Minutes:
Councillor Tom Dyer to Councillor Ric Metcalfe, the Leader of the Council
Question
Has the City Council undertaken an analysis of what financial savings can be made if the Council were to follow the steps taken by East Lindsey District Council, Boston Borough Council and South Holland District Council and share officers and further services with our neighbouring districts?
Reply
Councillor Ric Metcalfe stated that the Council had not undertaken any analysis.
Supplementary
Councillor Tom Dyer stated that he was pleased with the response and expressed the hope that such conversations would not take place.
Reply
Councillor Ric Metcalfe stated that he was pleased that both he and Councillor Dyer were in agreement. Councillor Metcalfe continued by stating that since 2010 the Council had saved £10 million with minimal effect on front line services and there was more to do. The Council was already extremely efficient, delivering good value for money to its council tax payers.
Councillor Metcalfe stated that he would not comment on the merits of the particular partnership referred to in the question, except that running smaller rural authorities was very different from running a city of the size and the significance of Lincoln, where sharing senior management would not be effective.
Councillor Metcalfe added that the Council had some very long-standing and successful partnerships with its neighbours, for example the Central Lincolnshire Joint Strategic Planning Committee, which had produced and overseen the implementation of the Local Plan; and the joint revenues and benefits service with North Kesteven District Council and West Lindsey District Council, which had delivered savings of approximately £2.5 million over the past ten years.
Councillor Metcalfe confirmed that the Council would continue to consider any proposals for joint services on their merits.
Councillor Chris Reid to Councillor Bob Bushell, Portfolio Holder for Place
Question
As we approach the Christmas period and thankfully the uphill area has started to get busy again with visitors and people out doing their Christmas shopping, will the Council consider re-opening the Westgate toilets temporarily until after Christmas?
Reply
Councillor Bob Bushell stated in reply that owing to the financial restrictions on the Council, it had been necessary to close the Westgate facilities for general use, but they had remained open for people with disabilities.
Councillor Bushell added that when the city had events, which would create demand, such as the forthcoming Christmas market, the facilities would be open. Because of the Council’s financial position, there was no plan to open them for an extended period.
Supplementary
Councillor Reid asked what the cost would be to the Council of opening the Westgate toilets for the period of December.
Reply
Councillor Bushell stated that he did not have the estimated costs of opening the toilets for the period of December. He reiterated that that they been closed because of financial constraints.
Councillor Mark Storer to Councillor Bob Bushell, Portfolio Holder for Place
Question
I was delighted to see uphill Lincoln so busy during the recent cycling event and despite the terrible weather, during the Lincoln 10k. Could Cllr Bushell tell me if the Westgate toilets were fully open to the public for both events?
Reply
Councillor Bushell replied that these two events had been organised by other organisations, not the City Council. In each case, the organisers had been offered to have the toilets open, and in each case they did not accept the offer.
The supplementary question was not permitted as it did not relate to the original question or answer provided.
Councillor Eddie Strengiel to Councillor Bob Bushell, Portfolio Holder for Place
Question
Does the portfolio holder agree with me, that given that the Birchwood / Hartsholme area has a population of a good-sized town, the area desperately needs more play parks and activities for young people?
Reply
Councillor Bob Bushell stated that the Council recognised the value of the provision of facilities for children and young people, but the Council was constrained financially, and most of what was being provided had resulted from section 106 funding, for example Whitton Park. Councillor Bushell confirmed that he would like to see more play areas across the city, in addition to the excellent ones already in place. However, these facilities required maintenance and at present this equated to £250k per annum. If the financial position of the Council were to improve, it might be possible to provide additional play area facilities in the future.
Councillor Bushell also stated that the return of youth workers to provide activities for young people in the evenings would be welcomed.
Supplementary
Councillor Strengiel referred to a play area, which
had been developed by a certain organisation in the
StaffordshireStaverton Crescent
area, which had led to a reduction in anti-social behaviour, and
asked whether the portfolio holder would agree that the provision
of play areas and activities for young people would benefit the
community in reducing anti-social behaviour.
Reply
Councillor Bushell replied that play areas were important in keeping young people active and diverting them from other activities, but this was not the whole answer. Councillor Bushell referred to Councillor Strengiel’s role as a county councillor and asked whether in that role he could look into the increased provision of youth workers and youth clubs as a diversion for young people.
