From

To

Subject

1

Councillor Mrs Bowyer

Councillor Vincent

She referred to a missed bin in the Eggbuckland Ward and her conversation with a member of staff. Was it true that there were insufficient refuse vehicles?

She was advised that the vehicle would return on Monday and it did not return until Friday.  If there are not enough vehicles how successful would the reorganisation be?

Response:

Cllr Vincent responded ‘No’ .

He accepted that the department needed to respond more efficiently but that following the last reorganisation there was an instance of waiting 13 weeks for a bin to be collected.  He emphasised that any reorganisation would have minor issues and that if details were provided to him he would look into it.  He urged councillors to contact him as soon as possible with any queries.

2

Councillor Parker Delaz Ajete

Councillor Penberthy

With reference to the question by Councillor Mrs Beer at the last Council meeting on Plympton Guildhall, was there any further information?

Response:

Councillor Penberthy responded that Plympton Guildhall was one of 14 active community asset transfer files. It had now been registered with the charity commission, the draft terms of the lease had been sent and the transfer was moving forward.  He had raised the issue with the Friends of Plympton Guildhall and they had responded that Councillor Mrs Beer was not a member, they understood the budget restraints and they were not concerned at the present state of the guildhall in terms of the handover.   

3

Councillor Bowyer

Councillor Evans

Had lessons been learnt and action taken following the shortcomings of exercise short sermon which had attracted adverse national coverage? 

Was the Temeraire Room still fully operational?

Response:

Councillor Evans responded that it was not his portfolio and that Councillor Peter Smith was the portfolio holder.

4

Councillor Hendy

Councillor Lowry

What was the latest update on the staff move to Ballard House?

When did he think that an announcement would be made?

Response:

Councillor Lowry responded that the majority of staff had now moved and about 70 people were left in the Civic Centre who would be moving in the next few months.  Officers had been actively engaging with the market for a solution for the Civic Centre building and he was working with officers to conclude the exercise.

He further responded that it was important to get the right proposal and to ensure that it was deliverable and he hoped to make an announcement in the next two weeks.

5

Councillor Fry

Councillor Peter Smith

Was it true that the outdoor ice rink would not be operating in the City Centre next winter?

A written response was sought.

Response:

Councillor Smith responded that it was not his responsibility as it was run by the City Centre Company and that he did not sit on the City Centre Company.

6

Councillor Dr Mahony

Councillor Coker

Are you aware of the problems with costing projects funded from the Living Streets budget?

Peverell councillors were still waiting for costings so that they knew what budget was left, which was causing a big delay.

Response: 

Councillor Coker responded that he was not aware of the issue.  The scheme was due for review following the completion of a year and with the agreement of the Chair of scrutiny, he would be coming to scrutiny to look at how living streets could be improved.  He undertook to look into the circumstances of the individual instance.

7

Councillor Rennie

Councillor Stevens

Would he apologise on behalf of the previous administration for the belated Xmas present for residents at Devonport, Keyham and Barne Barton?

Would use all his persuasive powers to convince the previous administration to apologise for the incinerator.

Response: 

Councillor Stevens indicated that he was only responsible from May 2012.  The application had been decided in December 2011.  It needed the former Conservative administration to apologise for the incinerator.  

He did not have the powers to influence them but it was no surprise to him that the Conservatives were voted out soon after. 

8

Councillor Jordan

Councillors Peter Smith and Evans

After hosting a successful America’s Cup in Plymouth, why did we not bid for the next one, next year?

Why did no one know what was going on in the city, when it was being promoted in Portsmouth?  How could he let it slip?

Response: 

Councillor Smith responded that he didn’t know that it was up. They were concentrating on getting the Transat race but that the America’s Cup was expensive last time.  He undertook to make enquiries.

Councillor Evans added that Plymouth got the event cheaper last time. They had been talking with America’s Cup and other events.  Plymouth had got Transat next time and in 2020, but he was not saying that America’s Cup would not come back to Plymouth.

He offered to brief Councillor Jordan on the reasons and emphasised it was not anybody’s fault, it was the circumstances. 

9

Councillor Casey

Councillor  Stevens

Can you explain the meaning of predetermination for councillors attending the Planning Committee and before deciding on planning applications?

Were applications discussed in the Labour Group room? In a meeting of members it was apparent that when the application for the incinerator was discussed, it was predetermined.  The Leader had already printed leaflets with seven to six to the Tories. 

Response:

Councillor Stevens indicated that the definition had changed under the Localism Act. Councillors were permitted to predetermine applications and vote on those.  Councillors were allowed to give an indication of feeling at that time provided they were prepared to have their mind changed when hearing information at the meeting.  A predisposition but open to persuasion.  If they were not prepared to have their mind changed, it was deemed to be predetermined and they were unable to take part. 

In the time that he had served as a Chair, Vice Chair and lead opposition member for the Planning Committee, no political instruction had been given to any Labour councillors to his knowledge, or orders, or whipping of any description.  He urged Councillor Casey to get the facts correct in terms of any leaflets printed in advance of the incinerator decision saying seven to six to the conservatives, as at the time there were only five opposition members on the committee.  

10

Councillor Morris

Councillor Vincent

Could he confirm that the cards and stickers giving the new days for bin collections had been distributed in Glenholt?  The reason being that he had to move the green bin of the leader of the opposition and Councillor Mrs Bowyer so that it was not causing an obstruction.

Response:

Councillor Vincent responded that he assumed that they had been and that there was a phone number on the bottom of them for any queries. 

