Agenda and minutes

City Council - Monday 28 January 2013 2.00 pm

Venue: Council House (Next to the Civic Centre), Plymouth

Contact: Nicola Kirby, Democratic Support  Email: nicola.kirby@plymouth.gov.uk

Media

Items
No. Item

68.

VICE CHAIR OF THE MEETING

Additional documents:

Minutes:

In the absence of the Deputy Lord Mayor (Councillor Singh), it was agreed that Councillor Mrs Nelder acts as vice chair of the meeting.

69.

ORDER OF BUSINESS

Additional documents:

Minutes:

With the permission of council, the order of business on the agenda was amended, as set out below in the minutes.   

70.

WEBCAST OF THE LAST COUNCIL MEETING

Additional documents:

Minutes:

The Monitoring Officer reported that following potential defamatory statements by councillors about an officer, he had taken the decision not to publish that part of the webcast to protect the officer concerned and the council in relation to any potential legal action.  The comments had been investigated and there was no evidence of wrong doing by the officer.  A draft protocol on webcasting was presented to council for approval today and referred to in minute 75 below.

 

71.

MINUTES pdf icon PDF 195 KB

To approve and sign as a correct record the minutes of the meeting held on 3 December 2012.  

Additional documents:

Minutes:

Agreed that the minutes of the meeting of council held on 3 December 2012 are confirmed as a correct record.

 

72.

DECLARATIONS OF INTEREST pdf icon PDF 35 KB

Councillors will be asked to make declarations of interest in respect of items on this agenda. A flowchart providing guidance on interests is attached to assist councillors.

Additional documents:

Minutes:

The following declarations of interest were made in accordance with the code of conduct from councillors in relation to items under consideration at this meeting –

 

Name

Item

Interest

Reason

Councillor Churchill

Minute 78  – Council tax support scheme

Disclosable prejudicial

Private sector landlord

Councillors Gordon and Jordan

Minute 78  – Council tax support scheme

Disclosable prejudicial

In receipt of a war pension

Councillors

Mrs Bowyer, Bowyer.

Churchill,  Martin Leaves, Michael Leaves, Sam Leaves, Lowry,

Ricketts,

John Smith,

Wigens

Minute  79 – Council tax technical reform

Disclosable prejudicial

Private sector landlord

Councillors Dr Mahony and Dr Salter

Minute  79 – Council tax technical reform

Disclosable prejudicial

Second home owner

Councillor  Sam Leaves,

Minute 84  - Amendment to the capital programme: Windsor House co-location with health

Personal

NHS employee of the Shadow Clinical Commissioning Group western locality affected by the move

Councillor 

Jon Taylor

Minute 84  - Amendment to the capital programme: Windsor House co-location with health

 

Personal

NHS employee affected by the move

Councillor Wigens

Minute 86 - Business Rates Retention Scheme

Disclosable prejudicial

Commercial  Landlord

 

73.

APPOINTMENTS TO COMMITTEES, OUTSIDE BODIES ETC pdf icon PDF 44 KB

The Director for Corporate Services will submit a schedule of vacancies on committees, outside bodies etc and of changes notified to us.  

 

Additional documents:

Minutes:

The City Council noted the appointment of Councillor Fox as the new alternate director for Careers South West.

74.

ANNOUNCEMENTS

(a)        To receive announcements from the Lord Mayor, Chief Executive, Director for Corporate Services or Assistant Director of Democracy and Governance;

 

(b)        To receive announcements from the Leader, Cabinet Members or Committee Chairs.

Additional documents:

Minutes:

The Lord Mayor congratulated -

 

(a)

all the recipients in the New Year’s Honours on the recognition of their services as follows – 

 

?

paralympics gold medallist Jonathan Fox was awarded an MBE for services to swimming;

 

 

?

Angela O’Brien (stage name of Angela Collins), chair of the City of Plymouth Theatre Company was awarded an MBE for services to drama in the south west;

 

 

?

Julian Crow, First Great Western's regional manager, west was awarded an MBE for services to the rail industry;

 

 

?

