To receive any written questions.

Councillors may ask questions of Cabinet Members and Chairmen of Committees so long as a copy of the question is deposited with the Head of Legal and Democratic Services at least 24 hours prior to the meeting.  A list of questions, set out in the order in which they had been received, was circulated at the beginning of the meeting.  Councillors may also, at the discretion of the Chairman, ask one additional question on the same topic.  The questions and summary of the answers are set out below.

 

 

COUNCILLORS QUESTIONS TO COUNCIL – 8 FEBRUARY 2008

 

 

1.         Question from Councillor NL Vaughan to the Leader of the Council

 

Does the Leader and his Cabinet agree that Hereford United Football Club requires the active involvement of Herefordshire Council in terms of its long term future within the Edgar Street Grid?

 

Answer from Councillor RJ Phillips Leader of the Council

As the owner of the land on which the Edgar Street football stadium is sited, and as the Local Planning Authority, Herefordshire Council is actively involved in discussions with HUFC regarding the long-term future of the club within the ESG site.  The UDP and the ESG Masterplan both show the football stadium remaining where it is but similarly both documents encourage the physical redevelopment of the ground itself.  ESG are committed to the incorporation of the Football Club and the football ground within the wider ESG area as evidenced by the inclusion of the ground in the ESG masterplan.

 

2.1       Question from Councillor AT Oliver to Cabinet Member Highways and Transportation

 

(i)         What is the final contracted cost of the Rotherwas access road?

 

(ii)        What is the estimated cost of the bridge taking the Hoarwithy Road over the access road, and what would have been the cost of a roundabout junction between the access road and Hoarwithy Road?

 

(iii)       Following on from the publicised announcement of 100 job losses within the Environment Department, would the Cabinet Member state the number of staff dismissed to-date and the annualised saving on staff costs?

 

(iv)       How many of these staff have been re-employed within the Council and how many have been employed by connected organisations such as Amey Michel?

 

Answer from Councillor DB Wilcox Cabinet Member Highways and Transportation

 

(i)               It is not yet possible to provide the final outturn cost of the Rotherwas Access Road project as the main contract is not yet complete on site. Works are currently due to be complete on site in April 2008 and the final account will be agreed as soon as possible after that date.

 

The total budget for this scheme as outlined in the Advantage West Midlands bid was estimated as £12.01m. This figure was the estimated scheme costs from 06/07 to scheme end (including estimated Part 1 claims which may arise within a year of road opening). There were costs associated with this scheme in earlier years (04 and 05) associated with preliminary design, planning application process and Major Scheme Bid preparation which totalled £770,000. This gives an overall scheme budget of £12.78m.

 

Current predicted outturn costs indicate that although there are some increases in elements of the project there are also some decreases to costs estimated for other elements of the scheme and the predicted outturn costs remain within this budget figure.

 

(ii)              The tender value of the bridge element of the scheme is approximately £405,000.

 

It is not possible to give an estimate for a roundabout at this location as no design work has been undertaken on which an estimate could be reasonably based.

 

However, it is worth noting that there are several reasons why there is an overbridge at this location and no at-grade junction (roundabout) with the access road. The design of a road of this type normally seeks to limit the number of side road junctions. The flows on Hoarwithy Road were considered at the planning stage of this scheme and determined that a junction at this point would not be justified for the following reasons.

 

Firstly, the access road from the A49 goes into quite a deep cutting as it approaches Hoarwithy Road which helps to minimise the visual impact of the road from surrounding properties at Bullinghope and Green Crize.

 

If a roundabout were to be provided at this location it would require a larger area of land than the Council has acquired for this scheme to provide approaches with gradients which comply with the necessary design standards. This would have a detrimental impact on an immediately adjacent property and also an avenue of oak trees which lie to the south of the new bridge which are protected by tree preservation orders.

 

Neither of these are directly affected by the arrangements for the new bridge.

 

Following assessment of these impacts and the relatively low flows on Hoarwithy Road and indeed destination of traffic on this route, the provision of a roundabout was not deemed appropriate.

 

(iii)-(iv)       There never was an announcement of 100 job losses in the Environment Directorate. The worst case scenario was that up to 60 posts would be deleted and, as was said at the time, the number of staff actually being made redundant would be kept to an absolute minimum by redeploying affected staff, where possible, to other vacancies within the council.

 

At present a number of staff have been notified that they are at risk of redundancy but no redundancies have been made as yet.  I will be happy to provide full details when the final position is arrived at.

 

It is important to note that not only is the directorate looking at ways to minimise its costs but also to maximise any income opportunities. Both of which I am sure Members from all sides would applaud.

