Agenda item

 

(i)        Questions on Notice to the Executive:-

 

(a)     Question from Councillor Nick Allen to the Mayor of Doncaster, Ros Jones:-

 

“Thirteen months ago, I asked you to provide an update regarding the sale of land near Rose Hill in Bessacarr. As you know, this is an extremely controversial subject, the planning proposal has provoked a significant backlash as residents do not want to lose access to much needed green space. Could you explain why the proposal has not gone before the Planning Committee yet. What has caused the delay and does the Council stand to benefit from the sale? If so, how much money is the town going to make?”

 

(b)     Question from Councillor Thomas Noon to the Deputy Mayor, Councillor Glyn Jones:-

 

“Over the last 10 years we have seen a decrease in our social housing levels, but an increase in the size on the waiting list, (currently at 7,741) yet during this time we have only built 476 council houses, why is this?”

 

(c)     Question from Councillor Jane Cox to the Mayor of Doncaster, Ros Jones:-

 

“The budget in 20/21 and again 22/23 referenced the drop in customers since Doncaster Council staff working from home as a pressure.   Is the Mayor going to ensure Council employee’s come back to work in the office 100% of the time.  Not only will this help the economy, it will ensure the smooth running of the Council departments.  Will she also ensure that senior officials do not spend 20% of their time working from home?”

 

(d)     Question from Councillor Laura Bluff to Councillor Rachael Blake:-

 

“On 9th September 2021, the law changed prohibiting Local Authorities from placing a child under the age of sixteen in an unregulated placement (The Care Planning, Placement and Case Review (England) (Amendment) Regulations 2021).  In the response to my question on those in unregulated placements, I have been told that four children under the age of sixteen are in unregulated placements.  As this is illegal, on what date was Ofsted informed?”

 

(e)     Question from Councillor Steve Cox to Councillor Joe Blackham:-

 

“Owing to the situation with the ongoing sales of land and assets in Doncaster including sites such as Rose Hill, do now you feel Councillors should have a direct role in the disposal of assets within their wards?  I have long advocated for an accountable Assets Board, one which would function like an OSMC.  Is this something you could support and how can it be achieved?”

 

(f)      Question from Councillor Glenn Bluff to Councillor Joe Blackham:-

 

“The M1 corridor along the A635 in Barnsley has been upgraded to accommodate new distribution centres.  The A635 on the Doncaster side is not a duel carriage way like the Barnsley side but is a rural single carriageway running through small villages like Yorkshire’s most polluted village Hickleton.  Now Barnsley are expanding the distribution centres with a 75 acre site at Goldthorpe at the expense of Doncaster citizens and their health. What options do we have along the Doncaster portion of the A635 from Hickleton to the A1m to counter the impact of Barnsley’s growth and the increase in HGVs?”

 

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

A.     Questions on Notice

 

In accordance with Council Procedure Rule 15.2, the Chair accepted the following questions from Elected Members during “Question Time”:-

 

(a)   From Councillor Nick Allen to the Mayor of Doncaster, Ros Jones:-

 

Q.   “Thirteen months ago, I asked you to provide an update regarding the sale of land near Rose Hill in Bessacarr.  As you know, this is an extremely controversial subject, the planning proposal has provoked a significant backlash as residents do not want to lose access to much needed green space.  Could you explain why the proposal has not gone before the Planning Committee yet.  What has caused the delay and does the Council stand to benefit from the sale?  If so, how much money is the town going to make?”

 

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

 

“I am informed that the scheme design has been remodelled by the developer to more fully meet this Council’s aspirations in its Environmental Strategy in tackling climate change, to include the retention of more existing trees and the creation of additional greenspace.  This pause has created a delay, but one which will ultimately see an improved and more sustainable development scheme on site for residents and the local community.  Once remaining consultations on the revised application have been received it is expected that the scheme will be considered by Planning Committee shortly.  As a Council owned site the sale proceeds will form part of the funding for the City’s Capital Strategy.  The planning process identifies S106 sums that support open space provision, new space for local schools and the Government’s requirement for biodiversity net gain from development.  As this process is underway, a final sale price is not yet established.”

 

(b)   From Councillor Thomas Noon to the Deputy Mayor, Councillor Glyn Jones:-

 

Q.   “Over the last 10 years, we have seen a decrease in our social housing levels, but an increase in the size of the waiting list, currently at 7,741, yet during this time, we have only built 476 Council Houses; why is this?”

