Agenda item

In accordance with the Council Procedure Rules, all questions –

v  Must be relevant to an item which the Council has powers or duties;

v  Must not relate to an item which is included elsewhere on the Agenda;

v  Should be limited to obtaining information or pressing for action; and

v  Should not exceed two minutes in duration.

Questions should not divulge or require to be divulged, confidential or exempt information.

Arising from a question from Councillor M L Beuttell on the proposals for a green bin tax and concern with communication following the information being presented in the media before Overview and Scrutiny, the Executive Leader, Councillor S J Conboy, explained that the MTFS did not contain the level of detail on the proposal at this stage as there were so many variables to consider, including awaiting the detail from Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs and explained that due process would be given to Overview and Scrutiny once this information was available for further consideration and welcomed their engagement.

In response to a question from Councillor D Mickelburgh on support for residents off-grid tackling the energy crisis such as those in mobile home parks and boats, Councillor S Ferguson, Executive Councillor for Customer Services, explained that the Government had announced two further energy support schemes to address these needs that included a £400 payment to residents in a mobile home or boat administered directly from the Government via a phone line to be launched on 27th February 2023 to claim. Residents without a mains gas connection, there would be a similar policy launched by the Government of a £200 payment available and an Officer had been appointed to support a project team to check the validity of the claims despite it being administered through the Government. He further reminded Members of this request to identify such residents in their ward to signpost them to this support scheme.

Following a question raised by Councillor S Cawley specifically raised by residents in his Ward in the village of Ellington and ongoing issues with Buffaload and requirement for Planning Enforcement action, Councillor T D Sanderson, Executive Councillor for Planning, welcomed sight of the issues and undertook to take up this issue with the Planning Enforcement Team.

Councillor D B Dew raised a question in relation to the timetable for the Local Plan re-launch and opportunity for Members to get involved, whereby Councillor Sanderson explained that there would be plenty of opportunities to get involved, starting with Overview and Scrutiny on 1st March 2023 that will consider the Local Development Scheme that sets out the scope of work for future development plan preparation setting out evidence based and supporting documents required as well as identifying the risks and resources involved in producing the Local Plan. Discussion will also be held at this meeting on the draft settlement and hierarchy methodology looking at call sites. He further reminded Members of the length of the process, at least for the next four years and beyond and welcomed contributions from all Members in the process.

Arising from a question by Councillor J Kerr on an update on One Leisure footfall since the price increases in January 2023, Councillor S Taylor, Executive Councillor for Leisure, Waste and Streetscene, acknowledged that Councillor D Keane had contacted her raising the same question. It was reported that overall admissions across One Leisure facilities were up year on year by 209k and highlighted the main areas of growth in casual swimming, swim courses, sports hall and aerobic classes. Full details of the impact would be circulated to all Members after the meeting.   

In response to a question raised by Councillor M Pickering on progress with the backlog of planning applications and planning enforcement, Councillor T D Sanderson highlighted that cases had been reduced and was proud of the work that the Team had achieved to date and reassured Members that with investment in the service he was confident that this would continue to improve.

Arising from a question by Councillor C Tevlin on the efforts by the District Council to tackle the cost of living crisis with the assistance provided for warm hubs and future plans for reviewing the warm hubs initiative particularly in the context of the Community Chest Grant Funding, Councillor B Pitt, Executive Councillor for Community and Health, reported upon the success of the national warm hubs initiative largely driven by residents and community groups. He drew attention to the preference for a legacy for this project which not only provided focus as a warm space but also provided support for community groups going forward. He referred to the Council’s commitment to support these initiatives going forward, largely supported by the £500 grants through the Community Chest Grant Funding and explained that the criteria for such grants was under review.

Councillor A Jennings raised a question in relation to an update on the market towns initiative and whether the meeting on the St Neots Regeneration Project had taken place or the likelihood, following it being reported at the Council meeting in October 2022 that a meeting would be held to update Members. In response, Councillor S Wakeford, Executive Councillor for Jobs, Economy and Housing, undertook to provide detail on the spend directly to Councillor Jennings and further detail would be reported at the next meeting of the Overview and Scrutiny Panel on 1st March 2023. Councillor Wakeford was unable to provide the detail on the dates of the stakeholder meetings that had taken place.

Arising from a question by Councillor D Mickelburgh on an update of progress with Civil Parking Enforcement, Councillor S Taylor reported that the Council’s website has been updated and a revised commencement date of October 2024 had been confirmed based upon a review by Cambridgeshire County Council of their available resources. It was further reported that on-street survey work in the District had been completed and a query list detailing where signs and lines were not up to standard or the restriction was unclear had been generated and submitted to the County Council and they had been working through the list to inform the remedial works required. Work was also underway with the draft Agency Agreement and Service Level Agreement between the District Council and County Council.