Agenda item

Up to 60 minutes is allowed for this part of the meeting unless extended by the Chairman of Council on a motion moved, duly seconded and approved by the Council.  Members may ask one supplementary question in addition to their original question.

 

(a)        To Chairmen/Vice-Chairmen of Committees

 

            There were no questions received.

 

(b)        To the Executive

 

            To receive answers in respect of questions from Members of the Council to a Member of the Executive asked in accordance with Rule 12 of the Council Procedure Rules.

 

            The questions received are set out in the agenda papers.

In accordance with Rule 12(1) of the Council Procedure Rules, Members of the Cabinet responded to the following questions:

 

(1)       Councillor B W Butcher asked the Portfolio Holder for Access and Licensing, Councillor N J Collor:

 

          “Will the Portfolio Holder for Access and Licensing advise what is being planned to avoid the dreadful traffic chaos that was evident especially around the level crossing during the open golf championships in 2011?”

 

          In response Councillor N J Collor stated that the promoters of the Open, the R&A, along with the Highway and Transport Authorities, DDC, and Sandwich Town Council had recognised that transport conflicts around the level crossing had be dealt with in the context of the wider plan for the event. The agreed solution at the Station was to provide extended platforms and a new footbridge that would enable 12 car High Speed Trains to use the Station without overhanging the level crossing and disrupting the road access.”

 

          In accordance with Council Procedure Rule 12.5, Councillor B W Butcher exercised his right to ask one supplementary question.  

 

(2)       In the absence of Councillor N Dixon the question was not put to the meeting. 

 

(3)       Councillor M J Ovenden asked the Portfolio Holder for Community Services, Councillor M J Holloway:

 

          “Street drinkers continue to blight Dover’s town centre in particular around Pencester Gardens and Market Square where numbers have increased. Their presence and behaviour threatens and deters shoppers and visitors, undermines businesses and Dover’s image. Can the portfolio holder for Community Services explain to Members what the District Council is doing to deal with this serious problem both in the immediate and longer term.”

 

          In response Councillor M J Holloway stated that the level of street drinking and its impact was unacceptable and the Council was taking measures to address it. Kent Police, with support from the Council, had successfully launched Operation Urban to tackle the issue of street drinking and anti-social behavior and the Council had written to licenced premises and businesses in the area to provide them with advice on how they could assist in respect of this matter. The Council was also looking at expanding its enforcement activity in the future and strengthening the Public Spaces Protection Order (PSPO). 

 

(4)       Councillor D Hannent asked the Portfolio Holder for Environment, Waste and Health, Councillor N S Kenton:

 

          “Given the recent publicity concerning the pollution of the marine environment by plastic waste and wider concerns about the environment, can the Cabinet member for the Environment provide some reassurance what this Council is doing to protect the environment?”

 

          In response Councillor N S Kenton stated that the Council would be seeking to develop a green commitment to protect and develop a safe, clean and sustainable environment for current and future generations.

 

          He was intent on achieving a high standard of environmental protection in all service areas, through effective, proactive management and a co-operative effort at all levels, including working in partnership with others. This would be delivered through the development of a new Environmental Policy/Statement drafted by a cross-departmental and cross-party working group and would build on the actions the Council had already taken.

 

          In accordance with Council Procedure Rule 12.5, Councillor D Hannent exercised his right to ask one supplementary question.  

 

(5)       Councillor P M Brivio asked the Portfolio Holder for Housing and Homelessness, Councillor P M Beresford:

 

          “Can the Portfolio holder for Housing and Homelessness explain what the "Right To Buy" criteria is regarding the sale of Elderly Persons accommodation?”

 

          In response Councillor P M Beresford stated that Council homes that were particularly suited for occupation by the elderly were excluded from the Right to Buy under paragraph 11 of Schedule 5 to the Housing Act 1985.

 

          In accordance with Council Procedure Rule 12.5, Councillor P M Brivio exercised her right to ask one supplementary question.  

 

(6)       Councillor P M Brivio asked the Portfolio Holder for Property Management and Environmental Health, Councillor T J Bartlett:

 

          “Can the Portfolio Holder for Property Management and Environmental Health confirm that all employees of contracted services (for example public conveniences) earn the minimum wage and work the statutory hours for a working week?”