 

2.2       Question from Councillor AT Oliver to the Leader of the Council

 

(i)         How many education support and administrative staff were employed at January 2004 and how many are employed now at January 2008?

 

(ii)        What was the annualised wage cost then and now?

 

Answer from Councillor RJ Phillips Leader of the Council

 

(i)         This is difficult to answer due to:

 

1)         the systems and data 

 

2)         Directorate changes i.e. Education / Social Care creating Children and Young People’s Directorate. Therefore, assumptions have been made.  Youth Service or any social care team in either report have s not been included. Early Years is not pure Education support but clearly they are aligned to Children and Young People’s Directorate, I have included their figures separately,

 

Staff numbers and Full Time Equivalent have been included.  However I must point out that this does include temporary contracts and external funding. It does not include casual / zero hours contracts. Please note that Early Years is an area that receives a significant amount of external funding, and therefore this may skew the figures.

 

2004 = 297 employees (214 FTE)                  (Early Years = 41 employees, 22.5 FTE)

2008 = 341 (257.7 FTE)   (Early Years = 80 employees (61.7 FTE)

 

(ii)        What was the annualised wage cost then and now?

 

            The annualised wage cost in 2008 = £6,081,532 (as above this is all perm, temporary contracts and will include external funding).

 

I am unable to produce an annualised wage cost for 2004, as the HR system is not sophisticated enough to pull through 2004 salaries. We can get the employee figure, but the salary data pulled through is employee salary as at today’s date, not 2004.

 

Clearly the Children and Young People’s Directorate staffing now includes both Education, Children’s Services Social Care, Youth and Early Years and Extended Schools.  In recent years there has been significant grant funding in some of these areas, for example the development of Children’s Centres.  However, the Director of Children’s Services is planning a re-organisation of the Children and Young People’s Directorate which will aim to ensure we streamline services as the resourcing central budget is reducing as well as the Schools Dedicated Grant.

 

3.         Question from Councillor ACR Chappell to Cabinet Member Social Care Adults and Health

 

Herefordshire has the highest number of people with dementia in the West Midlands South Strategic Health Authority area, according to 2005 statistics, 2660 people in 2005 or 14% per 1000 population.

 

I understand that approximately £500,000 is spent on homecare and other support to assist people to remain independent at home.  £270,000 is the cost to the Council for social services input for people with dementia.  In addition, the Council is responsible for placements costing about £2m in residential and nursing care in the independent sector and a proportion of the placements provided through the Shaw healthcare contract – total value of this contract is over £3m.

 

With the largest population of elderly people in the West Midlands  and with the number of people with dementia due to rise by 57% by 2021, what action does the Cabinet Member intend to take to ensure that all those who need care with their dementia and their carers get the help they need?

 

 Will the Council be able to afford to provide a first rate service for these people in 2021?

 

Should a plan be devised now to ensure that adequate provision in social and health care will be available in the future?

 

 

Answer from Councillor  LO Barnet Cabinet Member Social Care Adults and Health

 

The Council and the PCT undertook detailed analysis in 2006/2007 on the needs of older people in Herefordshire for health and social care support and undertook a further analysis in 2007 on the needs of adults from 18-64 with mental health problems.  As the question states there are significant numbers of older people with dementia and this number is expected to rise.  In addition the second report identified that early onset dementia affects about 50 people aged 30-64 in Herefordshire; currently only 22 of these receive a secondary service, an estimated one-third of whom are suffering from preventable dementia as a result of substance mis-use.

 

Both reports recognised that too many people were going into residential care compared with other similar authorities due to a lack of options in the community to support people for longer to live independently in their own homes.  The Council agreed to invest £2.1m annually from 2007/2008 to improve and modernise adult social care for older people.  A proportion of this investment will be spent on developing new forms of support for older people suffering from mental ill-health, including dementia,

 

Two new services have already been commissioned - a domiciliary care service and an electronic 'checking' service - and are now operational.  Both these services will specifically benefit older people suffering from dementia.  Further improvements are being planned and will be commissioned.  This includes short breaks services for carers which are being re-commissioned in the next few months.  We are also reviewing our day services and will be developing options for future models of service which will support people to continue to live independently.

 

The government has announced a new grant 'Transforming Social Care' which provides funding over the next 3 years to assist local authorities in improving and modernising adult social care.  The emphasis is on increased self-directed care and individualised budgets.  In Herefordshire we will be planning how this programme can create more opportunities for older people and their carers to have more control over purchasing their own care. 

 

A new post of Director of Integrated Commissioning is being appointed to and this post will have the responsibility to ensure that appropriate services are commissioned across health and social care to meet the needs of Herefordshire residents.  It will be an important part of this role to put in place effective commissioning arrangements to meet the needs identified in the needs analysis work referred to above.

