Agenda item

To deal with any questions on notice from Members of the Council, in the order in which they have been received.

 

A period of up to 15 minutes is allocated for the asking and answering of questions.  This may be extended at the discretion of the Chairman with the agreement of the majority of those present.

 

The Chairman advised that five Questions on Notice had been received for consideration on this occasion.

 

Question from Councillor M. Marshall to the Cabinet Member for Planning and Regulatory Services

 

“Can the Cabinet Member confirm what action is being taken to challenge and reverse Worcs Highways’ unacceptable stance not to attend future Bromsgrove Planning Committee meetings which:

·             compromises the professional integrity and independence of our planning officers who will be required to accept and present Worcs Highways evidence at Committee without question

·             undermines the legitimate need for members to scrutinise the evidence of a key statutory consultee 

·             erodes public confidence in the democratic accountability of Highways and the planning process for decisions impacting the District’s residents?”

 

The Cabinet Member for Planning and Regulatory Services responded by explaining that a formal response had been raised by the Assistant Director for Planning, Leisure and Culture Services with her counterpart at Worcestershire County Council.  The following statement had been issued by Worcestershire County Council in response, which was read out at the Council meeting:

 

“As the statutory consultee for highways, Worcestershire County Council review planning applications submitted to the District Councils (Local Planning Authorities), and provide comments and recommendations for the districts to use as part of their wider assessment of the individual planning applications.  

 

If an application is to be determined by committee, local planning authorities make a recommendation based on all the evidence before them including from the full range of statutory consultees.

 

There is no requirement of statutory consultees to attend planning committees and the county council have never stated that they will not attend future committees.   

 

The council will continue to attend where this is important or where the Chair of the Planning Committee considers it contentious or of wider public interest, balancing demands with resources and avoiding situations where attendance does not add any value.”

 

Councillor Marshall subsequently asked the following supplementary question:

 

“That is progress, as they previously said they would not be attending.  How will we control this and make sure it happens?”

 

The Cabinet Member for Planning and Regeneration suggested that when Planning Committee members received the agenda for a meeting of the Committee, they should check the content straight away.  Where Members identified an application where they felt it would be appropriate for a representative of Worcestershire Highways authority to be present, the Cabinet Member for Planning and Regulatory Services suggested that they should notify the Chairman of the Planning Committee meeting immediately so that a request could be submitted to Worcestershire County Council.  Furthermore, it was suggested that the Cabinet Member for Planning and Regulatory Services could be copied into this correspondence.

 

Question from Councillor J. Clarke to the Leader

 

“Will you take action to ensure that Bromsgrove retains its Fairtrade Town status?”

 

The Leader replied by commenting that she was proud that, over ten years ago, when Fairtrade products were quite rare in shops and eateries, the Council had signed up to the Fairtrade Foundation Charity to be granted Fairtrade status.

 

The authority supported Fairtrade Fortnight events in the town which were run by Churches Together and additionally local businesses took part in Fairtrade Fortnight, adding menu items made with fairtrade products as a part of this.

 

The Leader also reported that she was proud to find that when she walked around the town, visiting many cafes and restaurants particularly, that Fair Trade, ethical and organic products were commonplace.

 

The Council’s commitment over a decade ago to becoming a Fairtrade Town, not just in status, but through on the ground action, had paid dividends and provided residents and visitors with the opportunity to make a conscious choice when they purchased a drink, food or produce in the town. Businesses recognised the demand and even those that weren’t at the forefront of the change, had caught up.

 

However, the Council was not complacent and even though the authority hadn’t renewed its status with the foundation, it continued to show support for Fairtrade products including trough the Green Fair (which boasted Fairtrade products for sale). 

 

As a Council, the authority had to show a level playing field and with more conscientious consumers demanding much more from the products they bought, for example vegan friendly, cruelty free and ethically sourced products, the authority could not favour one cause over another.  For this reason, the Council would not be renewing the fairtrade status but remained committed to supporting, where possible, the fairtrade concept, along with other consumer choices.

 

Question from Councillor S. Evans to the Cabinet Member for Finance

 

“Nationally it has been revealed that not all households eligible for council tax reduction on the grounds of severe mental impairment are receiving it. Do we know what proportion of eligible households in Bromsgrove are actually receiving their entitlement?”

 

The Cabinet Member for Finance advised that in cases where a person resident within a property in Bromsgrove District was classified as severely mentally impaired, a Council Tax discount or exemption might be available.  To be categorised as severely mentally impaired a person had to:

 

i)            have a “severe impairment of intelligence or social functioning, however caused, which appears to be permanent” and

ii)           be eligible for a qualifying benefit

iii)         and needed to be certified by a registered medical practitioner as severely mentally impaired.

 

Certification was made by a registered medical practitioner during the exemption / discount application process.  Without this certification, there was no eligibility for an exemption/reduction and on that basis all eligible persons were receiving a discount.   The availability of an exemption/discount was promoted within the Council Tax explanatory notes and on the Council’s website.

