Agenda item

(i)        Questions on Notice to the Executive:-

 

None received for this meeting.

 

(ii)          Questions without Notice to the Executive and the Chairs of Committees.

A.     Questions on Notice

 

No questions on Notice from Elected Members had been received for this meeting.

 

B.     Questions Without Notice

 

In accordance with Council Procedure Rule 15.2, the Chair of Council sought questions from Elected Members during Question Time.

 

A.     Questions to the Mayor of Doncaster, Ros Jones

 

Q.   Councillor Ian Pearson asked the following question:-

 

“I am appalled at the behaviour of the local Conservative MP, Nick Fletcher, and his ‘Trumpesque’ attitude to the storm and the bad weather at the moment by using it as a photo opportunity.

 

A year ago, my colleagues and I along with residents, met with him and he promised that he would do all he could and vote for everything to support the improvements for flooding and other green and blue issues.  I suspect that without the hard work and leadership of my colleague, Councillor Lani-Mae Ball, we would not be in the position we are today.  I would like to hear your feelings about this unacceptable attitude of this MP to make out he has done everything to help residents or contacted any of them during the flooding in Conisbrough and Denaby?”

 

A.   The Mayor of Doncaster, Ros Jones, gave the following response:-

 

“We have all been out there assisting with the latest flood alerts we have had, and again, I would like to pay tribute to our staff who have been working 24/7.  Nothing should be used as a photo opportunity; it should be about working together to get the funding for Doncaster, and as an MP, I would hope that their motives would be about bringing funding to Doncaster.  They have the ability to vote on many things going through Parliament; voting against providing free school meals through the holidays; that did not happen, it took us to move it forward.  We actually got the proposal for Universal Credit payments dropped.  The latest figures I have indicate the Universal Credit payments are being made to over 9,000 people in Don Valley and over 35,000 within the Borough.  Therefore, I ask that they work alongside of all our Councillors to get the best for the Borough.  It is deplorable if they do not take the residents’ views into account when voting.”

 

In accordance with Council Procedure Rule 15.7, Councillor Ian Pearson asked the following supplementary question:-

 

Q. “Is there anything we can do to bring this MP to account with regard to him failing to do what he promised to do for our residents.  I feel that he has lied to our residents about what he was going to do for them.  I think it is despicable to mislead people who are in such distress and worry over the last 12 months?”

 

A.The Mayor gave the following response:-

 

“Regular meetings are taking place between our Officers and our MP’s.  We will continue to write to them to ask them to support us in lobbying for different things.  I ask that all three MPs support us rather than just one or two.  We need a united front to bring funding to Doncaster, for example, the Hospital.  We have been working on this for in excess of three years.  Please join us to lobby Government to bring the Hospital and the training that the residents of this Borough deserve.”

 

Q.Councillor Susan Durant asked the following question:-

 

“The local Conservative MP for Don Valley recently stated that Doncaster Council is to receive an additional £11m in funding for the next financial year; is this correct and if so, what are the plans for this extra funding?”

 

A.The Mayor gave the following response:-

 

“To put it simply no, it is not correct in the slightest.  The vast majority of potential extra funding, roughly £8.6m, would be if we were to increase Council Tax by 5%.  So, the actual increase in funding from Government is less than £3m, which does not even cover inflationary or price increase pressures.

 

I can guarantee that we will not be increasing Council Tax by the 5%, which has been encouraged by Government and my reason is because as Council Tax increases, it hits the most vulnerable.”

 

In accordance with Council Procedure Rule 15.7, Councillor Susan Durant asked the following supplementary question:-

 

Q.   “Thank you for setting the record straight and I appreciate your honesty in relation to the difficulty of setting a budget following 10 years of cuts.

 

I find it completely hypocritical of the local Conservative Group, who have always voted against increasing Council Tax by our considerably smaller increases over the past years.

 

Do you believe that the local Conservatives actually want to put Council Tax up by 5% at a time when local people and families are struggling or that they did not understand what they were putting out or that they were purposely trying to mislead the people of Doncaster?”

