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 Committee.

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 Nick Allen asked the following question:-

 

“Can you tell me what procedures are followed when an individual is issued with a single point of contact (SPOC)?”

 

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

 

“I would like to pass this over to the Monitoring Officer who can answer this from a legal perspective.”

 

A.  Scott Fawcus, Assistant Director of Legal and Democratic Services and Monitoring Officer, gave the following response:-

 

“The Council has a policy that deals with this, which I can send you if you wish, but I can assure you it is not a decision taken lightly or easily and comes after a long process.  It is a very rare event where it appears there is no other possible outcome.”

 

Q. Councillor Tosh McDonald asked the following question:-

 

“We are supposed to be united in this Chamber, but since I have been elected, a complaint I have raised is that we do not seem to get informed of things that are going on in our Ward.  This week, it took the biscuit.  We have had a VIP this week, of whom everyone was sworn to secrecy about.  I raised it with the Police, but they told me Central Government told them they had no choice but to keep it quiet, but we live in a democracy.  We can always say no and the Chief Executive and the Mayor can say no.  I welcome the Prime Minister, but we have the right to protest and question him, but our democratic right was denied.  I would show people respect if I was going into their Ward and let them know accordingly, and I would expect the same decency from others.”

 

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

 

“I didn’t have the right to say no and I can assure you I notified Members as soon as I was able to.”

 

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

 

Q. “But you had the right to say no, and we had the right to protest so we should have known. The national media knew, so should we?”

 

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

 

“As I have said, I notified Members as soon as I was able, as per my instructions.”

 

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

 

Q. Councillor Dave Shaw asked the following question:-

 

       “Would you be able to look into the site that Pride is going to be run from next year?  After the success of this year’s Pride event, we are all very supportive, but it has come to our attention that with no consultation, the decision has been taken to hold it next year at Elmfield Park.  We want some assurances that there has been proper consideration given to the local community, and there will be adequate security and supervision as there will be over 12,000 people in one area?”

 

A.   Councillor Glyn Jones gave the following response:-

 

“We have been made aware of this, and the reason that they are moving the venue for Pride next year is due to the numbers.  There is not enough room at Sir Nigel Gresley Square anymore to accommodate everyone who is expected, as it has grown on a huge scale.

 

It is a wonderful experience and brings a lot of value, but until the decision had been made, we had not been made aware. The Committee is not linked to the Council, it is autonomous, but I will look into this and why they have chosen that venue, and I assure you that any issues will be dealt with, and that all potential incidents will be addressed.

 

Q. Councillor Nicky McDonald asked the following question:-

 

“I have a further question regarding Pride, and would like to question why the venue is not being moved back to the Market?  This does not allow Doncaster businesses to benefit, as there will be pop-up stalls and shops from people who are not necessarily local providers. It should be moved back to the Market.”

 

A.  Councillor Glyn Jones gave the following response:-

 

“I do understand where you’re coming from Councillor, but as I understand it, the area at the Market is no longer big enough.  The event now attracts many people and in the public spaces it has been held previously, there is not adequate space and provision to look after people appropriately.  Pride is a good movement and has good links with the local area, and I will look into this to make sure adequate checks are carried out.”

 

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

 

In the absence of Councillor Joe Blackham, Cabinet Member for Highways, Street Scene and Trading Services, the Chair of Council informed Members that any questions for Councillor Blackham should be submitted in writing to the Executive Office after the meeting, and a written response will be provided accordingly.

 

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

 

There were no questions put to Councillor Rachael Blake, Cabinet Member for Adult Social Care.

 

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

 

There were no questions put to Councillor Nuala Fennelly, Cabinet Member for Children, Young People and Schools.

 

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

 

In the absence of Councillor Chris McGuinness, Cabinet Member for Communities, Voluntary Sector and the Environment, the Chair of Council informed Members that any questions for Councillor McGuinness should be submitted in writing to the Executive Office after the meeting, and a response would be provided accordingly.

 

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

 

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

 

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

 

Q. Councillor Lani-Mae Ball asked the following question:-

 

“I know that Overview and Scrutiny have been working on Area Governance; can you give us an update on what is happening please?”

    

A.   Councillor Jane Kidd gave the following response:-

 

“We have done things differently by choosing 2 areas to focus on in order to give more time to them, and these have been the Children’s Trust and St Leger Homes.  We have looked at how they support wider Council priorities and how they have worked in partnership with other organisations to put tenants, residents, children and young people at the centre of their activities.

 

Other areas we have scrutinised included:-

 

·         Managing the cost of our Out of Authority placements;

·         Understanding the impact of Universal Credit on the rent collection rate;

·         Actions to improve fly tipping; and

·         Improving attendance in schools

 

As well as these meetings being an opportunity to hold the Executive to account, they are also a good opportunity to identify areas where Scrutiny can add value by carrying out in depth reviews into particular policy areas.

 

Members from the Health and Adult Social Care and Children and Young People Scrutiny Panels, have recently held three fact-finding meetings on the work undertaken to date, on the All Age Learning Disability and Autism Strategy.

 

A small group of Members have also met with learning disabled and autistic people, who spoke about how they secured the services they needed, and how important it was for them to have opportunities to meet socially.

 

In response to the request from the Mayor, we are looking at developing a model for Area Governance and devolving an element of the budget to a local level.  We held an all Members meeting to scope out some of the key areas, and carried out a site visit to Barnsley so we can learn from them how they developed their Ward Alliances.

 

Coming up, we will be scrutinising the Inclusion Programme, which will cover elective home education including, attendance and special educational needs.  Additionally, Regeneration and Housing will be looking at the policy on homelessness and rough sleeping, and all Members have been invited to a Seminar on the Housing Needs Strategy.

 

Finally, Community and Environment have been scrutinising the progress of Social Isolation and Loneliness Alliance, and will be overseeing the development of our Environment Strategy, and in response to a question at the last Council meeting, they held an extraordinary meeting to review the South Yorkshire Fire and Rescue Draft Integrated Risk Management Plan.”