Agenda item

Lord Mayor:  Item 6, questions.  Questions from members of the public.  There are no questions from members of the public that have been received for presentation at tonight’s meeting, therefore I now request questions from Councillors.  Can I request that where any Members have questions for tonight’s meeting they bear in mind the requirements of the Constitution that questions should be asked and answered without discussion and that supplementary questions must be a question for the purposes of clarifying the reply and not a statement.  Please note that I will be seeking to curtail any Member that does not comply with these requirements.  First question from Councillor Dr Barton.

 

Councillor Barton:  Thank you my Lord Mayor.  “Will the collapse of Carillion affect any services in Leicester or threaten any of the Council’s projects?”

 

Lord Mayor:  Thank you Councillor Dr Barton.  A reply by City Mayor, Deputy City Mayor, Councillor Russell please.

 

Councillor Russell:  Thank you my Lord Mayor. May I first of all pass on the City Mayor’s apologies for the full Council meeting this evening.  The absence arises from his acceptance of a recent invitation by the Embassy of the United States of America to a fully subsidised global conference for Leaders and Mayors in Washington DC.  This is a prestigious event and Peter was approached directly by the Embassy as part of the select delegation from the UK.  The programme involves a presentation by the City Mayor to the Washington Institute which showcases the work that has led to the many successes of community cohesion in Leicester.  Peter is of course disappointed to be absent this evening but I hope that we can answer all the questions in his absence.  So to the response to question 1, the main answer is no.  We do not have any exposure to Carillion in terms of any of our main contracts.  However, Carillion is a sub-contractor for BT Openreach super-fast broadband, the contract for which is being operated by the County Council for Leicester and Leicestershire but the company’s role is being picked up by one of the other partners in the contract so that has not left services at risk and if we identify any sub-contractors that Carillion have got working on their behalf the Leicester Enterprise Partnership is working to identify those and provide any support that may be needed.  Thank you my Lord Mayor.   

 

Lord Mayor: Thank you Councillor Russell.  Dr. Barton do you have a supplementary question?

 

Councillor Barton:  Yes I have it is just a short one.  I am relieved to hear that none of our services are going to be affected but it is important that we remember that perhaps having things outsourced is not the best way to deliver services and could we have an agreement that we perhaps need to have a rethink of the Council’s and local authorities generally that perhaps we ought to start bringing things back in-house if that is appropriate.

 

Lord Mayor:   Thank you.  Councillor Russell.

 

Councillor Russell:  Thank you my Lord Mayor and thank you Councillor Dr. Barton for the supplementary.  I believe it is really important that for all the contracts we look at we look at whether we can deliver them better in-house and I will use as an example the civil enforcement officers which are more commonly known as Parking Wardens that we brought back in-house about seven years ago now at the start of the City Mayor’s term from a private provider, recognising that we could provide good value to the tax payers of the city and provide a better service than was being provided by the outsourced company and that is something we are committed to do whenever we are looking at contracts.  Thank you.

 

Lord Mayor:  Thank you Councillor Russell.  Question number 2, Councillor Dr. Barton.

 

Councillor Barton:   “Local music lovers and musicians are disappointed that the Simon Says festival will not take place this year because of improvement works to De Montfort Hall gardens.  Can there be a reassurance that the festival will be back next year with an ongoing commitment to support?”

 

Lord Mayor:  Thank you.  Deputy City Mayor, Councillor Piara Singh Clair.

 

Councillor Clair:  Thank you my Lord Mayor.  We choose the time for all our events very carefully and we use the time to reveal and evaluate what worked well and what might need to change.  Doing so allowed us to make certain that our creative programme is fresh and relevant as it can be.  We cannot guarantee that Simon Says, or indeed any event at De Montfort Hall, will be repeated every year.  We do very much intend to develop a comprehensive outdoor programme from 2019 onward and we would strongly expect that a Simon Says type event will feature as part of that programme but perhaps a significantly different sort of format of that future event.

 

Lord Mayor:  Thank you Councillor Clair.  A supplementary question please?

 

Councillor Barton:  Thank you.  I think it is important to realise that the festival there isn’t just another De Montfort Hall event, it is an important showcase for local talent that involves a wide range of volunteers, local businesses in the form of music venues as well as volunteers that help on the day, as well as the audience members as well of course that have made it a success.  Are there any steps that we can take to support and promote music and so on in the city particularly small venues and so on that this provides a showcase for the things that go on all the year round not just at the festival time.

 

Lord Mayor:  Thank you.  Councillor Clair to respond please.

 

Councillor Clair:  Thank you my Lord Mayor for the supplementary.  As we said different format would mean an event would run either less time or more time featuring the headline act or a high or low income price.  As Councillor Barton has said that we are mindful that there is a good offer commitment to our open air event at De Montfort Hall.  As we have experienced that Simon Says have varied from year to year although popular it rarely breaks even and we would like to break even if possible as I’m sure local bands acts as a real headline act is left by some to real respectable bid so each year last year there is many of a local festival that have sprung upon business even more important that in relation that time is important of Simon Says whatever the event will be in future of what actually happened as well.  So I can assure Councillor Barton that we will work with a group of volunteers, we will work with local bands and also local art organisations to make sure their involvement is valued and we actually continue to provide all of them with more strategic offer at De Montfort Hall.

 

Lord Mayor:  Thank you Councillor Clair.  Question number 3, Councillor Cutkelvin please.

 

Councillor Cutkelvin:  Thank you Chair, sorry thank you Lord Mayor. “Those sleeping rough or in unstable accommodation have a significantly higher level of mental and physical ill health, substance abuse problems and premature mortality than the general public.  Can the City Mayor outline why it is he thinks we are seeing both a national and local increase in homelessness?”

 

Lord Mayor:  Thank you.  Councillor Connelly to reply please.

 

Councillor Connelly:  Thank you for the question.  I would say the very simple reason or very complex reason we are seeing an increase in both local and national homelessness is as a direct result of the policies of the Coalition government and the continuing policies of this present Conservative government.  So we have seen benefits being frozen and reduced, we have seen more people on benefits being subjected to sanctions, we have wages stagnating, we have a reduction in National Health Service funding for mental health services, we have an increase in right to buy and therefore we have less properties that we can house homeless people in, and we have seen insufficient new affordable housing being built, and finally we have seen a dramatic increase in short term tenancies in the private sector.  And it is for those reasons and more all of those policies of the previous Coalition government and this Conservative government that we continue to see increases in both national and local homelessness.  For those who are continuing to take the Guardian now it has moved from a spreadsheet to a tabloid may well have read the article in Saturday’s paper in respect of Milton Keynes who in 2010 had six homeless people within Milton Keynes and now in 2017 there are 48 individuals rough sleeping in Milton Keynes.  Quite a dramatic increase.  In Leicester we continue to work with our partners and with the voluntary sector, NHS, the police to continue to try and reduce rough sleeping in the city and indeed we have made a commitment that we want no rough sleeping in our city by 2020.

 

Lord Mayor:  Thank you Councillor Connelly.  Do you have a supplementary question?

 

Councillor Cutkelvin:  Yes, thank you Lord Mayor.  I welcome the work that the Housing Scrutiny Commission have recently undertaken in looking at the homelessness review and I also recognise that homelessness is a much broader issue than only rough sleeping.  But with the national figures of people sleeping rough at a record high and the roll out of Universal Credit looming over Leicester City later this year, would be City Mayor for Housing agree that we have a limited window of opportunity to ensure the nettle has been fully grasped before we risk allowing this to reach epidemic levels.

 

Lord Mayor:  Thank you.  Councillor Connelly to respond please.

 

Councillor Connelly:  Thank you for the supplementary.  As the Chamber may well be aware we have to review our homelessness strategy every five years, we are presently doing that.  I certainly believe that the strategy which is five years ago has been relatively successful, but we have new challenges and we need to review our strategy and amend and change our strategy in order to recognise the challenges particularly with Universal Credit and we will obviously be implementing the Homelessness Reduction Act fairly soon.

 

Lord Mayor:  Thank you Councillor Connelly.  Question number 4, Councillor Chaplin please.

 

Councillor Chaplin:  Thank you my Lord Mayor.  “What joint agency work is being done to ensure lessons are learned from the tragic deaths of two people in Highfields on the 12^th and 13^th January, deaths on the street.  Thank you?”

 

Lord Mayor.  Thank you. Councillor Connellyto reply please.

 

Councillor Connelly:  Unfortunately the circumstances surrounding these tragic deaths is still unknown.  When we know the cause of the two deaths and depending upon the circumstances there may well be a Coroner’s Inquiry or Safeguarding Adults Board to consider the two cases.  This will include establishing what, if any, lessons can be learnt.

 

Lord Mayor:  Thank you Councillor Connelly.  Do you have a supplementary question?