 

A.     The Deputy Mayor, Councillor Glyn Jones, gave the following response:-

 

“Over the last 10 years, we have seen an increase of 521 Council led housing stock, with a mixture of Council new build, direct purchase and conversions.

 

We have also seen 1,470 Housing Association led property additions in the same timeframe, again a mixture of new build, direct purchase and conversions.

 

There are 3 reasons for lack of Council Housing and loss in numbers.  The first is the Right to Buy Scheme which allows residents to purchase their Council House at a significant discount.  This means you cannot simply buy or build another property with the income from the sale.  As an example, for every 10 Council properties sold through Right to Buy, we can afford to build 1 replacement property; that is 1 property to replace 10.  This is the main reason Council Housing stock is being lost throughout the country.  Right to Buy provides a significant discount up to a maximum of 70% of the property value to a maximum of £87,200.  Plus, a significant amount has to be given to Government, meaning that we only keep roughly 50% of the money after the discount price.

 

Just to put this all into perspective, in 2021/22, we sold 85 properties under Right to Buy.  The gross value (before discount) was £7.8m.  We sold them for £4.1m and the average discount was 47% and we got to keep £2.2m.  That £2.2m works out as just under £26,000 for each property sold.

 

Over the last 12 months, we have seen roughly 130 properties lost through Right to Buy and over the last ten years, we have seen 1,052 properties sold through the Right to Buy scheme.

 

The second reason is the year on year cut in rent that Government enforced for 4 years from 2016/17 to 2019/20.  This saw rent fall by 1% per year during this period.  This led to a significant fall in income, and alongside rising costs, this meant cuts across St Leger, including the numbers of properties they could purchase.  It was estimated in 2019, that this fall in rental income and subsequent fall in property purchase means the HRA has roughly £457m less resources available over a 30 year business plan.  So, less resources to build new properties and manage what we already have.

 

The third reason was the strict borrowing limits that limited the amount that could be borrowed against the Housing Revenue Account.  This was abolished in 2018 and this has enabled us to bring about the Council House Build Programme that should see over 500 properties added to Council house stock over the course of the programme.”

 

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

 

Q.   “Why have we built more houses in the last 13 years during austerity, than we did in the previous 13 years?  We did not build a single Council House from 1997 to 2010.  I do not know if this is a lack of planning or no planning at all.”

 

A.   The Deputy Mayor, Councillor Glyn Jones, gave the following response:-

 

“As far as I’m aware, we did build Council Houses.  You are right, if you fail to plan, you plan to fail.  This administration has certainly planned and I think we have not failed.”

 

(c)    From Councillor Jane Cox to the Mayor of Doncaster, Ros Jones:-

 

Q.   “The budget in 2020/21 and again in 2022/23, referenced the drop in customers since Doncaster Council staff working from home as a pressure.   Is the Mayor going to ensure Council employee’s come back to work in the office 100% of the time.  Not only will this help the economy, it will ensure the smooth running of the Council departments.  Will she also ensure that senior officials do not spend 20% of their time working from home?”

 

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

 

“The terms and conditions of Council Officers fall under the remit of the Head of Paid Service and I will ask him to respond to you in writing. However, in the current employment market, retaining as much flexibility around working environments assists in remaining both competitive and an employer of choice. In addition, it has provided opportunities for closer working with partners, sharing services and physical assets. In this building, we are joined by partners including St Leger Homes, South Yorkshire Police, NHS and Citizens Advice, thus bringing more into the City Centre.

 

Given the Council’s overall workforce, less than one third work in a hybrid way due to the significant number of front-line roles, although working flexibility is an option offered particularly in working part-time to support better work life balance for employees.  In addition, a number of staff work directly in locality areas and that will in itself be contributing to that part of the local economy, as well as contributing to the green agenda by reducing unnecessary journey times to a central location.  Our staff are also suffering at the hands of the cost-of-living crisis, with many more Officers choosing to bring their own lunch in order to save money.

 

In terms of customer engagement, this Council is now dealing with an additional 90,000 enquiries against 2019/20 levels. with the same level of resources.  This is despite the challenges presented by COVID and additional burdens placed on the Council during this time.”

 

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

 

Q.    “In terms of the additional 90,000 enquiries, what do they look like?”

 

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

 

“I can simply list these enquiries.  In 2019/20, we had a total 218,878 customer service telephone enquiries.  We had 185,711 online enquiries and a footfall of 64,524 into the One Stop Shop for face to face enquiries making a total of 469,113.