Monika Kinley was awarded an OBE, for services to the visual arts;

 

 

?

Alan Smith, chairman and managing director of the Plymouth-based company Pipex, was awarded an MBE for services to the manufacturing industry;

 

 

?

Lorraine Anne Tucker was awarded a British Empire Medal for voluntary service to the City of Plymouth Children Fund and to the community in Devon;

 

 

?

Irene Alice Wills was awarded a British Empire Medal for services to the Pisces Swimming Club and to the community in Plymouth;

 

 

?

David Rees, an operational analyst at CORDA Consulting was awarded a MBE for services to defence capability;

 

(b)

the Customer Services Team on their Customer Service Excellence Award; Govmetric Case Study in Excellence Award and the Business Health Network Platinum Award;

 

(c)

 

the Library Service on their Customer Service Excellence Award;

(d)

 

the Legal Services Land Charges Team who had been shortlisted by the National Land Information Service 2013 Excellence Awards for the best performing local land charges service in Great Britain. 

 

Members of staff came forward to be presented with certificates and congratulated by the Lord Mayor.

 

The Leader referred to –

 

(a)

the City Deal: he thanked officers and partners who had worked hard across the region to develop the City Deal bid which would include the development and commercialisation of fledgling marine science businesses, the creation of a maritime technology production campus and an international investment and export pilot;

 

(b)

Plymouth Airport: the Chief Executive and the Leader had met with Simon Burns (Transport Minister).  He reiterated to Members that the position of the authority remained as stated in council on 24 September 2012.  At the meeting with the minister, he had also taken the opportunity to lobby for the addition of the city to the Strategic National Corridor Network; to seek support for more regular and shorter train services between the city and London and to work with the Department of Transport on assessing options and business cases for rail improvements;  

 

(c)

 

Rail infrastructure: he was seeking to meet with the rail minister (Patrick McCloughlin) on his response to the Leader’s letter highlighting the concerns of the city, neighbouring councils and partners on the Local Enterprise Partnership about the fragility of the national road and rail links and the disruption and impact of the recent adverse weather conditions on the local economy.  The purpose of the meeting would be to discuss the options for improvements and in the meantime he would continue to work with neighbouring authorities to identify the economic costs of  ...  view the full minutes text for item 74.

75.

CONSTITUTIONAL CHANGES pdf icon PDF 56 KB

The Assistant Director for Democracy and Governance will submit a report on changes to the constitution, in particular, to amend the Planning Committee Code of Practice and the hospitality rules and to adopt a new webcasting protocol.

Additional documents:

Minutes:

The Assistant Director for Democracy and Governance presented his report on proposed constitutional changes following consideration by the Constitutional Review Group (CRG).  With the agreement of the council, each proposal was considered in turn.

 

Planning Committee Code of Conduct

 

Councillor Peter Smith (Deputy Leader) moved and Councillor Stevens (Chair of the CRG and Planning Committee) seconded the proposal as set out in the written report.  Councillor Stevens thanked Councillor Ball for highlighting an issue with the existing code.

 

In response to a question from Councillor Mrs Pengelly, the Monitoring Officer advised that the revised code would be implemented as soon as practicable and it was unlikely that it could apply to the meeting of the Planning Committee to be held on 31 January 2013.  

 

Agreed to adopt the revised Planning Committee Code of Practice (to be implemented as soon as practicable).

 

Hospitality Rules

 

Councillor Peter Smith (Deputy Leader) moved and Councillor Stevens (Chair of the CRG) seconded the proposal as set out in the written report. 

 

Agreed to change the hospitality rules in relation to paid for events.

 

Webcasting Protocol

 

Councillor Peter Smith (Deputy Leader) moved and Councillor Evans (Leader) seconded a revised proposal to recommendation (3) in the written report as follows -

 

‘Add the following words to recommendation 3:

 

‘… and to give consideration to making the whole of the webcast of last Council’s meeting publicly available, once all the members of the Conservative Group have personally agreed to indemnify the Council against any legal action resulting from the publication of the whole webcast’

 

Recommendation 3 would then read:

 

‘To adopt the webcasting protocol and to give consideration to making the whole of the webcast of last Council’s meeting publicly available, once all the members of the Conservative Group have personally agreed to indemnify the Council against any legal action resulting from the publication of the whole webcast’.