 

Councillor Chaplin:  Yes my Lord Mayor.  Whilst formal information about what happened is not known and I accept that, I know that some people living locally have their own information particularly about one of the people, and I think that it would be really helpful, we have already talked about the homelessness strategy, if you could say tonight if we are considering the requests that have been put forward for a special facility that incorporates, as Councillor Cutkelvin has said, the fact that a lot of homeless and people without beds to sleep on need somewhere that copes with their particular mental health and addiction issues which are not suitable for a one-size fits all hostel.  Thank you.

 

Lord Mayor:  Thank you.  Councillor Connelly please.   

 

Councillor Connelly:  Thank you for the supplementary.  I will say we really can’t, particularly when it involves death, we can’t operate on anecdotal evidence and we do need to await the outcome if there is a requirement for a Coroner’s Inquiry or Safeguarding Adults Board.  In respect of the issue about a different facility, I will say we have not ruled it out and we have not ruled it in.  We are quite happy to consider that and as I say at this stage we have made no definite decision in respect of the new facility but we are looking at the services that we offer across the city for those who find themselves homeless and sleeping rough.

 

Lord Mayor:  Thank you.  Councillor Chaplin, question number 5 please.

 

Councillor Chaplin:  Thank you my Lord Mayor.  “What is the outcome from discussions with the Fire Authority to ensure that fire safety concerns across all Council and Housing Association homes are addressed and that safety inspections are available should tenants ask for them?”  I appreciate that the City Mayor not being here you may not be able to answer it fully Councillor Connelly.

 

Lord Mayor:  Thank you.  Councillor Connelly please.

 

Councillor Connelly:  Unfortunately Councillor Chaplin is quite right.  I was not party to the discussions.  What I can say is that we continue to work with the Leicestershire Fire Service, we continue to undertake the necessary fire risk assessments and in respect of the question in respect of tenants requesting safety inspections, they can request safety inspections be carried out by the Fire Service but we would urge tenants in the first instance if they have got concerns about fire safety they contact either their local neighbourhood housing officer or their local Councillor and we will obviously look into those concerns, and if the tenant is not happy with the response then we are more than happy to arrange for a visit by the Fire Service.

 

Lord Mayor:  Thank you for your reply.  Councillor Chaplin do you have a supplementary?

 

Councillor Chaplin:  Thank you my Lord Mayor.  So obviously given the fact that the City Mayor is not able to attend I would hope that Councillor Connelly will you be able to make sure that when he does return, perhaps the other Deputy Mayors might be able to as well, that he does actually give me a response or presents a response to the meeting that he did have with the Fire Authority, because he told me when I met with him and yourself before Christmas that he would do that in the New Year.  Thank you.

 

Lord Mayor:  Thank you.  Councillor Connelly please.

 

Councillor Connelly:  I will try and speak to him the moment he steps off the plane.

 

Lord Mayor:  Thank you.  Question number 6, Councillor Chaplin please.

 

Councillor Chaplin:  Thank you my Lord Mayor.  He will love having a welcoming committee.  “Given the wave of interest the soon-to-be unveiled statue of Alice Hawkins has generated, does the Council keep a list of famous Leicester “alumni” and suggestions in how to mark their contribution to the city should developers, groups or individuals want to leave a legacy for the future with a statue or a public square or even a statue in a public square?”

 

Lord Mayor:  Thank you. Councillor Clarke please.

 

Councillor Clarke:  Thank you my Lord Mayor.  From personal experience I understand the process of how to see a statue installed in a city centre, or hopefully will very soon be installed in the city centre.  It really is a process that is quite democratic because it actually starts with a wave of interest and people actually making a suggestion for a statue rather than the Council holding a list.  There is a list on the Story of Leicester website which will be updated when the new website is launched next month in fact, and there is a list on that website that includes many potential people who might be remembered by a statue but it is for people to, as I feel I have, put in a lot of hard graft, do a lot of convincing, talking to various potential funders.  I am very grateful for funding from Unions who helped us get the project off the ground, funding from Jamie Lewis and support from the Council that has helped us deliver the Alice Hawkins statue, and to make that case and to bring people and money with you, is that process of democracy.  Now today we have recently launched Crowd Fund Leicester which I think will make it easier to raise funds for statues, and if people are interested in starting a campaign I can recommend it.  Like I say there is a list on the Story of Leicester website.  If I was going to start a campaign following the Alice Hawkins statue campaign may be people might want to look at Claire Hollingsworth OBE the female journalist who broke the story of the century as the Germans invaded Poland in WW2.  She was a woman of Knighton and I am sure Lynn Moore and Councillor Gugnani would have a great deal of respect for her and a great Leicester women not unlike Alice Hawkins.

 

 Lord Mayor:  Thank you Councillor Clarke.  Councillor Chaplin do you have a supplementary question please?

 

Councillor Chaplin:  Thank you I do.  I have actually been asked to ask about this because there are some people who are actually very interested in something that is not just the name of a square for Joe Orton.  So I appreciate what you are saying Councillor Clarke, but you as an Assistant Mayor obviously have got the whys, wherefores and the means to be able to do all that hard graft, but for ordinary groups, maybe residents groups, there is not quite so transparent the process and I am glad there is already a list but it would be really helpful if there could be a process actually publicised so that it is not just down to Executive Members or Councillors to do it, so will you please be able to put that in motion so that other people can also do that.  Thank you.

 

Lord Mayor:  Thank you. Councillor Clarke please.

 

Councillor Clarke:  I have had a long interest in Alice Hawkins since before I was a Councillor and became friends with Alice’s Great Grandson before I was a Councillor so it does not take a Councillor to do that and the people that campaigned for public art in the city centre that have achieved that.  I have received correspondence from an MP. An MP’s office recently asking me to speak to them about the process we have been through, I would be more than happy, this is an MP out of Leicester, I would be more than happy to talk to people within the city about the lessons learnt from the process that we have been through for the statue of Alice Hawkins and even support where I can a statue of Joe Orton because I think that would be incredibly fitting for the city of Leicester if we can get that support behind it.

 

Lord Mayor:  Thank you.  Question 7, Councillor Chaplin.

 

Councillor Chaplin:   It is not just the Councillor Chaplin show my Lord Mayor.  It’s just that people ask me to ask these questions.  “When is the open exhibition 2018?”

 

Lord Mayor:   Thank you.  Deputy City Mayor, Councillor Clair please.

 

Councillor Clair:  Yes my Lord Mayor.  I can confirm that this year’s Open Exhibition will be held at New Walk Museum in November.

 

Lord Mayor:  Thank you.  A supplementary question please?

 

Councillor Chaplin:  Yes my Lord Mayor.  There has been a lot of toing and froing with the open exhibition over the years.  It is great that it has come back to the pre-Christmas which artists really like, but could you say what consultation with which artists has been to make that decision and how that is being communicated now because some of them are expecting there to be something happening sort of in the Spring.  So if you could answer that question.  Thank you.

 

Lord Mayor:  Thank you.  Councillor Clair please.

 

Councillor Clair:  Thank you my Lord Mayor.  I can see that officer has initially consulted and had feedback from local artist.  They all supported the move of Open Exhibition to New Walk museum as it has been in the past.  Actually initially there was no such intention that we wanted to move Open Exhibition away from New Walk museum because it happens to be circumstances for improvement of New Walk museum and we tried and we have learnt that it has not worked as it would have been successful in New Walk museum, and so we have feedback from artist and also I can see there is a consultation and trail of emails with Councillor Chaplin from officers and also I have consulted and spoken to Malcolm Unsworth and if there are any other artist it is part East Midlands they have not been consulted.  I am happy to take some permanent information from Councillor Chaplin so that we make sure they are all actually aware of that and I hope this will be a great success bringing back this exhibition to the New Walk museum this year.

 

Lord Mayor:  Thank you Councillor Clair.  Question number 8, Councillor Chaplin please.

 

Councillor Chaplin:  Thank you my Lord Mayor. “Why does the financial year for ward community budgets end on the 31^st January?”

 

Lord Mayor:  Councillor Master to reply.

 

Councillor Master:  Thank you Lord Mayor.  The Ward Community Fund financial year ends on the 31^st March in line with the Council’s standard financial policy.  The guidelines for ward funding which were developed with a task group that was set up with Members of this Chamber determined that the applications over £500 would be set out in three branches.  The deadline for the 31^st January was to help and considered to be helpful to enable applicants to plan and organise events through the year and also to assist with the Engagement Officers in ensuring that the over 600 applications we receive on an annual basis can be managed effectively.

 

Lord Mayor:  A supplementary question Councillor Chaplin?

 

Councillor Chaplin:  Thank you my Lord Mayor.  Councillor Kirk, thank you and as a co-councillor obviously you partly understand why I am asking this question.  Will there be a review given that there seems to be some misunderstanding or not enough information available for members of the public or groups who want to apply and also information that is being given to Councillors in terms of the information or the way it is interpreted by officers.  Because it strikes me that these artificial deadlines are not actually working and it is putting people off putting in for money which is not right.  We have this money for groups and for events and things in our wards and people are not coming forward because they think they have missed deadlines.  It would be helpful if there could be a review of the communication and also those false deadlines.  Thank you.

