Issue - decisions

Question 1 – Cllr Harrison asked the Portfolio Holder for Housing and Communities for an update with regard to the situation at Savoy House, Totton. The Portfolio Holder replied that following detailed intrusive inspections of the fabric of the building, where a number of serious structural and health and safety concerns were revealed, officers had to find alternative accommodation for tenants. Council officers had managed this difficult process well, with the support of the tenants involved and there were now only three households in B&B waiting for an offer for accommodation. The owner of the property had now surrendered the lease, at no cost to the Council.  In response to a supplementary question regarding lessons that could have been learnt in the inspection regime, the Portfolio Holder replied that the defects were only revealed when parts of the internal fabric of the building was dismantled when looking for the causes of damp issues and it would not be reasonable for inspections of this nature to be routinely carried out.

Question 2 - Cllr Harrison asked the Portfolio Holder for Health & Leisure whether he expected the Sedentary Lifestyle Task & Finish Group to examine the decision to increase Health & Leisure Centre membership for age 60 – 65’s. In reply, the Portfolio Holder said thatthis matter has been given full consideration by the Community Overview & Scrutiny Panel. The Panel agreed that as people were living healthier lives for longer and the state pension for ‘seniors’ was 65, the policy should reflect that.

In implementing the decision, the Council had taken a fair approach by allowing all existing fitness direct members who are 60 – 65 to have their current (lower) price honoured for as long as they remained members.

The change in policy would provide the Council with income of £52,000 which would be reinvested back into the Health and Leisure Centres.  The Council, whilst achieving a 97% customer satisfaction rate, compared more favourably with other centre membership fees. The Portfolio Holder therefore did not believe that the decision would have a significant impact on customers, particularly as the Council’s Health and Leisure Service offered extensive programmes to encourage residents to participate in active, healthy lifestyles. As such, the Portfolio Holder would not waste the time of the Task & Finish Group by asking them to review the matter again.

Question 3 - Cllr Harrison asked the Portfolio Holder for Planning & Transportation how car parking charges calculated. The Portfolio Holder replied that as the matter had been subject to robust discussion at the Environment Overview & Scrutiny Panel, he had nothing more to add.