 

These steps will all help ensure that Herefordshire plans to put in place appropriate provision.  However like all local authorities, it is likely to continue to be a significant issue for this Council to fund the level of support needed to meet rising demand.

 

4.         Question from Councillor AT Oliver to Cabinet Member Environment and Strategic Housing

 

Would the Cabinet Member for the Environment please give assurance that the further exploration of the “Rotherwas Ribbon” is going ahead with all due speed, and would he update the Council on the present position in this respect.

 

Would he confirm his belief that this is a unique, highly-significant find that deserves full archaeological investigation, not ceremonial burial.

 

 

Answer from Councillor Jarvis Cabinet Member Environment and Strategic Housing

 

"Herefordshire Council and English Heritage staff are working together to expedite the further exploration of the 'Rotherwas Ribbon' and associated prehistoric finds. At present this involves:

Securing preparation of a full interim report on the 2006-7 investigations from the excavators, the Worcestershire Historic Environment and Archaeology Service

Forming an expert advisory panel including university-based prehistorians and English Heritage specialist staff, to agree an optimum means of learning more about the discoveries both within and beyond the Access Road site

Obtaining radiocarbon dating determinations from samples taken during the 2007 excavations (dating programme being funded and co-ordinated by English Heritage)

Recasting part of the project design for further work that we submitted to English Heritage in August 2007, to facilitate the conduct of geophysical survey at the site when ground conditions improve in 2008, and

Negotiating arrangements for access for such survey work with the relevant landowners.

Progress is being made with all these aspects, with all due expedition but bearing in mind the complexity of every aspect."

 

5.         Question from Councillor TM James to the Leader of the Council

 

1.                  Can the Leader of the Council inform members the date on which he was briefed on the announcement of the Schools’ Reorganisation?

 

 

2.                  Did the Director of Childrens’ Services mention that the plans included the closure of schools?

 

 

3.                  Did she mention how many schools were to close?

 

 

4.                  Did she state that it included secondary as well as primary schools?

 

 

5.                  Did she mention that it would include the closure of the 6th Form at Lady Hawkins’ School?

 

 

6.                  On what date was the last edition of Herefordshire Matters printed?

 

 

7.                  On what date did the Leader read the contents of Herefordshire Matters prior to printing?

 

 

Verbal response from Councillor RJ Phillips Leader of the Council

 

On 20 December, 2007, officers gave a verbal briefing on the draft working proposals for the schools review which included virtually all closures and mergers.  No documentation was shared with the Cabinet Member (Children’s Services) or the Leader.  Concern was expressed at the scale of the proposals, the lack of evidence, and the lack of credibility of most of the proposals.  Indications were given that more evidence was forthcoming and that these matters had been through extensive discussions with heads and diocesan representatives and were in line with Government requirements.  The proposals were not given political support and that was re-affirmed to the Chief Executive on 3 January 2008.

 

On 10 January 2008 at the Governors’ seminar the Leader again re-affirmed that the directorate proposals did not have political backing and more evidence on statistics, finance and journeys times would be required before any draft proposals would be endorsed.  This was re-affirmed at the Members Seminar the following day.

 

 

6.1       Question from Councillor PJ Edwards to Cabinet Member Environment and Strategic Housing

 

(1)                Given the near critical need for more affordable homes throughout Herefordshire can the Cabinet Member confirm why the ‘All Member’ seminars on this important subject continues to be cancelled?

 

(2)                As Worcestershire Councillors have been briefed on your proposals for a Waste to Energy Plant for Hereford, when do you intend to share this important information with your Herefordshire Councillor colleagues?

 

Answer from Councillor JG Jarvis Cabinet Member Environment and Strategic Housing

 

(1)        Two 'All Member 'seminars on Affordable Housing were unfortunately unavoidably postponed for the following reasons:

·                     29.10.07  This was cancelled because it clashed with an urgent meeting that involved all Cabinet Members and CMB.

·                     11.1.08   This was cancelled to make way for the consultation with Members announcing the Schools' Review

I would wish to reassure Councillor Edwards that this issue continues to be a top priority and that a revised date of 17th March has now been set for the seminar and all Members have been invited to attend.

 

(2)        Worcestershire Councillor’s have not been briefed on Herefordshire’s proposals for an energy to waste plant as we do not yet have a finalised proposal.  As he is aware, at the Joint Waste Resource Management Forum on Monday, I reported on the successful workshop which we held last Friday and informed them that this would help us to identify the way forward before our PFI partners do a presentation to Herefordshire Councillors.  However, I did say that there are potentially up to 7 sites in Herefordshire and it was in the context of an agenda item entitled ESG that I stated the opportunity to make good use of energy and heat if we did create energy from waste gathered within Herefordshire.  This is no more than the answer I have given to any Councillor who has asked me.  We will be announcing a seminar for Herefordshire Members to be briefed by our PFI partners as soon as is practicable.