 

Lord Mayor:  Thank you.  Councillor Master please.

 

Councillor Master:  Thank you Lord Mayor.  I have been receiving over 600 applications on an annual basis for ward funding demonstrates that it is quite a simple process and that the Community Engagement Officers are working effectively, and probably could do more, I think we all could do more but the number of applicants clearly demonstrates that this process is working well and I am sure you would echo the programmes and projects that you support in your own Ward would also echo that fact.  However, doing this for nearly three years now this is the first time that this has ever been raised so in terms of the numerous issues in regards to this I am not aware of those.  However, if there are issues that need to be addressed I am more than happy to sit with any Elected Members and discuss those.

 

Lord Mayor:  Thank you.  Question number 9, Councillor Chaplin please.

 

Councillor Chaplin:  Thank you.  I know it is difficult to talk about our Ward.  “At a recent planning committee meeting it was understood that a developer said Leicester had one of the largest, if not the largest, “unmet demands” for places in elderly care homes.  Yet when the Executive took the difficult decision to close or sell the Council’s own care homes it was understood that the rationale was decreasing demand and that that would continue to decrease.  Was the information the decision was based on was it untrue?”

 

Lord Mayor:  Thank you.  Councillor Dempster to reply please.

 

Councillor Dempster:  Thank you Lord Mayor and thank you Councillor Chaplin.  Adult Social Care monitors the number of beds that are available in the independent sector, and we have had a look at the figures for the last 5 years, and there have been no concerns about capacity across the city.  Now in terms of local authority placements in residential care the numbers are reducing year on year.  The number of beds on the other hand across the city is increasing and that is a reflection of the market offering greater choice.  In respect of this planning application I understand that the developer had identified a shortfall in that particular locality.

 

Lord Mayor:  Thank you Councillor Dempster.  Do you have a supplementary question Councillor Chaplin?

 

Councillor Chaplin:  Thank you.  It is really interesting and given the discussion that we also had at Adult Social Care Scrutiny meeting this week it would be helpful perhaps if the government were a bit more or a bit less opaque in terms of the information that comes forward about populations.  But I wondered if the Assistant Mayor what she would say because it seems that what is happening is that the private ones that have been developed are catering for those who are more well off and therefore those people are given a choice but the people who don’t have incomes or houses to sell to provide for their care when they are older if they want to go into a care home or need to, given the pressures on the health service and knock on effect for social services, is there something that we could do, do we need to review the situation going forward in terms of providing care home places for those who are not so wealthy and it wasn’t just in that area that he identified it he said across Leicester.  Thank you.

 

Lord Mayor:  Thank you.  Councillor Dempster please.

 

Councillor Dempster:  OK.  Thanks very much.  I mean certainly we don’t have any concerns as a department in terms of the capacity across the city.  It is a market economy.  We do have a responsibility to make sure that there are enough beds and we are absolutely satisfied that there are enough.  There is a wide choice.  As a local authority we have a responsibility to respond to need and I am absolutely satisfied that someone who comes forward and wishes to go into residential care and meets the criteria that there is no question that they are then able to get an appropriate placement within the city.

 

Lord Mayor:  Thank you Councillor Dempster.  Question number 10, Councillor Chaplin please.

 

Councillor Chaplin: You will be glad this is the last one I have got tonight my Lord Mayor.  “Has there been any progress with regard to more parking spaces being installed and marked out at Victoria Park car park, and when will the card payment machine be operational?”

 

Lord Mayor:  Thank you.  Councillor Master please.

 

Councillor Master:  Thank you Lord Mayor.  Thank you for the question.  I only recently visited Victoria Park car park just before Christmas in December actually and we identified a number of opportunities to install additional parking bays that had not been previously laid out in the initial scheme.  So at the this moment in time officers are currently looking for the additional pieces of items like the markings that go on the floor to match what we have done historically, look at formalising an area where we can do some additional motor cycle parking bays as well.  So this is in progress and should be done very shortly.  In regards to the machine for the payment the chip and pin, we have been very disappointed with the supplier and the City Mayor has actually written the supplier stating this fact.  The senior officer had a meeting with the Head of Sales for that company only shortly ago and we are expecting a full response by them by early February, hopefully with the machine being up and running in that time as well.

 

Lord Mayor:  Thank you.  Could you please make a specific question as a supplementary question please.

 

Councillor Chaplin:   This is local democracy in progress my Lord Mayor because these are questions as I say that we have been asked to ask.  So in terms of the provider for the machines, what steps will be taken if it isn’t operational by February?

 

Lord Mayor:   Thank you.  Councillor Master please.

 

Councillor Master:  I think an obvious answer would be try and find a different supplier and get it fixed as quickly as possible.

 

Lord Mayor:  Thank you.  Councillor Willmott, question number 11.

 

Councillor Willmott:  Thank you my Lord Mayor. I would like to ask Councillor Clair to answer the question in my name: “At a public meeting in December last year he as Deputy Mayor supported by myself and Councillor Patel and all those present at the public meeting, made a commitment to commission a feasibility study into building a new library and community room for Rushey Mead.  Please can he tell Council of what progress he has made with this study so far?”  Thank you my Lord Mayor.

 

Lord Mayor:  Thank you.  Deputy City Mayor, Councillor Clair please.

 

Councillor Clair:  Thank you my Lord Mayor.  It may have been misunderstanding on behalf of Councillor Willmott.  I was very clear that I was not in favour of that there will be a possibility of new built library at the site of existing library and I was mindful of the decision accepted and this Council took last year in January and I gave my undertaking that I would take this issue with Councillor Master on the feasibility study of bringing library service under one roof because the creation of centre and that is what Councillor Kirk Master has instructed officer and he will actually come up with those proposals out of that feasibility study what would be the next step and what will the timescale to improve and enhance our offer which we all Councillors and also Rushey Mead Ward Members deserve and I hope that will meet the requirement as they deserve so.

 

Lord Mayor:  Thank you.  Supplementary question Councillor Willmott?

 

Councillor Willmott:  Thank you my Lord Mayor.  I am a bit confused, I don’t think I am under any misunderstanding because we all spoke separately at the meeting when I put the question and said we were committed to asking Councillor Master for a feasibility study for a new library.  We did not specify where so I accept what Councillor Clair says about that.  I just would like him to clarify whether he will now agree because there were 40 or 50 people present who heard him say that he would commit to delivering a feasibility study for a new library.  Will he now confirm that he will do so?  Thank you my Lord Mayor.

 

Lord Mayor:  Thank you.  Councillor Clair please.

 

Councillor Clair:  My Lord Mayor.  As I said I made my position very clear.  The feasibility study which I have asked Councillor Kirk Master to do is the recreation centre and bring library service into one room which is the recreation centre and that is what Councillor Master will do.

 

Lord Mayor:  Thank you. Question number 12, Councillor Willmott.

 

Councillor Willmott:  Thank you my Lord Mayor. My next question is to Councillor Master which follows on quite neatly then.  “I am asking Councillor Master to tell Council what discussions he has had with Councillor Clair about commissioning a feasibility study for a new library and community room in Rushey Mead, as indeed was the promise made in front of at least 50 people at the public meeting in December?”  Thank you my Lord Mayor.

 

Lord Mayor:  Councillor Master please.

 

Councillor Master:  Thank you Lord Mayor.  I think as Councillor Clair has highlighted as he did not make that commitment and he has made quite clear, I also did not have that conversation with him about commissioning a piece of work for a new facility.  However, he is correct in outlining that I have commissioned a feasibility study for the discussions that we have previously had in his Chamber about relocating the Rushey Mead library into the recreation centre.

 

Lord Mayor:  Thank you.  A supplementary question Councillor Willmott?

 

Councillor Willmott:  Well, bizarre answers to my questions my Lord Mayor.  There is no need to commission a feasibility study into a proposal that has already been agreed by the Executive which is to move the Rushey Mead library into the recreation centre, effectively closing the library.  I say I am astonished I would like to invite both Councillor Clair and Councillor Master to come to Rushey Mead and meet with the 40 or 50 so people that heard Councillor Clair give an undertaking and explain themselves.  I hope they will take up that invitation my Lord Mayor.  Thank you.

 

Lord Mayor:  Councillor Master please.

 

Councillor Master:  Thank you Lord Mayor.  I made no commitment as you outlined in your first question to Councillor Clair so I have no responsibility to your Ward members or the group that we met in regards to me making a commitment to them.  However, in terms of the feasibility study the reason the feasibility study was being taken on the Rushey Mead recreation centre in regards to the library is to incorporate all the discussions that I have had with the campaigners and yourself and Councillor Clair and Councillor Patel.  That was the reason that was done to ensure that all of their points were taken into consideration when we do make the amendments to the building later on this year.