 

During the debate, the following issues were raised –

 

?

the actions taken on the webcast and the reasons for that action, following the last council meeting; 

?

the council’s commitment for openness and transparency;

?

the standard of debate expected from councillors;

?

that the matter should be deferred until the council had full details of the investigation (referred to by the Monitoring Officer in minute 70) and was satisfied with the outcome, otherwise the independence of the investigation would be in doubt;

 

Following questions from councillors, the Monitoring Officer advised that councillors would need to obtain their own legal advice about indemnity insurance, and further to his statement in minute 70 above, reported that he would not publish that part of the webcast again as his role was to protect the council.

 

Councillor Lowry moved and Councillor Rennie seconded that the vote was taken.

Following a request from ten councillors for a recorded vote, there voted –

 

For the motion (37)

 

Councillors Mrs Aspinall, Ball, Mrs Beer, Bowie, Bowyer, Mrs Bowyer, Casey, Churchill,  Damarell, Darcy, P. Davey, Evans, K Foster, Mrs Foster, Fox, Fry, Gordon, James, Jarvis, Lowry, McDonald, Murphy, Mrs Nelder,  ...  view the full minutes text for item 75.

76.

DISPENSATIONS FOR MEMBERS AND CO-OPTED MEMBERS OF PLYMOUTH CITY COUNCIL pdf icon PDF 61 KB

The City Council will be asked to consider the written report of the Monitoring Officer on the provisions of the Localism Act 2011 which have amended the law relating to the granting of dispensations to Members and co-opted members where they have disclosable pecuniary interests, thereby allowing them to take part in meetings. The City Council will be asked to allow all Members and co-opted members to be granted dispensations under certain circumstances.

 

Additional documents:

Minutes:

The Assistant Director for Democracy and Governance submitted a written report on dispensations for Members and co-opted members of Plymouth City Council.

The decision would enable councillors to vote on council tax matters, including items on this agenda.  

 

Councillor Peter Smith (Deputy Leader) moved and Councillor Evans (Leader) seconded a proposal to amend the recommendations in the written report of the Assistant Director for Democracy and Governance, as follows -  

 

Add the following words to recommendation 2:

 

‘The Constitution Review Group meet to consider the different options for granting dispensations and to recommend their preferred option to Council, in the meantime, as an interim measure, it is agreed …’

 

Recommendation 2 would then read:

 

The Constitution Review Group meet to consider the different options for granting dispensations and to recommend their preferred option to Council, in the meantime, as an interim measure, it is agreed:

 

 

(a)

that the Monitoring Officer may, but is not required to, consult with the Standards Advisory Group prior to determining an application for dispensation on grounds 4a), 4b) and 4d);

 

 

(b)

that the Monitoring Officer would consult Members of the Standards Advisory Group before making a decision on ground 4c) or 4e) as these grounds may involve a value judgement.

 

Add an additional recommendation

 

Recommendation 3:

 

The Council ask the Local Government Association to put pressure on the Department for Communities and Local Government to amend the legislation to provide automatic dispensations as were provided under the previous standards regime.

 

The Monitoring Officer advised that the proposer of the recommendations (Councillor Smith) had chosen to revise the recommendations that had been circulated with the agenda. He also confirmed that he was content that the amendment would enable the business on the agenda to be determined and that there would be an opportunity in the future to consider options for dispensations. 