6.2       Question from Councillor PJ Edwards to Cabinet Member Highways and Transportation

 

(1)               It is understood that Colwall is to now get its permanent Network Rail road bridge after The Environment Scrutiny Committee challenged Cabinet’s decision to pay for a temporary replacement. Please can you advise our Council’s total costs to date resulting from the owner ( Network Rail’s) apparent gross neglect of maintenance, and what if any costs our Council will now incur toward this latest proposal?

 

(2)               Please can the frequency of Street Kerb & Footway / Cycleway sweeping be improved throughout Belmont Ward as we have weeds growing in the Autumn Leaf residue and this is often a receptor for broken glass & litter trappings.

 

(3)        Given that several Highways small works jobs were ‘put on hold’ during mid 2007 apparently due to priority Belwyn Flood Scheme Repairs, when do you now anticipate such jobs as street signage replacements, footway & kerb repairs etc being completed?

 

 

Answer from Councillor DB Wilcox, Cabinet Member Highways and Transportation

 

(1)        The decision to proceed with the construction of a new bridge, rather than implementing the temporary measure of erecting a bailey bridge, follows discussions between Network Rail and our officers in light of the full structural assessment of the bridge. This assessment shows that the large edge girders supporting the footways can only take their own weight but not that of pedestrians, which was a necessary part of the Bailey bridge option.

 

Costs incurred so far by the Council over the last 3 years are £196,571 at present. However, this is to be shared with Network Rail.  In terms of the future costs, these can only be determined once a feasibility study has been completed.  Network Rail are only legally responsible for providing a bridge capable of carrying loads equivalent to a point load of 24 tonnes at mid-span compared to the 40 tonnes moving load that we as the highway authority provide.  The feasibility study will determine the relative costs of providing a bridge to Network Rail's standards and to the highway authority's standards.  The ratio of these 2 figures will determine the split of costs and previous payments will be taken into account then to see who still needs to pay what.

 

(2)        Currently the schedules and frequency for street cleaning is being reviewed for whole of the county. Obviously this is a large undertaking and will take some time to complete. The revised schedule for Belmont Ward should be completed by April 2008. When the revised schedule is in place it should provide a better service and deal with the type of issues raised such as the build up weeds and leaf residue.

 

Councillor Edwards will be contacted by the Highways and Transportation Streetscene Manager to identify specific locations that are a particular problem at this time in order to have any debris and weeds cleared.

 

(3)        All jobs that were put on hold to allow the flood repairs to be done have been reprogrammed by Amey Wye Valley for January to March 08.  Of course, this would rely on no further occurrences of extreme weather or other major emergencies.  I understand that to allow for this possibility and create some spare capacity in case of such incidents, some jobs are being swapped with others from next years draft programme to shorten the required working time yet still deliver appropriate schemes and spend the available budget effectively.  Jobs that are delayed will then be replaced into the programme for April onwards filling the gaps created by those brought forward.

 

7.         Question from Councillor A Seldon to Cabinet Member Children’s Services

 

With reference to the School Review, I note consultants have been employed to provide an independent report on the validity of the statistics.

 

1          Who are the consultants?

 

2          Exactly what instructions have they been given and what are the parameters of their work?

 

3          What is the cost to the Council of their employment?

 

4          What qualifies the consultants to provide better information than researchers and Officers of the Council?

 

Answer from Councillor RJ Phillips, Leader of the Council

 

1.         The expert engaged, following an invitation to tender process, is Dr Peter Boden, the Director of Edge Analytics Ltd, Visiting Research Fellow at the School of Geography at the University of Leeds and member of the British Society for Population Studies.

 

2.         The terms of reference for the independent expertise are:

 

“To assure the methodology for estimating future pupil numbers in local authority maintained schools in Herefordshire, including that used for county population forecasts to 2026, and how those forecasts and other relevant factors are taken into account in the estimation of pupil numbers to 2012 and to 2026;

 

“to assure the appropriateness, accuracy and transparency with which the methodology is applied in aggregate to schools as a whole and to groups of schools in different areas of the county; and

 

“as necessary, to explain and defend the assured methodology and its application to internal and external audiences, including through the media.

 

“The methodology for the population forecasts to 2026 must be assured by 15 February 2008.

 

“The methodology for estimating future pupil numbers in local authority maintained schools in Herefordshire must be assured by 22 February 2008.