 

Lord Mayor:  Thank you Councillor Master.  Question number 13, Councillor Willmott please.

 

Councillor Willmott:  Thank you my Lord Mayor.  Yes can I ask Councillor Master “to inform Council about the preparations that he has made for the introduction of Universal Credit.  It has already been mentioned tonight in the Council meeting.  For instance has he arranged for the recruitment of extra advisers and special training that will be needed for existing staff?”  Thank you Lord Mayor.

 

Lord Mayor:  Thank you Councillor Master to reply.

 

Councillor Master:  Thank you Lord Mayor and thank you for the question.  I think that everybody in this Chamber realises it is a very unpopular roll out by the government and one which undoubtedly is going to prove difficult for many of our constituents and communities around the city.  But could I just remind people that we currently administer the housing benefit that people receive in this city and there is approximately 30,000 households that do that.  Universal Credit is administered by the Department of Work and Pensions and we receive no funding to support this as part of the claims process and we have no part in this.  However, to answer Councillor Willmott’s question, we are working across both my area and Councillor Connelly’s housing area which will obviously be impacted by this going forward, and we are looking at a range of different things that we can do.  With the delay in the decision for the roll out which will now be in June although that is still not confirmed but we have been told June 2018, we are working in partnership with the Job Centre to plan and roll out and support the requirements of the city residents; improve the adult learning offer to support growing and digital language skills across the city; recruiting additional resources in housing to assist our tenants, particularly those with complex needs; developing pilot schemes for such housing providers and advice services in all city centre Job Centre Plus sites; working with private sector landlord forums and floating support providers to understand Universal Credit to ensure they are aware of the support available to tenants; reviewing our own discretionary policies to ensure they are targeted to support the most vulnerable; ensuring that the welfare advice contracts enable the targeted support for Universal claimants into difficulty and that providers are appropriate skilled; and obviously supporting the digital offer.  This is an area as well that Scrutiny has been concerned in and will go to Scrutiny and I would like to make this offer here.  We have got a bit of time to do this.  Not a huge amount of time and there is a commitment as I said within my area and Andy’s area to try and get this right for as many as our residents across the city.  If there are additional ideas and suggestions and thoughts that any of my colleagues have I would be more than happy to work those in, as I am sure Andy would as well through his area.

 

Lord Mayor:  Thank you Councillor Master.  Do you have a supplementary question?

 

Councillor Willmott:  Thank you my Lord Mayor.  Yes I would like to thank Councillor Master for his answer.  I am not quite sure if he has answered my question, but I would like to take up hisoffer and I would suggest that he tells us now or very soon how many extra staff the Council will be employing to help people with their initial applications for Universal Credit. This is the first time my Lord Mayor that our citizens have to apply on line.  They cannot fill a form in and I think this will impact hugely on the people in our city.  If they don’t get it right the first time then they will not get their benefit.  There is a delay anyway.  If there are council tenants and they don’t get their money they will stop paying their rent and we will be faced as a Council with huge arrears.  We have to have more people employed by this Council to help people as soon as this is introduced otherwise everybody will get behind, we will be having to evict our own tenants from housing.  So please can I have an assurance from Councillor Master that he will employ some more people specifically trained to advise people on how to get Universal Credit in the first place.  Thank you my Lord Mayor.

 

Lord Mayor:  Councillor Master please.

 

Councillor Master:  Thank you my Lord Mayor and I think that is a fair challenge to be totally honest and once we have kind of ratified the challenges that other authorities have faced in and around this and the roll out of the ones that have already faced the roll out, I think once we have had a look at that and done a bit of a deep dive and took on board some suggestions and ideas, I am sure that is a challenge that I would like to come back and say on the back of this we will, between housing and the departments that are interested in this area of business looking to recruit some additional staff to help the citizens across the city.

 

Lord Mayor:  Thank you. Councillor Porter welcome.  Do you have any declarations of interest?

 

Councillor Porter:  Not so far.

 

Lord Mayor:  OK fine.  That is good.  Question number 14, Councillor Kitterick please.

 

Councillor Kitterick:  Thank you Lord Mayor.  “Will the Cabinet Member for the Environment meet with representatives of Friends of the Earth to discuss alternative ideas to improve the safety and environment of St George’s churchyard which do not involve the removal of 21 trees?”

 

Lord Mayor:  Councillor Clarke to reply please.

 

Councillor Clarke:  Thank you my Lord Mayor.  I have already virtually met with members of Friends of the Earth online and via email and am glad to see two members of Friends of the Earth in the public gallery this evening.  I also invited to meet with them on the 16^th January and had a response on the 22^nd January and we just need to get a date in the diary now.

 

Lord Mayor:  A supplementary question please?

 

Councillor Kitterick:   Lord Mayor can I welcome Councillor Clarke’s response.  I had the pleasure of attending the very wet but well attended protest at St. George’s churchyard on Saturday when the highest attendance at any one point was 70 people which I think shows the strength of feeling about this issue.  Will Councillor Clarke look at some of the new ideas which came out of that day which will address probably the most problematic part of going through the churchyard which is the fact that actually you have got a turn where you can’t see the full length?  I think they have come up with some very good ideas to sort that problem without demolishing the church and I don’t think we will need to remove the trees either.  Will Councillor Clarke look at these new ideas.

 

Lord Mayor:  Thank you Councillor Kitterick.  Councillor Clarke please.

 

Councillor Clarke:   Thank you my Lord Mayor and thank you Councillor Kitterick.  Of course any way that we can achieve the principles of the project which have been there since the Cultural Quarter was first envisioned in 2000 when St. George’s Quarter, as it was called then, was one of the three key big ideas of the Cultural Quarter at the time, and this work has been on the books since then.  But any way that we might be able to do that without removing so many trees, any suggestions are very welcome.  I will remind Members though that we did go out to consultation on this in 2016 when the overwhelming response to the consultation was that 26 trees should be removed, Councillor Waddington will know it well because she put that to the Executive, and also put an alternative option which was supported which was to remove those 21 trees that are now part of the current scheme.  However, I recognise that new ideas can come forward at a very, very late stage and I welcome the ideas that I have seen on Facebook and I have asked officers to look at those ideas ahead of a meeting with Friends of the Earth.  I have met Friends of the Earth on many occasions before, I facilitated events for them and we have shared platforms together, I consider myself a friend of Friends of the Earth and I am happy to work with them to try and get the right scheme that achieves those aims that have been in place for nearly two decades.

 

Lord Mayor:  Thank you Councillor Clarke.  Question number 15, Councillor Dr. Barton please.

 

Councillor Dr. Barton:  Thank you my Lord Mayor.  “Congratulations Councillor Clarke and everybody that made the installation of the statue of Alice Hawkins possible.  1918 is the centenary of the Representation of the People Act that saw not only women over 30 who met a qualification allowed to vote but also all working class men regardless of their wealth and income.  Are there plans to commemorate this important step towards democracy and working class political representation?”

 

Lord Mayor:  Thank you.  Councillor Clarke to reply please.

 

Councillor Clarke:  Thank you my Lord Mayor and thank you Councillor Barton.  She says who made the installation of the statue of Alice Hawkins possible.  It isn’t yet installed.  It has still got to make its journey up from a foundry in London on the back of a flatbed lorry.  So I am still not counting my chickens.  The plinth will be installed this Friday.  Once that is installed we will be commencing a year of activity using the government equality officer’s Centenary City’s funding.  We were very fortunate to achieve £190,000 of that total £1.2m grant that came to us quite late last year, the news of that funding.  We are putting together a programme almost as we speak.  We must recognise that some men achieved franchise as result of the Representation of the People Act.  I am keen for that to be remembered through the scheme.  But Alice won’t only represent women getting the vote, I think she will represent something to us all and that is that fire that we will all feel I think when we see an injustice and want to do something about it.  So Alice will still say even more than the celebration of women getting the vote and I hope that people agree with that when they see the statue.

 

Lord Mayor:  Thank you.  A supplementary question please?

 

Councillor Barton:  It is interesting to note that the Leicester Council passed a resolution in 1884 in favour of extending parliamentary franchise to women who could already vote since 1869 in local elections.  But democracy is not just about voting but participation and representation.  Women and men have to be involved and educated and feel they have an interest in the outcomes.  What steps are taken by the Council to encourage women and people from non-privileged backgrounds to be engaged and involved in the Council and community activities?

 

Lord Mayor:  Councillor Clarke please.

 

Councillor Clarke:  I said that a programme was being put together as part of the centenary city’s initiative.  Actually a programme has already started so there is work going on in schools as we speak and I am reminded of Alice’s words to her grandchildren when she would tell them “use your vote we suffer for it” and I think that those words should be remembered today.  Not only that I believe in votes at 16 for young people.  I think our party should continue to campaign for lowering the age of franchise and we must continue to ensure that our young people register to vote and our party has been particularly good at that in recent years and there is always more we can do to promote the participation in democracy at every level. 

