Agenda item

The Democratic Services Manager will announce any submissions received. The Council will be invited to decide what action it wishes to take, if any, on the matters raised in these submissions. As the questions received and the answers given will be circulated in written form there is no requirement for them to be read out at the meeting. The questions and answers will be published with the draft minutes.

The Chair made reference to the Q&A document which had been circulated at the meeting and is attached to the online minutes.

Statements to the meeting were made by the following members of the public;

Andrew Dickens from the Lower Common East Allotment Association (LCEAA) addressed the Council and made reference to his requests at the September Council meeting which he explained had not been addressed.  He raised the same concerns about the rights of their allotment association regarding the access gates and noticeboards and called again for these rights to be properly respected.  Councillor Rob Appleyard asked Andrew if he was aware of any reason why the Council took the position that it did.  Andrew responded that he had been told that the access to gates and noticeboards was given to one association per site.  A copy of Andrew’s statement has been placed on the Council’s Minute book.  The Chair thanked Andrew for his statement which was referred to the relevant Cabinet Member.

Paul Roles made a statement in which he updated the Council on progress with the issues he had raised at the July meeting regarding Curo accommodation in Kingsmead.  He reported that, with the Cabinet Member’s help, there had been some progress on improving those issues.  He had also been reporting drug dealing and Curo had taken action in this regard the previous day.  Paul also raised the issue of mopeds in the city centre and problems with how they were sometimes parked across a full car space.  He suggested a consultation and then measures to enforce action (a sticker with a first warning and then fines).  Councillor Dine Romero asked Paul if he thought some of the issues he had raised were worse as a result of not having a local police station in Bath.  Paul replied that he definitely thought so.  The Chair thanked Paul for his statement which was referred to the relevant Cabinet Member.

David Redgewell made a statement on behalf of Bus Users UK.  He explained he had been pushing hard for the U1 and U2 services and thanked Councillor Mark Shelford for his help with that.  He expressed concern about the 179 service and wondered if CIL money could go towards supporting that service at the weekend.  Councillor Neil Butters asked if David considered that the transfer of powers to the Metro Mayor was proceeding according to the original timetable, to which David responded that pressure needed to be kept up for that.  A copy of David’s statement has been placed on the Council’s Minute book.  The Chair thanked David for his statement which was referred to the relevant Cabinet Member.

Andrew Jones made a statement about the Council’s planning website and requested it be modified to make the charges more evident.  Councillor Sarah Bevan asked Andrew to confirm if he had already achieved some minor amendments to the planning portal, to which he replied that the website had been significantly changed to help inform individuals, but that further changes were needed about the charges.  A copy of Andrew’s statement has been placed on the Council’s Minute book.  The Chair thanked Andrew for his statement which was referred to the relevant Cabinet Member.

Keith Russell made a statement about the gull problem in Bath, as a resident of Bath Western Riverside, where he said it is a significant problem.  He called for a number of measures to address this, including responsibilities placed on developers, and various gull-proofing initiatives.  In response to a question from Councillor Tim Warren about whether residents would be prepared to pay a small contribution for anti-gull measures in their own buildings, Keith responded that he would but couldn’t speak for others, and that developers needed to consider this issue with flat roofs generally.  Councillor Ian Gilchrist asked if Keith was aware that the gull removal programme relied on residents asking for help, to which Keith responded that he was aware and acknowledged that residents who rented may have less interest in pursuing the issue.  Councillor June Player asked if Keith thought spikes and netting were helpful as the current measures weren’t working, to which Keith responded that a mixture of such measures was helpful, but reiterated that genuine engagement from developers was key.  A copy of Keith’s statement has been placed on the Council’s Minute book.  The Chair thanked Keith for his statement which was referred to the relevant Cabinet Member.

Fiona Edwards addressed the Council and presented a petition of 1137 signatures from Keynsham Plastic Reaction with the following wording;

“Single use, disposable plastics such as polystyrene takeaway containers and plastic cups are a cause of litter, a waste of resources, and a problem for future generations.  They waste fossil fuels and create unsightly streets, and their persistence causes untold harm for wildlife on land and at sea.

We all need to play our part in resolving this situation, but local government in Keynsham should play a leading role as champion, active supporter, regulator, and service provider in ending the prevalence of single use, disposable plastics.”  Councillor Bob Goodman asked if Fiona was aware that the Council was already committed to removing single use plastic and supported the ambitious targets within the petition, to which she responded that she was.  Councillor Cherry Beath asked what further practical support the Council could give, to which Fiona responded that they were working towards national accreditation, but being able to consult Councillors and the Cabinet Member was helpful.  Councillor Joe Rayment asked if there was a similar group in Bath, to which Fiona responded that there was.  A copy of Fiona’s statement has been placed on the Council’s Minute book.  The Chair thanked Fiona for her statement and petition which were referred to the relevant Cabinet Member.

