced a list of suggestions which had been viewed by members of the Cabinet and reduced to the requested number of five. Councillor Mrs Collins outlined some of the suggestions which had been put forward and offered to provide a full list in the Council Bulletin.
(b) Leisure Facilities – Free Swimming for those aged 60 and over
Councillor Wixley asked the Leisure and Wellbeing Portfolio Holder if free swimming for those aged 60 and over would be ceasing.
Councillor Rolfe advised that he had received confirmation that the Council would not be receiving a Government Grant of £39,000 which formed the basis of the funding for the project. He advised that the effect of this would be discussed at a pre?Cabinet meeting and he would advise all members of the outcome as soon as possible.
(c) Council’s Non-Operational Land and Properties
Councillor Wixley asked the Legal and Estates Portfolio Holder whether consideration had been given to the community use of public houses owned by the Council. He drew attention to the role which had been played by the Winston Churchill Public House on Debden Day and suggested that as public houses provided a valuable community asset they should not be lost.
Councillor Mrs Wagland advised that she shared the views of Councillor Wixley’s on a personal level but that as a Portfolio Holder she had to take account of all aspects in relation to the future of the Council’s non-operational properties.
(d) Council’s Summer Holiday Activity Programme
Councillor Philip drew attention to the Council’s Summer Holiday Activity Programme and asked if in future increased provision could be made for young people in their mid-teens.
Councillor Rolfe advised that he would be happy to discuss this possibility with Leisure Officers for future years.
(e) SLM Capital Investment
Councillor P Brooks asked the Leisure and Wellbeing Portfolio Holder if the SLM guaranteed capital investment of £250,000 over three sites would be divided equally between the sites.
Councillor Rolfe advised that he would need to seek further advice from officers and would report further in due course.
(f) Parking Reviews
Councillor Sutcliffe asked the Operational Planning and Transport Portfolio Holder if the letter to be sent to County Councillor Hume could be copied to relevant Ward Councillors so that they could respond to their constituents about the future of these schemes.
Councillor Stavrou advised that she envisaged the reply from County Councillor Hume would be more illuminating and that copies of that would be circulated when received.
(g) Healthworks Project for Young People
Councillor Dodeja asked the Leisure and Wellbeing Portfolio Holder for a definition of young children at which this project was aimed.
Councillor Rolfe advised that the project had only recently been agreed and that he would provide further details to members in due course.
(h) Council Car Park, Church Hill, Loughton
Councillor Markham asked the Legal and Estates Portfolio Holder for an update on the future of the car park in Church Hill, Loughton. He drew attention to the proposal to refurbish the petrol filling station at The Broadway, Loughton, and asked if this was likely impact on the future of the petrol filling station adjoining the car park in Church Hill.
Councillor Mrs Wagland advised that she was meeting officers later in the week to discuss issues included within her Portfolio and she would raise this issue and report back to members in due course.
(i) Car Parking – The Broadway, Loughton
Councillor Mrs J Hart advised that there were two off-street car parks in the vicinity of The Broadway. The one in Burton Road free on Saturdays but the one in Vere Road was subject to charges. She asked the Operational Planning and Transport Portfolio Holder if having regard to the location of the Vere Road car park in relation to the shops and the fact that it was some distance from the Underground Station and unlikely to be attractive to commuters an exception could be made to policy so that both car parks could be free on Saturdays. She also asked if additional signage could be provided drawing attention to location of the car parks.
Councillor Ms Stavrou advised that free parking on Saturdays across the District had been agreed by the current administration. A consistent approach had been taken as to the number and location of these car parks and she did not consider it possible to make an exception to policy at The Broadway as this would be unfair to other areas. The Portfolio Holder agreed to investigate the possibility of providing additional signage to the car parks.
(j) Current Economic Climate
Councillor Murray asked the Leader of the Council if she had given any thought as to how the Council would deal with the current difficult economic climate and cuts in Government funding. He asked if attempts would be made to provide services more efficiently or whether some non-statutory services would need to cease.
Councillor Mrs Collins advised that provision had been made for a 3% year on year reduction in the budget for the next three years. However, the Government now required a 25% reduction over five years which equated to over 6% a year. In the light of this there would be a need to review carefully all budgets and savings would be made as and when identified. The Leader advised that if possible non-statutory services would be maintained but that careful consideration would need to be given to future budgets in view of the reductions required. She confirmed that all members would be involved in making decisions on these matters.