 

“The appropriateness, accuracy and transparency of the application of the methodology for estimating future pupil numbers must be assured by 14 March 2008.”

 

3          The costs of the assurances of the methodology and its application are not expected to exceed £15,000. 

 

Any costs to be incurred in explaining and defending the assured methodology and its application will be determined in due course of the review.

 

4          Estimates of future pupil numbers are fundamental to ensuring that the review produces the right results in the interests of educational standards and achievement in the county in the coming years. The purpose of the independent expert assurance is to provide confidence to all with an interest, including schools, communities and the general public, that the estimates are as robust as they possibly can be.

 

It is not replacing the considerable expertise of the Council’s officers, who will continue to be responsible for the work that will be assured.

 

Dr Boden brings to this work a distinguished track record in demographic research and analysis over many years.  It is also noteworthy that he is the Chair of Governors of the primary school attended by his children

 

8.         Question from Councillor A Toon to Cabinet Member Children’s Services

 

Does the Cabinet Member for Children’s Services stand by her comments at the Children’s Services Scrutiny Committee meeting in January 08 that the role of the cabinet member is purely a liaison role with the directorate and if so can she advise who is in control, the cabinet or the officers?

 

Councillor JA Hyde Cabinet Member Children’s Services is unavailable at present and on her return she will correspond with the questioner direct

 

9.         Question from Councillor A Toon to Cabinet Member Corporate and Customer Services and Human Resources

 

Introduction 

 

Effective and efficient support to members is crucial to the success of the Council. 

Equipping members with appropriate information and computer technology (ICT) will

make life easier for members in a number of important aspects: 

·  to manage case work and engage with the community;

·  as a speedy research tool;

·  to support the scrutiny role and other information gathering requirements; and

·  to maintain contact with officers and other members. 

 

Given the above extract from the Constitution Appendix 12  Annex 3 and the vast amounts of taxpayers’ money that has been spent on ICT to improve services and access to information

 

Could the Cabinet Member for corporate and customer services and human resources advise why since Sept 07

 

1.      Councillors can no longer access the Council intranet,

2.      had their personal drives removed. 

3.      That all returning Councillors have been denied access to private and confidential items researched, collated and stored on their personal drives amounting to over 4 years worth of work.

4.      That Councillors are denied the full functionality of the Councils email programme which previously existed in the members room facilities.

 

One might suggest that there appears to be a systematic, unconstitutional strategy to disable Councillors’ ability to perform their duties effectively.

 

Answer from Councillor JP French Cabinet Member Corporate and Customer Services and Human Resources

 

In the period leading up to the election of 2007, a review of the level and nature of ICT support and equipment available to members was undertaken.  A cross section of members fulfilling a number of roles, for example, executive, scrutiny, and other committee members, were interviewed.  The current arrangements were introduced for the new council members following the election.  All members were invited to attend an introductory session to explain what would be available, follow up training sessions and individual consultations took place with members to ensure a common level of understanding.  Prior to the election a little over 50% of members were using ICT on a regular basis.  At the current time 54 members out of 58 use ICT regularly. 

 

The new arrangements precluded the use of the intranet by members.  This had not been available to all members but had been made available to some members, when the issue was raised I requested officers to review provision and I am pleased to refer you to the email sent out by the Interim Head of Service for ICT earlier this week which sets out the arrangements for intranet access for members.  It is important to note that members can now access e-mails via the Internet from anywhere in the world.

 

In May 2007 members were offered a series of options, the second of which was to use their own pc equipment and broadband connection and use remote access software.  For those taking this option they were notified at the induction sessions that if they wanted their historical data transferred from their network drive to their home pc laptop, this could be undertaken.  The server, which was used to store this data, has been decommissioned as part of the ongoing work to consolidate data and servers.  It has however been archived and is still available so that if any member wishes to retrieve it this can be done if a call is logged with the ICT helpdesk.

 

Members currently access their emails from the member room via outlook web access; this maintains consistency between home use and the members room. It could be set up so they could access the council’s internal email system (outlook), this would involve contacting the helpdesk the first time they logon to a different internal PC/laptop to set-up their email access. The internal email system also looks different from the web-access version therefore additional training may also be required for some members.  The introduction of outlook web access has led to some minor changes in functionality but has some benefits; for example, the way the address book can be searched and easy access to all customisation tools.

 

A small number of members have quite rightly continued to raise their concerns and the Interim Head of Service has been trying to arrange a meeting with those members so that all these issues can be logged and addressed together.  However this has proved impossible to achieve and arrangements have now been made to meet some members individually.  A number of attempts have been made to contact Councillor Toon and make an appointment but as yet these have proved unsuccessful.