 

Lord Mayor:  Thank you Councillor Clarke.  Question 16, Councillor Singh please.

 

Councillor Singh:  Thank you my Lord Mayor.  “Would the Chair of the Health and Wellbeing Board inform the Council of the problems encountered by A&E at the Leicester Royal Infirmary over the Christmas period to date?”

 

Lord Mayor:   Councillor Clarke to reply.

 

Councillor Clarke:  Thank you my Lord Mayor and thank you Councillor Singh.  I am sure the chamber will understand that we don’t hold data associated with the NHS, that is held with the NHS.  A request has been made to the Chief Executive of UHL to provide a summary of performance over the winter period and I will make sure that that performance report comes to Members in a timely way.  It is safe to say it has been a very difficult winter.  I think we must praise the professionalism of NHS staff across the NHS in our city and beyond under these trying circumstances.  We must also praise our own officers, particularly in Adult Social Care and Public Health who work with their public sector colleagues in the NHS to ensure that peoples’ transfer of care back into the community is as smooth as possible under incredibly trying circumstances.  And finally we must praise those Council officers here at Leicester City Council who took up the opportunity of having the flu jab which has helped to at least lessen slightly some of the impacts on the pressure on our NHS, our wonderful NHS colleagues.

 

Lord Mayor:  Thank you Councillor Clarke.  Do you have a supplementary question?

 

Councillor Singh:  Yes I do Lord Mayor.  Thank you Councillor Clarke.  I would say Lord Mayor that this is a perennial problem, one which the UHL clearly seems to be incapable of managing even with a new A&E facility.  And it is nothing to do with the staff.  I would suggest that there should be a critical review of the management of the A&E strategy.  I wonder if the Chair of Health and Wellbeing would agree with that and does he think that he may have some other suggestions on behalf of the Council and the city residents which may alleviate this particular problem that we are facing year on.

 

Lord Mayor:  Councillor Clarke please.

 

Councillor Clarke:  Thank you my Lord Mayor and thank you Councillor Singh.  I think that is potentially a question that is better directed at the Chair of Scrutiny for Health and Wellbeing who scrutinises the work of the NHS in the city and I have seen the Scrutiny Committee in action and they do a very good job talking to the Chief Executive Officer about the problems that are being felt within UHL currently.  We must remember that those problems are underpinned as it were by a government that does not believe in the NHS.

 

Lord Mayor: Thank you.  Question 17, Councillor Singh.

 

Councillor Singh:  Yes Lord Mayor I need to continue with this line of questioning.  “How many types, how many and types of operations have been cancelled and what is being done to recover from this horrendous position?”  I hope that Councillor Clarke may have the information.

 

Lord Mayor:  Yes, Councillor Clarke please.

 

Councillor Clarke:  Once again my Lord Mayor thank you. Once again Councillor Singh we are waiting for data to come forward.  Councillor Singh asks what is being done.  Councillor Singh and the rest of the Labour Group in this chamber are working hard for a change of government, working hard to see Jon Ashworth MP in the Department of Health and Social Care and not Jeremy Hunt and working hard to see Jeremy Corbyn in Downing Street, and any divergence, detraction, distraction would do a disservice to those people who have been kept on hospital beds in corridors, who have delayed transfers of care and indeed have suffered over four hour waits in Accident and Emergency.  That is what we must do.  The NHS in my view is in a state of managed decline, there are tens of billions of pounds of savings being sought within the NHS when need is rising, there is up to 2010 in the history of the NHS there was an annual increase in budget of 4% a year, since then that has gone down to 1%.  That isn’t a policy for the health of the nation. That is a policy in a deterioration of a much loved service created by our party Councillors.

 

Lord Mayor:  Thank you.  Do you have a supplementary question?

 

Councillor Singh:  I do Lord Mayor.  Can I say that I have sympathy with Councillor Clarke in relation to the fact that we are still pending waiting for information, but to say that hundreds of appointments for ordinary members of the public are still being cancelled, have been cancelled and are continuing to be cancelled and I am just of the opinion that with his credentials as the Chair of the Health and Wellbeing Board for the Authority that he would add his voice to the UHL Board to make those very strong representations which he has articulated to the Secretary of State so that we can tackle this problem and I am of the opinion that he may well agree with that suggestion.  Thank you.

 

Lord Mayor:  Councillor Clarke please.

 

Councillor Clarke:  You are very perceptive.  Your view is one that I would share and obviously I have regular conversations often in partnership with the Chair of Scrutiny as well.  We perform very different roles as chairs of our respective Board and the Committee, but we will absolutely be talking to in a spirit of critical friendship with our UHL colleagues and in the spirit of criticism with the government.

 

Lord Mayor:  Thank you Councillor Clarke.  Question number 18, Councillor Porter please.

 

Councillor Porter:  Yes, thank you Lord Mayor.  Before I start could I just mention no disrespect to Sir Peter’s number twos that he has put up tonight, but I had no idea he would not be here and there are just a couple of questions which I would really like to hear the answer to.

 

Lord Mayor:  You can either put the questions you want specifically answered by the City Mayor or your questions whichever they are they will be answered by specific Assistant Mayors so you may continue.

 

Councillor Porter:  Oh right yes, so you are happy for me to withdraw probably just one.

 

Lord Mayor:  It is up to you.  Just let us know which

 

Councillor Porter:  Can they be put to the next meeting?

 

Lord Mayor:  Sorry.

 

Councillor Porter:  Can I then bring them back to the next meeting when he is here?

 

Lord Mayor:  Yes, yes.

 

Councillor Porter:  Alright ok cheers.

 

Lord Mayor:  So which questions are you going to withdraw?  Or you will do it as you go along.

 

Councillor Porter:  Yes it was just probably the last one.

 

Lord Mayor:  OK so are you asking question 18?

 

Councillor Porter:  Yes I will start at question 18.

 

Lord Mayor:  OK let’s go.

 

Councillor Porter:  “How much money is the Council selling the land at Franklyn Fields for“?

 

Lord Mayor:  Thank you.  Councillor Russell to reply please.

 

Councillor Russell:  Thank you my Lord Mayor and apologies to Councillor Porter for not being the City Mayor but hopefully you will be comfortable with the response.  The land at Franklyn Fields is to be sold to Morris Homes consists of approximately 8.36 acres of developable land and this sale was approved by a decision notice effective from the 28^th August 2015 at a sale price of £750,000 per net developable acre.  There is provision in the contract for allowable costs to be deducted from this price to arrive at the final sale price and this exercise has yet to be undertaken.

 

Lord Mayor:  Thank you Councillor Russell.  Do you have a supplementary question please?

 

Councillor Porter:  Yes.  When the exercise is undertaken could the Deputy Assistant Mayor please let me know?  Thank you.

 

Lord Mayor:   Thank you.  Councillor Russell to respond please.

 

Councillor Russell:  Yes I am sure we can let you know when that exercise has been undertaken.

 

Lord Mayor:   Thank you.  Councillor Porter with question 19.

 

Councillor Porter:  “Do the Council’s investment management companies have any positions in Carillion?”

 

Lord Mayor:  Councillor Russell to reply please.

 

Councillor Russell:  Thank you my Lord Mayor.  No.

 

Lord Mayor:  A supplementary question?

 

Councillor Porter:  Yes that is surprising because I think it was quite widely reported that Black Rock had a number of positons in Carillion and also it is surprising because we all know how much the Council loves to chuck money into loss making businesses.

 

Lord Mayor:  Question please.

 

Councillor Porter:  This is serious, this is serious.

 

Lord Mayor:  Question please.

 

Councillor Porter:  As we all know the Council is extremely good at creating economic development using other people’s money, so once it became clear that Carillion was in difficulty how quickly were the government on the phone to the City Council asking for advice.

 

Lord Mayor:  OK.  Councillor Russell.

 

Councillor Russell:  I am not sure that is a question that it is appropriate for me to answer actually Lord Mayor.  I think that question is said in some level of jest and therefore I will not deem it an answer.

 

Lord Mayor:  Thank you.  Question number 20, Councillor Porter please.

 

Councillor Porter:  I am sure Sir Peter would not have shied away from that one, but having said that we are dealing with number twos at the moment so “Over the last 12 months how much has the Council spent on buying property – that is building and /or land?”

 

Lord Mayor:  Thank you.  Councillor Russell to reply.

 

Councillor Russell:  Thank you my Lord Mayor.  The Council has spent £10,708,500 on the purchase of land and buildings in the last 12 months.  These include purchases in the Waterside and other ones, investment properties that were announced just prior to Christmas.

 

Lord Mayor:  Thank you.  A supplementary question Councillor Porter?