  

Agreed that –

 

(1)

the authority to grant existing dispensations to all Members and co-opted members is delegated to the council’s Monitoring Officer;

  

(2)

the Constitution Review Group meet to consider the different options for granting dispensations and to recommend their preferred option to Council, in the meantime, as an interim measure, it is agreed:

 

 

(a)

that the Monitoring Officer may, but is not required to consult with the Standards Advisory Group prior to determining an

application for dispensation on grounds 4a), 4b)  and 4d); 

 

(b)

that the Monitoring Officer would consult Members of the Standards Advisory Group before making a decision on ground 4c) or 4e) as these grounds may involve a value judgment;

(3)

 

the council will ask the Local Government Association to put pressure on the Department for Communities and Local Government to amend the legislation to provide automatic dispensations as were provided under the previous standards regime.

 

 

77.

QUESTIONS BY THE PUBLIC

To receive questions from and provide answers to the public in relation to matters which are about something the council is responsible for or something that directly affects people in the city, in accordance with Part B, paragraph 11 of the Constitution.

 

Questions, of no longer than 50 words, can be submitted to the Democratic Support Unit, Plymouth City Council, Civic Centre, Plymouth, PL1 2AA, or email to democraticsupport@plymouth.gov.uk. Any questions must be received at least five complete working days before the meeting.

Additional documents:

Minutes:

There were no questions submitted by the public for this meeting.

RECOMMENDATIONS FROM CABINET AND AUDIT COMMITTEE

Additional documents:

78.

Council Tax Support Scheme pdf icon PDF 69 KB

Cabinet Member: Councillor Lowry.

 

The City Council will be asked to consider the Cabinet recommendation and the report of the Director for Corporate Services.  The Council Tax Reduction Scheme Policy will follow.

Minute 103 (of the Cabinet meeting held on 11 December 2012) refers.

 

Additional documents:

Minutes:

Councillor Lowry (Cabinet Member for Finance) presented the recommendations in the written report of the Director for Corporate Services to the City Council on the Council Tax Support Scheme.  Cabinet minute 103 and the written report of the Director for Corporate Services to Cabinet also referred.

 

The proposals were seconded by Councillor Penberthy.

 

Following a request for advice on interests, the Monitoring Officer advised that it was a Member’s responsibility to determine whether they had an interest and that it was not practical to provide advice during a meeting. 

 

Following a debate, Councillor Lowry undertook to continue to monitor the implementation and impact of the scheme and report back to council.

 

Agreed the Council Tax Support Scheme as set out in the Council Tax Reduction Scheme Policy, the Exceptional Hardship Fund Policy and Vulnerability/Incentivising Work Statement.  

 

(Councillors Churchill, Gordon and Jordan declared interests and withdrew from the meeting during consideration of the item).

79.

Council Tax Technical Reforms pdf icon PDF 53 KB

Cabinet Member: Councillor Evans (Councillor Lowry has declared a disclosable pecuniary interest in this item).

 

The City Council will be asked to consider the Cabinet recommendation. 

Minute 104 (of the Cabinet meeting held on 11 December 2012) and the report of the Director for Corporate Services refer.

 

Additional documents:

Minutes:

Councillor Evans (Leader) presented the recommendations in Cabinet minute 104 on the council tax technical reforms. The written report of the Director for Corporate Services to Cabinet also referred.

 

Councillor Dr Salter indicated that he wished to move an amendment and, having been reminded that he had declared a disclosable prejudicial interest in the item, he withdrew from the meeting.  

 

The proposals were seconded by Councillor Peter Smith.

 

Councillor Mrs Pengelly moved an amendment as follows and asked that, if the amendment was not accepted, the Leader looked at the proposal, as follows –

 

‘To be more generous than the existing Class F exemption ‘Left Empty By Deceased Person’ giving just six months of exemption after the grant of Probate, which can currently be followed by a Vacant Property (Class C) exemption only if a property is newly built or both unoccupied and unfurnished, in future the Council agrees on compassionate grounds to exempt from Council tax for a period of up to two years properties which are unoccupied due to the recent death of a resident, while the executors of that resident’s estate make necessary repairs or alterations to prepare the property for sale or for letting’.   

 

Following an assurance given by the Leader that the proposal would be looked at the next day, Councillor Mrs Pengelly withdrew the amendment.

