Agenda item

Please note that Councillors are required to give notice of any such questions in writing to the officer named above (acting on behalf of the Director of Resources) not later than Friday 5 November 2010. Questions may be asked without notice if the Chairman decides that the matter is urgent.

Details of any questions received will be circulated to Councillors prior to the meeting and made available at the meeting and on the Council’s website.

The Chairman reported receipt of questions from Councillors Ernie Clark, Jon Hubbard, Jeff Osborn, Helen Osborn, Nick Fogg, Simon Killane, Trevor Carbin, Peter Colmer, Graham Payne and Ricky Rogers.

Details of the questions and responses given were previously circulated and are attached as Appendix A to these minutes.

Supplementary questions were made in some cases summarised as follows:

Cllr Clark – harmonisation of taxi services – questioned the ability to find a solution to harmonise the service. In the absence of Cllr Keith Humphries, Cabinet member for Health and Wellbeing, it was agreed to provide a written response.

Cllr Clark – ‘Housing Matters’ magazine – asked how many Wiltshire Council tenants had asked for information in a non-English language. The Leader undertook to provide a written response.

Cllr Clark – Chief Executive’s salary – asked why the Leader would not be  approaching the Chief Executive on a cut in his pay. The Leader explained that the Chief Executive’s pay had been set at the median line and agreed by all political parties on the Council.  

Cllr Clark / Cllr Hubbard – costs of Wiltshire Council branding – Cllr Clark asked for a breakdown of how the reorganisation was saving approximately £18 million per annum. The Leader undertook to provide a written response.

Cllr Hubbard queried the comparative costs mentioned in the response and expressed a view that money spent on branding could have been better spent on funding jobs.

The Leader explained that the decision to rebrand following the Council’s decision to change its name to Wiltshire Council had been taken two years ago and in a different financial climate. She also commented that the Council had been open and transparent in detailing the costs associated with the rebranding.

Cllr Hubbard – costs of redundancies under local government reorganisation – questioned why terms and conditions were harmonised up to the best rather than down and how this would compare under new terms and conditions of service.

The Leader replied that the Implementation Executive formed from members of all 5 councils had at the time looked at the issue sensibly and made decisions with help from DCLG. The severance arrangements agreed had been purely for the period of local government reorganisation and it was noted at the time that the arrangements would be subsequently reviewed.

Cllr Helen Osborn – Pedestrian crossing on Bythesea Road/Gateway shopping complex – Cllr Osborn reiterated her concern that it could take an accident to occur for the issue to be addressed and wished to be kept informed.

Cllr Nick Fogg – Pewsey Road Bridge, Marlborough – Cllr Fogg thanked Cllr Tonge for his answer and explained that most of his concerns had been addressed. He questioned whether it was possible to examine lessons learnt following completion of major projects. He also referred to negotiations needing to take place with utility companies prior to a project being undertaken.

Cllr Dick Tonge, Cabinet Member for Highways and Transport confirmed that consultation did take place with Area Boards on major projects in their area. Every effort was made to ensure utility companies completed their works on time during major projects. The issue of costs to local authorities in carrying out remedial repairs following works by utilities had been taken up with the relevant Minister.

Cllr Peter Colmer – Redundancy costs since April 2009 – Cllr Colmer added that the average cost per redundancy based on the written reply equated to  £90,000, and asked whether the Leader agreed that the redundancy pay policy had no demonstrable gain and was in conflict with the aims of the move to one council.

The Leader disagreed and stressed that the move to one Council generated £18 million year on year savings.  The Council as a unitary authority was in a much better position to weather the current financial challenges than the five former councils would have been. Reducing the five senior management teams to one was always going to cost.

Cllr Peter Colmer – Asked if there was a definite date for the appointment of a full time equivalent Empty Homes Officer.

Cllr Brady explained that the advert for the post was withdrawn in light of the management review currently taking place to provide the opportunity for the post to be filled internally by someone at risk of redundancy.

Cllr Peter Colmer – Accuracy of information at meetings – Suggested that it would be more prudent for Cabinet members to undertake to provide written responses where there was any uncertainty.

Cllr Payne – Shaw Trust/Palmer Gardens, Islington, Trowbridge – Reiterated his concerns to establish ownership. Cllr Thomson agreed to ask officers to investigate the matter further and to keep Cllr Payne informed.

Cllr Ricky Rogers – Appointment of Governors to Salisbury Sarum Academy – Cllr Rogers asked if the method of appointing a Governor in this case would be applied to all other Governor appointments or just for the Bremerton Division.

Cllr Lionel Grundy, Cabinet Member for Childrens’ Services explained the circumstances leading to the appointment of a Governor for this Academy.