11

Councillor Evans

Councillor Stevens

With regard to pages 10 and 11 of the Council agenda relating to the minutes of the last meeting, had he, as Chair of the Constitutional Review Group, received any representations from Councillor Darcy on this since the last Council meeting?

Had he received any representations from the seconder of the amendment?

Response:

Councillor Stevens responded that he had not received one request to be submitted to the Constitutional Review Group since 24 November 2014.  He indicated that he was always available and would facilitate any serious proposal. 

12

Councillor Bowyer

Councillor Peter Smith

What was the latest position with the dispute by staff of Customer Services?

Does paying the living wage promote flexibility? Is that an example of that? 

Response:

Councillor Smith responded that the matter was still ongoing.  He could not get involved with the negotiations and could not discuss it in the Chamber.

David Shepperd ruled the supplementary question out of order as it was not related to the original question.

13

Councillor Foster

Councillor Coker

Is there an up to date register of all accidents on the roundabouts in Plymouth?

Could all councillors have access to the register?

Response:

Councillor Coker responded that there was a record in the Council of all serious accidents on all of the roads. He was not aware whether it was broken down into roundabouts but they had all the statistics of accidents on the city.  If he asked the relevant officer he was convinced that they would give him those statistics as they were a public record.

14

Councillor Hendy

Councillor Vincent

What were the current figures for recycling and landfill in the city?

Was the collection of Xmas trees a success?

Response:

Councillor Vincent responded that up to November 2014, recycling had increased to 36.4% to 26706 tonnes, an increase of 1070 tonnes.  For landfill it had decreased by 234 tonnes from 46774 to 47008 tonnes.

Just over 6000 trees had been collected amounting to 10 tonnes of trees to be recycled.

15

Councillor Mike Leaves

Councillor Lowry

If the incinerator was delayed by approximately three months, how would it affect the budget at the moment?

The question was asked again with the addition of bearing in mind the costs of barristers and also how much did it cost to put the leaflets out?

Response:

Councillor Lowry responded that the budget was continually amended and a forecast of income was shown in the monitoring report, every month.  Each delay is recorded.

The leaflets were Labour Group business. With regard to the impact on the budget, the information was in the budget books and was somewhere in the region of £50,000 per month. 

16

Councillor Rennie

Councillor Vincent

What action was being taken, when posters for flyposting were ripped down leaving plastic tags that were dangerous and causing harm to people?

Was he aware of an incident where a lady had caught her eye with one of the tags and immediate action was being sought for the removal of the tags from the lampposts?

Response:

Councillor Vincent responded that he was aware of the problems. He was in discussions with officers and Councillor Coker and officers were contacting other Councils to see if they had similar issues and how they had resolved them. The outcome would be included in the debate.

17

Councillor Lowry

Councillor Evans

Why had he not been asked for funds for the Americas Cup?

Was he aware that George Osborne, or any member of the government, had made money available to Plymouth to support the events programme?

Response:

Councillor Evans referred to conversations with the Sir Ben Ainslie Racing Team.  The venue for America’s Cup was dictated by the location of Sir Ben Ainslie racing which was located in Portsmouth.  There was no bidding process. However the costs would have been different this year in comparison with the previous event.  The government had given Regional Growth Funding to Portsmouth to enable the race.  He indicated that he would be asking the government why Portsmouth had received funding for the race, why Plymouth had not been offered any and would be seeking support for the events programme in Plymouth.

18

Councillor Casey

Councillor Rennie

If she wanted to hold an event and sell alcohol where there was a closed bar, would she be allowed to do so using their licence without having a licence herself?

An officer had informed her that if the bar was closed, the licence holder should be present.  At a recent fund raising event by the Labour Group, were they above the licensing law?

Response:

Councillor Rennie responded that she already had an answer from the officers.

He indicated that the licensing regulations stated that a Designated Premises Supervisor was not necessary on licenced premises. It was legal and they had covered themselves.   

19

Councillor Nicholson

Councillor Peter Smith

Could he explain why the principle of co-operative working had failed in the resolution of the Customer Services dispute?

Could he advise what the financial risks were by not resolving this? 

Response:

Councillor Smith responded that the negotiations were ongoing and had not failed. He was meeting again tomorrow and were hoping to resolve it. 

20

Councillor Stevens

Councillor Peter Smith

Did he agree that resolving differences with the workforce were best done in the Council Chamber or done by careful negotiations by professionals?  How many requests had he had for a position statement and, since he took up post, how many Trades’ Unions had been derecognised?

Would he make a commitment that he would not derecognise Trades’ Unions and who was responsible?

Response:

Councillor Smith responded that he had been keeping the Leader of the Opposition informed and had received his support by email. He was still in conversation and hoping to resolve the dispute.

He gave a categoric assurance that as a Trade Union representative, he would not derecognise Trade Unions as Councillor Bowyer had done so in 2011 by derecognising Unison.

21

Councillor Mike Leaves

Councillor Vincent

Could he categorically say that the fumes from the chimney of the Energy From Waste Plant were not toxic and were of no harm to anybody?

Was he happy now, with all of his knowledge, that restrictions had been put in place and there were no worrries about the plant or toxic fumes?

Response:

Councillor Vincent responded that extra monitors had been put in place so that they had a before and after position.  If there was an increase anywhere across the city, then it would be addressed.  They had a responsibility for all residents, and the direction of fumes depended on the atmospheric conditions and the winds etc.

He indicated that no one would be happy with any form of pollution and it would be monitored continually.