In accordance with paragraph 1.18 of the Council Procedure Rules, opportunity is provided for Members of the Council to ask the Mayor, 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.
At Council meetings, there will be a maximum question time period of 30 minutes. Questions will be selected by the Mayor, using the criteria agreed by Council. Any questions which are accepted, but which cannot be dealt with during the allotted period will be answered in writing. Questions must be brief, clear and focussed.
Minutes:
1. Cllr L Jeuda asked how many people who had taken voluntary redundancy in the last 18 months had been engaged as agency staff.- Cllr P Findlow, Corporate Policy and Legal Services Portfolio Holder, responded briefing and undertook to provide a written response.
2. Cllr D Flude referred to recent press articles and stated that the MP for Congleton had assured her electorate that Cheshire East schools now had increased funding. She asked the Portfolio Holder to confirm that the local MP was correct in her statement that Cheshire East schools were now well funded.– Cllr J Saunders, Children and Families Portfolio Holder, undertook to provide a written response.
3. Cllr S McGrory referred to the Middlewich Station railway line and asked whether the Leader could guarantee future funding for the railway line. -The Leader of the Council responded.
4. Cllr G Hayes asked how the additional funds from the sugar tax had been utilised to the benefit of children and families across Cheshire East. – Cllr J Saunders, Children and FamiliesPortfolio Holder, responded.
5. Cllr S Gardiner asked the Leader of the Council if she would join him in thanking the wonderful staff who had been involved in the recent Pride event. He also referred to the new lanyards, which had been issued in order to identify Members and Officers and he requested that the appropriate lanyards be worn. – Cllr L Wardlaw, Health Portfolio Holder, responded.
6. Cllr J Wray asked a question in respect of the Homelessness Strategy, on behalf of Cllr G Merry, who had needed to leave the meeting. He asked the Portfolio Holder to explain what was been done to alleviate rough sleeping, including the utilisation of government funding received and how it was proposed that this would be reported back to Members. – Cllr A Arnold, Housing, Planning and Regeneration Portfolio Holder, responded.
7. Cllr S Hogben referred to low carbon heat networks, which he said were showing a slight reduction, and stated that Crewe was one of only six areas in the UK identified as having the potential to exploit deep geothermal energy and that the Council had received Heat Network Delivery Unit funding to carry out detailed feasibility studies in Crewe town centre, Macclesfield town centre and various rural areas. He asked what the outcome of this had been. – The Leader of the Council responded briefly and undertook to provide a written response.
8. Cllr B Burkhill sought clarification as to whether the funding from Homes England for the Handforth Garden Village was in the form of a grant or a loan. – Cllr Arnold, Housing, Planning and RegenerationPortfolio Holder, responded.
9. Cllr R Fletcher referred to the reduction in the amount of plastic recycling and asked the Leader whether she could account for what Cheshire East Council had reduced in the last three years and whether she could give an assurance that only rubbish from the black bins would be incinerated. – The Leader of the Council responded briefly and undertook to provide a written response.
10.Cllr B Dooley referred to concerns that she had received regarding the number of Connected Community Centres in Macclesfield and asked the Portfolio Holder how well the Council was doing in spreading the connected Community Centres across the Cheshire East footprint. – Cllr Clowes, Adult Social Care and Integration Portfolio Holder, responded.