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.

Each elected member due to ask a question, may ask up to one supplementary question which must be based on the origial question or the answer provided to that question.

The Chairman advised that there had been five Questions on Notice received for this meeting.

Question submitted by Councillor H. Rone-Clarke

“We have previously passed a motion at Full-Council encouraging multi-agency meetings to resolve land disputes, how can we also ensure that residents get resolutions to local issues when County Council functions fail? - A key example being the shocking state that the trees at Shepherds Walk have been left in and the problems this is causing residents on Avon Close and Fairoak Drive.”

The Portfolio Holder for Environmental Services and Community Safety responded that the Council adopted a very positive multi-agency approach to the management of land disputes and that it was understood that Councillor H. Rone-Clarke was now working with Officers to resolve this issue.

Question submitted by Councillor P. McDonald

“The Overview and Scrutiny Board are concerned about the extensive use of consultants in recent months to support the work of the Cabinet and the services of external professionals in the day-to-day delivery of Council business. We would ask the Leader to ensure that the Chairman of Overview and Scrutiny is advised in circumstances where the use of a consultant is being proposed to formulate strategic items so that consideration can be given to the value for money in these circumstances. 

Whilst we understand that there is a need to procure the services of external professionals in the day-to-day delivery of Council business and services, a quarterly report of these services are presented to the Overview and Scrutiny Board.”

The Leader responded that in line with best practice, there was a procurement pipeline published on the Council’s website which detailed spend in excess of £25,000 and that other spend details were included in the quarterly monitoring reports. It was agreed that the Section 151 Officer would make these available to Members and colleagues on the Overview and Scrutiny Board moving forward. In addition, the Leader explained that she would be happy to liaise with Councillor P. McDonald directly when the Cabinet considered the use of consultants in support of the formulation of Council Policy so that he could be made aware.

Question submitted by Councillor D. Nicholl

“Given the recent problems where the 145a bus service was to be cut and the 145 bus was due to have significant route changes in Stoke Prior. This only became apparent via residents Facebook posts. Can the Leader please contact Worcestershire County Council to get assurance that Bromsgrove District Council is informed of the consultation process on route changes through their wards in the future by notifying Assistant Director Community and Housing Services?”

The Leader responded that Officers had raised this with responsible Officers at Worcestershire County Council, and they had advised that as part of the Worcestershire Enhanced Bus Partnership, which was the mechanism for delivering the Bus Service Improvement Plan, they were in the process of considering how best to inform and consult on work with stakeholders including District Councils on the improvements and changes to bus services across Worcestershire.  This suggestion would be taken into consideration as part of this process.

Question Submitted by Councillor C. Hotham

Councillor C. Hotham referred to his Question on Notice which had been published in the agenda pack for this meeting.

“This Council has been facing almost unprecedented pressures: The redevelopment projects, the play audit, the car parking audit, the letting agency start up, a new strategic district plan, a new chief exec and 151 officer, a projected financial deficit of millions of pounds. We Bromsgrove District Council are now faced with our extermination. Whether we agree or disagree with the government's policy, the one thing we must realise is that it will happen, and it must be managed by us elected representatives for the benefit of the people of Bromsgrove. It is vital that all of us are involved as none of us want to feel that any part of Bromsgrove District is disadvantaged by the change.

Currently, the Cabinet consists of the Leader and six members, they already have their work cut out managing and overseeing our existing challenges. My question for the Leader is:

Is it now time to appoint a further Cabinet Member with primary responsibility for the change to a unitary authority who would hold regular working groups for all members to attend?”

The Leader responded that the Council would review what needed to be undertaken once the Government published further guidance on the Local Government reorganisation process. This was expected to be delivered by the end of January 2025. Therefore, this would be looked at, at the appropriate time.

Question Submitted by Councillor J. Robinson

“The Labour Government promised the end of austerity and to fund local Government fairly. It is with dismay that this council notes the financial settlement provided to Bromsgrove District Council for the financial year 25/26 resulting in real terms cut in the money available to our Council. We therefore call on the Leader to write (on behalf of the Council) to the Secretary of State to urge the Government to urgently provide further funding.”

The Leader responded that like all Members, she was disappointed that the present 2025/26 Local Government Settlement saw no increase in the Council's core spending power. In reality, this was a reduction because, as part of this 0 per cent increase, the Government were expecting the Council to increase its Council Tax by 2.99 per cent and were reducing central grants by £352,000. This was a significant departure from the promised 3.2 per cent sector increases that were promised in the Chancellor’s Statement in Autumn 2024 and seemed to be the case for a significant number of District Councils.

This settlement had targeted specific areas of funding for increases rather that giving Councils the discretion of where they could spend their funds. Of that targeted expenditure, the Council benefitted with:

·       £88,000 more Homeless Prevention Grant

·       £1,004k of new funding to help implement the new Extended Producer Responsibility around the Environment Act 2021

·       A £918,000 allocation in 2025/6 only for the UK Shared Prosperity Plan.

Medium term budgeting was difficult as again the Government had provided only a one-year settlement, as was the fact that there was to be significant change in how Local Government was funded.

The best approach for the Council was to ensure that it responded actively to all the consultations about future funding that were about to be issued and also to ensure the authority’s voices were heard within the Council’s networks link; the District Councils Network and the various Local Government Association Working Groups.

It was agreed that the Leader was happy for a letter to be sent on behalf of Bromsgrove District Council urging more funding for the authority.