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:
41.1 Councillor Pullen (Leader of the Labour Group) referred to the Property Investment Strategy for the Council to invest up to £80 million in property and requested an update. Councillor D.Norman (Cabinet Member for Performance and Resources) responded by advising that the Board had been set up and would meet for the first time on 30th November. He confirmed that no decisions had been made to date.
41.2 Councillor Pullen noted the recent rise in interest rates and the gloomy economic outlook and questioned whether the Council should reconsider the strategy. Councillor D. Norman reiterated that the Board had yet to meet for the first time and assured Members that professional advice would be taken.
41.3 Councillor Pullen noted that a General Election could be called at any time and asked if Democratic and Electoral Services were ready. Councillor D. Norman assured Members that the team was perfectly ready and able to deal with such an eventuality.
41.4 Councillor Pullen noted that the most senior elections officer had left the Council following the recent restructure and the replacement had subsequently left leaving a potential shortage of skills. Councillor D. Norman advised that the recruitment period would end on Friday and he believed that there were at least two candidates.
41.5 Councillor Hilton (Leader of the Liberal Democrat Group) asked if the expenditure of £100,000 on a stained glass window for the new bus station was a good use of public money. Councillor James (Leader of the Council and Cabinet Member for Regeneration and Economy) responded that public art was in the conditions attached to the planning consent for the bus station and he noted that it was funded by Government monies rather than local taxpayers and added that achieving high quality was an important part of the Council’s regeneration journey.
41.6 Councillor Hilton asked if there were any other public art projects envisaged. Councillor James advised that the railway triangle planning permission included a planning obligation to provide public art which would be funded by the private sector.
41.7 Councillor Hilton noted that Gloucester Heritage Urban Regeneration Company had prepared a Public Art Strategy in 2006 and asked if the City Council should publish a City-wide public art strategy with the review of the policy as a starting point. Councillor James undertook to consider a strategy but did not consider it to be a matter of urgency.
41.8 Councillor Hilton suggested that one per cent of project cost for public art would be a good starting point for a new strategy and asked if the Leader of the Council agreed with him. Councillor James stated that he would not support an inflexible policy in cases where there were viability issues.
41.9 Councillor Haigh noted that today had marked the start of sixteen days of Action Against Domestic Violence and asked if the Cabinet Member for Communities and Neighbourhoods would be signing the pledge. Councillor Watkins (Cabinet Member for Communities and Neighbourhoods) stated that she would be delighted to sign the pledge and, subject to her availability, would attend some events. Councillor Haigh requested that Members be informed of the planned events.
41.10 Councillor Coole asked how many homeless families were in temporary accommodation and how many of those were housed outside the City. Councillor Organ (Cabinet Member for Housing and Planning responded that 84 homeless applications had been completed, 114 people were in temporary accommodation and there were fifteen rough sleepers.
41.11 Councillor Coole referred to recent press reports regarding an issue in his ward where people had been placed in accommodation where there was blood on the walls and had subsequently been moved to Bristol and he asked if this was acceptable. Councillor Organ responded that the matter was an ongoing complaint with the possibility of legal proceedings so he was unable to comment on the case.
41.12 Councillor Fearn referred to the emergency fund for repairs to the Council’s Grade l listed buildings and asked why it had not been applied to the Gloucester Life Museum. Councillor James replied that the budget for repairs to historic buildings was under pressure which was why the Council was exploring the option of transferring the Life Museum building to the Gloucester Historic Buildings Trust. Councillor Noakes (Cabinet Member for Culture and leisure) advised that the Gloucester Life Museum building was Grade ll listed and a survey had been undertaken with the report expected this week.
41.13 Councillor Stephens referred to his question at the previous meeting (Minute 29.8) regarding City Protection Officers and stated that he not received the further details which he been promised. Councillor Watkins apologised for the oversight and undertook to ensure that he would receive the particulars. She advised that the City Protection Officers were making a good impact and receiving good publicity.
41.14 Councillor Wilson noted that there had been 1,626 incidents of fly-tipping in the City and following the introduction of fixed penalty notices in January only four or five such notices had been issued. He asked if it was the intention to take no action if a fixed penalty notice could not be issued. Councillor Cook (Cabinet Member for Environment) advised that had been recent successful prosecutions and more were expected. He stated that in instances of small amounts of fly-tipping, Amey were just asked to remove the waste.