Agenda item

To deal with the following questions on notice, submitted under Full Council Procedure 9.9(a):

The questions on notice and the responses of the Leader or his nominee were submitted (item 10 on the agenda filed with these minutes).

 

Climate Change

 

Councillor Gerrard did not have a supplementary statement or question.

 

Town Deals

 

Councillor Parton asked whether there was more information available on how the Towns Deal would benefit Loughborough.

 

Councillor Morgan stated that our Town Deal would make a significant impact on Loughborough and that the Council was in the process of finalising the details of the programme. The Chief Executive had called a meeting with Senior Officers to agree actions and deadlines and the scope of the deal would be submitted in late November. Proposed improvements at this stage included infrastructure, connectivity, retail space and an increased reduction in Loughborough’s carbon use.

 

Licensing of Houses in Multiple Occupation

 

Councillor Parton stated that fire safety should be incorporated into the Council’s Licensing Scheme. He suggested that resident’s additional criteria included bins, exteriors and noise and that this should be addressed within the Licensing Scheme. Councillor Parton was hopeful that the Scheme would be stringent.

 

Councillor Smidowicz stated that a further criterion which the Licensing Scheme should include was parking. She stated that the Council had over 20 recommendations for the Scheme and welcomed the support of colleagues in approving the evidence-based Scheme.

 

Licensing of Houses in Multiple Occupation

 

Councillor Draycott stated that the response received was contradictory and demonstrated a lack of communication. The Landlord in question had made numerous applications over time, all of which were incomplete and rejected, and Councillor Draycott believed that this information should have been communicated to the relevant Officers of the Council. She asked for reassurance that documentation received by the Council relating to Houses in Multiple Occupation would be passed to Licensing Officers for action.

 

Councillor Smidowicz referred to the mandatory licensing introduced by the Government in October 2018 and explained that the Landlord in question had not complied with this legislation, despite repeated correspondence from the Council. Legislation had been updated in 2016 and the Landlord had responded at this point and so had been prosecuted under the previous law. However, Councillor Smidowicz stated that the application remained incomplete and so the Landlord had not been compliant at any point. She assured the Council that action would be taken against any Landlord found to be not compliant with the Scheme. 

 

Following interaction with private Landlords, Councillor Smidowicz believed that the proposed Scheme would be supported by them.

 

Council Tax Arrears

 

Councillor Christine Harris thanked the Lead Member for the response but stated that the chart provided within it was unclear and misleading. The column containing data on Council Tax arrears in 2019 could not be considered as the year was incomplete. Councillor Harris also stated that the number of accounts in arrears did not necessarily represent the number of residents in arrears, as it was possible for residents to have multiple accounts.

 

Councillor Barkley stated that he did not anticipate that there was a significant number of residents in arrears moving around the Borough and so it was unlikely there were many residents with multiple accounts in arrears. He also stated that the Council does a lot of work to help residents avoid Council Tax arrears and that the Council could not accurately predict the figures for the remainder of 2019 but it is hoped that the decrease in Council Tax arrears continues.

 

Leisure Centre

 

Councillor Julie Bradshaw thanked the Lead Member and Officers for the response but stated that it did not address her concerns. She stated that predominantly the main issues affecting users of the Leisure Centre were that equipment was not being replaced, unsatisfactory lockers, security and CCTV, poor water temperature and air quality systems and a lack of continual investment. Councillor Bradshaw also stated that she felt customer feedback should be collated and reviewed and asked how Members could be more involved in enhancing user experience at Loughborough Leisure Centre.

 

Councillor Harper-Davies believed that Councillor Julie Bradshaw’s supplementary statement was not relevant to her initial question, but she was prepared to investigate these issues further. Councillor Harper-Davies also stated that the ideal water temperature would vary between users of the swimming pool at the Leisure Centre and so issues relating to this would be difficult to overcome.

 

Social Housing

 

Councillor Bolton thanked the Lead Member and Officers for the response and did not have a supplementary question or statement.

 

Councillor Morgan stated that he welcomed further discussion on this topic when required.

 

County Lines Crime

 

Councillor Goddard commended the invaluable work of the Joint Action Group, the agencies involved in the Community Safety Partnership and the Police and Crime Commissioner. She asked whether there was anymore information available on identifying the signs of exploitation and the nature of gangs in Charnwood in relation to County Lines crime.

 

Councillor Taylor stated that there had been a 3.1% reduction in overall crime in Charnwood since April 2019 and praised operation Lionheart which was being undertaken by Leicestershire Police. She added that there were various strategies being employed by the Community Safety Partnership and the Police in order to raise awareness of the signs of exploitation, including social media campaigns, market stalls and information sharing. Councillor Taylor welcomed suggestions from Councillors in order to improve this work further.

 

Building New Council Housing

 

Councillor Ward thanked the Lead Member and Officers for the response and referred to the report on the proposed Housing Development Company which was considered by the Cabinet in December 2018. At that meeting it was decided that a business case for the establishment of a Charnwood Borough Housing Development would be created. Councillor Ward asked when more information on this would be made available and when it would be brought before Full Council.

 

Councillor Morgan stated that a category on Housing had been incorporated into the Investment Strategy and that this would supersede the report considered by the Cabinet on a Housing Development Company in December 2018.

 

Extreme Weather Events and Homelessness

 

Councillor Boldrin thanked the Lead Member for the response and asked that information within the Severe Weather Emergency Protocol (SWEP) regarding the total number of emergency spaces for the homeless, and the duration that those spaces were allocated for, be shared with Members.

 

Councillor Mercer agreed that figures could be circulated and stated that the Council had not experienced an issue with insufficient emergency spaces for rough sleepers during a period that the SWEP has been implemented. He explained that he participated in an annual count of rough sleepers in the Charnwood area and invited Councillor Boldrin to take part.

 

Energy Efficiency Standards for New Buildings

 

Councillor Needham thanked the Lead Member for the response and referred to the chapter within the draft Local Plan 2019-36 which considers energy efficiency standards. She stated that a more robust policy was required, to reflect that of other Councils and offered to liaise with the Lead Member regarding this.

 

Councillor Hunt welcomed a meeting with Councillor Needham and stated that the Local Plan 2019-36 consultation had begun.

 

Allotments

 

Councillor Forrest thanked the Lead Member for the response and suggested a meeting to discuss CCTV and other security concerns. She also recommended that the topic of allotment security be discussed at the Loughborough Area Committee at its next meeting.

 

Councillor Bokor welcomed a meeting with Councillor Forrest and suggested that each allotment site was considered separately as there are different requirements for each.

 

Food Poverty and the Roll-out of Universal Credit

 

Councillor Brennan stated that she had seen an increase in hunger in recent years and she believed that this was due to welfare reform, including the removal of the social fund loan and Universal Credit. She outlined data which suggested an average increase in Trussell Trust food bank usage of 52%, 12 months after the implementation of Universal Credit. According to the data, the food banks located in areas where Universal Credit had not been implemented had an increase in usage of 13% and Councillor Brennan highlighted this difference. She thanked the Lead Members and the Officers for the response and asked that the data provided be extended to include the past five years.

 

Councillor Barkley stated that the Council was involved in substantial work to address food poverty and that it was considered a serious matter. He stated that Universal Credit was not exclusively responsible and that there were numerous factors which contribute towards food poverty. He believed that providing equivalent figures for the past five years would not be helpful in improving the issue.