Sarah Moore made a statement about the proposed closure of Bath Studio School closure following Bath Community Academy closing, which had affected her son.  She mentioned accommodation problems resulting from Academies increasing numbers for funding but not increasing the space available for learning. She acknowledged that the Council did not have control over Academies but called on the Council to put pressure on Government to put in guidelines for limiting pupil numbers to ensure an optimum learning environment.  In response to a question from Councillor Tim Ball about whether Sarah considered enough information had been given to parents before the closure was announced, she responded that she definitely did not think so.  The Chair thanked Sarah for her statement which was referred to the relevant Cabinet Member.

Angie Sowton made a statement to Council in support of a petition of 130 signatures which she presented on behalf of the parents of children at St Andrew’s Church school opposing planned cuts to education.  It called upon the Council to write to the Secretary of State for Education and the Chancellor of the Exchequer calling for them to reverse cuts to school budgets and amend arrangements for per pupil funding so that no school loses out.  Councillor Paul May asked if Angie was aware that the Council, traditionally in receipt of quite low funding, had this year received the highest settlement through the national funding formula representing 7.8% for the next two years, plus extra funding for special educational needs: Angie responded that she was aware of the extra SEN funding but that, in most schools, they were facing cuts. Councillor Tim Ball asked Angie if she considered that funding was sufficient to meet the needs of the ever growing number of SEND pupils, to which she replied that it wasn’t and teachers and volunteers were being expected to deal with children with more and more complex needs.  Councillor Chris Dando asked if Angie considered this would be sorted out by the funding promised in the budget from Philip Hammond, to which Angie responded that she didn’t consider that would be the case.  The Chair thanked Angie for the statement and petition, which would be placed on the Council’s Minute book and referred to the relevant Cabinet Member.

Jane Riekemann made a statement calling on the Council to publicly support a people’s vote on the final terms of any Brexit deal and outlined a number of ways in which the South West would be adversely affected by leaving the European Union.  Councillor Tim Warren asked whether Jane didn’t consider that this issue was up to individuals rather than the Council to express a view, to which she responded that it was effective if the Council as a public body gave a view, as well as individuals giving their views.  Councillor Sue Craig asked if Jane was aware that the Local Government Association had asked Government for a strategy to address the £8.4 billion funding shortfall which would open up when we leave the European Union, to which Jane responded that she was not.  The Chair thanked Jane for her statement, which would be placed on the Council’s Minute book and referred to the relevant Cabinet Member.

Pam Richards made a statement to Council highlighting lack of progress in two key performance areas of the Virgin Care Transformation programme.  Full details can be read in Pam’s statement which has been added to the Minute book and attached to the online record.  Councillor Vic Pritchard asked if Pam was aware that he intended to bring a comprehensive update to the next Health & Wellbeing Select Committee.  Pam responded that she was aware, it was about time and more information was needed.  Councillor Tim Ball asked Pam what more she considered the Council should be doing, to which she responded that Virgin Care needed to be held more closely to account and there needed to be a more transparent and accountable atmosphere in Virgin Care.  Councillor Robin Moss asked if it was still the case that staff were having to complete multiple referral forms leading to poor information sharing and potentially putting clients at risk, to which Pam responded that that was her understanding, despite IT integration being one of Virgin Care’s promises.  The Chair thanked Pam for her statement, which would be placed on the Council’s Minute book and referred to the relevant Cabinet Member.

Dave Dixon made a statement highlighting various aspects of the public realm which he considered would benefit from a portion of the £10million of public funding that the Leader would be discussing with WECA later this month.  Councillor Tim Warren asked Dave if he was aware that 80% of the Council’s budget went on Adult and Children’s Social care. Dave replied that he was aware of that, but wanted the Leader to access some of the WECA funding to support the high street.  Councillor Dine Romero sought clarity on when the photos that Dave showed were taken, to which he replied that it had been earlier that day.  Councillor Robin Moss asked Dave if he knew who was responsible for some of the unsightly aspects of the city centre that he had displayed, to which Dave responded that when the Liberal Democrats had put them in, they had been in good condition.  The Chair thanked Dave for his statement, which would be placed on the Council’s Minute book and referred to the relevant Cabinet Member.

John Drake from UNISON made a statement regarding the current dispute with Sirona and stated the Council had a moral responsibility to sort it out.  He asked the Council to think about the care workers who would lose out if this change to their contracts was implemented, and further called on the Council to not enter into any flat rate contracts in future.  Councillor Tim Ball asked John if he was aware that, were the Council to step in with funding, it would mean that 5 existing staff would need to be made redundant.  John responded that would be one way of doing it, but there were other ways and explained that Bristol City Council had raised the pay of care workers so it must be possible.  Councillor Tim Ball asked if John believed the Council could have done better to avoid the situation, to which John responded that it would have been better to not force flat cash contracts onto care providers, which take no account of inflation or pay awards.  Councillor Robin Moss asked if John could confirm what he had heard that, due to problems with recruitment and retention, staffing rotas were lower in some shifts than health and safety requirements permitted.  John responded that as Sirona’s reputation as an employer was not very good, he had heard that there were shifts which did not have the correct staff levels.  The Chair thanked John for his statement which would be referred to the relevant Cabinet Member.