 

Councillor Porter:  Yes.  This actually relates you may remember a few months ago we had a review of the Council’s Investment Strategy and as part of that there was a certain amount of money which the Council invests in property development schemes in the market and in the money markets.  So my question is where did the £10m plus, £10.7m actually come from.  Did the Council borrow the money or did it come out of the Investment Strategy?

 

Lord Mayor:  Thank you.  Councillor Russell please.

 

Councillor Russell:  That isn’t detail I have been given this evening.  My understanding is that it will be a mix of those.  But I do think it is worth pointing out that in terms of the purchase of York House which is the largest proportion of that money, it is done on the basis that the cost of that is recouped within a 16 year period because of the rent that we were paying to occupy that building already and for a variety of reasons, most crucially area traffic control, we can’t actually move out of that building so it became a sensible long term investment for the authority.  Thank you Lord Mayor.

 

Lord Mayor:  Thank you Councillor Russell.  Question number 21, Councillor Porter.

 

Councillor Porter:  Yes, once again I am sure Sir Peter would have been able to give an answer to that question but we are where we are and no I have not got any objection, I mean I can always ask these questions again can’t I when we have got the main man here.  Right, “In terms of the revenue account how much money in total did the Council spend in 2012-13?”

 

Lord Mayor:  Councillor Russell to reply please.

 

Councillor Russell:  Thank you my Lord Mayor.  Revenue spend can be defined in various different ways and Councillor Porter wasn’t specific so I will give him a range of answers and he can choose which one he actually meant to ask about.  So, from the 2013 statement of accounts, gross expenditure on services was £1.01b after taking into account grants and other income net expenditure was £281.6m.  This includes amounts outside the general fund e.g. the HRA with schools and various accounting adjustments and from our own monitoring general fund outturn expenditure for the year was £273.6m.

 

Lord Mayor:  Councillor Porter do you have a supplementary question?

 

Councillor Porter:  Yes the supplementary is regarding exactly the same question but could she give me the figures for 2013-2014.

 

Lord Mayor:  Councillor Russell.

 

Councillor Russell:  Funnily enough my Lord Mayor I don’t carry those figures around in my head and as Councillor Porter did not request them prior to the meeting I do not have them with me.  Thank you.

 

Lord Mayor:  Question number 22 please.

 

Councillor Porter:  Right, yes.  “Are the Council satisfied with the decline in visitor numbers at the Richard III visitor centre?”

 

Lord Mayor:  Councillor Clair to reply please.

 

Councillor Clair:  Thank you my Lord Mayor.  There has been a drop in visitor numbers which was actually expected and the visitor numbers across in the beginning it was always expected that it will be really good high number and it was.  Then we all know that after any event and any such sort of attraction that it is not sustainable for a long time and we have learnt that even Space Science Centre has the same experience and it took them to come to their sustainability nearly number of years and King Richard III Centre is settling down to more natural level of visitors following a very high profile story and launch, boosted by even higher profile reinternment within those eight months when we find out that 366 million viewers across the world which it has put Leicester on the lime light that we have actually achieved something, and no one ever even found and reburied a medieval king before so everyone was unsure what would happen after the initial wave of visitors and how those numbers would sustain.  The Centre also now having a different employment strategies where they are focusing more and working closely with schools and colleges on educational activities and also on coach trips, group visits both of which are steadily really working the growth and it is going up.  And it has been developing other schemes of income which is the King Suite on the top where they are organising some corporate event and also private parties and room hire which also another issue they have taken that our catering they have taken in-house which actually enhance some more income.  My Lord Mayor it is important to stress that for many visitor attraction sustainability does not just come from the ticket sale, but even though this does not help us the general state of economy, consumer confidence and disposable income which has been squeezed by natural economic decline. And also the visitor centre attraction similarly having the same sort of difficulty up and down the country as Member may have seen the East Midland news that Visit Britain personally actually reflect that it is not only Leicester this trend is nationally actually many those attraction up and down the country but we need to be proud of what we have invested and what we have actually created a legacy of Leicester’s 500 years history will first that King was buried under a car park and this is something we need to be proud of.  I hope it will be a sustainable project.  

 

Lord Mayor:  Thank you Councillor Clair. Do you have a supplementary question Councillor Porter?

 

Councillor Porter:  Yes, yes.  I mean that answer was very contradictory.  I mean on the one hand you are saying it is going up and then you are saying it is going down due to economic decline.  I mean really it sounds to me like you are satisfied that it is declining and you are coming up with every excuse under the sun to accept that.  But I mean 366 million views across the world you say.  There is 9 million visitors to Leicester but the numbers of people actually going to the visitor centre is declining.  The target was set at 100,000 and I think we are down to about 70,000.  It really isn’t very good.  Isn’t it about time the Council spoke to the people who operate that and seriously considered reviewing the pricing structure? Because anybody who operates in a business knows that if a product is not selling,..

 

Lord Mayor:  Councillor Porter question please.

 

Councillor Porter:  Yes the thing to do is to reduce the price, so clearly on the evidence of a 30% decline in visitor numbers would the Council seriously consider reviewing the pricing structure to try

 

Lord Mayor:  So you want the Council to review the pricing structure.

 

Councillor Porter:  Yes that is a good idea.

 

Lord Mayor:   You could have asked that in the first instance.

 

Councillor Porter:  Yes excellent idea.  Thank you.

 

Lord Mayor:  Councillor Clair please.

 

Councillor Clair:  My Lord Mayor I was not contradicting myself, I just mentioned that the economic climate has not even affected us it is a national trend, just to make it clear.  Obviously this is not now a Council run facility it is a trust and we don’t contribute to its running cost and I sit on that board myself and I am happy to actually look into the pricing structure and this is really something I feel that this project and this centre has made us proud and it will be sustainable and this is my personal belief and it has been very successful.

 

Lord Mayor:  Thank you Councillor Clair.  Question 23, Councillor Porter.

 

Councillor Porter:  Yes, thank you Lord Mayor.  “Regarding the bus lane and bus gate penalty scheme can the Council give full details about the exemptions, that is basically the circumstances when motorists are not in contravention if they drive into a bus lane or go through a bus gate?”

 

Lord Mayor:  Thank you.  Councillor Clarke please.

 

Councillor Clarke:  Thank you my Lord Mayor.  The Council has an approved Discretionary Waiver Policy which has been in place since 2012, section 3 addresses the specific question raised and is as follows: Reasons for waiving a PCM include:-  vehicle was stolen; cloned vehicle; delivery to and from business which can only be accessed by crossing the bus gate; the recipient was not the keeper of the vehicle; the vehicle was on operational police business; the keeper of the vehicle is a hire firm and the hirer has signed a statement of liability for any penalty charge notice.  Its exclusions include:  licenced hackney carriages; bicycles; emergency service vehicles; a vehicle removing an obstruction in the bus lane; a public cleansing vehicle; a vehicle being used in connection with building operations; a Network Rail vehicle responding to an incident; a Royal Mail vehicle collecting or delivering; vehicles crossing the bus lane to enter or leave land or premises adjacent to the bus lane.  I would be more than happy to distribute that list to you Nigel if you did not note all of that.

 

Lord Mayor:  Thank you.  Do you have a supplementary question?

 

Councillor Porter:  Yes.  There is an issue here because….

 

Lord Mayor:  Question please, no statements.

 

Councillor Porter:  The question relates to the information that we have just been given because according to the Policy which is listed up on the Council’s website it isn’t a contravention if you are to enable a vehicle to drive through a bus lane or a bus gate in order to pick up or drop off a passenger.  Is that correct? So that isn’t also a contravention.

 

Lord Mayor:  What is your question.

 

Councillor Porter:  Well he did not mention that because if you look at the figures for Horsefair Street there is a huge number of people that have gone through there.  Now they could easily have been picking up and dropping off.

 

Lord Mayor:  Can you please ask a question.

 

Councillor Porter:  So will the Council publicise the fact that it is not a contravention to drop off or pick up a passenger either in a bus lane or by going through a bus gate?

 

Lord Mayor:  Councillor Clarke please.

 

Councillor Clarke:  Thank you my Lord Mayor.  Councillor Porter has completely misunderstood the policy.

 

Lord Mayor:  Thank you.  Question number 24, Councillor Porter please.

 

Councillor Porter:  I think he has completely misunderstood it.   Well it is true it is in black and white Adam have a look yourself.  “Regarding the bus lane and bus gate penalty system can the Council explain who takes what cut and what proportion of the fine money or the penalty money that is actually collected as a result of people infringing or making a contravention?”

 

Lord Mayor:  Thank you.  Councillor Clarke please.

 

Councillor Clarke:  Councillor Porter asks “the Council” to explain.  I will remind Councillor Porter that he is part of “the Council” as a Councillor and does have the ability to ask questions of officers as we all do.  All income from bus lane and bus gate penalties is retained by the Council after deducting costs from Nottingham City Council for their back office administration services.  This net income is used to reinvest in the bus lane / bus gate penalty system and to fund other transport strategy schemes e.g. supported bus services and concessionary fares.

