Agenda item

To ask questions of Portfolio Holders. Questions received will be tabled at the meeting. (Members are reminded that questions must be submitted to the Chief Executive or to the Head of Legal and Democratic Services by not later than noon on Friday 10 April 2015.)

Question 1:

From:  Cllr Lagdon

To:  Cllr Vickers, Planning & Transportation Portfolio Holder

“Concerning the 'National Planning Policy Framework issued March 2012 by the Conservative and Liberal Democrat Coalition Government, can the Portfolio Holder please tell us how this council proposes to: "BOOST SIGNIFICANTLY the supply of housing within the New Forest District Council area" when at present, certainly in the east of the Forest, we are stretching the infrastructure to breaking point and have very little room to build anyway?”

Answer:

The Portfolio Holder replied that NFDC was one of only a small number of Planning Authority Councils that had a fully adopted Local Plan. Neighbouring councils without a plan such as Test Valley, Eastleigh and East Hants where seeing Planning Inspectors grant large developments. NFDC’s Plan started in 2006. To date, 57% of the 20 year housing commitment has already been built. The Council also has an 8 year land supply available for development based on current numbers. The current plan required updating. The process for doing so would take at least 2 years before Public Examination. Consequently, there would not be a significant change in the house building rate in the time of the next Council.  In response to a supplementary question regarding how many new houses were needed to be built per year in the District and the impact on the existing infrastructure, the Portfolio Holder explained that in the NFDC area, every possible building site was within 5 kilometres of an Special Protection Area (SpA) or Special Area of Conservation (SAC) and consequently the Council was required to provide Sites of Alternative Natural Green Space (SANGs). This was a major issue with the existing plan. A direct result of this was that it diminished ability to build houses. A further factor related to the poor transport infrastructure in large parts of the District. All of these factors would influence the proposals put into the revision of the Plan. It was also open to a town like Totton to produce its own Neighbourhood Plan and thereby decide how much housing would be built and where.

Question 2:

From:  Cllr M S Wade

To:  Cllr Cleary, Housing and Communities Portfolio Holder

“Is the Life Line activity in the CCTV control room in anyway affecting the appropriate level of community safety monitoring of the CCTV cameras in the New Forest towns and villages?”

Answer:

The Portfolio Holder said that the number of incidents monitored by cameras in the control room remained steady at just over 2,000 incidents per year. Whilst activity in the control room had increased due to community alarms, so had staffing.  Prior to the changes in the service, there were 7 employees in CCTV covering 20 hours per day. There were now 15 employees in the unit covering 24 hours a day.  The old control room was often singled crewed. Now, for many hours of the day, there were 3 or 4 employees present at a time. Calls from Community Alarms had peak times and during those hours they were the priority due to the vulnerability of the clients, however the Council would continue to respond to Police Control and Shop Watch whilst still carrying out regular camera scans.  There was no evidence to suggest that CCTV monitoring had been adversely impacted by these changes.  In response to a supplementary question regarding the removal of cameras in Totton and Hythe Towns, the Portfolio Holder said that she would investigate this matter further.

Question 3:

From:  Cllr D Harrison

To:  Cllr Cleary, Housing and Communities Portfolio Holder

“Could you please outline your priority actions for ensuring the future of community safety in our New Forest towns & villages”

Answer:

The Portfolio Holder replied that the New Forest remained a low crime area and the Crime and Disorder Reduction partnership “Safer New Forest” continued to work with partners to ensure that remained.  The current priorities of the Partnership included: the reduction of antisocial behaviour, the reduction of domestic violence and re-offending.  The Portfolio Holder had been pleased to see that the Crime Commissioner had commissioned an Independent Domestic Violence Advocate which residents within the Forest would have access to.  To ensure that the Council’s priorities remained current, the Partnership would work on a refresh of the Community Safety Strategic Assessment which the Council was lawfully obliged to produce. This would be available in June. From that document the Council would develop a multi-agency partnership plan to deliver on the identified priorities.

The Portfolio Holder had instigated a review of the Joint Action Group. This was to consider whether any changes were needed, to ensure it remained fit for the future.  The reduction in Police numbers in the area had caused debate in the press, but the Area Commander had been clear that he could deliver an appropriate Policing response within available resources. The Council would continue to work with him on any emerging issues. In response to a supplementary question regarding the retention of CCTV cameras in towns, the Portfolio Holder said that town councils would need to continue to financially contribute to this service provision. She would have further discussions with town councils to determine their current position on this matter.

Question 4:

From:  Cllr D Harrison

To:  The Leader of the Council

“I noted the squirming discomfort of several Conservative Councillors at the budget setting meeting when you praised the Council’s workforce but failed to commit to paying them a living wage. How soon before you seek to rectify this?”

Answer:

The Leader of the Council replied that the new administration would consider all priorities following the May elections. Over the past four years the administration had delivered priorities whilst responsibly managing the Council’s business with less financial resource. This would continue. Support and encouragement would continue to be given to staff. One of the high priority projects within the Fit for the Future programme was pay and reward. The living wage would be a key consideration for this particular programme. Proposals were likely to be made to the Pay Panel at the start of 2016.

Question 5:

From:  Cllr D Harrison

To:  The Leader of the Council

“In the unlikely event that the Conservatives hang on to enough seats to keep control of the Council after the elections, will you undertake to consider moving back to a committee system of governance rather than the unpopular system of rule by Cabinet?”

Answer:

The Leader of the Council said that should the new Council wish to consider new ways of working, a Task & Finish Group would be established. For the time being, the current method of governance would remain.