Question No

Question By

Cabinet Member

Subject

1 10/11

Mr F Sharpe

CouncillorBrookshaw

Plymstock swimming pool.

Please could Plymstock residents receive an update regarding a proposed site and building of a Plymstock swimming pool.  If nothing is currently set in stone please could arrangements be made for a public meeting in Plymstock to help move this project forward.  Thanks.

Response:

As has been previously stated the Council has published its Swimming Pool Facilities Strategy 2006-2016 which clearly states that the provision of a swimming pool for the east of the city, including Plymstock, will be part of the development within the City Council boundary at Sherford.  This will be largely funded from the developer contributions and thus provide an extremely cost-effective solution to servicing the needs of the Plymstock, Elburton and Sherford communities.

Question No

Question By

Cabinet Member

Subject

2 10/11

Mr J C Emery

CouncillorBrookshaw

Locality Working

Five months after Council approved Locality Working and the decommissioning of Area Committees, when will Locality Working

• Be implemented?
• Co-ordination Teams appointed?
• Members and procedures for PACT meetings published?
• The operational structure published?
• Ward councillors and electorate informed?
• Cabinet and scrutiny responsibilities defined?

Response:

Locality working is being implemented (from June 2010). The first round of Neighbourhood meetings is almost completed and Locality Teams appointed, led by senior managers.

Neighbourhood meetings (based on the PACT model) do not have “members”. They are public meetings at which priorities are identified, facilitated by the police and the council, and to which ward councillors are invited. Procedures are explained at the meetings.

The arrangements for Localities working is described in the report published with the agenda for the cabinet meeting on 19^th January 2010 (which contains diagrams and maps).

Ward councillors are being invited to neighbourhood meetings as part of the process and these meetings are also advertised by the police so that members of the public can attend. Details of meetings which have been arranged can be found on Devon & Cornwall Constabulary’s website. Further updates on Locality working will be issued eg on websites and via the media, as appropriate.

Cabinet and Full Council were responsible for agreeing Locality working in January / February 2010, following consideration of recommendations from the Overview & Scrutiny Management Board. The Board will shortly consider a recommendation to undertake further Scrutiny of Localities implementation during 2010/11.

Locality working is new and evolving. Not all aspects are fully functional yet but we expect it to evolve and grow over time.  

Question No

Question By

Cabinet Member

Subject

3 10/11

Mr J C Emery

Councillor Bowyer

Decommissioning of Area Committees

The decommissioning of Area Committees involved the loss of the franchise to question elected members in open forum on highway matters, traffic orders, street naming, planning, corporate plans, works, goods, services, spending plans on playgrounds and on planning matters.  Why are these functions not available under Locality Working?

Response:

Locality working is a new approach to delivering services in a joined up way for the customer and improving the way we engage with communities across the city. The neighbourhood meetings (based on the "PACT" model) which are now being held, jointly hosted by the police and the council, allow the public to identify priorities in each of Plymouth's 43 neighbourhoods. Our consultation showed that there is overwhelming support for public engagement at the neighbourhood level.

Ward councillors are invited to the neighbourhood meetings and can also raise issues with the relevant service or team. 

In addition, councillors can be held to account by questioning them directly on ward matters. All members can be contacted by letter and via e-mail through following the links on the Council’s website, and also, many councillors hold “surgeries” where ward issues can be raised.

Further, it is open for residents to write directly to the Leader and Cabinet members on particular issues of concern.

Finally, a member of the public can ask questions or speak at Planning, Licensing and Cabinet meetings as well as using this present process where the public can raise questions at Council.

Given the above, I do not accept that the decommissioning of Area Committees has led to “the loss of the franchise to question elected members in open forum on highway matters, traffic orders, street naming, planning, corporate plans, works, goods, services, spending plans on playgrounds and on planning matters.”