Agenda item

Public Questions and Petitions

To receive any questions or petitions from members of the public.

Minutes:

8.1

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

8.2

The Committee received the following questions from members of the public in attendance at the meeting.

 

(a)     Public Questioner 1

 

1. What is the timescale on producing the community plan?

 

2. How can members of the public have an influence on the community plan?

 

In response to question 1, Councillor Josie Paszek informed the member of the public that a draft community plan would be brought to the January Local Area Committee (LAC) meeting.

 

In response to question 2, Councillor Josie Paszek reassured members of the public that their voice would be fed back through the LAC meetings and other sources of communication such as the LAC survey, this would help Councillors and Officers draft a community plan.

 

(b)    Public Questioner 2

 

When does the LAC survey finish?

 

The Head of Communities stated that the LAC survey would end in November 2021.

 

(c)    Public Questioner 3

 

How can members of the public be assured that people with learning disabilities are heard and engaged in the community plan?

 

The Local Area Committee Manager explained that it had previously been difficult to reach out and engage with members of the public that had learning difficulties, although the aim was to improve engagement with members of the public. The Local Area Committee Manager added that LAC meetings were a place where members of the public could come and share how they thought the Council could better engage with members of the public with learning difficulties.

 

(d)  Public Questioner 4

 

How does the Council aim to engage with other organisations to deliver work in the local area?

 

Councillor Josie Paszek advised that other organisations could be invited to Committee meetings where Councillors can engage with staff and get an understanding of how they could deliver a good service for the area. Councillor Paszek added that ward Councillors would already have contacts with organisations.

 

(e)    Public Questioner 5

 

How can the Council ensure resources are used effectively?

 

The Chair responded by informing members of the public that money from government was decreasing all the time therefore the Council needed to make sure that resources were shared appropriately.

 

(f)    Public Questioner 6

 

It was mentioned by a member of public at a previous LAC meeting that part of the annual budget should be used to generate more investment instead of looking to spend all 100% of the budget of community plans. Is that something that the Central LAC will look to do? 

 

The Chair mentioned that this was a great idea and should be looked into further. The Chair added that the Council also needed to confirm whether budgets could be carried over if a LAC did not spend 100% of their annual budget.

 

(g)    Public Questioner 7

 

Is the LAC budget separate to CIL (Community Infrastructure Levy)?

 

Councillor Josie Paszek confirmed the two budgets were separate.

 

(h)    Public Questioner 8

 

How much CIL money is allocated to each ward?

 

Councillor Josie Paszek informed the members of public that this information was available on the Council website. Councillor Paszek added that each ward would have different amounts of budget to spend as there was different priorities and challenges in each ward therefore some wards may have more allocation of money than others.

 

(i)    Public Questioner 9

 

Could residents propose that that the CIL money be added to the LAC budget or part of the CIL be accessed by this LAC?

 

The Chair suggested that the proposal be put forward to Council Officers to review.

Following the conclusions of public questions, the Chair informed Committee that there would be an opportunity for attendees to break out into groups and take part in an exercise where attendees could make comments on their local area.