Agenda item

Question 1 – Councillor Max Sawyer to the Leader of the Council

Councillor Max Sawyer asked the Leader of the Council for documented proof of what had happened to the £2.7 million of surplus parking funding from the past 4 years, as well as requesting reassurance that if any funding had been spent, that it had been in accordance with the 1984 and 2004 Road Traffic Act concerning the expenditure of money obtained from parking.

The Leader of the Council promised to provide a written response, to be appended to the minutes of the meeting.

Question 2 – Councillor Gareth Knight to the Leader of the Council.

Councillor Gareth Knight asked the Leader of the Council whether the current administration had rejected the SLC report’s findings into the LeisureSK Limited business plan, and whether there were further cuts planned to the Leisure SK Limited budget.

In response, the Leader of the Council confirmed that the administration had not rejected the SLC report and were currently in negotiations with Leisure SK Limited regarding a Recovery Mitigation Plan for this year. This week the Leader had written to the Chairman of Leisure SK Limited to express the dissatisfaction of Cabinet towards plans shared to date.

It was a difficult time for the leisure industry, in part due to the lower funding that Council’s received to provide this service. The Portfolio Holder for Leisure and Culture had attended a Leisure SK Board meeting recently and reported some positive early signs, as increased marketing of the service had increased the income potential. Whilst the SLC report had raised some legitimate queries, there were meetings going forward between the administration, officers and LeisureSK Limited to discuss these.

Question 3 – Councillor Elvis Stooke to the Portfolio Holder for Corporate Governance and Licensing

Councillor Elvis Stooke asked the Portfolio Holder for Corporate Governance and Licensing when the public consultation regarding the age of taxis at first licensing would commence.

The Portfolio Holder for Corporate Governance and Licensing confirmed that Licensing Committee had met on 16 February 2024 and had considered 27 different policy options related to the Hackney Carriage and Private Hire Licensing Policy, before deciding to go out to public consultation. The consultation was due to commence on 19 March 2024 for a 4 week period to 16 April 2024. This would include the topic of vehicle age.

Question 4 – Councillor Gareth Knight to the Leader of the Council

Councillor Knight asked the Leader of the Council why none of the Overview and Scrutiny Committees had conducted any Member-led reviews since May 2023.

In response, the Leader of the Council explained that he had requested Officers convene a meeting of all Committee Chairs to discuss potential improvements to practical arrangements of meetings and effectiveness of scrutiny across the Council. The Leader was explicit that the conduct and content of each Overview and Scrutiny committee should be governed by its members and not imposed by the Leader or his Cabinet.

Potential innovations to committees could include: outside speakers, further workshops (in lieu of ‘deep-dive’ reviews); more research into the current policy framework of the Council; alternative seating plans; more suggestions for committee workplans; and more cross-party collaboration.