 

A.   The Mayor gave the following response:-

 

“Unfortunately, that is not a question that I can answer.  I would hope that it is a simple misunderstanding rather than them trying to purposely mislead the people of Doncaster, but mistakes like this are likely to happen when they simply toe their party line and publish central Conservative communication rather than standing up for Doncaster and challenging their national party and Government to properly fund public services, including Doncaster Council, in order for us to provide the level of services that our residents and businesses deserve.

 

You will see that we are being asked to increase the Adult Social Care levy by 3%.  This should have been taken into account when we have been promised a Green Paper for many years by successive Conservative Governments, and we are still waiting.  This is a national requirement and not something that should be placed on Local Authorities.”

 

Q.   Councillor Nick Allen asked the following question:-

 

“Do you feel that using Mayor’s Question Time to answer partisan jibes is a sensible approach to Local Government at this time when we ought to be pulling together?”

 

A.   The Mayor gave the following response:-

 

“I believe we are pulling together.  However, when questions are asked of me, whoever asks the question, it would be wrong of me not to answer them, but I would also state that when people are putting things out, making false statements, they are raising concerns amongst residents who are very worried, and they are stating that there is a further £11m coming in; please check the facts before you put such statements out because they are wrong.”

 

Q.   Councillor Cynthia Ransome asked the following question:-

 

“Regarding your tweet about every Chemist doing Covid injections, why do you not take advice from the NHS medical professionals.  For example, we have five Public Health Mass Immunisation Hub Centres; are these Chemists suitable.  Your tweet is misleading and therefore, how do you resolve the anxiety caused to the residents?”

 

A.   The Mayor gave the following response:-

 

“The tweet is actually saying that Chemists can supplement the five areas we have got doing the vaccinations.  It is giving people alternatives in order to get the vaccinations that they require, but they will have to stand in line.  We have seen misleading statements nationally advising people to travel long distances and we have already discussed this earlier, people can wait to get them locally and I would concur with that statement.”

 

In accordance with Council Procedure Rule 15.7, Councillor Cynthia Ransome asked the following supplementary question:-

 

Q.   “Are these Chemists suitable that you are suggesting and also, is this a political manoeuver?”

 

A.   The Mayor gave the following response:-

 

“It is not a political manoeuvre.  This is stating that we want to get the vaccinations out as quickly as possible in the right environment, and if you look at many of the very large Chemists, they are suitable for undertaking such work, as many Chemists are employed to do the Flu vaccinations.”

 

Q.   Councillor Jane Cox asked the following question:-

 

“As a matter of clarity, when questions are not on notice and you are not aware of them, how can you be reading from a script and have all the information at your fingertips; it just seems a little staged to me when we are going through what we are going through.  It just seems to be let’s slate the Conservative Party today.  I want it on record that I think it is quite distasteful.  I have never sat here and mentioned your MPs or all the things that they do and don’t do?”

 

A.   The Mayor gave the following response:-

 

“I have many things at my fingertips in order to answer questions that may or may not come up.  I can quote the numbers of Universal Credits because it is one thing that I am very aware of, so I will always answer questions that come in where I can and if I cannot answer them, a written response will be given.”

 

Q.   Councillor Majid Kahn asked the following question:-

 

“You confirmed that the Cabinet and our Officers are doing a fantastic job in briefing you and keeping you up to date which allows you to respond to questions and points which are put forward, and you probably have binders full of documents under your desk that you refer to when you respond to questions without notice?”

 

A.   The Mayor gave the following response:-

 

“As I said, I have always got numerous notes here in front of me because there are many issues which we need the facts and figures at our fingertips.  I will not show you, but there are papers all over my desk with different facts and figures, but thank you for reminding people that we have got great Officers and we are given the information we require along with my Cabinet Members, who can answer many of your questions.”

 

In accordance with Council Procedure Rule 15.7, Councillor Majid Kahn asked the following supplementary question:-

 

Q.   “In relation to the MPs and the input they give, is it possible for the Mayor to write to the MP who has been mentioned, to clarify his position on further funding and how he is representing the people of Doncaster?”

