To receive any written questions.

Councillor W.L.S. Bowen asked:

"How many "rough sleepers" and how many "sofa surfers" do we have in Herefordshire generally and how many are there specifically in Hereford City?

What are we doing to assist these people by providing some form of civilised accommodation?

How many one bedroom flats or bed-sits do we have to relieve this problem of rough sleepers and sofa surfers?  What other forms of accommodation are available to relieve this problem?"

The Cabinet Member (Social Care and Strategic Housing) replied that a recent count  had found only one rough sleeper and two reported.

She went on to say that the team supporting young people leaving care currently have 8 people "sofa surfing" with friends and 17 out of 71 young people in unstable living arrangements.

She acknowledged that accommodation for single people in Herefordshire is very limited, and said that the Directorate and the Council face a continuing challenge in that direction.  There are 3,080 applicants seeking one-bedroom accommodation at present, and there are 2,700 units of single accommodation throughout Herefordshire.  She confirmed that 38 new units would be in place later this year - in Ross, Hereford and Leominster, and further developments are at the discussion stage.

Councillor Mrs Barnett advised that a letter had been received from the Office of the Deputy Prime Minister confirming that the Council had reached its targets relating to provision of Bed and Breakfast accommodation.  She offered a briefing for any Members who were interested.

Councillor W.L.S. Bowen asked:

"Are all school meals free of GM substances and are all foods supplied and sponsored by social services also free of GM products?

Does Herefordshire Jarvis comply with a GM free policy in their production of foods for Herefordshire?

Does Herefordshire Jarvis use organic food products?  If it does - what percentage of its meals are made from organically grown or produced materials?"

The Cabinet Member (Education) confirmed that all its caterers have policies on GM food products and have checked with their suppliers to ensure that there are no GM products or traces in the food served in our schools.  Herefordshire Jarvis Services(HJS) have a policy statement to that effect in their food safety book.  However, HJS does not use "organic produce" in its food products.

The Cabinet Member (Social Care and Strategic Housing) responded on behalf of Social Care and again confirmed thatall suppliers to Social Care Services have been asked, and assurances have been given, that they do not use GM substances or products.  However, if Social Care is supporting users to buy their own food, this is more difficult to control and obviously personal choice is an important factor. 

In response to a further question from Councillor Bowen, Councillor Rule agreed to investigate whether the Council had a policy of sourcing food from Herefordshire growers, and if so, what percentage of food was sourced from Herefordshire if that information was available.

Councillor Mrs. M.D. Lloyd-Hayes asked:

"Can the Cabinet Member for Markets and Property tell us the cost of the recent consultation on the future of the May Fair?  There were three to four officers for a period of three days supported by a vehicle and marquee plus copious printed material.

Why was the Ward councillor not informed of the consultation?

Why was the parish council not informed?

Is it the intention of the Cabinet Member and this administration to ignore the views of residents as their views were excluded from the consultation?"

The Leader answered on behalf of the Cabinet Member (Economic Development, Markets and Property).  He advised that the cost of the consultation was £1100.  He said that consultation exercises in respect of services take place frequently and it has not been past practice to notify Council Members in all instances.  He went on to say that the contract for the May Fair was due for renewal and that, on this occasion, the Local Member, should have been consulted.

He said that he took this omission very seriously and, while recognising that there would always be mistakes, he would ensure, as far as possible that this didn’t happen again.  He said the Council took its consultation with the public very seriously and that that particular aspect of the consultation was only a part of the overall consultation process.

In response to a further query by Councillor Mrs. Lloyd-Hayes, he agreed to explore the use of Herefordshire Matters as a part of future consultation exercises.

Councillor Miss F. Short asked:

"In light of the changes to the bus service in Hereford which come into force on Monday, would the Cabinet Member for Highways and Transportation please explain how this situation has come about and why we have ended up with such a poor replacement service, especially north of the river in areassuch as Westfaling Street and Green Lanes which have now got only early morning and evening services?

