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.
Minutes:
QUESTION 1a: from Mr Gibson, to the Deputy Leader and Cabinet Member for Finance:
Mr Gibson stated that he had questions from the Council’s 2022/2023 accounts.
Could you please explain the payment of £130,000 listed in the Council’s accounts spread over January , February and March to Aldi Store Ltd, and also a payment of £2200 to Market Garden marked against ‘Christmas gifts’?
RESPONSE 1a: from the Deputy Leader and Cabinet Member for Finance.
The Deputy Leader and Cabinet Member for finance stated that 2022/2023 was the current year and as such February and March payments did not yet exist, however the Chief Finance Officer would investigate the Council’s accounts to identify the items referred to and a written response would be provided.
QUESTION 1b: from Mr Gibson, to the Leader of the Council
Mr Gibson stated that at the last Council meeting, a member of the Public raised a question about the autumn issue of Cotswold News, which had cost taxpayers about £15,000, and was completely full of stories about Liberal Democrat characters, in short a Lib Dem document. The Leader of the Council had refuted this and claimed that other political parties had been given the opportunity to contribute but Mr Gibson stated this had been completely rejected by the other groups. In the coming spring issue, cross party stories had been re-introduced along with the Members Directory with their contact details.
Why this change of heart, and do you now admit that the last issue was biased and you were wrong in excluding the other political groups and their information?
RESPONSE 1b: from the Leader of the Council
On behalf of the Leader of the Council, the Cabinet Member for Corporate Services responded by rejecting the claim that Cotswold News was biased, and stated that it was a fantastic way of communicating with all Cotswold residents, especially those hardest to reach. The last edition had focussed on the Cost of Living Crisis and had provided important information where support and advice could be found. The Cabinet member expressed surprise that Mr Gibson had received early details of the content of the spring edition, as an outline draft had only recently become available, and confirmed Cotswold News would continue to contain a wide variety of stories from a variety of authors that would be of interest to Cotswold residents.
QUESTION 2a: from Mrs Hilditch to the Cabinet Member for Climate Change and Forward Planning
Mrs Hilditch stated that it was recognised that the Administration had signed up to the Climate Energy Emergency and the Clean and Green Agenda, and stated that in the current digital age where most people have a computer, it was surprising that so much was being spent by CDC on paper and printing e.g. £12,000 on photocopier paper, £50,000 on photocopying, £4,000 on shredding paper and £60,000 on external printers: a total of £127,000 and local taxpayers were footing this bill through Council Taxes.
Can you not consume less, or consume better?
RESPONSE 2a: from the Cabinet Member for Climate Change and Forward Planning.
On behalf of the Cabinet Member for Climate Change and Forward Planning, The Leader of the Council responded by stating that the consumption and disposal of paper was down on previous years and had reduced during his term as Leader. The Leader of the Council stated that although some Members had started the move to using computers and tablets to receive communications, paper copies of reports and documents were still popular and convenient for both Members and Officers. Other documents were required to be printed and securely shredded due to the confidential or restricted nature of their content. The Leader of the Council also made a commitment to regularly review paper usage and encourage the use of more sustainable methods of communication to reduce paper.
QUESTION 2b: from Mrs Hilditch to the Deputy Leader and Cabinet Member for Finance.
Mrs Hilditch stated that the expensive refurbishment of Council Offices at Trinity Road including additional meeting rooms had cost a lot of money. Since the Council was now encouraging flexible working amongst staff, the council building was often empty
Could you explain then why you had spent £16,000 on hiring external meeting facilities?
RESPONSE: 2b from the Deputy Leader and Cabinet Member for Finance
On behalf of the Deputy Leader and Cabinet Member for Finance, the Cabinet Member for Corporate Services responded, stating that Council Offices at Trinity Road was a fantastic asset and the introduction of agile working was enabling Council Service teams to be decanted into 60% of the building, with the remaining space being rented out to other organisations and commercial businesses, to generate income for the Council. The Cabinet Member for Corporate Services also stated that details of the £16,000 expenditure was not immediately available, and written details would be sent, but it was likely that this was booked when suitable accommodation at the Council Offices was not available.
QUESTION 3a from Mrs Heathcoat-Amery to the Cabinet Member for the Economy and Transformation
Mrs Heathcote-Amery stated that the Council was responsible for the management of Car Parking and as part of the Clean and Green agenda had moved to cashless car-parking.
How does the Council’s current expenditure of £320,000 on Officers uniforms, training and maintenance, and servicing of machines, reflect improved cost efficiency and Council transparency?