 

A.   The Mayor gave the following response:-

 

“We continue to write to all our MPs asking them to support the different avenues of getting funding.  We are looking for their backing and I will make the same comment again, the new Hospital, supporting our bid for the Free Port and many other things, so we will continue to write to them.”

 

Q.   Councillor Steve Cox asked the following question:-

 

“When are the Rule 16 decisions going to be rolled out.  If the Elections go ahead as predicted, we could be in Purdah, so when do all the residents see the decisions that have been made under Rule 16?”

 

A.   The Mayor gave the following response:-

 

“I believe Rule 16 documents are available for people to see.  They do not have to go through the normal procedures.  Most of them are for accepting individual amounts of monies and grants coming forward, and putting that money out to our businesses and our people in order to alleviate them from the effects of the pandemic.  All the Rule 16 decisions are there and available for people to see them.  If you have any queries or if the answer I have given needs supplementing, you can go to the Director of Corporate Resources who will be able to supply them to you.”

 

In accordance with Council Procedure Rule 15.7, Councillor Steve Cox asked the following supplementary question:-

 

Q.   “It states on a Rule 16 that they will come to Full Council.  Can you clarify how many Rule 16s you have personally put forward which it would appear have had no scrutiny?”

 

A.   The Mayor gave the following response:-

 

“I do not have the figures to hand, but they are put through with no scrutiny on the advice that we need to get the money into the Borough as quickly as possible, and timing is of the essence, especially since we are given very short timescales to get the monies out or spent.  The person who can answer when Rule 16s come to Full Council is the Assistant Director of Legal Services, Scott Fawcus.”

 

A.   Scott Fawcus gave the following response:-

 

“The purpose of Rule 16s is to deal with matters which simply cannot wait to follow the normal rules of decision making.  These are decisions which need to be implemented immediately, and as you have noticed, there have been far more than we would normally have because we are in the middle of a pandemic and they are pandemic responses.  They are subject to discussion with the Chair of Overview and Scrutiny, who agrees that they are urgent, and they are distributed to all Councillors after they have been made.  On an annual basis, we submit a report to Council, which will come to the next Council Meeting, which will identify those Rule 16 decisions which have been taken during this Municipal Year.”

 

B.     Questions to the Deputy Mayor, Councillor Glyn Jones, Cabinet Member for Housing and Equalities

 

There were no questions put to the Deputy Mayor, Councillor Glyn Jones, Cabinet Member for Housing and Equalities.

 

C.     Questions to Councillor Nigel Ball, Cabinet Member for Public Health, Leisure and Culture

 

There were no questions put to Councillor Nigel Ball, Cabinet Member for Public Health, Leisure and Culture.

 

D.     Questions to Councillor Joe Blackham, Cabinet Member for Highways, Street Scene and Trading Services

 

Q.   Councillor Duncan Anderson asked the following question:-

 

“It was stated recently that Doncaster Council is to receive an additional £5.1m in funding for our highways.  Is this accurate and to what extent does it go to cover the backlog of highway works that have built up over the last 10 years of austerity and cuts?”

 

A.   Councillor Joe Blackham gave the following response:-

 

“The figure of £5.1m is correct.  However, there is a timescale attached to this money, which has to be spent by September, which is quite onerous.  We have embarked on and put in place strategies to design what highway maintenance schemes can be accommodated within that timeframe because the timeframe is going to be incredibly important.  That work is being undertaken as we speak.  I expect the £5.1m to be utilised.  Regarding the second part of your question, we have a £150m backlog of highway maintenance work in the Borough and the reduction in the Revenue Support Grant of £120m per annum which has taken place over the period of austerity means inevitably, that we will never catch up with that backlog.  £5m with a backlog of £150m; you do not need to be a member of Mensa to realise that it is a dent in an enormously difficult situation.”