 

Agreed to - 

 

 (1)

remove the current 10 per cent discount on second homes and charge the full council tax;

 

(2)

charge 50 per cent council tax for properties undergoing major repair for as long as the property remains in that state up to the maximum period of one year;

 

(3)

 

reduce the 100 per cent discount on empty and unfurnished properties from six months to one month;

(4)

 

charge a 50 per cent premium on homes that have been empty for more than two years, taking the total council tax due to 150 per cent.

 

(Councillors Mrs Bowyer, Bowyer, Churchill, Martin Leaves, Michael Leaves, Sam Leaves, Lowry, Dr Mahony, Ricketts, Dr Salter, John Smith and Wigens declared interests in the above item and withdrew from the meeting during consideration of the item).

80.

Council Tax Base Setting pdf icon PDF 53 KB

Cabinet Member: Councillor Lowry

 

The City Council will be asked to consider the Cabinet recommendation. 

Minute 132 (of the Cabinet meeting held on 15 January 2013) and the report of the Director for Corporate Services refer.

 

Additional documents:

Minutes:

Councillor Lowry (Cabinet Member for Finance) presented the recommendations in Cabinet minute 132 on the Council tax base setting. The written report of the Director for Corporate Services to Cabinet also referred.

 

The proposals were seconded by Councillor Evans (Leader).

 

Councillor Lowry urged councillors and officers to look at the self service system on the website as greater use would provide a more efficient service.

 

Agreed the council tax base for 2013/14 tax setting as 66,958 Band D equivalents, which is the tax base after allowing for an estimated collection rate of 97.5 per cent.

81.

Social Fund Replacement pdf icon PDF 65 KB

Cabinet Member: Councillor Penberthy.

 

The City Council will be asked to consider the Cabinet recommendation. 

Minute 128 (of the Cabinet meeting held on 15 January 2013) and the report of the Director for People refer.

 

Additional documents:

Minutes:

Councillor Penberthy (Cabinet Member for Co-operatives and Community Development) presented the recommendations in Cabinet minute 128 on the social fund replacement. The written report of the Director for People to Cabinet also referred.

 

Councillor Penberthy thanked everyone who had responded to the consultation and Councillor Tuffin (Chair of the Customers and Communities Overview and Scrutiny Panel) for the pre decision scrutiny undertaken by that panel.

 

The proposals were seconded by Councillor Tuffin who also thanked members of the scrutiny panel, Steve Meakin of the Citizens Advice Bureau and officers for their hard work.

 

Agreed –

 

(1)

to establish a replacement for the Social Fund called the “Emergency and Welfare Fund” (EWF) to support people in extreme financial difficulty;

 

(2)

that the EWF is based on the following principles. It will -

 

 

(a)

be limited to Plymouth residents only;

 

(b)

deliver goods and services from wherever is most appropriate;

 

(c)

spend the same amount of funding that the council are handed from government; 

 

(d)

broadly mirror the current Social Fund eligibility criteria (e.g. those on low  income and without access to other forms of income);

 

(e)

provide crisis and welfare responses;

 

(f)

minimise the spend on administration of the scheme so the council gets as much of the government funding as possible to people in need;

 

(g)

provide goods, services and cash;

 

(h)

apply limits to the number of awards an individual can access;

 

(3)

 

to ask the Customer and Communities Overview and Scrutiny Panel to review delivery of the EWF after six months of implementation and make any relevant recommendations. A further review to be undertaken at the end of the first year of implementation with recommendations made to Cabinet for any improvements in year two;

(4)

 

to delegate authority to the Director for People, in consultation with the Cabinet Member for Co-operatives and Community Development and Director for Corporate Services, to make any changes to the EWF within the first year, which are consistent with the principles agreed, and necessary to ensure effective budget management and / or response to customers’ needs;

(5)

 

to adopt the service model (referred to in Appendix 1 to the report) for delivery of the EWF;

 

(6)

to review, on an on-going basis, the potential for delivering some elements of the EWF via key partners (eg credit unions).

 

 

82.

Adoption of North Prospect Area Planning Statement pdf icon PDF 64 KB

Cabinet Member: Councillor Vincent.

