Agenda item

 

(i)         Questions on Notice to the Executive:-

           

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

                                      

“I am grateful for the response which you gave to my question about SUEZ which you answered at the previous meeting of the council held on 28th January.  In your response to my questions, you explained that you have asked SUEZ to consider making a payment over and above the contractual damages as a 'goodwill gesture'.  Have they made this payment and how much did DMBC receive.  If they have not made such a payment, when are they going to?”

 

(ii)        Questions without Notice to the Executive and the Chair of the        Overview and Scrutiny Management Committee, Councillor       John   Mounsey.

 

 

A.     Questions on Notice

 

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

 

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

 

“I am grateful for the response which you gave to my question about SUEZ which you answered at the previous meeting of the council held on 28th January.  In your response to my questions, you explained that you have asked SUEZ to consider making a payment over and above the contractual damages as a 'goodwill gesture'.  Have they made this payment and how much did DMBC receive.  If they have not made such a payment, when are they going to?”

 

(B)       “Thank you for your question Cllr Allen.

 

Following the delay to waste and recycling collections after the Christmas break, SUEZ has agreed to make a total payment of £50,000 covering contractual liquidated damages and including a significant donation.

 

This is in recognition of the disruption to residents and additional costs incurred by the Council.

 

We will seek to invest the money with the community, and look at environmental improvements, and education and awareness raising activities about waste reduction and recycling.”

 

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

 

(Q)       “Mayor Jones, how much was the ‘significant donation’ that you refer to, and would you be willing to spend part of this £50k on road safety in the Borough?”

 

(A)       “The £50k was broken down in to £15k of contractual liquidated damages, and £35k was the significant donation. As yet, it has not been identified where this money will be spent, but I can assure you it will be going back into the community.”

 

B.     Questions Without Notice

 

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

 

A.    Questions to Ros Jones, Mayor of Doncaster

 

Q.   Councillor Nick Allen asked the Mayor of Doncaster, Ros Jones:-

 

“Can I ask what procedure was used for the appointment of Kim Curry, the new Director of Adults, Health and Wellbeing?”

 

A.    The Mayor gave the following response:-

 

“This was done via an agreement with the Chief Executive to get the best person into the position to bring about real changes in the Directorate.”

 

            Q.   Councillor John Cooke asked the Mayor of Doncaster, Ros Jones:-

 

“I welcome the opening of the FARRRS Route but I was disappointed to see that no local Ward Members were present at the tape cutting ceremony. In fact, I was disgusted at this.”

 

A.    The Mayor gave the following response:-

 

“As I have previously stated, when the ‘spur’ road to Rossington is opened, all Local Ward Members will be invited to the opening.”

 

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

           

            No questions were put to the Deputy Mayor, Councillor Glyn Jones, Cabinet Member for Adult Social Care and Equalities.

 

C.       Questions to Councillor Joe Blackham, Cabinet Member for Regeneration and Transportation

 

No questions were put to Councillor Joe Blackham, Cabinet Member for Regeneration and Transportation.

 

D.           Questions to Councillor Tony Corden, Cabinet Member for Customer, Corporate and Trading Services

 

Q.   Councillor Alan Smith asked the following question:-

                       

“In terms of the Digital Council Strategy, whilst I appreciate digital advancements are necessary, certain parts of the Borough have poor broadband and it is not accessible. Could you please update us on the project and is it still on track for April 2017?”

 

A.    Councillor Tony Corden gave the following response:-

 

“We have been progressing this project and are working on the document for interested parties to submit their bids. It still needs more work but progress is being made.”

 

Q.  In accordance with Council Procedure Rule 15.7, Councillor Alan Smith asked the following supplementary question:-

 

“From that, I can’t go back to people and tell them it will be operational by 2017.”

 

E.           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 this meeting and that the Cabinet Member would respond accordingly.

 

F.            Questions to Councillor Pat Knight, Cabinet Member for Public Health and Wellbeing

No questions were put to Councillor Pat Knight, Cabinet Member for Public Health and Wellbeing.

 

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

 

Q. Councillor Jane Kidd asked Councillor Chris McGuinness:-

 

“I’m sure that no one wants to see the Women’s Aid Centre closed. It is of great value and is an independent centre that takes referrals from a wide range of institutions and is a great support to those suffering from domestic violence and does a great job in preventing it.  Are we doing all we can to help it to survive?”

 

A.    Councillor Chris McGuinness gave the following response:-

 

“I have set up a meeting with the Children’s Trust, Officers and representatives from Women’s Aid, but the options for with dealing with it are limited. I have set up a second meeting, and have asked them to come up with a structure and attach all the related costs and there is now another meeting scheduled for Friday, 4 March. Hopefully these meetings will be successful and we will come up with a structure to keep the centre going, and build on what we have got, rather than lose a very valuable service altogether.”

 

H.        Questions to Councillor Bill Mordue, Cabinet Member for Business, Skills, Tourism and Culture

 

            Q.   Councillor Nick Allen asked the following question:-

 

“My Ward colleague, Councillor Gethin asked a question at a previous meeting about the possibility of having a plaque put up to commemorate the work of Thomas Rainsborough? Has any action been taken to implement this as I think it’s important that people are able to pay their respects?”

 

A.    Councillor Bill Mordue gave the following response:-

 

“We have been making progress with this, possibly not as much as should have been as he is possibly not as well recognised as he should be. I believe it will be a good thing to see a plaque put up in his name and I will ask Officers to do some more work on this in order to report back with a firm proposal.”

 

Q.   Councillor James Hart asked the following question:-

 

“With regard to the Inward Investment Pilot Scheme, Decision Reference K1255, taken in October, 2014, I believe this was driven by Bob Johnson, your predecessor and included themes such as speculative builds, job creation grants and project set up grants. This was scheduled to be reviewed 6 months after its inception or at £250k spend. If possible could we have sight of this review, and indicate when the post 12 month impact assessment is likely to be available?”

 

A.       Councillor Bill Mordue gave the following response:-

 

“This was indeed set up by my predecessor, and I know a number of payments were set up to various groups but I don’t have the facts so I will provide you with a written response.”

 

I.             Questions to Councillor Jane Nightingale, Cabinet Member for Housing

Q.   Councillor Nick Allen asked the following question:-

 

“I want to know what support DMBC has given to residents who wish to exercise their right to buy their Council houses and what amendments have been made to the Right to Buy policy over the last generation or so?’

 

A.     Councillor Jane Nightingale gave the following response:-

 

“I imagine they will get all the support they need but I will go back to officers to see what information I can get and provide you with a response.”

 

J.            Questions to Councillor John Mounsey, Chair of the Overview and Scrutiny Management Committee

 

No questions were put to Councillor John Mounsey, Chair of the Overview and Scrutiny Management Committee.