Agenda item

Questions by Members Without Notice

The Council’s rules provide for questions by any member of the Council to the Leader or any Portfolio Holder, without notice on:

 

(i)            reports under the previous item; 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.

 

The Council’s rules provide that answers to questions without notice may take the form of:

 

(a)            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 Service Director.

 

In accordance with the Council’s rules, a time limit of thirty 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 ten minutes at their discretion.

Minutes:

The Chairman thanked Members for giving notification of their intention to ask a question without notice.

 

(a)        Qualis Community Limited

 

Councillor S Heap stated that his question was to the Finance, Qualis Client and Economic Development Portfolio Holder and asked what the connection was between Qualis Community Limited and Primera Voluntary Limited. He stated that Primera Voluntary Limited was incorporated on the 10 March 2021, between the 10 and 23 March they were known as Qualis CIC, on the 12 March all directors of Qualis were appointed as directors of Primera, between 15 and 22March all Quails directors resigned or were terminated. On the 21 March, Qualis Community was Incorporated and EFDC were recognised as a person with significant interest, on the 22 March all of the Qualis directors were appointed to Qualis Community CIC and Mr Casey ceased to be a person with significant interest. On the 24 March Qualis became Qualis Community. Could the Portfolio Holder explain what this was about and did this have an easy explanation also did it account for the £10,000.00 of other expenses that were mentioned in the report.

 

Councillor J Philip advised that he recognised the Community Interest company as part of Qualis which members were made aware of. In terms of the directors of the Community Interest company it was correct that they should also be the directors of the over arching Qualis Group. Until Councillor Heap mentioned the other company, he stated that as far as he was aware it did not have any relationship to the Qualis Community Interest company and nor would it have going forward.

 

(b)        Loughton Library

 

Councillor S Murray advised his question was to the Leader of Council and asked if he could help the residents of Loughton to save the Library as he was a leading member of Essex County Council. He stated the Library should be allowed to stay as it was and not be moved to a much smaller community space and urged the Leader to help the many hundreds of residents of Loughton to save their library.

 

Councillor C Whitbread advised that this was an issue that was already under consultation and did not think it would be right or proper for him to state either way what he thought about the consultation. He did however state that the best way to save a library was to reinvest in a library and that was what the consultation would achieve, you need modern buildings and modern libraries. The Loughton Library was a Local Plan site and members should be careful when they object to planning applications of sites that are within the Local Plan as they weaken their own position. He therefore advised that members of the public should respond to the public consultation.

 

(c)        Spraying regime for the extreme pavement and road weed growth

 

Councillor D Wixley advised his question was to the Environmental and Technical Services Portfolio Holder but due to his absence he would ask the Leader if he was able to answer on his behalf. The Leader, Councillor C Whitbread advised he was happy to take the question but if he could not satisfactorily answer the question a written answer would be provided at a later date.

 

Councillor D Wixley advised the Leader that he was receiving a lot of complaints and comments from residents in Loughton about the weeds that were growing in the pavements and the road gullies. This year the weeds seem quite exceptional and he wondered if something had happened regarding the spraying regime as the roots of these weeds could damage and weaken the under surface of the pavements and during the winter with the rain and ice the weeds can help to break up the structure of the pavement. Some of the weeds have taken up the appearance of a hedgerow and he asked what the way forward was.

 

Councillor C Whitbread thanked Councillor Wixley for his question and informed him that as Councillor Avey had prior knowledge of the question he had been working on an answer to give at Council, but  was, from today self-isolating. He stated this year there seemed to be an epidemic of weeds growing in between pavement blocks and along roadsides all over the district. The growth of the weeds was caused by a lot of sunshine followed by a fair amount of rain. The Council undertook weed spraying on behalf of Essex County Council and they had a set number of sprays each year, he believed that they were in the process of spraying at the present time.  He advised that he would get a full answer and come back to Councillor Wixley with details of the spraying regime but did agree that there were more and more weeds this year due to the weather conditions that the district has had. The Council were aware of this problem and many Councillors were also receiving the same complaint from residents.