 

The City Council will be asked to consider the Cabinet recommendation. 

Minutes 130 and 130a (of the Cabinet meeting held on 15 January 2013) and the report of the Director for Place refer.

 

Additional documents:

Minutes:

Councillor Vincent (Cabinet Member for Environment) presented the recommendations in Cabinet minute 130a on the adoption of the North Prospect Area Planning Statement.  Cabinet minute 103 and the written report of the Director for Place to Cabinet also referred.

 

Councillor Vincent thanked officers, Plymouth Community Homes, ward councillors and the community who had worked together to achieve this outcome. 

 

The proposals were seconded by Councillor Evans (Leader).

 

Agreed to adopt the North Prospect Area Planning Statement as interim planning guidance to be used in consideration of future development proposals in North Prospect.

83.

Tamar Bridge and Torpoint Ferry Joint Committee Revenue Estimates and Capital Programme pdf icon PDF 57 KB

Joint Chair of the Tamar Bridge and Torpoint Ferry Joint Committee: Councillor Coker.

 

The City Council will be asked to consider the Cabinet recommendation. 

Minutes 121 and 121a (of the Cabinet meeting held on 15 January 2013) and the report of the Director for Place refer.

 

Additional documents:

Minutes:

Councillor Evans (Leader) presented the recommendations in Cabinet minute 121a on the Tamar Bridge and Torpoint Ferry Joint Committee revenue estimates and capital programme. Cabinet minute 120 and the written report of the Director for Place to Cabinet also referred.

 

The council was advised that the proposal would require an increase in toll income to mitigate the risks but that despite recent media reports, the joint committee had not agreed any toll increases to date. Members were continuing to look at options before presenting a report to Cabinet.

 

The proposals were seconded by Councillor Wheeler.

 

Agreed to approve the revenue and capital budgets for 2013/14, as proposed by the Tamar Bridge and Torpoint Ferry Joint Committee and recommended by Cabinet.  

84.

Amendment to the Capital Programme - Windsor House Co-location with Health pdf icon PDF 72 KB

Cabinet Members: Councillor Lowry and McDonald

 

The City Council will be asked to consider the Cabinet recommendation. 

Minutes 120 and 120a (of the Cabinet meeting held on 15 January 2013) and the report of the Director for Corporate Services refer.

 

Additional documents:

Minutes:

Councillor Lowry (Cabinet Member for Finance) presented the recommendations in Cabinet minute 120a on the proposed amendment to the capital programme arising from the co-location at Windsor House with health. Cabinet minute 120 and the written report of the Director for Corporate Services to Cabinet also referred.

 

The proposals were seconded by Councillor McDonald.

 

Following a request by Councillor Bowyer for an assurance that additional parking would be available before or to coincide with the arrival of new staff, Councillor McDonald agreed to provide further information outside of the meeting.  She indicated that the issue had been recognised but that it was not a straight swap as some health staff were not essential users. Officers were currently considering the requirements.

 

Agreed the additional capital resources required to implement co-location at Windsor House with the Western Locality Clinical Commissioning Group and to amend the capital programme accordingly.

 

(Councillors Sam Leaves and Jon Taylor declared interests in the above item).

85.

Treasury Management Strategy 2012/13 - midyear review pdf icon PDF 50 KB

Chair of the Audit Committee: Councillor Wheeler.

 

The City Council will be asked to consider the Audit Committee recommendation. 

Minute 44 (of the Audit Committee meeting held on 13 December 2012) and the report of the Director for Corporate Services refer.

 

Additional documents:

Minutes:

Councillor Wheeler (Chair of the Audit Committee) presented the midyear review of the Treasury Management Strategy 2012/13 in accordance with minute 44 of the Audit Committee.  The written report of the Director for Corporate Services to the Audit Committee also referred.

 

The proposal was seconded by Councillor Lowry and the report was noted.

86.

