a) Leader and Cabinet Members’ Question Time (30 minutes)
Any member of the Council may ask the Leader of the Council or any Cabinet Member any question without prior notice, upon:
· Any matter relating to the Council’s administration
· Any matter relating to any report of the Cabinet appearing on the Council’s summons
· A matter coming within their portfolio of responsibilities
Only one supplementary question is allowed per question.
c) Questions to Chairs of Meetings (15 Minutes)
Minutes:
44.1 Councillor Haigh asked the Leader of the Council whether he was aware of Marks and Spencers’ intention in regards to the Eastgate branch, in light of the announced store closures.
44.2 Councillor James explained that he had not approached Marks and Spencers directly but did not consider it likely the City Centre branch to be under threat. He commented that the City Centre Manager was in contact with the store and offered to make representation to the Company on the value of the store within the City Centre.
44.3 Councillor Haigh questioned what steps the Leader was taking to protect the City Centre.
44.4 The Leader of the Council stated that there were a number of schemes in progress to protect and revitalise the City Centre including the bus station development. He reported that LDA Design and Jones Lang LaSalle were on course to take the Kings Quarter Development scheme forward from the 1st December 2016, in addition to a Growth Deal 3 bid for improvements to the railway station and public realm submission, on which a decision was being awaited. He explained that an action plan to refresh the City Centre had been developed, which would support the City Centre and the Quays area to support and co-exist with one another.
44.5 Councillor Haigh queried what the Cabinet Member for Environment was doing to aid improvements to the community toilet scheme, noting that there were issues arising with cleanliness.
44.6 Councillor Cook (Cabinet Member for Environment) acknowledged that this was a complex issue which officers would be considering over the course of the next few months.
44.7 Councillor Haigh commented that MGL, who undertook a large portion of signage with the City Centre, were not advertising the community toilet scheme.
44.8 Councillor Cook advised that shops and venues were given badges to display and confirmed that officers would be asked to take action if it became apparent that these were being damaged or defaced.
44.9 Councillor Hilton thanked the Cabinet for Environment for attending a walkabout with himself and Councillor Brazil in the Kingsholm and Wotton ward and questioned why the City Council did not place a bid with DEFRA (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs) for funding to improve air quality by the 23rd November 2016 deadline.
44.10 Councillor Cook explained that the City Council had originally put together a joint bid with Gloucestershire County Council, who had decided at a late stage to instead submit a joint application with Cheltenham Borough Council, leaving little time for officers to develop a new sole bid.
44.11 Councillor Hilton noted that Gloucestershire County Council had written to four authorities, including Gloucester City Council and Cheltenham Borough Council to invite expressions of interest, to which only Cheltenham Borough Council had responded. He queried why there had been a delay in the City Council responding, stating that this was a failure on behalf of residents living in the City.
44.12 Councillor Cook advised that the City Council had expressed an interest in a joint bid with the County Council, but ultimately Cheltenham Borough Council had been successful as they had a more advanced proposal.
44.13 Councillor Hilton referenced Councillor Kathy Williams’ response to a question at a Gloucestershire County Council Cabinet meeting on the 16th November 2016, in her role as Cabinet Member for Long Term Care, that there had been no statistical increase in homeless figures over the past few years. He queried what action would be taken to tackle these issues as the weather continued to get colder.
44.14 Councillor Organ (Cabinet Member for Housing and Planning) explained that the latest figures demonstrated a reduction from 23 to 16 people rough sleeping within the City Centre. He thanked Members who attended a presentation on homelessness and housing on the 30th November where this issue was discussed. He acknowledged that homelessness was a complex issue involving multiple factors including substance misuse. He welcomed the multi-agency collaboration aimed at tackling issues related to homelessness and providing assistance to those in need. He reported that the City Council had recently acquired additional accommodation to house those individuals sleeping rough on the streets in addition to remodelling existing units in order improve standards. He concluded by explaining that the Homelessness Reduction Bill 2016-17, aimed at reducing homelessness was currently being debated in in Parliament.
44.15 Councillor Hilton advised that he had attended the presentation on the 30th November 2016 and found the session to be informative. He noted that, following the closure of the Gloucester Night Shelter, the charity P3 had been awarded the contract for emergency housing provision with 8 beds in Gloucester. He stated that Councillor Kathy Williams had responded to question 13 of the supplementary questions at the meeting of Gloucestershire County Council’s Cabinet on the 16th November 2016, that she was satisfied with the contract for emergency provision of homeless people within Gloucester. He questioned whether the Cabinet Member for Housing and Planning agreed with this statement and considered the number of beds sufficient, in light of the increase in people sleeping rough based on a local estimated count on the 19th October 2016.
