Agenda item

Questions from the public in accordance with Council Procedure Rule 13:-

Meeting of Council, Thursday, 20th September, 2018 6.00 pm (Item 36.)

(a) Question from Mr. Stuart Exelby, on behalf of Doncaster Unite: Retired Members Branch, to the Mayor of Doncaster, Ros Jones:-

“Could the Mayor and Council Members give a commitment to the continuous support for all concessionary travel, because without this commitment, Doncaster will be failing the elderly, disabled and the economy of Doncaster?”

(b) Question from Mr. Stuart Adams to the Mayor of Doncaster, Ros Jones:-

“As you look to dispose of further assets and as all previous assets disposed of at Lakeside have been converted for retail and housing use, such as the large field now being turned into Willow Grange, can you at least make some provision to consult with residents and allow part of this land to be used to create a public community space such as a park, picnic or play area for all residents and users of the lake to enjoy?”

“As Doncaster Council has agreed to use a certain amount of funding to support extra Police Officers in the town centre. I would like to know where exactly is this funding to be taken from to support this and will it have a detrimental effect on the area from which it is taken?”

(d) Question from Mr. Doug Wright, on behalf of ‘Keep Our NHS Public’ to the Mayor of Doncaster, Ros Jones:-

“The Health and Social Care Joint Commissioning Management Board (JCMB) is responsible to the Council Cabinet and Doncaster CCGB Governing Board. Unlike the CCGB, DMBC does not publish any information about JCMB meetings.

The public has the right to be involved in the consultation and planning of healthcare services, including the challenge of the South Yorkshire and Bassetlaw NHS (SYB) financial gap of £139.5M required by 2020/21.

Will you:-

1. Publicise JCMB meetings and minutes

2. Agree to the public attending meetings and asking questions

3. Inform this meeting of DMBC's projected contribution towards SYB's financial gap of £139.5M

NB. Current CCG projected contribution is around £30m?”

Minutes:

(A) Question from Mr. Stuart Exelby, on behalf of Doncaster Unite: Retired Members Branch, to the Mayor of Doncaster, Ros Jones:-

The Mayor of Doncaster, Ros Jones, gave the following reply:-

“The English National Concession Travel Scheme (ENCTS), which entitles senior citizens to free off peak travel on buses across England, is a national scheme. Therefore, it cannot be changed unless a decision is made by Central Government.

Only the discretionary concession of free rail travel to the disabled and half price rail fares within South Yorkshire for the elderly is a decision that can be changed at local level. We are not aware of any plans to remove this at this time.

We recognise the benefits, not just to the economy, of this scheme, but also to the health and wellbeing of our residents. If we become aware of any threat to the scheme we will challenge this.”

In accordance with Council Procedure Rule 13.10, Mr. Exelby asked the Mayor, the following supplementary question:-

“I welcome your response, but as you know, with the Tory Government we do not know what we’ve got or what we are going to get. As long as DMBC and its Councillors promise to take the Government on if they show any sign of taking the concessionary rate away in Doncaster, you will get the full backing of UNITE?”

In response, the Mayor gave the following reply:-

“I will repeat what I said. It is a National issue and I hope all of the people in the Chamber will work with the South Yorkshire Passenger Transport Executive, and engage with them and take on the Government.”

(B) Question from Mr. Stuart Adams to the Mayor of Doncaster, Ros Jones:-

The Mayor of Doncaster, Ros Jones, gave the following reply:-

“The land use at Lakeside is a planning matter and the area has been allocated as a mixed use regeneration area under the UDP (Unitary Development Plan) which would take into account open space provisions as part of the land allocation process. As sites are sold under the capital disposals programme, potential purchasers are responsible for consulting with Planning and any open space provisions will be specified by Planning and I would assume reflected in the prospective purchasers offer bid to the Council.”

“As Doncaster Council has agreed to use a certain amount of funding to support extra Police Officers in the Town Centre, I would like to know where exactly is this funding to be taken from to support this and will it have a detrimental effect on the area from which it is taken?”