 

Lord Mayor:  Thank you Councillor Clarke.  Councillor Porter a specific supplementary question please.

 

Councillor Porter:  Yes the question actually is could he please answer the question that I just put which was regarding the bus lane and bus gate penalty system – can the Council explain who takes what cut.  He has obviously explained how the cut works.  I want to know who takes what cut and in what proportion.  So what proportion of the money collected does Nottingham City Council for example keep?

 

Lord Mayor:   Councillor Clarke.

 

Councillor Chaplin:  Is it possible that Councillor Clarke couldn’t speak so quickly because it is actually quite difficult to listen to what he is saying.  Because I know these points are not important or important depending on what your views is but it is not very easy to hear him.

 

Lord Mayor:  OK I will request Councillor Clarke to speak a little bit slowly.

 

Councillor Porter:  I think he is a bit nervous.

 

Lord Mayor:  He is not nervous OK you just carry on.  Councillor Clarke to reply please.

 

Councillor Porter:  Like he was at the Ward meeting but …….

 

Lord Mayor:  Now, now Council Porter I will have none of that OK.

 

Councillor Clarke:  Lucy, do say if I am speaking too quickly.  I think Councillor Porter is actually asking me his next question which is question 25 which if I am not incorrect is about the cut of Nottingham City Council and I can answer that question now.  So Nottingham City Council is administration payments that we have paid to the 25^th January were £1,300,000 just above that, but we have made a surplus of £2.4m.  We expect that to reduce and we will monitor that and look to see whether it would be more financially expedient to bring that back in-house but currently we feel that the agreement we have with Nottingham City Council does provide good value for money but obviously we will keep that under review and look to bring it back in-house should that be the best thing for the finances of the city.

 

Lord Mayor:  Thank you.  Councillor Porter, question number 25.

 

Councillor Porter:  I will actually withdraw that question and move to the next question.

 

Lord Mayor:  That is fine.

 

Councillor Porter:  Straight on to question 26, “In terms of the revenue account”, oh actually this is Councillor Russell so do you think we will get an answer.  I will withdraw that one as well.  No offence, no offence.  Alright I will go with that one because she looks a bit upset.

 

Lord Mayor:  I will not, Councillor Porter, I will not have this type of behaviour.  If you want to ask a specific question do ask.

 

Councillor Porter:  Thank you Lord Mayor.  Yes I will stick with this because I didn’t really want to offend her by…

 

Lord Mayor:  Well you already have.

 

Councillor Porter:  Well it was not intentional if that is the case.  I don’t think Councillor Russell……

 

Lord Mayor:  Refrain from using those type of language please.  Carry on with question 26 now.

 

Councillor Porter:  Well if you can clarify the type of language.

 

Lord Mayor:  Question 26 Councillor Porter.

 

Councillor Porter:  Well Ok.  Councillor Russell apologies if you were offended but the question because it was not intentional.  “In terms of the revenue account how much do the Council spend in 2016/2017?”

 

Lord Mayor:  Councillor Russell please.

 

Councillor Russell:  Thank you my Lord Mayor.  As we have already explained that the revenue fund being able to be defined in various ways and obviously with this question again it wasn’t defined. But from the statement of accounts for 2016/17 gross expenditure for services is £891.4m after taking into account grants and other income, net expenditure was £162.8m.  This includes amounts outside the general fund including HRAs, schools etc. and for our own monitoring the general fund outturn expenditure for the year was £253.4m.  Thank you my Lord Mayor.

 

Lord Mayor:  Thank you Councillor Russell. Councillor Porter do you have a supplementary?

 

Councillor Porter:  Yes.  In terms of the revenue account how much did the Council spend in 2015/16?

 

Lord Mayor:  Councillor Russell please.

 

Councillor Russell: Thank you my Lord Mayor.  I think as Councillor Porter is probably aware I have not got the full set of accounts for the previous four years with me this evening and therefore I will not be able to answer that question this evening.  I am happy that we supply that answer to Councillor Porter but I would also like to extend to him the opportunity to meet with our Chief Financial Officer and go through how our accounts are put together so he can properly ask questions that he wants the answers for in future.  Thank you Lord Mayor.

 

Lord Mayor:  Thank you.  Question number 27 please.

 

Councillor Porter:  Yes, obviously a hot topic at the moment is the trees getting cut down in St. George’s churchyard.  So the question is “Are protected trees safe in the Council’s hands?”

 

Lord Mayor:  Councillor Clarke please.

 

Councillor Clarke:  Thank you my Lord Mayor.  The Council is very proactive in terms of undertaking its obligations and dealing with applications involving tree preservation orders and works to trees in conservation areas with specialist technical advice and expert support provided by the parks and open spaces staff to planning officers before decisions are taken.  This routinely involves the protection and careful management of any necessary works to trees.

 

Lord Mayor:  Thank you.  Do you have a supplementary question?

 

Councillor Porter:  Yes, what concerned me really is what a sortof fair weather sort of self-appointed heritage champion we have in this Council who on the one hand willing to protect a pub, but on the other hand when important trees are going to be cut down, could the Council please explain, because I think it was alluded to at a recent meeting, that the trees are actually causing damage to St. George’s Church which is a grade II star listed, that means it is of national importance.  Now I have read through all the reports and I was unable to find any current evidence that there was a problem that it was under threat.  There was mention of some problems but those according to the report have been sorted.  So in terms of..

 

Lord Mayor:  I think you have already asked a question so I will ask Councillor Clarke to answer the question.

 

Councillor Porter:  And the question was, sorry.

 

Councillor Clarke:  Thank you my Lord Mayor.

 

Lord Mayor:  Carry on Councillor Clarke.

 

Councillor Clarke:  The most recent Heritage at Risk register published by Historic England explicitly states that water run-off from the trees is damaging the grade II star listed church.  If you Google heritage at risk Historic England, Nigel, it will take you to the Heritage at Risk register and it will take you to that.  As heritage champion which is a Historic England scheme which publishes the Heritage at Risk register I feel an obligation to promote the protection of a nationally significantly building, part of our built heritage which was seen at the outset of the Cultural Quarter as the heart of that area.  Now I accept that there are competing demands in that area.  Yes the trees are important; yes the sanctity of the church is important; yes the fact that people feel unsafe in that churchyard is important.  What I want to do and what Councillor Waddington wanted to do before me and what we as a city should want to do is to ensure that that area, and that is the biggest piece of green space in the city centre, that will be maintained.  What we want to do is to ensure is that area is culturally vibrant, economically vibrant where people feel safe, where they do not find needles in that churchyard, where people feel that that great grade star listed church, brilliantly looked after by Leicester’s Serbian community has a light shone on it and people can enjoy that beautiful green space.  But the short answer to your question Nigel is last year’s Heritage at Risk register noted the run off from the trees on to the building.

 

Lord Mayor:    Thank you Councillor Clarke.  Question number 28, Councillor Porter please.

 

Councillor Porter:  Well the Council officers at the Planning Committee said there was no evidence or they did not come up with any.

 

Lord Mayor:  Question number 28 please.  Councillor Porter do you want to ask question 28.

 

Councillor Porter:  No, I withdraw my final two questions and bring back for Sir Peter to deal with. 

 

Lord Mayor:  OK good.  Thank you.  Question number 30 then, Councillor Grant please?

 

Councillor Grant:  Thank you Lord Mayor.  “Can the Deputy City Mayor give Council an up-to-date briefing on the investigation to find out how the data breach by PATs earlier in January occurred?”

 

Lord Mayor:  Thank you.  Councillor Russell to reply please.

 

Councillor Russell:  Thank you my Lord Mayor and thank you Councillor Grant for both your question and for bringing this really serious issue to our attention as well.  All 27 companies involved have confirmed they have deleted the data.  26 of the 27 companies responded within 24 hours to confirm that they either could not open the email and then followed our instructions or had just straightforwardly deleted the email.  The outstanding response was received on Saturday 13^th at 4.30pm confirming that they had deleted the email and associated attachments.  All of the taxi companies are bound by confidentiality and data protection rules specified in the contracts we hold with them.  All of them were reminded that it is a Section 55 offence in breach of the Data Protection Act 1998 if they were to disclose, forward or act upon on the data they were sent.  We have informed the Information Commissioner’s Office and we are currently working with them to answer a number of initial questions they have raised and the investigation continues.

 

Lord Mayor:  Thank you Councillor Russell.  Do you have a supplementary question Councillor Grant?

 

Councillor Grant:  Yes Lord Mayor.  Given the large number of companies and the fact that even though we can get assurances from them that they have followed the instructions we have given, that really we have to assume the genie is out of the bottle and that people could act on this information.  Has the Council had to take any action to protect any of the passengers who are serviced by the Council?

 

Lord Mayor:  Thank you.  Councillor Russell to reply.