 

          In response Councillor T J Bartlett stated that all employers had a legal obligation to comply with the regulations overseen by HM Revenue & Customs concerning the payment of the National Minimum Wage and employee’s working hours. These obligations were built into the conditions of any service contract let by the Council including the contract for public convenience cleansing.

 

(7)       Councillor P Walker asked the Leader of the Council, Councillor K E Morris:

 

          “Will the Leader of the Council please inform us why the Commercial and Residential Investment Project Advisory Groups, set up in February 2017 to make decisions about how to invest the huge amounts of money the council agreed to borrow to finance the purchase of properties, have failed to meet in 18 months, and instead he has allowed these purchases to go through the Executive decision making process?”

 

          In response Councillor K E Morris stated that Project Advisory Groups were not decision making bodies and responsibility for those decisions remained with the Executive. The advisory groups were created to enable the Leader and Portfolio Holders to seek advice as they perceived the need, when considering Executive decisions.

 

          To date the Council had made three significant commercial property purchases which were the B&Q site at Whitfield, the Whitfield Park commercial units and the former Co-op Site. The advisory group’s advice was not required for these decisions.

 

          In accordance with Council Procedure Rule 12.5, Councillor P Walker exercised his right to ask one supplementary question.  

 

(8)       Councillor J M Heron asked the Portfolio Holder for Environment, Waste and Health, Councillor N S Kenton:

 

          “Recently, I and other councillors in Dover have received an increased number of complaints from constituents regarding Veolia’s quality of service; bins are left uncollected, bins are being damaged by Veolia’s staff during collections and a trail of rubbish is being left behind in the streets after collections. Can the Portfolio holder for Environment, Waste and Health confirm what steps will he take to address the concern of our constituents?”

 

          In response Councillor N S Kenton stated that this had not been his experience of Veolia  and if Councillor J M Heron could provide him with some examples he would investigate them further.

 

          Officers from the Waste Services team routinely monitored the performance of Veolia against their contract obligations. The data from these inspections was then used to calculate the figures reported in the quarterly performance report, which consistently showed that standards of cleanliness achieved across the District were generally excellent. The Council had not seen any significant change in the numbers of complaints received over recent months.

 

          In accordance with Council Procedure Rule 12.5, Councillor J M Heron exercised his right to ask one supplementary question.  

 

(9)       Councillor S F Bannister asked the Leader of the Council, Councillor K E Morris:

 

          “Will the Leader of the Council inform the Council of the make-up and remit of the local "Task Force" supposedly preparing for the exit of the United Kingdom from the European Union and what arrangements are in place for reporting progress to this Council, whose residents and businesses will be most directly affected by Brexit?”

 

          In response Councillor K E Morris referred the questioner to the statements he had made under Leader’s Time.

 

          In accordance with Council Procedure Rule 12.5, Councillor S F Bannister exercised his right to ask one supplementary question.  

 

(10)    Councillor M R Eddy asked the Portfolio Holder for Property Management and Environmental Health, Councillor T J Bartlett:

 

“Can the Portfolio Holder for Property Management and Environmental Health inform the Council of the contacts between Dover's Port Health officers and their counterparts in Calais to ensure that the ferries between the two ports are operating safely and hygienically?”

 

In response Councillor N S Kenton offered to meet with the questioner if he had any specific concerns. He advised that he had answered questions of a similar nature in January, May and June of this year and that in each case a detailed answered had been provided.

 

Food Hygiene Legislation and controls required on board vessels are the same in the UK as they are in France. Food Hygiene Inspections were conducted on all ferries commuting between Dover and Calais, by Dover Port Health Officers. Their French equivalents did not conduct food hygiene inspections on board these vessels. In general the ferries were found to operate to the highest of hygiene standards and the Port Health Officers who physically inspected each vessel, every 6 months, had no concerns regarding hygiene on these vessels.

 

In accordance with Council Procedure Rule 12.5, Councillor M R Eddy exercised his right to ask one supplementary question.  

 

(11)    Councillor P J Hawkins asked the Portfolio Holder for Property Management and Environmental Health, Councillor T J Bartlett:

 

“Can the Portfolio Holder for Property Management and Environmental Health inform the Council of the current situation regarding the refurbishment of Deal Pier and what the implications are for the Council's finances and for Deal's tourist season?”

 

In response Councillor T J Bartlett stated that the Council had allocated over £0.5m in this year’s capital programme to fund refurbishment works at Deal Pier. These included resurfacing of the pier stem, urgent concrete repairs, storm damage repair work, the replacement of the timber seating and the upgrading of the restaurant’s water supply and foul sewerage system. In addition, following the closure of the café, defects were also found to the gas supply, which had to be replaced.

