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To deal with Oral Questions

Meeting: 01/03/2021 - Council (Item 9)

To deal with oral questions

Minutes:

Question  1

 

From: Cllr Payne

To: Ex Cllr for Climate Change,Environment and City Centre

 

After a Liberal Democrat motion highlighted the dramatic increase in littering over the summer months, the Environment and Community Scrutiny Committee recently unanimously supported a new litter strategy.  While work on this strategy begins, what immediate steps will the Council take to try to prevent another inundation of litter as outdoor socialising begins?

 

The Executive Councillor responded:

Officers had worked tirelessly during the pandemic. The Executive Councillor did not agree there was a litter problem in the city in 2020. There was some littering in known hot spots and the cleansing team cleared these areas before daytime use of the open spaces commenced. Littering was a general issue experienced by local authorities across the country during the pandemic. Following publication of the Government roadmap out of lockdown, officers were meeting to discuss ways forward and what measures needed to be put in place in advance of the summer period, including advice, guidance and enforcement.

 

Question  2

 

From: Cllr Gehring

To: Leader

 

Brexit continues to be a greatly unsettling process, especially for EU citizens. How is the Council ensuring that EU citizens will excercise their right to vote in the upcoming local elections for Council, County, P&C Commissioner and Metromayor?

 

The Executive Councillor responded:

The Council continued to give its full support to EU citizens. It was a key priority to make EU citizens aware that they could and were welcome to vote. A leaflet was to be sent out with all council tax bills giving advice regarding the EU resettlement scheme and also about registering to vote. The Cambridge Matters magazine would be sent to all households in Cambridge and would contain articles regarding the EU resettlement scheme and advice regarding voting. In May every political position was up for election in Cambridge except the MP and it was therefore vital that everyone who was entitled to vote could vote. Urged people to apply for a postal vote to ensure that they could exercise their democratic right.

 

Question  3

 

From: Cllr O'Reilly

To: Leader

 

What are the city council’ s priorities so Cambridge recovers strong when COVID is beaten?

 

The Executive Councillor responded:

The well organised vaccination programme in Cambridge was helping but the city wasn’t fully protected yet. Noted and agreed that people needed to stick to the Covid rules set out in the Government’s roadmap. Recovery needed to be based on the virus being controlled. There were four forms of recovery: economic, social, environmental and the council itself. Economic and social recovery were linked. The city had 2,100 additional people claiming universal credit. The Council would be working closely with its partners to get the recovery right. The Council would need to improve the way it delivered its services with less finance.

 

Question  4

 

From: Cllr Bird

To: Ex Cllr for Communities

 

What is the council doing to support LGBTQ+ history month?

 

The Executive Councillor responded:

LGBTQ+ history month celebrated the lives and achievements of lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender communities. It ensured stories were heard and voices were not silenced; their contribution to history had often been ignored. The City Council was proud to support and fund this month in February. Thanked the Encompass Network for their online events. Noted that there was still a lot of work to do and noted an extract from the Equality Pledge which stated ‘Wanted Cambridge to be a safe, welcoming and inclusive place’.

 

Question  5

 

From: Cllr Matthews

To: Ex Cllr for Planning Policy and Open Spaces

 

The planning department appears to be becoming stricter with the timelines available to councillors to “call-in” applications so that they can be decided by the planning committee. Are there clear guidelines for councillors on when to call-in applications to committee? Could councillors be given clarity in writing on how the planning department’s discretionary powers are now being applied to call-ins after the official deadlines?

 

The Executive Councillor responded:

Wasn’t aware that Officers were becoming stricter with timelines for councillors to ‘call in’ applications. The procedure for the ‘call in’ of an application to Planning Committee were set out in the Planning Committee Scheme of Delegation which was contined in the Council’s Constitution. This was reviewed as part of the Statement of Community Involvement which was updated in 2019. The procedure stated that within 21 days of the date of publication of the weekly list or within 14 days of any significant amendments any member including County Council members representing a city ward could request in writing that the application should be determined by the Planinng Committee. The request had to include the planning grounds on which the request was based. Timelines were strict as planning applications needed to be determined in accordance with statutory timescales.

 

Question  6

 

From: Cllr McGerty

To: Ex Cllr for Transport and Community Safety

 

Wednesday’s meeting of the Greater Cambridge Partnership Joint Assembly provided some interesting updates on plans to ease congestion and resulting pollution around the Cambridge Biomedical Campus, including progress on Cambridge South Station, the Cambridge Southeast Transport scheme and various walking and cycling projects. Would the leader of the council join me in welcoming these measures?