The Mayor of Doncaster, Ros Jones, gave the following reply:-

“The additional cost is being met from the use of one off Council reserves. Over the next 3 months, we will be evaluating the impact and determine the approach to dealing with the presenting issues and our future course of action. The associated costs and funding source will be considered at this point. In terms of timing, this fits in with the refresh of the Council’s budget prior to the formal budget decision being taken by Council in early 2019.

It is a sorry state for society when the Council is paying to police our streets, this is the sad result of Conservative austerity. South Yorkshire Police has lost nearly 1,000 Police Officers since 2010, meaning there are 20% fewer Police Officers on our streets. That is why we as a Council have had to act and fund the extra Police Officers to ensure there is sufficient Police presence for Doncaster Town Centre.”

In accordance with Council Procedure Rule 13.10, Mrs. Peace asked the Mayor, the following supplementary question:-

“Mayor Jones, in response I would like you to tell me how much is left in the Council reserves, how much will be spent on this trial, and after the initial 3 month period, where will the money be taken from to fund the extra police if it is continued?”

In response, the Mayor gave the following reply:-

“We certainly have sufficient funds in reserves, but we will continue to take into account the impact of funding the extra Police. We will continue to review this and then if we need to, we will look to include this in our Medium Term Financial Plans?”

(D) Question from Mr. Doug Wright, on behalf of ‘Keep Our NHS Public’ to the Mayor of Doncaster, Ros Jones:-

Will you:-

1. Publicise JCMB meetings and minutes;

2. Agree to the public attending meetings and asking questions; and

3. Inform this meeting of DMBC's projected contribution towards SYB's financial gap of £139.5M

NB. Current CCG projected contribution is around £30m?”

The Mayor of Doncaster, Ros Jones, gave the following reply:-

“Cabinet Members (Councillors Rachael Blake and Nigel Ball) are Members of the JCMB and the outputs from the meeting are fed back to Cabinet by them.

The roles of the Joint Commissioning Management Board include:-

· Agreeing the strategic development priorities for joint commissioning activity;

· Co-ordinating work programmes including monitoring progress on the initial seven areas of opportunity;

· Overseeing the management of any pooled budgets (including the Better Care Fund); and

· Sharing wider transformation agendas to ensure an overall awareness across the health and social care economy.

Any decision proposed at the Joint Commissioning Management Board has to go through the Council’s own decision making process (e.g. Cabinet, Cabinet Member or Officer Decision). This is the point at which the public are then able to access forward notice, reports and agendas and where appropriate, attend meetings.

However, we are working with our colleagues in the Clinical Commissioning Group (CCG) to increase the openness and transparency of the Joint Commissioning Management Board. The CCG already publish these minutes on their website and we will ensure that there is a link on the website directing people to the minutes. We will also be discussing with the CCG, the level of public access including both access to information and public attendance, and we will need to consider issues around confidentiality and other practicalities including access to the venue and any opportunity to ask questions.”

In accordance with Council Procedure Rule 13.10, Mr. Wright asked the Mayor, the following supplementary question:-

“With regard to the actual detail of the decision, you’re saying that it’s going to Cabinet, but in fact the public can’t raise questions at Cabinet unless you as the Chair, make an exception. We should not have to go to the CCG to find these minutes, they should be on here, and I would like to know when the Council will come to a decision with the CCG, to allow the public to attend meetings and ask questions as it is in the public interest as there is going to be £20m of public money lost to this in the next two years, so the least you could do is allow this?”

In response, the Mayor gave the following reply:-

“Discussions with CCG will go on, but it is not in my power to say when a decision will be made, but I assure you, we will work with them and discussions will be ongoing. The Board is not a Council Committee and I cannot determine this, but in the meantime, I will ensure a link from our Council website to the CCG JCMB Board, is made available. But, with regard to formal decisions, these are made at Cabinet, or by Cabinet Members and it is at that point they will become open for the public to view.”