 

Q.   Councillor Cynthia Ransome asked the following question:-

 

“This is pre-Covid.  A vast amount of money is spent to improve Street Scene with no improvements.  What is the cost of this army of consultants and when do you expect to see some results?”

 

A.     Councillor Joe Blackham gave the following response:-

 

“We had already anticipated that we would have improvements which is why we have implemented a Rapid Improvement Plan; aptly named RIP.  Currently, we can describe it as rest in peace.  Covid has overtaken everything that we had planned for improving not only Street Scene, but other elements across this Borough.  We are in a pandemic, which is demanding considerable time and energy from the management and employees, particularly those forward-facing employees who are out there on the front line, against a background of a diminishing amount of money, and a serious public health situation.  Currently, we have had people bagging sand bags who should be sweeping streets and people who should be doing remedial work around burial grounds, who are assisting with the flooding.  The combination of flooding and Covid-19 means we are no way near where we would like to be.

 

What I can advise you is that we have changed the RIP and replaced it with what is called an Environmental Street Scene Improvement Plan, because of the recognition that both the environment and Street Scene are not things that will happen in isolation; they happen collectively. Grounds maintenance is going to be a fundamental part of our environmental strategy moving forward.  We have recognised that, and at the appropriate time, which will be post-pandemic, we will see improvements.  A report will be prepared, which will be shared with all Councillors when we get Officer time to facilitate that.  At this point in time, the Officers at this Authority are under the cosh; I understand that.

 

I am the Portfolio Holder for a very sensitive service which impacts on people more acutely than many others, but I also recognise the difficulties in meeting that programme of works.  I also recognise that there has not been the improvements that we thought would happen, but I understand perfectly the reasons why.”

 

In accordance with Council Procedure Rule 15.7, Councillor Cynthia Ransome asked the following supplementary question:-

 

Q.   “I did state this was pre-Covid and I understand about the consultation that went out.  I did request to see this pre-Covid, but it was not forthcoming.  I accept everything you have said and all the work the Officers are doing regarding Covid.  The Officers are doing an excellent job, I accept that, but I did state it was pre-Covid?”

 

A.   Councillor Joe Blackham gave the following response:-

 

“Street Scene was understaffed by 28 operators.  This is a huge proportion pre-Covid.  We have had extreme difficulties recruiting to those posts.  Currently, we have 10 vacancies in Street Scene.  This situation is totally unacceptable.  Nobody wants to see dirty streets.  We have provided the funding for the Officers of this Authority to employ the additional staff we require, but getting those staff through the door is incredibly difficult.  Recently at Cabinet, we had a discussion in relation to this very topic, and what we have said quite clearly is, if we need to change our HR arrangements to facilitate an easier access for people to come to the Authority, we will give that due consideration, but we do not just want anybody just to fill a vacancy, we want people to be fully participating members of what we perceive to be an improving service.”

 

Q.   Councillor Nick Allen asked the following question:-

 

“Would you be willing to take steps to allow Ward Members to attend meetings of the Assets Board when it takes decisions over assets which are in their respective Wards?”

 

A.   Councillor Joe Blackham gave the following response:-

 

“It is a debate we have had before and at this point in time, there is no, and will be, no provision to do so.  I personally do not feel very strongly about it one way or the other; I just do not see what you would bring to the party.  Elected Members get the opportunity to discuss and agree what should happen with every facet of business that takes place in the Assets Board.  It is an asset strategic decision making Board.  We have examples of it influencing the decisions made every time we have a meeting.”

 

In accordance with Council Procedure Rule 15.7, Councillor Nick Allen asked the following supplementary question:-

 

Q.   “I am disappointed and I know it is a debate we have had before.  Would you be willing to allow full minutes of these meetings to be made available to Ward Members or be made publically available?”

 

A.   Councillor Joe Blackham gave the following response:-

 

“There is no problem as far as I am concerned; they should be publically available.  All the business of this Authority should be in the public domain when decisions are taken.  We may have to redact certain elements where financial implications are involved, but there should be no problem.”

