Minutes:
Question 1
From Councillor Mullane
“Can the Cabinet Member for Environment update me on the action being undertaken in regard to the former Bull Pub site in Village Ward? We are aware as Ward Councillors that site visits have been undertaken by the Enforcement team with us and actions are ongoing. We wish to go on public record to thank Jonathan Tye for his help so far. The Licensed Landlord scheme has an action outstanding and the illegal car wash is being dealt with along with the issue of dumped rubbish. As Ward Councillors, we have found this to be a prominent concern in our ward and indeed Dagenham as a whole.”
Response
Councillor Butt, Cabinet Member for Crime and Enforcement, advised
that it was a very complicated case where the council had
undertaken investigations into who had the liability for the
different activities on site.
Enforcement action had been taken against the Freeholder by the
Council.
Question 2
From Councillor Mullane
“Will the Cabinet members for housing and regeneration share the Village Ward Councillors concerns about communal letter boxes in our flatted estates?
On three blocks constituents have had their ID stolen. Furthermore the boxes are so small, if they go away, the post stacks and then it’s obvious to potential criminals their flats are empty. On the Leys Estate because of a GLA grant needed for the development, the Ward Councillors are not satisfied that the Council are proceeding with communal boxes provided by Secure by design, which we are told is the choice of the Mayor and that the GLA insist on them.”
Response
Councillor Geddes, Cabinet Member for Regeneration agreed with Councillor Mullane that the letter boxes were poorly designed however the Leys Estate development was partly funded by grants from the GLA, and this came with some requirements one of which was that the Council must get a secure by design certification. The secure by design officer from the Metropolitan Police, insisted on the installation of ‘through the wall’ letter boxes and would not issue the certification if the Council deviated from this.
Supplementary Question
Councillor Mullane asked of the Cabinet Member for Regeneration would consider writing to the GLA to express the Councils concerns.
Councillor Geddes advised that he would make representation on the concerns raised by Councillor Mullane.
Question 3
From Councillor Chand
“Following the recent front page news in the Dagenham Post regarding the RingGo parking system, could the relevant portfolio holder agree with a growing number of residents that the system is not fit for purpose and that it is now a good time to grant a one hour free parking period to local parking schemes.”
Response
Councillor Butt, Cabinet Member for Crime and Enforcement advised that RingGo was a successful system used across the country. The use of RingGo had increased month on month in the Borough while the use of cash had dropped. A new parking strategy was currently being developed and would look at options on whether to increase or decrease free parking within the Borough.
Supplementary Question
Councillor Chand disagreed with Councillor Butt’s response and invited the Cabinet Member to meet residents in River Ward. The Cabinet Member confirmed she would meet with residents.
Question 4
From Councillor P Waker
“It has emerged that we have at least one contractor working for the Council that not only pays well below the Council’s Living Wage Policy (and near to the minimum wage) but also employs people on zero hours contracts as a matter of course. Would the relevant Cabinet Member assure the Assembly that the Council will check which contractors operate with such poor conditions of employment, discuss with them their work practices seeking improvements, and take a more critical view of such practices when the opportunity comes for contract renewal?”
Response
Councillor Twomey, Cabinet Member for Finance and Central Services advised that the Council had agreed to pay London Living Wage for its own staff and the agency staff it procured through its current provider Addecco. Some of these staff were on Zero or fixed low hours work, however were paid London Living Wage. Although the council had agreed the London Living Wage for its own directly employed staff this was not the case for those staff employed by others.
Supplementary Question
Councillor Waker advised there was growing concern amongst residents with regard to contractors used by the Council.
Councillor Twomey advised he would look into the issue further.
Question 5
From Councillor L Waker
“Despite many attempts, I have been unable to get the grassed areas behind the Mall properly cleaned. Glass, leaves and litter in particularly are an ongoing problem all around the shrubbery on the grassed areas.
Would the relevant Cabinet Member assist me in getting the area properly cleaned up on a regular basis as it lets down the look of the whole area. While it is a shopping area which adds to the problem, many town centres demonstrate it can be done”
Response
Councillor Rice, Cabinet Member for Environment advised that she had attended the site mentioned before the Assembly meeting and found it to be clean and tidy. The area was cleaned on a daily basis by a static sweeper, visited weekly by the team and had a deep clean.
Supplementary Question
Councillor Waker asked that the area be treated as well as other shopping centres in the Country and was advised in response that it would be carefully monitored.
Question 6
From Councillor Young
“Building on from the Leaders positive policy of celebrating various countries independence days, can he confirm he will fly the Irish tricolour above the town hall on Easter Sunday to celebrate 100 years since the Irish people proclaimed their independence?”
Response
Councillor Rodwell, Leader of the Council, advised that all communities were welcome to supply a flag which would be flown by the Council as part of the flag flying days. However, flags would only be flown during office hours.
Question 7
From Councillor L Waker
“I would firstly like to thank
the Council for restoring a cash pay parking machine to the Mall
car park. This is much more popular with most residents than
using the RingGo system. However, Village Ward Councillors
have been asking for some time to give a section of the Mall car
park, which has spare parking capacity, specifically for the use of
nearby flats such as Church Elm Court, but with no resolution to
this matter.
Would the relevant Cabinet Member assure the Assembly that this will be progressed as a matter of urgency as it will bring some revenue to the Council and assist residents with parking opportunities at the same time?”
Response
Councillor Butt, Cabinet Member for Crime and Enforcement, advised that Church Elm Lane Court was built as a car free development and therefore the Council had no obligation to provide parking for those residents. However, there had been discussions regarding issuing residents permits in the Heathway/Mall Car park for residents, which would be considered further following the results of a pilot at the London Road car park.
Question 8
From Councillor Gill
“Could the relevant Cabinet Member please explain why 85% some £915k of the available carriageway & footway resurfacing budget for the fiscal year 2015/16 was spent in just one ward as opposed to the investment being distributed across a number of wards in the borough?”
Response
Councillor Twomey, Cabinet Member for Finance and Central Services advised that many developments in the Borough were built at around the same time resulting in the roads in certain areas being of a common age and condition. This meant in some years, focus would be in a particular ward. In comparison, Longbridge ward had the largest amount of spend on it over the past eight years, at £4.1m, with Gasgoine ward only having £90,000 spent on resurfacing. Works for 2016/17 would be prioritised against the backlog resurfacing pool and would be allocated against set criteria.
Supplementary Question
Councillor Gill questioned which wards had works undertaken in the past. In response, Councillor Twomey advised he had already answered that question.
Question 9
From Councillor Gill
“Many of the service road gates in the Leftley Estate have been damaged over the past year & Local Police have advised that these open access service roads have been linked with ASB, fly-tipping and burglaries in the area. Can the relevant Cabinet Member please advise when these service road alleygates will be repaired to provide the security required?”
Response
Councillor Butt, Cabinet Member for Crime and Enforcement advised that as the Council was facing significant budgetary pressure, the budget for alleygates no longer existed, however minor repairs were carried out through the street cleansing budget, which did carry an annual pressure.
Question 10
From Councillor Bright
“As the Member Champion for Women and Gender Equality, I am extremely proud that we are due to become the first Local Authority in the country to adopt a Gender Equality Charter. Does the Leader agree with me that this Council should place a strong emphasis on making sure that all genders have the same chance of success in our borough?”
Response
Councillor Rodwell, Leader of the Council agreed with Councillor Bright and advised that the charter would support everyone in achieving their full potential and have more influence over decisions affecting their lives. All members had been invited to attend the launch of the Gender Equality Charter on 10 March 2016.
Question 11
From Councillor Fergus
“Does the publication of the independent growth commission set a direction for both the Council and community?”
Response
Councillor Rodwell, Leader of the Council, advised that the Commission had concluded that the Council had the right vision; the Borough really was London’s growth opportunity. The outcome of the Commission was that no-one should be left behind and through the work of the Council and the Community together, this would be achieved.
Question 12
From Councillor Freeborn
“I am sure the Cabinet member for Finance will share my concern at a recent report in the Guardian which showed that the vast majority of the Government’s £300m ‘relief fund’ (aimed at alleviating the impact of austerity cuts) will be distributed to Conservative Councils in marginal constituencies. In fact, the report showed that 85% of the grant will go to Tory Councils, leaving Labour-run areas with just £17m despite suffering the deeper cuts since 2010 and having higher levels of deprivation
This would seem to be a blatant disregard for the hard pressed resident in our Borough and I would be interested to know from the Cabinet Member for Finance what steps the Council could take to address the inequality?”
Response
Councillor Twomey, Cabinet Member for Finance and Central Services in responding, expressed his concerns at the new central government methodology for allocating funds to Councils in 2016/17. The Council had lobbied the Government both individually and collectively with other Councils to address the imbalance.
Question 13
From Councillor Freeborn
“Can the Leader outline what plans the Council has to mark Women’s Empowerment Month 2016?”
Response
Councillor Rodwell, Leader of the Council, advised that there would be a range of events held to mark the second annual Women’s Empowerment Month in March. During the month the Gender Equality Charter would be launched on 10 March and the month of celebration would culminate with the Women’s Empowerment Awards on 30 March 2016.
Question 14
From Councillor Haroon
“Can the Cabinet Member for Finance clarify the role of the Voluntary Redundancy Scheme which has been launched across the Council?”