 

The Council would only know a household was eligible if they declared it as part of their claim.  It was not, therefore, possible to detail the exact proportion receiving their entitlement.

 

·             In total there were 253 people in the District disregarded from Council Tax based on severe mental impairment.

·             There were 128 exempt dwellings due to occupation by a person who was severely mentally impaired.

 

The authority already publicised information on discounts and exemptions.  This was included with every Council Tax demand notice.  The information was also advertised prominently on the Council’s website

 

The Council proactively promoted the discount/exemption when communicating with customers that might be eligible for the discount.

 

Advice agencies such as the CAB, and support groups for people with, or the families of people with Alzheimer’s, Dementia and other conditions promoted the discount.  The high profile campaigner, Mr Martin Lewis, also mentioned it regularly.

 

Reference was also made in the response to the following table:

 

“Level of reduction	Circumstances which lead to reduction
100% Reduction	A full council tax exemption is available where:   The home is only occupied by people who are:   i)                 Severely mentally impaired   Or by one or more severely mentally impaired persons and one or more ii)               Qualifying students; iii)              relevant Ukrainian persons   Qualifying students include student, student nurses, apprentices, youth training trainees, and spouses of non-British students.   A relevant Ukrainian Person is a person with permission to enter or remain in the UK under the homes for Ukraine scheme.   To qualify for exemption the severely mentally impaired person, or students/Ukrainian person must be the person who would be liable for council tax, this prevents institutions established for providing care to people who are SMI from receiving exemption.
50% reduction	A 50% reduction is available where all the residents of a property are disregarded.   When a SMI person is resident in a property with another person who is also disregarded 50% discounts will be applied.   This will apply where an SMI person is living with someone who is disregarded as a carer.  For example, where a single adult is resident with an elderly resident who is SMI and to whom they are providing care.   To be classified as a carer a person must be providing care for over 35 hours per week to a person in receipt of a qualifying benefit.
25% reduction	A 25% reduction is available where there is only one resident of a property or all but one of the residents are disregarded.   When calculating the number of residents any person who is classified as SMI will be disregarded.   In cases where an SMI person lives with another individual who is not disregarded a 25% discount will be awarded.”

 

Question from Councillor J. Robinson to the Cabinet Member for Strategic housing and Health and Wellbeing

 

“Are all the new homes on the Council’s Burcot Lane Development now occupied?”

 

The Cabinet Member for Strategic Housing and Health and Wellbeing advised that the current occupancy for the homes was as follows

 

·             Service Charge Area 2 (22 x houses/maisonettes).  

·             6 properties for sale – 3 were occupied and 3 had offers accepted going through the legal process.

·             6 Shared Ownership Properties – Sold to Bromsgrove District Housing Trust (BDHT). They were in the process of marketing the properties by the date of the meeting.

·             The remaining 10 properties had been leased to Spadesbourne Homes Limited and were occupied.

 

Service Charge Area 1 (Allen Court) - Whilst none of these units were occupied, work was under way to satisfy the legal requirements of a building owner before BDHT would accept the transfer. This work was expected to be complete and hand over to BDHT and Spadesbourne Homes Limited was anticipated within two weeks.  Assurance was given that officers from both Bromsgrove District Council and BDHT were working closely together alongside the agents for the properties to make sure everything was in place to ensure the properties were occupied as soon as possible.

 

Councillor J. Robinson subsequently asked the following supplementary question:

 

“Thank you.  Could you give an update in two weeks’ time if there is a delay?”

 

The Cabinet Member for Strategic Housing and Health and Well Being confirmed that she would be happy to provide this update to Members.

 

Question from Councillor R. Hunter to the Leader

 

“What are your priorities for ensuring the proposals in the English Devolution White Paper work in the best interests of Bromsgrove?”

 

The Leader responded by highlighting that the English Devolution White paper had not yet been released.  Once received, the Leader would be considering the contents in detail alongside seeking information from officers and central bodies  to understand the detail, options, and implications of the proposals and framework(s).  There would be early discussions with counterpart Leaders within Worcestershire the Leader would also be engaging with Bromsgrove Group Leaders, Cabinet and Council at the earliest opportunity when more information was known.

 

Members would always prioritise that which was in the best interest of the community and the people of Bromsgrove. The Leader endeavoured to ensure that the Council’s views and voice was heard clearly within every ongoing consideration and to debate the matter based on local engagement and understanding.

 

Whilst the Council anticipated the potential for the current County and District arrangements to not remain in its current structure or form, it was critical that the authority took every opportunity within a wider public service reform agenda to consider what was best, rather than focus purely on structural arrangements.

 

The Leader concluded by noting that she looked forward to speaking with group leaders as well as other elected representatives for Bromsgrove when the detail was clearly understood.