 

In 2022/23 so far, and we are not at the end of this financial year yet, we have had 209,128 customer service telephone enquiries.  Online, there have been 280,031 enquiries and into the One Stop Shop, there have been 71,491 face to face enquiries making a total of 560,650 enquiries.”

 

(d)   From Councillor Laura Bluff to Councillor Rachael Blake:-

 

Q.   “On 9th September 2021, the law changed prohibiting Local Authorities from placing a child under the age of sixteen in an unregulated placement (The Care Planning, Placement and Case Review (England) (Amendment) Regulations 2021).  In the response to my question on those in unregulated placements, I have been told that four children under the age of sixteen, are in unregulated placements.  As this is illegal, on what date was Ofsted informed?”

 

A.     Councillor Rachael Blake gave the following response:-

 

“We currently have one child aged 15 in an unregulated placement made under the inherent jurisdiction on the 23rd December, 2022 and Ofsted were notified on the same day.

 

On the 9th September 2021, the placement of under 16s in unregulated settings was deemed unlawful. Since that time, there have been a number of cases considered by the Courts which have considered the placement of under 16s in such placements.

 

A placement is deemed unregulated if it has not been approved as a regulated placement by either Ofsted or the CQC.

 

Where a placement is not regulated, the case law since September 2021, has provided guidance to Local Authorities and the courts as to how such placements should be managed safely, and what steps must be taken by the Local Authority to ensure there is judicial oversight of those placements.  The case law now also provides best practice guidance to providers, Ofsted and Local Authorities so as to ensure that if a placement can become regulated, what steps should be taken to support the placement becoming regulated.

 

It is now settled law that in the absence of a placement being regulated, the local authority must apply under the Inherent Jurisdiction for a Deprivation of Liberty Order, so that the court can review the care arrangements for the young person and approve the care plan.

 

The current best practice in summary is:- 

 

·      The Local Authority must provide evidence of the registered/unregistered status;

 

·      Provide to the court and detail as to why any application for registration is delayed;

 

·      How that (unregistered) placement can meet the child’s needs;

 

·      The Local Authority to assure that the (unregistered) placement is suitable to the child;

 

·      The court should order for the provider to make an application for registration within 7 working days of the court exercising its inherent jurisdiction;

 

·         The court should be advised within 10 working days of the status of the registration application.  If the court is not appraised, then the court should list a further hearing;

 

·         If approved, the court will then review the unregistered placement at 12 weekly intervals; and

 

·         If registration is refused, or the provider has withdrawn their application for registration, the Local Authority must notify the court as soon as possible.

 

In addition, in Doncaster, the following actions are taken:-

 

1.      Prior to making the placement, the Assistant Director will be notified and will scrutinise the plan;

 

2.      A briefing note is prepared setting out the circumstances that have led to the decision to make the placement and the actions planned to address these.  This is shared with Ofsted by the Strategic Lead for Children in Care and Achieving Permanence. Should Ofsted have any queries after this, they liaise with the Strategic Lead;

 

3.      When the placement is made, increased visits from the Social Worker to the young person will have been put in place by the Team Manager; and

 

4.      A Looked after review, chaired by an Independent Reviewing Officer, will take place within 20 days.

 

Social care staff, including the IRO Service and Ccontract and Commissioning, Teams are aware of the above provisions and their duty to flag any regulatory issues as soon as they become known, so that the necessary remedial action can be taken. Regular deprivation of liberty training is also delivered by Legal Services, which is rolled out to teams annually.”

 

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

 

Q    “I applaud the Team who got three children out of unregulated placements in a 14 day period. Can I ask, what is the timescale for getting the fourth remaining child back to a regulated placement?”

 

A.   Councillor Rachael Blake gave the following response:-

 

“As soon as possible, but I will look into this and provide you with a written response.”

 

(e)   From Councillor Steve Cox to Councillor Joe Blackham:-

 

Q.   “Owing to the situation with the ongoing sales of land and assets in Doncaster, including sites such as Rose Hill, do you now feel Councillors should have a direct role in the disposal of assets within their Wards?  I have long advocated for an accountable Assets Board, one which would function like an OSMC.  Is this something you could support and how can it be achieved?”

 

A.     The Deputy Mayor, Councillor Glyn Jones, gave the following response on behalf of Councillor Joe Blackham, who had submitted his apologies for the meeting:-

 

“The sale of land and property assets is governed by the Council’s Financial Procedure Rules and Standing Orders, and all decisions are made within this framework.  Ward Member and Portfolio holder consultation already takes place as part of the approval for the disposal of an asset, and this process is enshrined within the Council’s recently approved Asset Management Strategy.