RESPONSE 3a: from the Cabinet Member for the Economy and Transformation
The Cabinet Member for the Economy and Transformation stated that the introduction of cashless car parking was comparatively new, but once completed across the District, would deliver efficiencies by avoiding the expense of emptying machines of cash and a reduction in machine vandalism. There were still some issues with the level of maintenance required to keep the machines clean, legible and in working order, however steps had been taken to address these. Moving forward maintenance would always be required to keep car parks clean, tidy, well lit and safe to use.
QUESTION 3b from Mrs Heathcoat-Amery to the Leader of the Council
Mrs Heathcote-Amery stated that having declared a Climate Emergency and a desire to support the local economy.
Could you explain the £750,000 spent on decarbonisation of which £680,000 (86%) was paid to an American Company?
RESPONSE 3b: from the Leader of the Council
The Leader of the Council stated that a full response would require a lot of detailed information, and agreed to send a written response.
QUESTION 4a from Mr Fowles to the Cabinet Member for Climate Change and Forward Planning
Mr Fowles stated that on social media recently, Councillor Rachel Coxcoon had spoken about trying to stop tourists that live in America and the Far East from coming to visit the Cotswolds because of their carbon footprint. At the previous week’s Cabinet meeting, Councillor Coxcoon had been asked to clarify her remarks and explain them, but neither had been done. The Administration had also been given the opportunity to endorse (or not) her remarks.
Given the fact that Tourism is the main contributor to the Cotswold economy could you please explain why Councillor Coxcoon and the Administration appear to be anti-tourism and anti-business, and secondly if you do stand by her remarks, how in God’s name do you plan to implement them?
RESPONSE 4a: from the Cabinet Member for Climate Change and Forward Planning
In the absence of the Cabinet Member for Climate Change and Forward Planning The Leader of the Council responded by stating that neither the Council nor the Administration were anti-tourist, but on the contrary recognised that tourism was a key for the area. The Council was also committed to ensuring that travel to, from, and within the district was as sustainable as possible. Councillor Coxcoon was making the point that, although the Cotswolds would continue to be promoted globally as a popular and beautiful tourist destination by various tourist organisations, any tourist promotion undertaken by CDC should give proper consideration to the Climate Change impact of long haul air travel. To this end, promotions should focus on attracting tourists and visitors from across the UK, Europe and Scandinavia or where visitors transport produced lower carbon emissions.
QUESTION 4b from Mr Fowles to the to the Cabinet Member for the Economy and Transformation
Mr Fowles stated that, having held the portfolio for the Economy since being elected in 2019, the Cabinet Member had spoken eloquently on many occasions in support of local businesses and in particular the £68,000 that had been spent re-opening the High Street. In spite of this Mr Fowles had found it difficult to identify what tangibly this meant.
I would be grateful if you could (now or outside this meeting), explain to me and residents what you have actually done personally and as an Administration to re-open the High Street in the Cotswolds
RESPONSE 4b: from the Cabinet Member for the Economy and Transformation.
The Cabinet Member for the Economy and Transformation responded by totally disagreeing with the founding tenants of the question. When the portfolio had been passed to the new Administration over three and a half years previously no Economic or Business Strategies existed. Since then the Economy of the Cotswolds had been supported by a District Council that was determined to see businesses survive and thrive across all sectors. The High Street was recognised as a key sector and High Street business occupancy across the Cotswolds was better than almost any other district in the United Kingdom with barely 4% vacancy rates. In addition to this incredible resurgence in retail, a new and unique digital training sector had developed, the agri-tech sector continued to flourish, IT and cyber industries had tripled in size each year, and with over £33m of additional investment over the previous three years, high quality, high value jobs had been created.
QUESTION 5a: from Mr Watson (Councillor of Tetbury Town Council (TTC)) to
The Leader of the Council
Mr Watson stated that Tetbury was in need of infrastructure investment not least in transport links where the public transport services between Tetbury and Cirencester was particularly poor.
Would CDC be prepared to commit to working in partnership with TTC and Town and Parish Councils to address these issues and to see if a viable solution could be agreed together.
RESPONSE 5a: from the Leader of the Council.
The Leader of the Council responded, stating that it had been recognised that previously, the absence of a Five Year Housing Land Supply or Local Plan had resulted in additional housing being developed without the development of additional infrastructure. The Council would be happy to commit to working in partnership with TTC and Town and Parish councils to identify projects where collaborative working would be possible.