Agenda item
Public Questions
To deal with questions from the public within the open forum question and answer session of fifteen minutes in total. Questions from each member of the public should be no longer than two minutes each and relate to issues under the Council’s or Committee’s remit. Any member of the public wishing to ask a public question is requested to contact Democratic Services by no later than 5.00pm the working day before the meeting.
Minutes:
Question from Mr Fowles to Councillor Mike Evemy
Mr Fowles referred to the question he had asked Councillor Evemy in December relating to poor staff morale. He had asked for the number of employees that had left since the Liberal Democrats came to power in the District, the number of new posts created and the total cost to Council Tax payers. Mr Fowles thanked Jan Britton for his comprehensive reply and felt that the facts spoke for themselves. He advised that since 2019, 82 people had left the Council which equated to 37% of the total workforce. Mr Fowles stated that these changes had cost £550k, with the additional strengthening of the Senior Management Team costing a further £330k. He asked Councillor Evemy if he could comment on the fact that one third of staff had left with a resultant cost of just short of a million pounds. He queried if the administration had lost the respect and support of the staff.
The Deputy Leader Councillor Evemy stated that people leave for a number of reasons although there was recognition that the planning private sector was particularly attractive to Councils’ planning officers who were in short supply across the country. Councillor Evemy did not accept there was an issue with morale and stated that without a suitable comparator, 82 leavers could not be described as high and added that the new appointments had been made to support manifesto priorities and commitments, particularly those affecting climate change.
Mr Fowles second question referred to the requirement for the Council to develop a meaningful Parking Strategy for the area, and specifically Cirencester. Mr Fowles stated that their did not appear to be a strategy in place and a number of parking initiatives (e.g. cashless payment machines, free after 3) had been stopped and parking income had reduced by £400k. Mr Fowles also asked if detailed parking details and income (by car park) details could be made available.
Councillor Evemy replied that the detailed figures would be made available on the Council’s website, but the recent pandemic had drastically effected people’s lives and work and this had an effect on carpark usage. Councillor Evemy also stated that it was too soon to see how carpark usage would change in the longer term and large scale initiatives, such as the development of a multi-story car park, had been put on hold until this becomes clear. In the meantime changes had been made to the pricing of season-tickets including the Rugby club car-park to make it more attractive.
Question from Bella Heathcote
A question was submitted by Bella Heathcote referring to the Bid Process and the cost of surveys being conducted in the centre of town and at Love Lane. With the increased costs being faced by businesses, are these costs and the associated cost of consultants justified?
Councillor Dale responded that he will refer the question to officers for a written response of the specific costs. In the wider context there have been around 300 bids made across the country and these are invariable submitted on behalf of and in support of the community and businesses