Agenda item

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 Democratic Services by 12 noon on Wednesday 16 May 2018).

Questions:

Notice of nine questions had been received. The questions and replies were published in a supplementary agenda on 21 May 2018. They are attached as Appendix 5 to these minutes.

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

(Q1) Mr Robert Evans asked if the Cabinet Member for Environment and Transport was aware of the concerns raised by residents over the increase of fly-tipping and their disappointment for having to pay a fee when disposing of DIY waste.

Mr Wyatt Ramsdale asked for more information on Central Government’s comments relating to DIY waste.

The Cabinet Member stated that there was no evidence that fly-tipping was increasing and that the figures had shown that it was actually decreasing over the last three years. He also stated that he understood residents were concerned with the charges for DIY waste but said the Council had to make some difficult decisions. In response to Mr Ramsdale he said Central Government currently did not have any plans to remove the Council’s ability to change for DIY waste but he would inform Members if that changed.

(Q2) Mr Will Forster asked the Cabinet Member for Corporate Support when the review and details of the insurance cover be released. The Cabinet Member said that once the insurance company had completed its review the details would be shared with Members.

(Q5) Mr Jonathan Essex asked the Cabinet Member for Environment and Transport if he agreed that there was a need for a review of the budget for bridges carrying public rights of way (ROW) in order to prevent long closures while waiting to be repaired. The Cabinet Member said there were currently issues with the funding for ROW bridges and that they were looking into increasing the funding by allocating funds from inside the Environment & Infrastructure budget. He stated that the service would continue to look into various avenues to acquire the funding but it continued to be a challenge.  

(Q6) Mr Robert Evans asked the Cabinet Member for All-Age Learning if she agreed that it was disingenuous for election candidates to suggest to residents in their campaign material that their Libraries were closing. The Cabinet Member assured Mr Evans that Libraries would continue to be an important part of the life-long learning offer and provided details of the innovations of a Library in Surrey.

(Q9) Mr Robert Evans asked the Cabinet Member for Environment and Transport if he felt electronic signs in areas with fewer buses were a good use of funding.

Mr Tim Hall asked if there were any plans to include live-updates at bus stops in Mole Valley or other areas in Surrey as they would be very welcomed.

The Cabinet Member stated that Surrey works very hard to maintain its buses with a difficult budget but he felt the money was put to good use. In response to Mr Hall he stated that he would contact Coast2Capital to inform them of his comments.