 

(d)        Disability Discrimination Act Accessibility and Compliance – Transport for London

 

Councillor C C Pond advised his question was also for the Environmental and Technical Services Portfolio Holder but maybe another member of the Cabinet would be able to answer his question. He asked if any discussions had been held with Transport for London about making further facilities at their tube stations in Epping Forest for a Disability Discrimination Act (DDA) Accessibility and Compliance. I am aware that there were discussions regarding this some years ago. The Central Line was a vital resource to get from one end of the district to the other and around the loop. Many of the stations are simply relics from a previous time with absolutely no disabled access. Therefore, if no such discussions had recently taken place with TfL were any planned in the near future.

 

Councillor C Whitbread advised that this came under the remit of the Environmental and Technical Services Portfolio Holder, Councillor N Avey and that he would speak to him to find out if any discussions had taken place. He suggested that this could go to an Overview and Scrutiny Committee meeting and invite Transport for London to attend.

 

(e)        Flooding in the District

 

Councillor M Sartin referred to the flooding that had recently taken place in the district and advised that Roydon had been one of the areas that was badly hit and asked if the Leader would join her in expressing his concern for the residents of Roydon and also Nazeing, who were affected by the flooding that occurred on Sunday 25 July, which was the result of exceptionally heavy rainfall but did cause problems for quite a number of residents. Could the Leader also assure the residents in those areas that were affected that a full multi-agency investigation would be carried out to establish the real issues around the various drainage systems in the district and find resolutions for these problems. This was not the first time that concerns had been raised regarding the drainage systems but on this occasion a number of residents experienced fllod water entering their properties and causing serious damage to their homes. Could I also aske the Leader along with the relevant officers to meet with me as soon as possible, in Roydon, to highlight some of the problem areas and to get a better understanding of why and what happened on Sunday.

 

Councillor C Whitbread stated that no member of Epping Forest District Council could not have been more shocked and saddened to see the damage done to properties in the district in particular Roydon and Nazeing and had much empathy for the residents of those properties that were so badly affected.

 

He advised that on Sunday 25 July 2021 the rain was exceptionally heavy an Amber Weather Warning was issued for the area, which was extremely rare. Officers responded to several flooding calls in the area but did not receive calls from the out of hours service at Mears regarding the properties reported to Members.

 

EFDC were not the Lead Local Flood Authority for this area, the responsibility remained with Essex County Council. The mechanisms for flooding can be complex and involve agencies including the sewerage undertaker and the highway authority whose systems all take surface water.

 

EFDC provide an out of hours flood response service and will provide sandbags and assistance to the most vulnerable residents with staff and a contractor (Pearls). 1000 sandbags are stored by our contractor (Pearls) at their site in Bobbingworth as part of a wider watercourse maintenance contract on our behalf.

 

An officer from the Environmental Protection and Drainage Team was on-call 24/7, 365 days per year to advise and respond to incidents of flooding affecting residents.

 

EFDC officers were members of the ECC Flood Officers group and the Portfolio Holder was a member of the flood board where climate was a regular topic and discussion point.

 

He confirmed that EFDC have requested Essex County Council as the Lead Local Flood Authority undertake a Section 19 flood investigation to help in determining the mechanism of the flooding. ECC Flood team have responded to the request and will be working with EFDC to investigate the issues.

 

EFDC will liaise and work with ECC and the various parties involved in the flooding e.g. highways, riparian owners, EFDC, Thames Water to reduce the impact of any further incidents. The out of hours process will be reviewed and any training needs will be addressed with the contractor.

 

The Leader advised that he was more than happy to meet with officers other agencies and residents in the coming week to discuss the recent flooding in the district.

 

(f)         Social Lettings Register

 

Councillor R Brookes advised her question was to the Housing Services Portfolio Holder and stated that the report on the social lettings registers was an excellent and asked if the Portfolio Holder could clarify when looking at the number of active bidders, listed for the last five years, and looking at the number of active bidders from 2020 to 1st April 2021 it had gone up by almost 300, was there any reason for this increase.

 

Councillor H Whitbread thanked Councillor Brookes for her question and advised that although she was aware of an increase in active bidders, particularly during the Pandemic, she would have to liaise with officers and come back with a detailed response.

 

(g)        Small Businesses in the District

 

Councillor P Bhanot advised that his question was to the Finance, Qualis Client and Economic Development Portfolio Holder and stated that the high streets and shopping parades were the economic heartbeat of the communities across the district, notwithstanding the Governments support packages, the last 18 months had been particularly testing for small local businesses and asked what plans were there by EFDC to ensure small businesses in our district bounce back and recover from the financial hardship they face as Covid-19 restrictions are relaxed.

 

Councillor J Philip advised that the Cabinet passed town centre improvement plans for six town centres and he would be reporting on the progress of those various actions this was something that EFDC were a significant leader in but were not doing it alone, it involved working with other organisations including Parish and Town Councils. A good example that happened earlier this week was putting planters into Waltham Abbey, the Council were looking to supply the planters but the actual planting in the planters and the maintenance of them would fall to Waltham Abbey Town Council. Added to that two particular initiatives that the Council have put in place are Click It Local and a loyalty application for across the district called Loyal Free which will hopefully encourage people to shop within the district and be able to see some benefit in doing so.

 

Click It Local was launched but unfortunately local businesses are not proving very keen to sign up to it. As we lead up to Christmas time, which was clearly one of the major business events in the calendar, EFDC want to be able to support businesses as much as possible therefore the Click It Local initiative will carry on for the full 12 months. He added that if more local businesses did not sign up and people were no using the service to drive more revenue through the districts businesses, we would have to consider next year whether investing the money in keeping going for the future was a wise investment or not. I would encourage members to read about Click It Local and encourage local businesses to sign up to this initiative

 

(h)        UK Vaccination Programme

 

Councillor J McIvor advised his question was to the Community and Regulatory Services Portfolio Holder and asked with the UK vaccination programme proving to be a huge success across our district, county and country, does the Portfolio Holder agree with his concerns, and indeed the concerns of National Government with the lack of take-up of the vaccination with the under 30’s, which may be due to the amount of incorrect and inaccurate information which was shared online and people are putting their safety and the safety of others at risk. I would be interested to know what steps this Council would be taking to encourage all adult age groups, but in particular, the under 30’s age group to get vaccinated so that we can very quickly go from pandemic to endemic.

 

Councillor A Patel advised that he first received an update from the person who was leading the rollout of the vaccinations across the Epping Forest district and the end of November 2020, it was a very ambitious programme that they were setting out and they were firstly targeting the elderly and most vulnerable adults first and then rolling out the vaccination to the younger adults. It was always part of the thought process, at that time, that it would be more difficult to get the younger age group to take up the vaccine. Some of the reasons and rationale around why it was proving to be difficult was that there are a lot of myths that are being circulated around having the vaccination. The NHS are trying to tackle these myths by putting statements on their website and there was information on the Essex County Council website and the Epping Forest District Council website all trying to tackle these myths. Some of the younger Councillors who have been vaccinated could help by doing a promotional video on why the younger adult should be vaccinated. Members would have also received an email from the Corporate Comms team about circulating messages of positivity amongst the residents in their wards and circulating this information especially around the areas where there are vaccination centres. The key to this vaccination rollout was working together as a partnership and spreading the positives especially to the younger adult.

 

(i)         The Council’s Social Recovery Plan

 

Councillor K Williamson asked the Community and Regulatory Services Portfolio Holder to provide an update on the progress of the Council’s social recovery plan.

