Councillors and committees

Agenda item

MEMBERS' QUESTION TIME

1.    The Leader of the Council or the appropriate Member of the Cabinet or the Chairman of a Committee to answer any questions on any matter relating to the powers and duties of the County Council, or which affects the county.

 

(Note:  Notice of questions in respect of the above item on the agenda must be given in writing, preferably by e-mail, to Angela Guest in Democratic Services by 12 noon on Wednesday 30 November 2016).

 

2.    Cabinet Member Briefings on their portfolios

 

These will be circulated by email to all Members prior to the County Council meeting, together with the Members’ questions and responses.

 

There will be an opportunity for Members to ask questions.

 

Minutes:

Declarations of interest:

 

None

 

Questions:

 

Notice of 22 questions had been received. The questions and replies are attached as Appendix B.

 

A number of supplementary questions were asked and a summary of the main points is set out below:

 

(Q1) Mr Robert Evans stated that residents were horrified that the busiest fire station in Surrey was to be closed, that the number of incidents had risen and in the last consultation 92% of residents were opposed to the closure.  Mr Ian Beardsmore asked what would happen if the bridge was gridlocked?  The Cabinet Member stated that there were very difficult decisions to be made, that the fire service was changing year on year, and that only 20% of the total number of calls to the service related to fires.  He also pointed out that North West Surrey had four stations in close proximity with another four nearby.

 

(Q3) Mrs Carol Coleman requested that the Cabinet Member look into staffing at the centre for dementia, stating that staff/client ratio was 2/10 and this was a safequarding issue.  The Cabinet Member for Adult Social Care, Wellbeing and Independence replied that he would meet with Mrs Coleman to discuss her concerns.

 

(Q5) Mr Stephen Cooksey stated that the definition of DIY waste was not included in the response and that residents needed to know precisely what was meant by DIY waste.  The Cabinet Member replied that extensive messages had been sent out regarding DIY waste.  He also stated that the Council actions were within the law and other local authorities were following suit.

 

(Q6) Mrs Hazel Watson asked if actions could be taken sooner to which the Cabinet Member response was that it was not possible.

 

(Q8) Mr Ian Beardsmore stated that the response to his question gave no thought on forms of government and that the more liability the Council takes on, the less the budget the Council received.  The Leader directed Mr Beardsmore to the section of his response which stated that decisions on governance could only be made when the details of any deal was known.

 

(Q10) Mrs Fiona White stated that pharmacies in less advantaged areas may be at risk of closure and residents needed good access.  Mr Keith Witham requested to be kept informed of any updates and asked the Director for Public Health to report to the Social Care Services Board.  The Cabinet Member stated that she would ensure information was circulated when she received it and that the issue would be raised at the Wellbeing Board.

 

(Q12) Mr Jonathan Evans stated that, whilst money for community support had increased, the money for individuals had reduced and he was of the belief that community support funding was to boost that for the individual.  The Cabinet Member stated that the Council now had to rely more on voluntary organisations to perform some functions.

 

(Q14) Mr Stephen Cooksey asked if Skanska were interested in making replacements of the street lights.  The Cabinet Member stated that safety was paramount for the Council, that consultation did take place and if something new came up he would respond.  He also pointed out that to replace current lighting with LED lights would be very expensive and time consuming as each light column would need work.

 

(Q17) Mr Bill Barker asked about the Council approving planning applications and allowing HGV’s to ruin the County’s roads.  The Cabinet Member had spoken with parish council about further work that they could take on and fund from their precept but they had been silent on this.

 

(Q18) Mr Will Forster asked for details on the number of refugee families being supported, to which the Cabinet Member responded that the Council were working with districts to support over 130 families.

 

(Q19) Mr Will Forster stated that he was very unhappy with the Cabinet Member’s response to his question.  The Cabinet Member stated that he thought the Liberal Democrats did not support censorship.

 

Cabinet Member Briefings on their portfolios are attached as Appendix C.

 

Members made the following comments:

 

Cabinet Member for Children and Families Wellbeing: A statement was made that children and families services were dependent on early help and a request was made for an update on the Multi Agency Safeguarding Hub (MASH).  The Cabinet Member reported that the MASH went live on 6 October 2016 and that delivery of the new operation had been challenging but much work had been done to bed in the new work and overcome teething problems.  IT issues were overcome and the backlog and delay was now reduced.  At present the daily work was being accomplished and the backlog being reduced.

 

Cabinet Member for Environment and Planning was asked if the work with buses was just a sticking plaster with further cuts coming in the next year, and that flytipping seemed to be increasing on the ground, which made a mockery of the statement that it was decreasing.  The Cabinet Member reported that he was happy with the progress made with Abellio and explained that the county needed fair funding in the future.  He also reported that flytipping tonnage was down, that the number of flytipping incidents would be available one month after tonnage figures, and that if they had indeed risen that he would work with enforcement on this.

 

Cabinet Member for Adult Social Care, Wellbeing and Independence was asked if he would consider funding from the Investment Strategy being used to pay for accommodation for extra care facilities.  The Cabinet Member responded that site research was being undertaken and that funding would be provided if a site is found.

 

Cabinet Member for Highways, Transport and Flooding: Concern was expressed about the policy on road safety in small communities.  The Cabinet Member explained that Drive Smart keep a close eye on the number of fatalities and where they occur. They would also look at the causation of fatalities.  He would also request that the Cabinet Member for Environment and Planning look at this.

 

Supporting documents: