Minutes:
(1) Mr. P. Thirlwall asked could the Leader please confirm that Officers and Elected Members of the Council could no longer travel first class when travelling outside Rotherham on Council business?
The Leader confirmed this was the case. If details were required about the Allowances Scheme this could be provided.
In a supplementary question Mr. P. Thirlwall welcomed this and other approaches about first class travel, which would be shared by the ratepayers of Rotherham, along with the reduction in Cabinet Members, Members’ allowances and the scrapping of the Imagination Library.
The Leader was pleased to confirm the action being taken.
(2) Mr. R. Bartle referred to both verges of Worrygoose Lane, Whiston, which were strewn with all types of litter and asked when were the Council going to treat this issue seriously to convince residents that they intended to do something to deal effectively with the problem?
The Leader confirmed that Worrygoose Lane was programmed for litter picking on the 16th (and probably 17th as well) of March. In addition, the Commissioners have recommended to Council the Budget which included an additional £200k for Street Cleansing; part of this would be used to increase the frequency of litter-picking on rural verges such as Worrygoose Lane.
In a supplementary question Mr. R. Bartle was pleased to hear that the programme of litter picking was for this month and asked the new Leader if these issues would be taken seriously and efforts made to clean up not just the Town Centre, but the whole of the Borough and if whether the additional funding for road repairs could be extended to Whiston?
The Leader hoped that the measures to be announced today would go some way to addressing the problems that have been mentioned.
Councillor Cowles asked if the new Leader was happy to put together a cross party group of people to look at litter to find some effective way of dealing with the problem appropriately, including looking more closely at the opening hours of the recycling centres.
The Leader confirmed this indeed would be an excellent topic for a scrutiny review and for a cross party approach to look at the issue. However, discussions would have to take place with the Commissioners to ascertain if this could be taken forward on a cross party basis. It must also be borne in mind that given the reductions in Local Government finances any such recommended action would have to be judged as a priority, but the approach was welcomed.
Councillor Parker asked if consideration was to be given to bringing the recycling centres back in-house as they were not easy to use and the people administering their operation were running them for profit and if the restrictions on the use of vans could be lifted, which would alleviate some of the problems with fly tipping.
The Leader confirmed that should a review take place these matters would be considered.
Councillor Reeder referred to emails she had sent regarding litter, spitting and dog fouling and highlighted that the culprits were not just young people, but adults and asked the Leader if this could be looked at seriously.
The Leader confirmed that should a review take place these matters would be considered.
Councillor Parker asked for the Chamber’s indulgence to confirm he was no longer a member of the UKIP Political Party and had been expelled from the National Party.
(3) Mr. M. B. Cutts asked as from June, 2014 how many serving Councillors were employed by the state, industry, commerce, retired or unemployed and in order to give the opportunity to someone employed in industry or commerce sector, why not re-arrange Council Meetings to be held in the evenings, out of normal working hours?
The Leader thanked Mr. Cutts for his question. All of the Council’s democratic arrangements would be reviewed following the finding of the Casey review and the appointment by the Government of Commissioners. Your suggestion would be considered as part of that review.
(4) Ms. P. Copnell asked were the Council aware of the problems they were creating for elderly/vulnerable tenants, if they intended to close the communal centres and laundry facilities and who would pay for washing machine fixtures/fittings for elderly tenants who were told they did not need them when signing their sheltered housing agreement?
Councillor Godfrey explained that a comprehensive review of neighbourhood centres located within an aged persons housing complex had been undertaken following declining use of the facilities and customer requests to opt out of the associated charges. A thorough consultation exercise for each of the centres, including communal lounge areas, guest bedrooms and laundry facilities had been undertaken, to determine proposals relating to future use. The consultation process informed the recommendations based upon use and demand.
Accordingly, a number of neighbourhood centres and laundry facilities have been approved for removal as they were not well used and the majority of tenants supported an alternative use and removal of the associated charge.
The tenants affected by removal of the laundry facilities were being offered alternative provision including alterations to their kitchen areas to enable them to incorporate a machine and low cost payment options for washers and dryers through the furnished homes scheme.
In a supplementary question Ms. P. Copnell asked how did the Council expect people to pay for the package of support and be able to understand the detail in the tenancy agreement when the majority of tenants had difficulty remembering day to day activities. The Council were in danger of doing the same to the elderly through neglect as they had to the young people leaving them open to abuse, loneliness and isolation.
Councillor Godfrey reiterated the changes were as a result of the responses from tenants, but appreciated there may be some tenants who were not happy. In terms of the provision of the furnished home scheme there were a large number of tenants who had taken this up. In terms of the tenancy agreement it was acknowledged that there were a number of elderly tenants who found it hard to read and difficult to understand and action would be taken to contact them direct.