 

(f)     From Councillor Glenn Bluff to Councillor Joe Blackham:-

 

Q.   “The M1 corridor along the A635 in Barnsley, has been upgraded to accommodate new distribution centres.  The A635 on the Doncaster side, is not a dual carriage way like the Barnsley side, but is a rural single carriageway running through small villages like Yorkshire’s most polluted village, Hickleton.  Now Barnsley are expanding the distribution centres with a 75 acre site at Goldthorpe at the expense of Doncaster citizens and their health.  What options do we have along the Doncaster portion of the A635 from Hickleton to the A1M, to counter the impact of Barnsley’s growth and the increase in HGVs?”

 

A.     The Deputy Mayor, Councillor Glyn Jones, gave the following response on behalf of Councillor Joe Blackham, who had submitted his apologies for the meeting:-

 

“There have been a number of meetings between Officers from Barnsley and Doncaster Council over recent weeks to discuss the imminent planning application. Barnsley Council is very aware of our concerns over the impact of the development and the issues at Hickleton and Marr.

 

Personally, I would like to see a bypass for Hickleton and Marr, but in 2019, this was estimated at roughly £100m.

 

I was hoping to submit the scheme into the City Region Sustainable Transport Settlement, but unfortunately, it was not possible due to the Government funding being restricted to schemes that support a modal shift from cars to public transport or active travel.

 

Government policy continues to be focussed on modal shift OR schemes that allow significant economic growth through development and Hickleton/Marr is virtually all in the green belt.”

 

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.

 

There were no questions put to the Mayor of Doncaster, Ros Jones.

 

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

 

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

 

C.   Questions to Councillor Lani-Mae Ball, Cabinet Member for Education, Skills and Young People

 

In the absence of Councillor Lani-Mae Ball, Cabinet Member for Education, Skills and Young People, Members were asked to submit their questions in writing to the Executive Office and a written response would be provided.

 

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

 

In the absence of Councillor Nigel Ball, Cabinet Member for Public Health, Leisure, Culture and Planning, Members were asked to submit their questions in writing to the Executive Office and a written response would be provided.

 

E.   Questions to Councillor Joe Blackham, Cabinet Member for Highways, Infrastructure and Enforcement

 

In the absence of Councillor Joe Blackham, Cabinet Member for Highways, Infrastructure and Enforcement, Members were asked to submit their questions in writing to the Executive Office and a written response would be provided.

 

F.   Questions to Councillor Rachael Blake, Cabinet Member for Children’s Social Care, Communities and Equalities

 

There were no questions put to Councillor Rachael Blake, Cabinet Member for Children’s Social Care, Communities and Equalities.

 

G.   Questions to Councillor Phil Cole, Cabinet Member for Finance and Trading Services

 

There were no questions put to Councillor Phil Cole, Cabinet Member for Finance and Trading Services.

  

H.   Questions to Councillor Mark Houlbrook, Cabinet Member for Sustainability and Waste

 

Q.  Councillor Martin Greenhalgh asked the following question:-

 

“At my recent Parish Council meeting, we were doing a Budgetary Review.  We have 4 parks in our Parish and we bought the bins from the Council.  They are emptied on a weekly basis and the cost would go from £10,500 to £11,500 per year.  The clerk obtained a couple of alternative quotations, and we accepted one for £4,750 plus VAT per year.  Why is there a vast difference between a private contractor and the Council?” 

 

A.  Councillor Mark Houlbrook gave the following reply:-

 

“I will provide you with a written response.”

 

I.    Questions to Councillor Jane Nightingale, Cabinet Member for Corporate Resources

 

There were no questions put to Councillor Jane Nightingale, Cabinet Member for Corporate Resources.

 

J.    Questions to Councillor Andrea Robinson, Cabinet Member for Adult Social Care

 

Q.  Councillor Thomas Noon asked the following question:-

 

“Thank you for the response to my question I asked at the last Council meeting.  When are we likely to see the change in policy at Full Council?  It seems a more common sense approach than the current policy which is in place at the moment with regard to Occupational Therapy and medical assessments.”

 

A.   Councillor Andrea Robinson gave the following reply:-

 

“I will provide you with a written response.”

 

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

 

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

 

L.   Questions to Councillor Julie Grace, Chair of the Elections and Democratic Structures Committee

 

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

 

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

 

There were no questions put to Councillor Rachael Blake, Chair of the Health and Wellbeing Board.

 

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

 

There were no questions put to Councillor Jane Kidd, Chair of the Overview and Scrutiny Management Committee.