 

E.     Questions to Councillor Rachael Blake, Cabinet Member for Adult Social Care

 

In the absence of Councillor Rachael Blake, Cabinet Member for Adult Social Care, the Chair of Council informed Members that any questions for Councillor Blake should be submitted in writing to the Executive Office after the meeting, and a response would be provided accordingly.

 

F.     Questions to Councillor Nuala Fennelly, Cabinet Member for Children, Young People and Schools

 

In the absence of Councillor Nuala Fennelly, Cabinet Member for Children, Young People and Schools,the Chair of Council informed Members that any questions for Councillor Fennelly should be submitted in writing to the Executive Office after the meeting, and a response would be provided accordingly.

 

G.    Questions to Councillor Chris McGuinness, Cabinet Member for Communities, Voluntary Sector and the Environment

 

There were no questions put to Councillor Chris McGuinness, Cabinet Member for Communities, Voluntary Sector and the Environment.

 

H.     Questions to Councillor Bill Mordue, Cabinet Member for Business, Skills and Economic Development

 

There were no questions put to Councillor Bill Mordue, Cabinet Member for Business, Skills and Economic Development.

 

I.       Questions to Councillor Jane Nightingale, Cabinet Member for Customer and Corporate Services

 

There were no questions put to Councillor Jane Nightingale, Cabinet Member for Customer and Corporate Services.

 

J.      Questions to Councillor Austen White, Chair of the Audit Committee

 

There were no questions put to Councillor Austen White, Chair of the Audit Committee.

 

K.     Questions to Councillor Phil Cole, Chair of the Elections and Democratic Structures Committee

 

There were no questions put to Councillor Phil Cole, Chair of the Elections and Democratic Structures Committee.

 

L.      Questions to Councillor Rachael Blake, Chair of the Health and Wellbeing Board

 

In the absence of Councillor Rachael Blake, Chair of the Health and Wellbeing Board, the Chair of Council informed Members that any questions for Councillor Blake should be submitted in writing to the Executive Office after the meeting, and a response would be provided accordingly.

 

M.    Questions to Councillor Jane Kidd, Chair of the Overview and Scrutiny Management Committee

 

Q.   Councillor Phil Cole asked the following question:-

 

“I understand that Overview and Scrutiny Management Committee (OSMC) have held a review of how Councillor Ward Budgets have operated.  Please can you give us some insight into the findings from the review?”

 

A.   Councillor Jane Kidd gave the following response:-

 

“As people may remember, pre-Covid, the Mayor asked OSMC to carry out a consultation exercise on how Ward Budgets, or the Councillor Small Grant Scheme, should be run.  We carried out that consultation and the scheme was rolled out, but the scheme coincided with an unprecedented pandemic, which was obviously a particular challenge.  We held a Review Workshop yesterday and some of the main points that came out are as follows.  £144,000 out of £165,000 has been spent so far.  91 Groups have received funding.  The highest spending areas are Food Banks, which took £70,000; take from that what you will.  Probably it is a sad reflection on food poverty within the Borough.  Other big spending areas were arts and crafts activities for isolated vulnerable people and IT to connect people, and sustaining existing Groups.

 

Many projects were supported by other funding, such as the Mayor’s Fight Back Fund, and many Councillors pooled their budget.  Food Banks benefitted hundreds of families and the funding also supported an army of volunteers.

 

Some of the more unusual projects included supporting a local radio station to keep people connected and the installation of IT devices to enable a Church to live stream services and activities.

 

Some very small outlays have produced some significant results.  We have alluded today to how decisions and funding needs to be as close to communities as possible.

 

It is fair to say that there was a consensus that the scheme has been a success and there was a desire to build on it in the future.  We did feel that it would actually influence Council policy, for example, making it easier for communities to work with the Council on environment issues.

 

Councillors were grateful for the support they received for getting digitally connected and ongoing support will be needed for connecting with communities.

 

I would like to thank all Councillors who attended yesterday and acknowledge all the support we have received from Officers to start working remotely.

 

Thank you for giving me the opportunity to highlight the review.”