Agenda item

Please note that Councillors are required to give notice of any such questions in writing to the officer named on the first page of this agenda (acting on behalf of the Corporate Director) not later than 5pm on Tuesday 11 October 2016.  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 Terry Chivers, Ernie Clark, Chris Caswill, Peter Edge, Jon Hubbard, details of which were circulated in Agenda Supplement No. 1 together with responses from the relevant Cabinet member or Committee Chairman, details of which are attached as Appendix C. Where questions had related to a specific item on the agenda, they had been dealt with under that item.

Questioners were permitted to each ask one relevant supplementary question per question submitted and where they did so, the relevant Cabinet member responded as summarised below:

1. Councillor Terry Chiver to Councillor Stuart Wheeler (16/34)

The written answer to the question, circulated with the agenda supplement, was noted.

2. Councillor Ernie Clarke to Councillor Toby Sturgis (16/35)

The written answer to the question, circulated with the agenda supplement, was noted.

3. Councillor Chris Caswill to Councillor Laura Mayes (16/36)

The written answer to the question, circulated with the agenda supplement, was noted. A supplementary question was answered in a debate earlier in the meeting.

4. Councillor Peter Edge to Councillor Jonathon Seed (16/43)

In response to a supplementary question, Councillor Seed stated that in the light of financial constraints, following a review of the costs of the event, it had been decided not to proceed.

4. Councillor Jon Hubbard to Councillor Toby Sturgis (16/44)

In response to a supplementary question, Councillor Sturgis stated that it had been felt appropriate to use the DVLA definitions for commercial vehicles to ration the service, but that he would direct officers to offer appropriate support to the specific case mentioned in the question so that the customer was not unduly affected by the change.

5. Councillor Chris Caswill to Councillor Toby Sturgis (16/38)

The written answer to the question, circulated with the agenda supplement, was noted.

5. Councillor Chris Caswill to Councillor Toby Sturgis (16/39)

In response to a supplementary question, Councillor Sturgis stated that duty to process applications when they were ready, and should not risk appeal through undue delay. He noted that this had been acknowledged by the Inspector.

6. Councillor Jon Hubbard to Councillor Toby Sturgis (16/46)

In response to a supplementary question, Councillor Sturgis stated that the housing land supply questions are a minimum requirement.

7. Councillor Chris Caswill to Councillor Toby Sturgis (16/40)

In response to a supplementary question, Councillor Sturgis stated that the application in question had been approved subject to the signing of a s106 agreement, and if an agreement was not reached, the application would have to be reconsidered.

8. Councillor Chris Caswill to Councillor Toby Sturgis (16/41)

In response to a supplementary question, Councillor Sturgis stated that it was difficult to make a  comparison based on the evidence provided, and that the quote referred to had, in part, been taken out of context.

9. Councillor Chris Caswill to Councillor Baroness Scott of Bybrook OBE (16/42)

In response to a supplementary question, Baroness Scott stated that there was a good spread of toilets available in the town. The facility referred to in the question was not fit for purpose and would have required a lot of refurbishment. The Council had an ambition to develop this site, and hope that further facilities could be provided as part of a mixed use development.