In accordance with Procedure Rules 11, opportunity is provided for Members of the Council to ask the Chairman, the appropriate Cabinet Member or the Chairman of a Committee any question about a matter which the Council, the Cabinet or the Committee has powers, duties or responsibilities.
Questions must be sent in writing to the Monitoring Officer at least 3 clear working days before the meeting.
Minutes:
The following questions had been submitted in accordance with Procedure Rule 11:
Question 1 - From Councillor Jackson, to the Prosperity Portfolio Holder :-
Fire Procedure
In the light of a recent incident at Macclesfield Town Hall what action will the Portfolio Holder take to ensure that the Fire Alarms can be clearly heard in all offices and meeting rooms throughout all Cheshire East buildings.
What action is being taken to ensure that there are fully trained staff always available to assist disabled visitors from Cheshire East buildings, particularly with reference to the use of Evac Chairs.
Response
In the absence of the Prosperity Portfolio Holder, Councillor Macrae, Cllr Wilkinson responded on his behalf, as follows :-
Weekly fire alarm tests are carried out in all buildings to ensure that the systems in place are working correctly and are audible. Any issues are immediately reported and remedial works are, and will continue to be, put in place to rectify any identified issues.
Fire evacuations procedures are currently being renewed in all meeting rooms. Meeting organisers are responsible for advising Building Support staff when they have disabled visitors to the building in order that a suitable personal evacuation plan put in place. This plan will be handed to the meeting organiser on arrival at the building. The electronic room booking system will also be amended to ensure that all meeting organisers are aware of this requirement.
Supplementary Question
Councillor Jackson asked why people were allowed to return to the building and Councillor Wilkinson undertook to investigate and provide a written response to this question.
Question 2 - From Councillor Fletcher to the Environmental Services Portfolio Holder :-
Swallow Drive Play Area, Alsager
Will the Cabinet Member, as a matter of urgency, advise me what action is being taken to make Swallow Drive play area in Alsager safe and usable.
Members of the public have been sending e-mails to officers for many years. A sample is included below. The Chief Executive and Director J Nicholson visited this site in 2011.
Rod
The complaint &
concerns have already been forwarded to… and I received a
further update that they are now reviewing w/c 30th June
.
The content of my note to you is the same content
as that in correspondence with.
The purpose for
writing to yourself is that, in my opinion, changes in Council
structures & people has meant that the decision making process
is far too long.
I have no idea what decision,
if any, is to be made wc 30th June.
My
neighbour originally contacted the Council in January 08 (yes,
2008) to highlight the lack of maintenance and
ownership.
In the meantime, I feel
the Health & Safety Risks at the Park are growing.
I hope this clarifies
the position
Thanks
Sent: 16 June 2009 13:31
To: FLETCHER, Roderick (Councillor)
Subject: Swallow Drive - Public Open Space/Play area
Dear Mr Fletcher
My name is… and I am a resident of Swallow Drive, Alsager,
ST7.
As a neighbourhood, we are becoming increasingly concerned at the
lack of maintenance of the Public Open space/play area at the end
of Swallow Drive.
From my personal point of view, I really believe the Health &
Safety risks are increasing, as the grass levels are masking any
potential, hidden dangers (holes etc).
In last year's storms, a large tree fell, and is currently lodged
between two others. However I am not in a position to advise
whether it is securely lodged, so as to avoid any risks to any
passing walkers/Children.
The park has and continues to be used extensively by the children
of the immediate vicinity, as well as the wider Alsager area.
As our local Councillor, can I please ask for your support in
resolving this matter?
I really want for the park to be maintained to a suitable level,
before any children or adults are hurt in this previously lovely
park.
I have been in touch with the Council, and have asked them to
provide feedback from a recent meeting with the Greenspace team,
and what their longer term view on the ongoing upkeep of this
park.
Response
The Environmental Service Portfolio Holder, Councillor Menlove, responded as follows :-
We acknowledge that the current position with regards to the Swallow Play area is not acceptable and we now need to remedy what is a long standing issue inherited from a planning permission many years ago which included a ‘unilateral undertaking’ from the developer and has never been delivered.
