Agenda item

Up to 30 minutes is allowed for this item.

 

Written questions

 

To answer any written questions from a County Councillor, (or any person living or working in the county, or is affected by the work of the County Council), about any matter which relates to any item on the agenda for this meeting.

 

The closing date for the receipt of written questions is 4.00 pm on Thursday 5 November 2020.

 

Please submit any questions to stephen,bace@gloucestershire.gov.uk

 

A written answer will be provided for each written question received (to be presented to the questioner and to Cabinet (in advance of the meeting). The questions and answers will be taken as read and will not be read out at the meeting. At the discretion of the Leader of Council, each questioner ( in attendance at the meeting) will be allowed to ask one supplementary question (in response to the answer given to the original question).

 

A copy of all written questions and written answers circulated at the meeting will be attached to the signed copy of the minutes of the meeting.

 

Urgent questions

 

An urgent written question may be asked by a member of the public about any item on the Cabinet agenda for that meeting which the Chairperson considers could not have been reasonably submitted by the deadline for the receipt of written questions, provided he or she gives notice of the question to the Chief Executive by 12 noon the day before the meeting.

A total of 17 member questions were submitted for consideration in advance of the meeting.

 

No public questions were submitted.

 

 

The following supplementary questions were asked at the meeting.

 

 

Question 1: Cllr Iain Dobie

 

Agenda Item 6: Children and Families Capital Programme Update

 

Cllr Dobie outlined his support for the new school at Warden Hill but expressed concern with the apparent lack of communication with councillors, residents and parents. He asked if the Cabinet Member regretted withholding information until now?

 

Cllr Patrick Molyneux replied that he didn’t feel information had been withheld and he emphasised the hard work carried out in this area.

 

 

Question 2: Cllr Iain Dobie

 

Agenda Item 6: Children and Families Capital Programme Update

 

Cllr Dobie asked whether the target was for the new primary school in Warden Hill to open in September 2022.

 

Cllr Patrick Molyneux stated that a school took approximately 2 to 2.5 years to build but it would be delivered as fast as possible. He noted the impact of Covid-19 and potential disruption caused by the pandemic.

 

 

Question 3: Cllr Iain Dobie

 

Agenda Item 6: Children and Families Capital Programme Update

 

Cllr Dobie asked whether local representatives would involved in a public view of the school.

 

Cllr Patrick Molyneux replied that the Council would work with the school to see what was the best approach in how to engage with the local area.

 

 

 

 

 

Question 4: Cllr Iain Dobie

 

Agenda Item 6: Children and Families Capital Programme Update

 

Cllr Dobie asked whether there was a clear commitment to offset all CO2 emissions from construction of the new school and for it to be zero carbon once built.

 

Cllr Patrick Molyneux stated that the Council was committed to trying to achieve that.

 

Question 5: Cllr Iain Dobie

 

Agenda Item 6: Children and Families Capital Programme Update

 

Cllr Dobie asked whether the Cabinet Member would commit to funding living green walls for the new school as proposed in the School Street motion to full Council in June.

 

Cllr Patrick Molyneux replied that the Council would try and do everything it could to be zero carbon and that would include green walls if appropriate.

 

 

Question 6: Cllr Colin Hay

 

Agenda Item 6: Children and Families Capital Programme Update

 

Cllr Hay referred to school capacity pressures in Bishops Cleeve and asked whether existing school sites would be taken into account when choosing a new site for a school. He emphasised the importance of not being in a situation where parents felt the need to drive their children to school.

 

Cllr Patrick Molyneux explained that pupil numbers coming through the system were taken into account. Work was underway to ensure the best provision in place and to resolve any issues around the site. He was hopeful something would be announced shortly.

 

 

Question 7: Cllr Colin Hay

 

Agenda Item 6: Children and Families Capital Programme Update

 

Cllr Hay asked the Cabinet Member to be clear around commitments for the school to be zero carbon, in relation not just to its running but also in the way it would be built.

 

Cllr Patrick Molyneux replied that the Council would be as ambitious as it could be in terms of this and would look at the issues expressed by the member.

 

 

 

Question 8: Cllr Paul Hodgkinson

 

Agenda Item 7: Financial Monitoring Report

 

Cllr Hodgkinson asked what was currently projected to be the council’s overspend at the end of the year including what was being spent on the second wave of the covid-19 pandemic.

 

Cllr Lynden Stowe explained that the impact on the Council’s finances was outlined within the financial monitoring report. He stated that it appeared that the Council was being adequately funded for the measures it was taking.

 

 

 

 

Question 9: Cllr Paul Hodgkinson

 

Agenda Item 7: Financial Monitoring Report

 

Cllr Hodgkinson asked whether the Cabinet had ‘missed the boat’ in terms of encouraging the public to consider other transport options during the Covid-19 pandemic. He referred to the wait to the second tranche of Emergency Active Travel Fund money.

 

Cllr Lynden Stowe replied that he shared the member’s frustrations on carbon emissions from cars and wished to see the encouragement of healthy active travel. He stated that Cllr Moor had put an enormous amount of work into it and he would be best placed to provide further detail.

 

 

 

Question 11: Cllr Paul Hodgkinson

 

Agenda Item 7: Financial Monitoring Report

 

Cllr Hodgkinson noted the spend on the ash dieback scheme. He asked that given that those trees had been cut down could it be confirmed that, of the 1 million commitment to plant 1 million trees given 11 months previous,  the Council was down a net 2,200 trees.

 

Cllr Lynden Stowe replied that Cllr Moor could update the member on the scheme to plant 35 million trees but that this was an important ten-year plan.

 

 

 

Question 13 Cllr Iain Dobie

 

Agenda Item 7: Financial Monitoring Report

 

Cllr Dobie referred to recent restrictions on visits to care homes and outlined the new Covid-19 safe visiting areas encouraged by government. He asked if additional funding would be provided to care homes to help them deliver this.

 

Cllr Lynden Stowe replied that budgets were devolved down to care homes for them to make their own decisions on how best to use the funding in relation to Covid-19. A more detailed response would be provided by the relevant Cabinet Member.

 

 

 

Question 14 Cllr Iain Dobie

 

Agenda Item 7: Financial Monitoring Report

 

Cllr Dobie asked whether the Council would commit to providing test kits to care homes so that not only resident and staff but also key visitors could be tested.

 

Cllr Lynden Stowe replied that he understood the member’s concerns and frustrations and that a more detailed response would be provided by the relevant cabinet member.

 

 

 

 

Question 16: Cllr Colin Hay

 

Agenda Item 7: Financial Monitoring Report

 

Cllr Hay asked whether the continued overspending in the Children and Families budget over the previous three and a half years represented poor financial planning. He asked when the Council could expect a children’s services budget that could cope with the growth in demand?

 

Cllr Lynden Stowe replied that the budget was set to reflect potential demands and was as accurate as possible, but it was difficult to predict the number of children who would come into care in a twelve month period or to predict the costs around external placements. He explained that due to prudent financial control across the whole Council, in year issues were able to be managed.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Question 17 Cllr Colin Hay

 

Agenda Item 7: Financial Monitoring Report

 

Cllr Hay asked that given the overspends in the Children’s budget over a number of years did the Cabinet Member agree that the budgets had been woefully underfunded in this area when the Council had been put in special measures on this issue?

 

Cllr Lynden Stowe replied that he did not agree with this and stated that the Council’s ability to manage in year issues and reflect that in future years’ budget was proven. He emphasised that no budget could be a bottomless pit and that budgeting was robust. He looked forward to scrutiny input into the future year’s budget and asked members to provide the challenge they deemed necessary.