44.16 Councillor Organ acknowledged the hard work undertaken by GEAR in running the Night Shelter but noted that evidence suggested that putting a group of highly vulnerable clients in one setting was not appropriate and was not a model that the Department of Communities and Local Government promoted. He reported that the revised model for emergency housing aimed to help genuine vulnerable individuals. He confirmed that he believed the provision was sufficient but sympathised with the argument that more could be done to aid these individuals.
44.17 Councillor Hyman asked the Leader of the Council what the intentions were behind a new public toilet facility in Westgate Street, following the Council’s commitment in 2014 to align the relocation of the Tourist Information Centre (TIC) to 26 Westgate Street with the provision of new public toilet facilities in the area.
44.18 Councillor James explained that the original intention to bring 26 Westgate Street back into use by relocating the TIC, had since been superseded by the Gloucester Antiques Centre proposals, who now occupied the building. He reported that the lease over the existing TIC building had now expired and a review on the future shape of the proposals was currently being explored.
44.19 Councillor Hyman questioned whether this meant that a public toilet facility would not delivered in Westgate street.
44.20 Councillor James noted that a public toilet facility was already in existence in Westgate Coach and Car Park and advised that additional public toilet facilities would be delivered as part of the bus station proposals.
44.21 Councillor Smith asked the Cabinet Member for Communities and Neighbourhoods whether she could provide assurance that the original deadline of the 31st March 2017 for submission of nominations for the Councillors’ Community Fund would be honoured.
44.22 Councillor Watkins (Cabinet Member for Communities and Neighbourhoods) advised that following criticism in the previous year of delays in groups receiving funding, Members were encouraged to submit their nominations as soon as practicable. She confirmed that the 31st March 2017 remained the final deadline noting that early submissions would prevent additional strain on officers in processing the applications in a timely manner.
44.23 In response to Councillor Smith’s query of why there had been delays in groups receiving their funding in the previous year, Councillor Watkins advised that she had not received any complaints from Members personally. She confirmed that she would investigate the issue with officers, noting that the issue may have related to problems encountered with the new PAYE system.
44.24 Councillor D. Brown asked the Leader of the Council whether he could provide assurance that the date for Council in November 2017 would not be amended to accommodate the Believe in Gloucester Awards, as in previous years.
44.25 Councillor James acknowledged the frustration that this caused and reported that he had spoken to the organisers of the event who had scheduled the event for the 30th November 2017 to prevent a clash with the scheduled Council meeting.
44.26 Councillor Tracey informed the Cabinet Member for Communities and Neighbourhoods that her nominated recipient for last year’s Councillors’ Community Fund had only recently received their payment and questioned what action would be taken to prevent a re-occurrence.
44.27 Councillor Watkins stated that she did not expect the process to be difficult or lengthy and that it had been created to promote and support the excellent work of community groups. She re-iterated that she would discuss the situation with officers to understand the difficulties of the previous year and noted that there had since been considerable improvements on the administration of the fund.
44.28 Councillor Pullen welcomed the success of the Mayor and Young People’s conference. He commented that the motion passed by this Council on the 18th March 2015 had seen no definitive action and requested assurance from the Cabinet Member for Communities and Neighbourhoods that the Council would proceed with the implementation as outlined in the motion.
44.29 Councillor Watkins encouraged greater youth involvement, noting that a proposal would need to be put forward by the young people on how they would like to proceed. She reported that a budget had been set aside to support the proposals put forward and thanked the Mayor and organisers for the invitation to the event.
44.30 Councillor Pullen questioned whether the Cabinet Member would commit officer resource to the project.
44.31 Councillor Watkins advised that until the proposal had been submitted she was unable to commit officer resource to the project.
44.32 Councillor Stephens asked the Cabinet Member for Housing and Planning whether the Council had a contingency plan for the Joint Core Strategy as it currently relied on Tewkesbury Borough Council’s officers getting their Members to agree on the plans for Twigworth, which was unlikely.
44.33 Councillor Organ disagreed with this statement, advising that officers at Tewkesbury Borough Council were working with their Members to resolve the concerns related to flooding. He reported that a new proposal was being worked on which it was anticipated that Tewkesbury Borough Council would agree. He commented that in the unlikely event the JCS did not progress forward, the Council would proceed with an individual proposal.
44.34 Councillor Stephens stated that the Administration did not seem to have a well-developed contingency plan reflecting that of the Government’s position on Brexit.
44.35 Councillor Organ disputed this comment noting that the City Council were confident with the proposals and had therefore decided to pursue the City Plan, which was reliant on the adoption of the JCS.