BUSINESS RATES RETENTION SCHEME pdf icon PDF 98 KB

The City Council will be asked to consider the written report of the Director for Corporate Services on the new business rates retention scheme.  The NNDR1 Return will follow.

 

Additional documents:

Minutes:

Councillor Lowry (Cabinet Member for Finance) presented the recommendations in the written report of the Director for Corporate Services on the business rates retention scheme.   

 

Councillor Jon Taylor seconded the proposals.

 

Councillor Lowry undertook to add a monitoring paragraph into monthly monitoring reports on business rate collection and to provide further details, including the calculation, to either the Overview and Scrutiny Management Board or the Support Services Overview and Scrutiny Panel as required.

 

Councillor Mrs Aspinall indicated that she had asked for Councillor Lowry to attend the Management Board and provide more detail.

 

Agreed to –

 

(1)

approve the National Non Domestic Rates one return;

 

(2)

note the risk and volatility issues together with the opportunities around the rates retention highlighted in this report;

 

(3)

 

note the inclusion of Plymouth City Council in the Devon Rates Pool for 2013/14.

 

(Councillor Wigens having declared an interest in the above item, withdrew from the meeting)

87.

MOTIONS ON NOTICE

To consider motions from councillors in accordance with Part B, paragraph 14 of the constitution.

Additional documents:

Minutes:

There were no motions on notice for the meeting.

88.

QUESTIONS BY COUNCILLORS

Questions to the Leader, Cabinet Members and Committee Chairs covering aspects for their areas of responsibility or concern by councillors in accordance with Part B, paragraph 12 of the constitution.

Additional documents:

Minutes:

In accordance with paragraph 12 of the constitution, the following questions were asked of the Leader, Cabinet Members and Committee Chairs covering aspects of their areas of responsibility -

 

 

From

To

Subject

1

Councillor Bowyer

Councillor Peter Smith

What action was being taken to engage the public and increase public support for the City of Culture?

 

Councillor Smith responded that the announcement had only just been made and the Council would be starting to engage with the public as soon as possible.

 

2

Councillor James

Councillor Penberthy

The numbers of rough sleepers were sought in the light of adverse weather conditions and also the support provided to vulnerable people by ways of employment or some sort of training. 

 

 

Councillor Penberthy responded that he did not have the figures for the last quarter. In the first quarter, the average number seen was 4.5 people and in the second quarter, three people.  During last year there were 20 people and five in the year before.  With regard to support, there was a variety of work being undertaken with the homeless communities including the Shekinah Mission and Harbour, through pathways.  Before the council could work in a meaningful way with rough sleepers, the priority was to find people beds and hostels. The George Street hostel provided a supportive environment with a key worker attached and the Shekinah Mission had a multi agency approach.  Homelessness was part of the eight year, £10m Big Lottery fund piece of work, led by Hamoaze House on behalf of the city to further improve multiple need. There was an on going package of work that the council was continuing to offer

A written response would be provided.

 

3

Councillor Mrs Pengelly

Councillor Peter Smith

Following the removal of the subsidy for Mount Edgcumbe by Cornwall County Council, what would be the impact on the City Council and existing schemes?

 

 

Councillor Smith responded that he was looking at options with the officers and as soon as he had an answer he would contact her. He also undertook to meet with the Plymouth members of the joint committee before the next joint committee meeting.

 

4

Councillor Beer

Councillor Evans

The lift in the Theatre Royal car park had been out of order since before Xmas. When would it be reinstated?  It had been reported to her and could have an impact on income.

 

Councillor Evans asked when Councillor Mrs Beer had reported the fault.  He advised that there was adequate parking for blue badge holders on other floors. He asked the officers to respond with the scale of the problem and the plans to ensure that the lift was working properly.

A written response would be provided.

 

5

Councillor Foster

Councillor Lowry

Was the management structure being reviewed to reduce the budget and maintain frontline services?

 

 

Councillor Lowry responded that a review was being undertaken of all of the management levels and employees.

 

6

Councillor Darcy

Councillor Peter Smith

What indicators would determine the success or otherwise of the  ...  view the full minutes text for item 88.