 

The Executive Councillor responded:

Transport around the two hospitals was key for patients, visitors and staff. Noted that further hospitals were due to be built on the site. Welcomed improvements to the biomedical campus especially walking, cycling and sustainable transport improvements.

 

Question  7

 

From: Cllr Baigent

To: Leader

 

What obligations do local political parties in Cambridge have to follow Government national safety guidance during the current lockdown on campaigning?

 

The Executive Councillor responded:

Everyone needed to follow the Covid rules, including political parties.  Subject to safety precautions, policitical parties were able to start campaigning from the 8 March 2021.

 

Question  8

 

From: Cllr Porrer

To: Leader

 

Would the Leader of the council agree that we need to continue to make representations to the ONS (Office of National Statistics) to ensure that the Census on 21st March 2021 fully accounts for those in our community who may not currently be resident in our city. In particular those in our EU and International student populations who may not have had accommodation in the city over the pandemic, and who won't otherwise be counted.

 

The Executive Councillor responded:

The census was vital and provided high quality data. There were problems with the 2011 census as this underestimated the number of students at Anglia Ruskin University and Cambridge University. Cambridge was a dynamic city with a lot of movement.  A significant number of students, researchers, academics, post graduates and people from the hospitality sector would not be in the city when the census took place. The risk was that the census severely underestimated Cambridge’s population and deprived the city of funding for health, schools, police and councils. Asked everyone to complete the census. Was disappointed that the Government did not follow the Scottish Government and hold the census in 2022.

 

Question  9

 

From: Cllr Hadley

To: Ex Cllr for Planning Policy and Open Spaces

 

Are there any interesting outcomes from Draft Chalk Stream Project Report?

 

The Executive Councillor responded:

There were lots of interesting outcomes from the report. For each stretch of the chalk streams, 9 features were assessed and ranked red, amber or green representing poor, moderate and good state. The emphasis was on the ecological quality of the streams. Only 1 stretch had a feature without a red designation, 2 stretches had 7, 12 stretches were designated red because they had invasive species. 11 stretches had weirs or barriers which disrupted the passage of fish. 8 stretches were designated red because the flow regime did not support biodiversity. Only 1 stretch was designated green for flow and that had a caveat that it had become more prone to low flows in the last 10 years. 46 projects had been put forward for improvments as a result of the report totalling an estimated £300,000. Would be working with South Cambs District Council, the County Council and Water Resources East and their partners.

 

Question  10

 

From: Cllr Sheil

To: Ex Cllr for Housing

 

Can the Executive Councillor provide an update on the council’s work helping support rough sleepers during the pandemic into sustainable, longer-term housing placements?

 

The Executive Councillor responded:

Since the beginning of the pandemic 297 offers of accommodation had been made, this included repeated refusals and offers to previously evicted people.  As at 19 February 2021, there were 37 rough sleepers in temporary accommodation. Since March 2020, 132 people had been moved into longer term accommodation or had found an alternative permanent solution. In terms of longer term accommodation options had agreed with landlords in the private sector for 10 properties for rent and had the council had agreed to pay the rent to these landlords. Funding for this had come from a grant from the Ministry of Housing Communities and Local Government. There were 4 modular homes at Dundee Close and 6 in Kings Hedges were due to go online in March. 6 further modular homes had been given permission at Barnes Close in Abbey.

 

Question  11

 

From: Cllr Thittala

To: Leader

 

Given the Covid 19 impact on the BAME community, what measures are in place to provide additional support to the community in Cambridge?

 

The Executive Councillor responded:

The Council and its partners had been in regular contact with different minority ethnic groups and organisations across the city. This included the mosque and the Ethnic Community Forum. The Council had focussed on hard to reach groups including those most at risk. Ethnicity was a big issue in the pandemic, welcomed the response of leaders in those communities. Noted a number of people in Cambridge did not use English as their first language.

 

Question  12

 

From: Cllr McQueen

To: Ex Cllr for Communities

 

What impact does the executive councillor think that universal credit has had on the people of Cambridge?

 

The Executive Councillor responded:

There was a 5-week delay before people were able to receive their money, which forced people into debt if they took out a loan. The default to 1 payment per household was problematic if people were victims of domestic abuse. The Council had done what it could to mitigate the negative impacts of Universal Credit including the provision of a dedicated universal credit support officer, a financial inclusion officer, retained the Council Tax Reduction Scheme and funded an outreach worker at the Citizens Advice Bureau. There were 1218 claimants on the Council Tax Reduction Scheme in February 2020, this had doubled to 2458. A fair system was required which did not patronise or punish people. 

 

Details of the oral questions which were tabled but were not covered during the meeting can be found in the Information Pack via Agenda for Council on Monday, 1st March, 2021, 6.30 pm - Cambridge Council.