What further services can be put in place to provide proper public transport for the residents of these and other areas?"

The Cabinet Member (Highways and Transportation) explained thatbus services in Hereford were a mix of commercially operated services and council subsidised services, with the majority of daytime services being operated on a commercial basis by First who had recently reviewed their commercial operation in Hereford and had withdrawn a significant part of their operation.  This had been a commercial decision taken by a private company, and included the bus service to Green Lanes and Westfaling Street.

Council officers had invited other bus operators to provide replacement services on a commercial basis for those being withdrawn but no bus company was prepared to operate commercially to Westfaling Street and Green Lanes.  First Midland Red was also approached and invited to consider diverting some of its buses that operate along Whitecross Road via Green Lanes, but the bus company has declined to do so.

The Council’s Bus Service Support budget is fully committed and so it is not possible to offer subsidy to operators to provide a contracted service.  In view of the reluctance of any bus company to operate commercially to Green Lanes no replacement service can be provided unless the  Route Subsidies budget is increased, which would entail making cuts to other council services.

In response to a further question by Councillor Miss Short, Councillor Wilson said that a review of the budget and any necessary consultation exercise would take place when the budgets were being decided for 2005/06.

Councillor A.L. Williams asked:

"Can the Cabinet Member for Highways and Transport advise me on the total fines imposed on motorists over the last year? I understand there has been a substantial increase in the numbers of motorists so penalised."

The Cabinet Member (Highways and Transportation) said that Penalty Charge Notices had raised £648,350.39 during 2003/04 compared to £534,550.79 raised during 2002/03

The number of motorists affected had risen from 20,634 in 2002/03 to 23,046 in 2003/04. 

Councillor Williams disputed the figures and compared them with other authorities, saying they were excessive.  He said that the parking attendants were affecting both tourism and businesses by their over-zealous enforcement and invited the Cabinet Member to ask the department to relax its targets and reduce its profile.

Councillor Wilson praised the parking attendants who did a very difficult job and said it would be inappropriate for them to exercise discretion if parking laws were being contravened.  He advised that there was an independent appeal process for those receiving such a fine who thought the parking attendant had made an error of judgment. 

The County Secretary and Solicitor advised that Councillor T.M. James had submitted a question addressed to the Cabinet Member (Highways and Transportation) which due to a misunderstanding had not been included in the list of questions for Council.  She undertook to circulate a copy of the question and the answer to all Councillors following the meeting.

Note:  the Question and Answer are set out below:

Question submitted by Councillor T.M. James:

"Can the Cabinet Member for Highways and Transport explain to this Council, the public and press here present, what matters were likely to be discussed and conveyed to members at the recent flood seminar that led him to rule that the press be excluded?"

Answer:

A flood defence seminar was prepared by officers for members of the Herefordshire Council and the River Wye Local Flood Defence Committee.  This was arranged as part of the Council's regular series of service briefings for all councillors in consultation with Cllr Stuart Thomas in his independent capacity as Chairman of the River Wye Local Flood Defence Committee.  The seminars form part of the council's training and development programme designed to keep members up to date with their various statutory and other responsibilities.  As with all training seminars, these are held in house and are not generally open to the public.  On this occasion, the seminar was held as a joint event with members of the River Wye Local Flood Defence Committee as we had been fortunate in also securing speakers from the Environment Agency.  This provided a useful opportunity for members of both the Flood Defence Committee and the Council to be briefed on the various roles and responsibilities of those responsible for flood defence in the region.  It is important that we make clear that this was not a decision making meeting of the Council. 

It is regrettable that an invitation was issued to the press and Central TV by the Chairman of the River Wye Local Flood Defence Committee without reference to those responsible for organising the seminar.  There had been a discussion about the arrangements for the seminar where it had been explained and I had thought agreed that this would be a private training event for participants.  In fact the reporter from the Hereford Times who attended the event was asked to leave by the Chairman of the River Wye Flood Defence Committee.  The interviews with Central TV went ahead with a local member.