The Council does not currently have any operational or legal responsibility for the play area but given the concerns raised by local residents the Council has very recently completed a safety audit of the area which has reported that there are no immediate concerns but clearly a wider solution is required.
The Council is currently reviewing a number of options including transferring the play area into Council ownership, linking investment with other developments which may come forward, or removing the equipment completely. Liaison with the local Councillors will be important in deciding the right way forward and I can assure Cllr Fletcher that the options will be presented shortly for further review.
Question 3 – From Councillor Corcoran, to the Leader of the Council
Number of Further Redundancies
At the last Council meeting, in responding to comments on the Council's budget and three year plan, Cllr Michael Jones said that there would be no more than 100 further redundancies.
Is he or the Leader of the Council willing to confirm this figure?"
Response
The Resources Portfolio Holder, Councillor M Jones responded to say that it would be important to keep staff reassured. Whilst it was clear that there would not be more than 100 further redundancies, it would be necessary to work with market forces.
Supplementary question
Councillor Corcoran asked a further question relating to the Council’s reserves and Councillor Jones stated that this question did not relate to the original question, however, he undertook to provide a written response to it.
Question 4 – From Councillor Jeuda to the Performance and Capacity Portfolio Holder :-
Grants to Voluntary Organisations
The demands on services provided by the Council and Voluntary Organisations are continuing to rise and many Voluntary Organisations are not only experiencing cuts in Council funding but also having to face up to grants only being given for a six-month period. This clearly presents difficulties for organisations in planning for the future both in provision for Service Users and for the continuity and viability of the service provided.
The uncertainty created for employees of Voluntary Organisation and the short-term nature of the funding is creating immense problems for many. The cuts in Government funding to the most vulnerable has created an increased demand for advice and support.
Will the Cabinet Member ensure that sufficient funding for a reasonable length of time, for example three years, will be provided to enable these organisations to deliver a viable and much needed service and to remove the uncertainty experienced by many?
Response
The Performance and Capacity Portfolio Holder, Councillor Brown responded as follows :-
Cheshire East Council funds community, voluntary and not for profit organisations to deliver a wide range of services to support local communities. In 2011/12 this totalled over £5million of funding either through direct grants or commissioned services, the vast majority coming from the Children, Families and Adults directorate.
All services have reviewed the funding they provide as part of the 2012/13 business planning process. This process required savings to be made wherever possible, and this included funding provided to the community, voluntary and not-for-profit sector and paid sector. Members will be aware of the challenging savings requirements for the 2012/13 budget which has meant difficult decisions in many areas, including reducing funding to some community and voluntary organisations.
The issue of organisations receiving 6 months of funding for 2012/13 relates mainly to Adult services area, who are currently undertaking a review of all funding to the sector to ensure it is targeted at the most important services and vulnerable residents, recognising the changing needs of our communities. This review has meant that all organisations have received an initial 6 months of funding for 2012/13, with further funding being subject to the outcome of the review. All organisations are being visited to ensure they are fully involved in the review. This review will also consider whether contracts of more than 12 months can be awarded.
In terms of providing contracts for up to 3 years this is desirable but, unfortunately, not always possible. For example, this year's funding to the sector from Children and Families has been contracted for 12 months with a potential 12 month extension due to the fact that this is funded through the Government's early intervention grant which at present only has 12 months to run. We are uncertain what funding will be available after this time. However, where ever possible, longer contracts are certainly something we aspire to.
All services recognise the difficulty faced by community and voluntary organisations in light of the uncertain financial future and seek to mitigate this by ongoing communication with individual community and voluntary organisations, and with the sector as a whole, particularly through the Cheshire East Council for Voluntary Services (CVS Cheshire East).
Supplementary Question
Councillor Jeuda asked whether there was a “safety net” for those organisations who would not receive further funding to help them through the transition period whilst waiting for funding.
Councillor Brown suggested that any such organisation should get in touch with the Council to see whether any help could be offered to them, in the short term.