Issue - meetings

A period of 20 minutes is allocated for questions to be put to Cabinet Members by members of the Council. Notice of questions need not be given in advance of the meeting. Questions must relate to the powers, duties or responsibilities of the Cabinet. Questions put to Cabinet Members must relate to their portfolio responsibilities.

The Leader will determine how Cabinet question time should be allocated where there are a number of Members wishing to ask questions. Where a question relates to a matter which appears on the agenda, the Leader may allow the question to be asked at the beginning of consideration of that item.

Councillor J Bratherton questioned the usefulness of the Cheshire East Homelessness Strategy which she said contained no practical solutions. She asked when it would be submitted to the overview and scrutiny committee for detailed consideration. She also asked about the role and function of the Homelessness team and what support was being offered to those in greatest need. Finally, she expressed disgust at a notice produced by ANSA in co-operation with the Homelessness Team and left under the old library building in Crewe which indicated that any belongings left there would be removed and destroyed. The Portfolio Holder for Housing, Planning and Regeneration responded that the Housing Team as a whole were immensely caring people and provided a range of services to support the homeless. He added that ANSA had given an apology for the notice posted under the old library building, the wording of which had been ill-judged. He would be more than happy to discuss the Council’s Homelessness Strategy and the work of the Homelessness Team further with Councillor Bratherton outside the meeting.

Councillor B Walmsley referred to proposed changes to the No 37 bus service (Crewe – Sandbach – Middlewich – Winsford) and urged the Council not to leave Middlewich cut off. Residents of the town had to travel elsewhere to access post 16 education and leisure and entertainment facilities and the bus service was therefore vitally important.

Councillor M Warren referred to a proposal in the Macclesfield Movement Strategy approved by Cabinet in October 2014 to establish a local member forum to review the delivery of the Strategy. He asked if local members could be given an opportunity to review progress with the Strategy before any further works were undertaken and if the local member forum could now be appointed. The Portfolio Holder for Environment indicated that he was happy to discuss the matter with local members and he undertook to provide a written response.

Councillor S Corcoran welcomed the independent review of the Council’s culture and asked if the Deputy Leader could give some reassurance to staff on how they could participate in the review without fear of repercussions and without their identity being revealed. He also asked if the Deputy Leader would agree that any member who revealed information about a vulnerable member of staff should not hold a position of authority in the Council. He added that the review should be conducted on a cross-party basis. The Deputy Leader responded that the review would be an independent review and that there would be various ways in which members of staff could make their views known whilst protecting their anonymity and privacy.

Councillor S Hogben commented that during consideration of the budget at the Council meeting in February 2017, an amendment had been moved that during 2017/18 the Council consult on a compulsory residential landlord licensing scheme for all privately-let residential accommodation in Cheshire East, including all houses in multiple occupation (HMOs), the administration of the scheme to be cost-neutral, with its set-up  ...  view the full minutes text for item 71