Response
Councillor Twomey, Cabinet Member for Finance and Central Services advised that the Council had been working to meet the financial challenges it was currently facing and it was known that the number of staff employed would need to reduce as the Council continued to find savings. As part of this, a voluntary redundancy scheme had been launched in early February. Applications were sought on a voluntary basis and each would be considered equally.
Question 15
From Councillor Miah
“Can the relevant Cabinet Member update the Assembly on the Council’s recently launched ‘dog poo DNA’ scheme and outline what benefits it will bring to our community in Barking and Dagenham?”
Response
Councillor Butt, Cabinet Member for Crime and Enforcement, advised that the scheme, launched on 21 January, was being piloted in Mayesbrook Park, Barking Park and Abbey Gardens for three months. Weekly audits were being undertaken and early indications were showing that there as a reduction in the region of 59% of uncollected dog faeces.
Supplementary Question
Councillor Miah questioned the cost of the scheme so far and was advised by Councillor Butt that the Council had used existing resources to run the pilot.
Standing Orders were suspended at this juncture to allow the meeting to continue until 9.45pm.
Question 16
From Councillor Miah
“In light of the growth commission report what plans does the Leader have to ensure that no part of the borough is left behind?”
Response
Councillor Rodwell, Leader of the Council, agreed that no one should be left behind and emphasised the Councils vision for Barking and Dagenham, “One borough; one community; London’s growth opportunity”. The Council would continue to lead the Borough and empower the people of Barking and Dagenham to play a greater role in shaping the future of the Borough and public services.
Question 17
From Councillor Choudhury
“Can the Leader outline what feedback has been received in response to the recently launched ‘One Borough’ e-newsletter for residents?”
Response
Councillor Rodwell, Leader of the Council advised that the One Borough email newsletter, launched in October 2015, was sent out fortnightly to 69,000 recipients. No survey had been undertaken as yet, however emails had been received from residents and local community groups praising the newsletter.
Question 18
From Councillor Choudhury
“Can the Cabinet Member for Housing set out how the Council is reducing demand for Bed & Breakfast Accommodation in the borough?”
Response
Councillor Ashraf, Cabinet Member for Housing, advised that a fourth hostel was opened at Butler Court in January, providing an additional 78 temporary accommodation units. As at 17 January 2016, 92 households were occupying bed and breakfast accommodation.
Question 19
From Councillor Ghani
“Can the Cabinet Member for Adult Social Care and Health provide an update on the Council’s plans to form an ‘Accountable Care Organisation’ with neighbouring boroughs?”
Response
Councillor Worby, Cabinet Member for Adult Social Care and Health advised that a work programme to develop proposals around an Integrated Care Organisation had been work up by a team drawn from the eight organisations involved in the initiative. The programme was being steered by a Clinical and Democratic Oversight Group chaired by the Leader. It was anticipated that details of the proposals would be available in June.
Question 20
From Councillor Ghani
“Can the Cabinet Member for Adult Social Care & Health set out what we are doing as a Council to attract funding to promote healthier and more independent lives as we get older?”
Response
Councillor Worby, Cabinet Member for Adult Social Care and Health advised that the Council had found Care City in partnership with NELFT to create an innovation centre for healthy ageing. The Council had also made a bid to be recognised as a Healthy New Town and was working with NHS colleagues on the Urgent and Emergency Care Vanguard programme. These initiatives would be bringing new money and funding into the Borough.
Supplementary Question
Councillor Ghani questioned the roles of Care City and Healthy New Town and was advised by Councillor Worby that they were two separate entities, with Healthy New Town providing a role more focused on expertise.
Question 21
From Councillor Hughes
“The Government’s Housing and Planning Bill contains a number of damaging proposals such as ‘pay to stay’, the forced sale of high value Council homes and the abolition of secure, lifetime Council tenancies. Can the Cabinet Member for Housing confirmed that the Council will do everything it possibly can to protect residents and our existing housing stock from these measures?”
Response
Councillor Ashraf, Cabinet Member for Housing advised that the Council had undertaken research on the potential implications of the Bill and responded to several consultations. Through this work the Council had developed a new housing offer with a number of objectives to protect the Councils stock, tenants and households as much as possible.
Question 22
From Councillor Hughes
“A recent study commissioned by Somerset House’s Big Bang Data exhibition has shown that Barking and Dagenham is the happiest London borough during the morning hours.
What does the Leader think about the results of this study?”
Response
Councillor Rodwell, Leader of the Council, thanked Councillor Hughes for bringing the question to Assembly, where it was noted that following a study of 1.5 million tweets, it had been revealed that residents in the Borough were the happiest in London between 6am and 12 noon, contrary to the claim made by RightMove’s happiness index last year.
As per paragraph 9.10 Part 2, Chapter 4 of the Constitution, all other questions with notice listed within the agenda that were not dealt with by the end of the meeting would be responded to in writing by the relevant Councillors.