 

Councillor French stated she would personally speak with Councillor Toon regarding the last question.

 

10.       Question from Councillor G Dawe to the Leader of the Council

 

This question relates to paragraphs 37-40 of the Crookall Report in which Mr Crookall sets out clearly that the S.151 officer first, had substantive and correct reasons for triggering a special report, and secondly, that she had no confidence that the serious matters subsequently revealed by that report would have been properly addressed if she had chosen to bring her concerns to the attention of the senior hierarchy of the council.

 

Given that Mr Crookall makes no distinction whatsoever, in his reporting of the assurances of both the former Chief Executive and the Leader of the Council, that "they were always open to address these issues without the need for the issue of a 151 special report", can the Leader explain how it was decided that the former Chief Executive should bear the full responsibility for the council's management and political culture (as reported in his resignation statement to the Hereford Times of 6/12/07)? Surely having accepted the Crookall Report Herefordshire Council should have followed its even handed approach as far as culpability was concerned?

 

Answer from Councillor RJ Phillips Leader of the Council

 

Thank you for your question. May I remind Council that these matters were discussed on receipt of Mr Crookhall’s report at an extraordinary meeting of the Council on the 23^rd November,2007. The statement made by the previous Chief Executive of the Council in the Herefordshire Times of the 6^th December,2007 was his view in response. The Council have taken on board the recommendations of the report. Work is being carried out by officers under the Direction of the Chief Executive and will be the subject of future reports to Cabinet and Council.

 

In terms of culpability referred to Mr Crookhall is clear that the onus is on all of us both officers and members to ensure that due processes are followed.

 

 

11.       Question from Councillor SJ Robertson to Cabinet Member Highways and Transportation

 

Burghill School is a successful and well supported local school with an unsafe entrance and road crossing close to a dangerous bend where vehicles regularly exceed the present speed limit of 40 mph.  All children who walk to school have to cross this busy road to get into school and there have been several near misses.

 

Despite numerous telephone calls, letters and site meetings, the school is not in the first group of schools to have a 20 mph this year or in the following year.    There are 92 pupils on role and plans to incorporate the playgroup on site will increase the number by 20 plus.   The entrance is often chaotic, dangerous and congested and the new cattle market site at Stretton Sugwas will increase the traffic on this road.

 

(a)                     As the Council has a clear directive to reduce speed limits outside  schools, why is this not being given priority?

 

(b)                     The School’s Travel Plan in conjunction with “Safer Routes to School” encourages children to walk or cycle to help improve the carbon footprint, reduce obesity and promote a healthy lifestyle as recommended by Government.   Have all the schools chosen produced School Travel Plans and who is responsible for the final selection?

 

Answer from Councillor DB Wilcox Cabinet Member Highways and Transportation

 

(a)           The Council is committed to rolling out the introduction of 20 mph limits at schools. However, it is necessary to effectively prioritise their implementation within the available budget. Burghill School has been assessed alongside many other schools across the County, which do not currently have 20mph zones. The speeds outside Burghill School average 30.3mph and 85% of drivers progress at or below 39mph. The accident record for the site identifies that there has been one serious accident, which is not considered to be directly linked to the speed of traffic. A very small percentage of the pupils actually walk to school at present (5%) and only 1% cycle. A school travel plan has been compiled. All these points are considered in identifying our priorities for action. The schools currently proposed for inclusion in the coming year’s programme of works have a more onerous accident record than at Burghill. These accidents are also attributed to speed and it is this factor that has made these schools a higher priority. Given that the demand for such schemes exceeds the available resources on an annual basis, we must act at those sites where the risk is highest and target resources to reduce the numbers who are killed or injured on our roads.

 

Having taken into account accident history, together with the levels of walking and cycling, the schools listed as the highest priority are:

 

·                           Withington Primary school

·                           Leominster Junior and Infants School

·                           Walford Primary School     

·                           Madley Primary School

 

(b)           The Council has actively encouraged all schools to develop school travel plans for several years. The Local Transport Plan includes a target that all schools will have developed one by 2010. As of January 2008, 84 out of 104 have completed a plan. We are actively chasing those remaining schools to develop a school travel plan and we anticipate at least a further 6 by the end of the year.

 

Whilst all schools are actively encouraged to develop a travel plan, the Council needs to prioritise funding for the implementation of Safer Routes to School Schemes. Prioritisation takes into account the school's travel plan, accidents, potential benefits (value for money), scheme costs and other relevant local factors.  Some of the schemes identified through this process may be subject to further consultation depending on their complexity, whether or not additional land is required or if traffic regulation orders are required.