 

Work on these matters was progressing well given the difficult access issues and the multiple contractors involved. The pier surfacing work was complete and the new gas main was currently being installed to tie in with the kitchen fit out work which would be being undertaken by the new tenants. This was a substantial investment by the Council in Deal Pier, which he welcomed as it would provide a welcome boost to the tourism offer in Deal.       

 

In accordance with Council Procedure Rule 12.5, Councillor P J Hawkins exercised her right to ask one supplementary question.  

 

(12)    Councillor M R Eddy asked the Portfolio Holder for Access and Licensing, Councillor N J Collor:

 

“Can the Portfolio Holder for Access and Licensing inform the Council of the number of times traffic wardens have visited the Mill Hill ward over the last 12 months in order to check on parking violations?”

 

In response Councillor N J Collor stated that the data was not maintained on a ward level basis. After four hours work it had been established that 29 Penalty Charge Notices had been issued within the Mill Hill Ward over the past 12 months.

 

In accordance with Council Procedure Rule 12.5, Councillor M R Eddy exercised his right to ask one supplementary question.  

 

(13)    Councillor B Gardner asked the Portfolio Holder for Access and Licensing, Councillor N J Collor:

 

“Can the portfolio holder for Access and Licensing please give the Council his opinion as to whether or not Stagecoach is providing the people of this district with the proper standards of service that they should be providing.”

 

In response Councillor N J Collor stated that Stagecoach was a private commercial company. The majority of its vehicles were enviro 400 standard or better, cleaned on a daily basis and 95% of its services operated on time.

 

In accordance with Council Procedure Rule 12.5, Councillor B Gardner exercised his right to ask one supplementary question.  

 

(14)   Councillor B Gardner asked the Leader of the Council, Councillor K E Morris:

 

“Will the Leader of the Council write to his Prime Minster to ask her to give councils the right to take back planning permission for sites that developers are refusing to build on and purely land banking instead to help bolster their balance sheet?”

 

In response Councillor K E Morris stated that the issue of developers not taking up planning permissions, or implementing them slowly, was considered in the Government’s consultation on the review of the National Planning Policy Framework. The new Framework was due imminently and it remained to be seen what policy changes the Government would introduce.

 

The Government had also commissioned Sir Oliver Letwin to specifically investigate the issues around developers’ build out rates and, in particular, the cause of the gap between housing completions and the amount of land allocated or permissioned. Sir Oliver published his analysis at the end of June. His work identified that speed of build out was determined by the “absorption rate” (the rate at which newly constructed homes could be sold into the local market without materially disturbing the market price) and he  suggested some ways in which the absorption rate might be increased.  

 

As Councillor K E Morris had no reason to disagree with Sir Oliverr’s analysis he would not therefore wish to write to the Prime Minister in the terms suggested by the question and would instead rather wait to see the recommendations made by Sir Oliver. 

 

In accordance with Council Procedure Rule 12.5, Councillor B Gardner exercised his right to ask one supplementary question.  

 

(14)    Councillor B Gardner asked the Leader of the Council, Councillor K E Morris:

 

“Would the Leader of the Council agree that the 5 year land supply figures should be assessed on the average number of houses that the developers have actually built in the district over the last 10 years.”

 

In response Councillor K E Morris stated that he would not as the question confused the level of housing that had been built with the level of housing that was needed to meet required needs. The Council as a planning and housing authority should be striving to provide for the housing needs of its current residents and for the needs of the future forecast population rather than measuring itself against an average of past performance. The basis of the question ran counter to National Planning Policy and was not a tenable suggestion.

 

In accordance with Council Procedure Rule 12.5, Councillor B Gardner exercised his right to ask one supplementary question.  

 

(15)    Councillor B Gardner asked the Portfolio Holder for the Built Environment, Councillor J S Back:

 

“Would the portfolio holder for Built Environment please inform the council as to how many planning Enforcement cases are currently still open.”

 

In response Councillor N S Kenton, as the relevant portfolio holder, stated that as at the end of Quarter 1 the total number of ongoing live planning enforcement cases was 186. This was being carefully monitored and would be reported every quarter.

 

In accordance with Council Procedure Rule 12.5, Councillor B Gardner exercised his right to ask one supplementary question