 

Councillor A Patel advised that the Council were making very good progress on the social recovery, it was this time last year when the Council moved out of response to recovery and Councillor Philip and his team worked very hard on the economic recovery plan but the Communities team in particular have also worked very hard on the social recovery plan. We are now moving away from the term ‘social recovery’ thinking and it has been identified through working in partnerships with our health partners and the focus was on tackling health inequalities as a result of Covid and this was the key area of focus of the Epping Forest Health and Wellbeing Board. The work that they are delivering upon was through the three action groups that we have underneath the main board who are multi agency. The way in which we will achieve success again was working with our partners and in particular our health partners in delivering upon this. We as a District Council have very good representation in the health environment and our Chief Executive was on the Essex Health and Wellbeing Board, I am a member on the West Essex CCG Board, Gill Wallis from the Communities Directorate was chairing the West Essex Health Inequalities Board and Jennifer Gould from Housing Services was on the One Health and Care Partnership. It was fair to say that the Council were supporting the direction of the Health and Wellbeing agenda across West Essex.

 

In order to answer this question fully I am happy for a report to go to the relevant Select Committee subject to the Chairman’s agreement.

 

The Chairman agreed that a full report would be a good idea to go to the relevant Select Committee.

 

(j)         Regulation Order for Measures in Epping High Street

 

Councillor J M Whitehouse stated that in December 2021 the traffic regulation order for measures in Epping High Street expires and asked the Community and Regulatory Services Portfolio Holder if there was any update of when the consultation would take place.

 

Councillor A Patel advised that this question was not under the remit of his Portfolio and suggested that it might fall under the Environmental and Technical Service Portfolio.

 

Councillor C Whitbread agreed that it did fall under the remit of the Environmental and Technical Service Portfolio Holder, Councillor N Avey and in his absence he would be asked to give a written response.

 

(k)        Council House Building Programme

 

Councillor R Morgan asked the Housing Services Portfolio Holder to provide an update on the Council House Building Programme and especially about the opening of Cyril Hawkins Close in North Weald.

 

Councillor H Whitbread advised she recently visited Cyril Hawkins Close for a sneak preview as Councillor McIvor, Councillor Burrows and Councillor Bolton joined her in visiting the community allotment opening which backs onto the programme. Cyril Hawkins Close had not yet officially opened but the official opening was next week and would be opened by the Chairman, Councillor Helen Kane with other members in attendance.

 

The development consisted of 12 family homes situated in the heart of North Weald on a previously used site which was once garages. In terms of the rest of the Council House Building Programme Phases 4.1 and 4.2 they were on site and that was going well, the only slight issue has been a delay in some the building material supplies which was an issue across the building trade. The Council’s programme was still on schedule with a number of completion and hand overs coming up between September and November. She advised that she had recently had the opportunity to name some of the properties and with the Pick Hill development this has been named after her predecessor Syd Stavrou, which would be a good opportunity to remember Syd.

 

The Housing Strategy and Policy consultation was due soon and this would be a good opportunity to think about how our Council House Building Programme was going and whether the Council’s stock was meeting the needs of local residents.

 

(l)         Epping Forest Holocaust Education Trust

 

Councillor H Kauffman advised that he was the Chairman of the Epping Forest Holocaust Education Trust and we are going to bring forward a memorial in the district that we can all be proud of but a big part of that was about education. The Trust were planning and setting their heart on an element of the new library being available to us for a permanent school education facility and in the new plans, despite having discussed this with Essex County Council, they have not put in those plans even a small area for the Trust. I would therefore be really grateful, as Councillor C Whitbread has personally been very supportive of this initiative, if he could have a word in the right ear to provide the Trust with some space in the new library for this to go ahead.

 

I would also like to give a big shout out to Waltham Abbey Museum who are currently holding an exhibition, which was not being that well attended, it was available until the 4 September and it was about 30 survivors who came to Loughton and were cherished. It was a fabulous exhibition and well worth a trip to Waltham Abbey to see this exhibition.

 

Councillor C Whitbread advised that he certainly would have a word in the right ear and thought the memorial in Loughton was really important to this district. He was really pleased that this Council had been able to support the memorial and would continue to support it. Celebrating our heritage and remembering some of the worst atrocities that have happened in our history are so important to this district and country.