 

Councillor Russell:  Thank you my Lord Mayor.  The information was sent to taxi companies that we routinely work with and are part of the list that operates through our passenger transport system and therefore regularly receive information around the number of passengers, where they are taking them and details around that. That’s why we already have the confidentiality agreements in place with them and that is why we can have a level of confidence that we wouldn’t have in other similar situations that the information is safe.  Thank you Lord Mayor.

 

Lord Mayor:  Thank you Councillor Russell.  Question number 31, Councillor Grant please.

 

Councillor Grant:  “Can the Deputy City Mayor reassure Council that there have been no breaches of data protection by PATs since the widely reported incident earlier this month?”

 

Lord Mayor:  Thank you.  Councillor Russell please.

 

Councillor Russell:  Thank you Lord Mayor.  Yes I can give that reassurance.  Thank you.

 

Lord Mayor:  Do you have a supplementary?

 

Councillor Grant:  Yes Lord Mayor.  I have been told that there is an ongoing divulgence of details beyond the specific needs that an individual taxi firm would have for carrying passengers and that this has taken place both before and since the large scale breach and dissemination of what I believe was the full data base.  So can Councillor Russell commit to Council to have a full review of what information has been going out from the service both before and since this large scale breach.

 

Lord Mayor:  Thank you.  Councillor Russell please.

 

Councillor Russell:  Thank you my Lord Mayor and if Councillor Grant has got specific evidence around data breaches it is really important that we have that shared with us.  That has not been brought to our attention in other ways previously and we will of course look into the concerns that he has raised.  Thank you.

 

Lord Mayor:  Thank you.  Question 32 please Councillor Grant.

 

Councillor Grant:  “Can the Deputy City Mayor explain how it is possible for the PATs team to send out a substantial database by email when Elected Members can’t even receive the electoral roll spreadsheet by email, which can be read in a public library, without it being password protected?”

 

Lord Mayor:  Thank you.  Councillor Russell to reply.

 

Councillor Russell:  Thank you Lord Mayor, and I am sure many Members were asking similar questions when they first heard about this, but there are some quite specific rules around the electoral roll, and around how we share information more broadly in the Council.  So first of all it is important to say that the database email attachment type is not prohibited so we don’t ban people from sending that sort of attachment.  Also it did not exceed the current limit that we set for things to be sent within the Authority.  There is a considerable volume of legitimate Council email traffic of an equal or greater size to that associated with the data breach, planning applications are the most obvious ones of those.  So unilaterally introducing an email sized limit based on this event will be unlikely to impact positively in terms of future data breaches and we do expect that all users of Council IT resources use technology responsibly.  In terms of the specifics around the electoral roll, whilst there are restrictions placed on it by IT, there are restrictions placed on it by national regulations.  So it is controlled to make sure that we do comply with those regulations, you will be provided with a password later to make sure that only you can access it, because when it is used in libraries it can only be done under supervision and individuals cannot remove or copy the information unless they are identified in the relevant regulations as someone who is entitled to a copy.  That is why there is a difference in how that information is handled.  Thank you Lord Mayor.

 

Lord Mayor:  Thank you Councillor Russell.  Do you have a supplementary question Councillor Grant?

 

Councillor Grant:  Yes Lord Mayor.  Rather than trying to protect data by the size of firewalls it seems that we are relying on statutory guidance using the example of the electoral roll.  So is Councillor Russell saying that none of the information within the database that was sent out was of such a sensitive nature that it should have been protected. 

 

Lord Mayor:  Councillor Russell please.

 

Councillor Russell:  I am not sure it is appropriate for me to comment on what is still an ongoing investigation with the Information Commissioner’s Office.  It is obviously one of the things that will be looked at my Lord Mayor.  Thank you.

 

Lord Mayor:  Thank you.  Question 33, Councillor Grant.

 

Councillor Grant:  OK.  This may come under the same provisions, but “Can the Deputy City Mayor say whether any of the passengers whose details were shared were covered by a Court Protection Order?”

 

Lord Mayor:  Councillor Russell please.

 

Councillor Russell:  Thank you Lord Mayor. Thank you Councillor Grant for your question.  Information relating to Court Protection Orders is not shared with passenger and transport services.  The database in question records details of passenger journeys.  It is important to note that the database is not a social services case recording system and therefore it does not hold this level of detail.  Therefore the information was not shared as a result of the incident and is not available.  Thank you.

 

Lord Mayor:  Thank you.  Supplementary question Councillor Grant?

 

Councillor Grant:  Yes.  Whilst as I understand it the data breach would not have flagged whether somebody was under a Court of Protection Order, what I am asking is have we checked and was there anybody in that list who was subject to a Court Protection Order. 

 

Lord Mayor:  Councillor Russell.

 

Councillor Russell:  In terms of the list because the information has not been shared any more broadly, that would not be something that we would need to look at this stage.  Thank you.

 

Lord Mayor:  Thank you.  Question 34, Councillor Grant.

 

Councillor Grant:  “Can the Assistant Mayor or Deputy Mayor, sorry, respond to the fact that the Planning Committee has overturned 8 out of 181 residential planning applications it has looked at, 4.4% in a 5 year period?”

 

Lord Mayor:  Thank you.  Councillor Clair to reply please.

 

Councillor Clair:  Thank you my Lord Mayor.  It is very important that members of Planning Committee are independent and free to make their own judgement on planning applications.  Whilst it is also very important that they made decisions which are soundly based on the full assessment of the material planning consideration including local and national planning policy as well as the presentation submitted.  Officers work very hard to make sure we properly addressed all those relevant legal and technical guidance which by law the Committee is required to take into account at the time of the decision making process.  A high percentage of overturned decisions could indicate a reluctance of Committee Members to accept or endorse the personal advice of the officer wherever a low percentage of overturn of officer recommendation can be read as indication that a report prepared by professional officer presented to Committee are robust, appropriate and in line with government policy.  I am very confident of the way in which both Councillors, officer here in Leicester deal with planning applications.  The Committee is thorough and robust in its challenge and assessment for application. 

 

Lord Mayor:  Thank you Councillor Clair.  Do you have a supplementary question?

 

Councillor Grant:  Yes Lord Mayor.  Councillor Clair points to the fact of a low percentage of planning applications being overturned being a sign of good reports from officers.  So I am not aware whether it is a low or a high percentage in comparison to other authorities and obviously he has looked at that.  So how do we compare to other similar authorities in relation to this percentage and those of other authorities. 

 

Lord Mayor:  Thank you.  Councillor Clair please.

 

Councillor Clair:  Thank you my Lord Mayor.  The Council’s performance in that area will be defined entirely in terms of number of type of applications received and whether the local policies are updated and able to line with government guideline, and the Council will have very different scale and delegation compared to many other authorities like a unitary authority to a district council.  So but only the question is not to collate published by the government on robust regular basis for example some committees will see less application some more and different type of application depending on whether the Council is unitary authority as I said or a rural district.  So it is very hard to draw any comparison between other authorities.

 

Councillor Grant:  Other unitaries.

 

Councillor Clair:  The thing is because the government don’t publish that information on a regular basis but we rate from zero to ten and what you have asked in your question and Leicester is well in line with many other unitary authorities and I am so confident the way in which our Planning Committee, Councillors and officers work to address those issues and it is something we will look at now it is perfectly working fine and there is no set target for any local authority.

 

Lord Mayor:  Thank you Councillor Clair.  Question 35, Councillor Grant.

 

Councillor Grant:  “At the last Council meeting I raised the issue of highways work being done around schools without any report back to the people who originally consulted on the planned work.  Over the Christmas school break further work was carried out around the Overdale schools, again without reference back to those consulted and again doing half the work that had been expected.  Can the Assistant Mayor explain why communications are so poor?”

 

Lord Mayor:  Thank you. Councillor Master to reply.

 

Councillor Master:  Thank you Lord Mayor.  Having had this question previously at the last full Council I was a bit surprised myself to see it reappear.  However, being the Lead for Highways that sits in my portfolio and asked the question the officer did come back to me and apologies that it was an oversight on their part.  So I have to stand here and apologise to Councillor Grant on that.  However, in regards to the broader scheme there are scenarios where different works schemes will be going on in different parts of the city and the school that I am sure that Councillor Grant is making reference to Overdale is part of our plans and is having a great deal of work done in and around it and I am sure he would like that to continue. 

 

Lord Mayor:  Thank you Councillor Master. Do you have a supplementary question Councillor Grant?

 

Councillor Grant:  I do Lord Mayor.  I would like to thank the Assistant Mayor for his frankness and for the apology.  Can I just ask on behalf of Council if we can take him on his word that he will go back and work with the Highways Department to improve their communications with stakeholders. 

 

Lord Mayor:  Thank you.  Councillor Master please.

 

Councillor Master:  Absolutely.

 

Lord Mayor:  Thank you.  That concludes the question and answer sessions from the Councillors to Assistant City Mayors.