 

 

12.             Question from Councillor MD Lloyd-Hayes to Cabinet Member Economic Development and Community Services

 

Why has the funding been with drawn from Zig Zag , this service provides an excellent service for young people under 19 who take part in substance misuse, illicit drugs and  alcohol .They deal with homelessness educational exclusions, sexual health and pregnancy prevention. They are well thought of by partnership organisations and Social Services staff with whom they have worked?

 

Answer from Councillor AJ Blackshaw Cabinet Member Economic Development and Community Services

 

The Zig Zag service is currently jointly funded by Connexions and the Herefordshire Community Safety and Drugs Partnership.

The Herefordshire Community Safety and Drugs Partnership element of the funding comes in the form of the ‘young persons substance misuse grant’ which has historically been allocated to the partnership by the Home Office.  The Government is currently reviewing the allocation of this grant which may become part of the Area based grant under the Local Area Agreement (LAA), it is hoped that the position for next year will be confirmed in the very near future.

The Connexions element of the funding transfers to the area based grant which will be administered under the LAA from 1st April, 2008.  This element of the LAA funding will be overseen by the Children’s Trust.  The new Children and Young People’s Plan identifies priorities for Herefordshire and under the Children’s Trust the Government’s expectation is that services will be commissioned to ensure we meet our priorities effectively.  Decisions on future funding are due to be confirmed at the Children’s Trust in March.   The Children’s Trust is aware of the implications of decommissioning services and is mindful to extend funding until the end of the academic year in the first instances to allow greater continuity.

 

To date longer term funding decisions have not yet been made.  Zig Zag workers have been issued with notice of redundancy, whilst everything possible is done to receive notification of secure and continued funding.

 

 

13.1        Question from Councillor WLS Bowen to Cabinet Member Corporate and Customer Services and Human Resources

 

               Can this Council, once again, have a true Members’ Development Working Group – composed of back bench councillors, - independent of thought and chaired by an independent minded chairman and not by a ruling cabinet member?  Do you not think that the vast majority of council members would appreciate this chance to have a proper input into the development of both individual members and of Council itself?

 

 

13.1        Answer from Councillor JP French Cabinet Member Corporate and Customer Services and Human Resources

 

Members’ Development is an important consideration for Council.  Any programme needs to reflect the specific roles of executive, scrutiny and all Members as community leaders in their individual wards.  The introduction of the Members’ Development Policy Working Group seeks to address that breadth by bringing together Group Leaders and three co-opted members from the broader membership of Council.

 

The Terms of Reference have been constructed so that the group can maintain a balance between the need for a more strategic review with consideration of personal development and specific targeted training.  Following the Crookall report, the Chief Executive will be bringing forward proposals for a comprehensive Members’ Development programme and consideration will need to be given as to how current arrangements dovetail with that.

 

13.2        Question from Councillor WLS Bowen to Cabinet Member Environment and Strategic Housing

 

 

13.2.1     Can the Cabinet Member for the Environment bring Full Council (and the general public) up to date on the current planning policy (and its implementation) on polytunnels?  For instance, how many growers have had demands made for planning permission for their polytunnels?  How many have complied?  How many have claimed exemption?  How many polytunnels in or adjacent to AONB’s have gained planning permissions and are these permissions for a limited period of time or are they permanent?

 

13.2.2     Why is this Council being so slow, so dilatory, in demanding higher standards of energy conservation and efficiency and in the production of renewable energy from all new buildings including commercial developments?

 

13.2.3    This administration promised 12.5% reduction in carbon footprint (starting from 2005) for Herefordshire.  How much has been achieved so far and by what means.  Please can you give details?

 

13.2        Answer from Councillor JG Jarvis Cabinet Member Environment and Strategic Housing

 

13.2.1     CURRENT PLANNING POLICY

 

Herefordshire Unitary Development Plan adopted March 2007 contains policies to enable determination of planning applications.

 

Forward Planning Team are currently preparing a Supplementary Planning Document on polytunnels in consultation with growers and interested parties. Draft SPD is due to go to planning committee on 11th April 2008.

 

PLANNING APPLICATIONS

 

11 growers were invited to attend individual meetings on 23rd and 24th January 2008 with relevant officers to provide an ongoing opportunity for those that had not engaged in pre-application discussions, or for those who would benefit from further advice on their sites. 7 growers attended the meetings and are engaged in the process of preparing planning applications. Two growers made contact after the event and further meetings have been arranged.

 

For information, there are ongoing enforcement investigations on various sites in the county.

 

AONB

 

There are 3 sites within the AONB. One has been subject to a public inquiry following the service of an enforcement notice. Part of the site was refused, part granted a 2 year temporary permission and part deemed lawful as they had been in existence for more than 4 years. Pre-application discussions have commenced with the grower on a planning application. Pre-application discussions are ongoing with the 2 other sites.

