Agenda item

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, Ballard House, West Hoe Road, Plymouth, PL1 3BJ, or email to democraticsupport@plymouth.gov.uk. Any questions must be received at least five complete working days before the meeting.

Minutes:

There were three questions submitted by members of the public.

 

The following question was submitted by Mr M Surtees and answered by Councillor Richard Bingley (Leader of the Council) -

 

Question: Can you please tell us what happened to the money that was allocated to St Budeaux for their public toilets and can you please explain why this money has gone? Can you then explain how there now is money for Mutley Plain to get a face-lift? 

Answer: The Community Grant Funding of £10,800 from three ward councillors has not been lost, the money has been held in Council reserves ready for drawdown once the additional funding can be secured.

 

Building new public toilets is expensive and the councillor contributions did not cover the full cost of the works.

 

Unfortunately the contributions were made before a business case had been agreed and without the administration then in control allocating funding in the capital programme to cover the additional costs.

 

A subsequent business case showed the fees needed to cover the additional costs would have been 40 pence per use. This was rejected on the grounds that it would be unfair to charge residents in St Budeaux double the cost of using other public conveniences in the city.

 

Alternative options are being developed now the 2022/23 budget has been approved. In the meantime, the councillor contributions from their community grants remain available for this use.

 

Mutley Plain has been funded from the Government’s ERDF Welcome Back Fund. This fund has been given to councils across England to support the safe return to high streets and help build back better from the pandemic.

 

the following question was submitted by Ms Karen Hagerty and answered by Councillor Richard Bingley (Leader of the Council) -

Question: We looked at the PCC website section 'How my council tax is spent'. The information there and on our council tax bills is insufficiently clear.

 

Where it states 'Plymouth City Council' could you detail what Plymouth City Council is spending that portion of our council tax on please?

 

 

Response: please refer to the response below.

A

B

C

D

E

F

G

H

Plymouth City Council Bands

£1,113.25

£1,298.80

£1,484.34

£1,669.88

£2,040.96

£2,412.05

£2,783.13

£3,339.76

Caring For Adults

£467.56

£545.49

£623.43

£701.34

£857.19

£1,013.08

£1,168.92

£1,402.69

Helping Children & Young People

£289.45

£337.69

£385.93

£434.17

£530.65

£627.13

£723.61

£868.34

Planning and Building New homes

£11.13

£12.99

£14.84

£16.70

£20.41

£24.12

£27.83

£33.40

Collecting Rubbish and Recycling, Looking after our green spaces

£77.93

£90.92

£103.90

£116.89

£142.87

£168.84

£194.82

£233.78

Fixing and Maintaining roads, street lighting and on public transport

£44.53

£51.95

£59.37

£66.80

£81.64

£96.48

£111.33

£133.59

Culture, Leisure and Economic Development

£22.27

£25.98

£29.69

£33.40

£40.82

£48.24

£55.66

£66.80

Running the council and holding elections

£100.19

£116.89

£133.59

£150.29

£183.69

£217.08

£250.48

£300.58

Helping people keep well and stay healthy

£89.06

£103.90

£118.75

£133.59

£163.28

£192.96

£222.65

£267.18

To run libraries, registration services and maintaining trading standards

£11.13

£12.99

£14.84

£16.70

£20.41

£24.12

£27.83

£33.40

 

the following question was submitted by Ms Ann Marie Lannin and answered by Councillor Richard Bingley (Leader of the Council) -

 

Question: We note that central government funding of over £128 million was spent on Covid, including 'Covid enforcement measures'. How does PCC justify this spending given that in March 2020 Covid was downgraded from a High Consequence Disease?

 

Response: There is a specific definition of a High Consequence Infectious Disease, which includes for example that the disease is difficult to identify and diagnose, and has a very high case fatality rate. It is correct to say that Covid-19 was declassified as a HCID, however this does not imply that it did not have the potential to spread easily and to cause significant morbidity and mortality and therefore mitigations were required.