 

13.2.2     The ongoing increasing energy conservation and efficiency standards in the Building Regulations are resulting in buildings being constructed in a more sustainable way. Unlike ground breaking Councils such as the London Borough of Merton this Council does not have a policy in its UDP that provides a basis to negotiate efficiency standards beyond those set out in the Building Regulations. This matter will be addressed in the Local Development Framework, which was the subject of the member seminar last week. Notwithstanding the current lack of any policy basis planning officers continue to negotiate for ever higher standards of energy conservation and efficiency. Increasingly several companies are recognising the marketing advantages of building in a sustainable way.

 

 

13.2.3     An overall carbon reduction figure for Council carbon emissions since the 2002 baseline is not yet available. However we do know that energy use in council buildings including schools has reduced steadily over the period - and expenditure has risen due to increases in costs.

 

Electricity consumption dropped from 9.2 million kWh in 2003/04 to 7.4 million kWh in 2005/06 and gas consumption dropped from 19.8 million kWh to 16.8 million kWh over the same period. However the cost of utilities rose from circa £1.5 million in 2003 to £2.4 million in 2007. The data sets are not directly comparable but do show clear trends. Business mileage has also reduced steadily from just under 3 million in 2003/04 to 2.3 million in 2006/07.

 

Building sufficiently comprehensive, replicable and reliable data sets to pick up relatively subtle consumption changes of 1-2% a year is a challenge, being faced across the country - and indeed the world. Provision of data on this will now be part of the National Indicator set (NI 185) and we hope this framework will help develop consistent and clear reporting guidance.

 

Nationally, discussion continues on the relative importance to be given to reducing direct impacts and to reducing those in the wider community. Both elements are included within the authority’s Corporate Plan and it is anticipated that a target on reducing county per capita carbon emissions will be included in the forthcoming Local Area Agreement targets. he Council is working closely with the Herefordshire Environment Partnership and Herefordshire Partnership on carrying forward Herefordshire’s Climate Change Strategy. However the Council only has direct control over emissions resulting from its own activities. Both the initiatives outlined below will help meet the Council’s target for reducing carbon emissions from our own estate.

 

MY Energy

 

This year the Council has been running a low and no-cost energy saving theme as part of its commitment to reducing costs, resource consumption and carbon emissions. This has been developed through the implementation of MY Energy (Manage Your Energy) a project running with Severn Wye Energy, which aims to reduce electricity consumption by 10% over 15 Council buildings. The project was launched in May 2007 and works with a group of 30 volunteers based in 15 of our office buildings. The volunteer 'Energy Champions' encourage colleagues to switch off and reduce the amount of energy being wasted. The project runs with SWEA and the Private Sector Housing team for one year and aims to increase awareness of energy use at work and in the home. Events held so far have included:

 

Sustainable Breakfasts - Jointly run with Integrated Transport to encourage and reward colleagues who travel to work sustainable and promote sustainable travel, Fairtrade Tea & Coffee, Energy Efficiency and the MY Energy project.

Energy Efficiency Advice Stands - run with the local Energy Efficiency Advice Centre to promote energy efficiency at work and home.

A regular slot during Central Induction to introduce GEM & ISO14001 and to promote the MY Energy project giving tips on how colleagues can save energy at work.

 

 

Energy Saving Trust

 

The Council started work with the Energy Saving Trust in autumn 2007, one of a small number of Councils who have been offered free consultancy. Data have been collected on energy use across the Council and  recommendations for improvement in performance are now being worked up with the EST.

 

13.3     Question from Councillor WLS Bowen to Cabinet Member Resources

 

13.3     Did you not promise to spend £1 million pounds a year to save much more?  How much of this potential £3 million has been spent and what savings have been achieved and by what means?

 

 

13.3     Answer from Councillor H Bramer Cabinet Member Resources

 

In making my reply, I am assuming that the question is referring to the ‘Invest to Save Initiatives’ earmarked reserve that stood at £1.115m as at 1^st April 2008.  This earmarked reserve has been built up from contributions from the revenue account of £433k at the close of the 2005/06 financial year and £682k at the close of the 2006/07 financial year.  The purpose of this earmarked reserve is to provide financial pump-priming for projects that lead to both an improvement in service and a cash saving over the longer term.  It provides some flexibility around the requirement for all Directors to manage services within their budget for each financial year and allows projects to come forward part way through a financial year after formal budget setting has taken place.  No requirement for such assistance has to date been identified in this financial year.  The Council regularly reviews its policies with regard to general and earmarked reserves