Councillor Dave Clarkson to Councillor Ric Metcalfe on behalf Councillor Donald Nannestad, Portfolio Holder for Housing
Question
Can the portfolio holder provide a breakdown of how many buy-backs the Council has procured by each of the eleven electoral wards?
Reply
Councillor Metcalfe replied that by ward the number of buy-backs were: Park 10; Minster 15; Abbey 4; Carholme 0; Moorland 8; Boultham 1; Witham 2; Hartsholme 4; Birchwood 10; Castle 13; and Glebe 6. This made a total of 73 purchases.
Supplementary
Councillor Clarkson asked what the average cost was of restoring properties to the Council’s standards following buy-back.
Reply
Councillor Metcalfe stated that the information on the average cost of restoration would be provided in a written answer and stressed the importance of bringing these properties to an appropriate standard, as they had often been neglected by the private rented sector. The purchase of these properties by the Council represented a good news story.
Councillor Matthew Fido to Councillor Ric Metcalfe, the Leader of the Council
Question
Following a previous Council question, can the Leader provide any further update regarding the City’s bid for a Lord Mayoralty?
Reply
Councillor Metcalfe stated that the detailed application, which was nearing completion by a group of officers working through all the questions on the form, would be submitted before the deadline of 8 December 2021. The Council would be expecting a decision in February 2022, hopefully in the Council’s favour.
Supplementary
Councillor Fido asked whether there was anything the Conservative Group on the Council could do to support the application.
Reply
Councillor Metcalfe welcomed the support of the Conservative Group.
Councillor Bill Mara to Councillor Bob Bushell, Portfolio Holder for Place
Question
Can the portfolio holder update the council regarding the recent disruption to waste collection services?
Reply
Councillor Bob Bushell stated in reply that there were some serious pressures on the Council’s waste services currently. He referred to driver recruitment, which was a result of the national shortage of HGV drivers; Covid-19; and inconsiderate parking in some streets in Lincoln were all playing a part. The Council’s contractors were taking mitigation measures to ensure a suitably skilled workforce remained available, but Covid-19 was, by its nature, less predictable, and the new variant was an example of this. Councillor Bushell advised that in the week prior to the meeting, a full crew had been made unavailable for green waste collections owing to a Covid-19 infection.
Councillor Bushell asked colleagues to support all residents, particularly during the Christmas period, by advising them that contractors were trying to maintain a service and catch up; for example, if a bin was not collected on its allocated day, it would likely be collected on the following day.
Supplementary
Councillor Mara queried what measures the Council was going to take pro-actively to ensure that residents were advised of the causes for the disruption, particularly as the increased number of phone calls to customer services was not a solution.
Reply
Councillor Bushell replied that all councillors needed to be better informed so that when they were contacted by residents about a missed bin collection they could advise residents to leave their bin out for collection on the following day, as crews were working to catch up. A great effort was being made to provide an excellent service in challenging circumstances. Councillor Bushell added the Council issued communication messages via social media and standard media.
Councillor Hilton Spratt to Councillor Bob Bushell, Portfolio Holder for Place
Question
What steps can the licensing department take to ensure venues take appropriate measures to protect against drink spiking?
Reply
Councillor Bob Bushell stated that this issue had been debated by the Performance Scrutiny Committee on 18 November 2021 and confirmed that drink spiking was a crime, and there was a multi-agency response, which was led by Lincolnshire Police.
Councillor Bushell referred to the Licensing Act 2003, which had public safety as one of its core objectives. If the Police were to identify that premises either had been negligent in its approach or where the premises had not been compliant with a licensing condition, the Police would work with the licensing team and, where appropriate, a licence review could be initiated.
Councillor Bushell added that the licensing team worked with venues more broadly through the pub-watch scheme and also directly with venues. The Council also took a co-ordinated and proactive approach by working with partners such as the Police, the licensing team, and Lincoln BIG to ensure that best practice was shared. The Council was aware of reports on social media on specific venues and the police continued to adopt a proactive approach with them.
Supplementary
Councillor Spratt asked whether the Police, or any other organisation within the multi-agency partnership, had raised any concerns on this issue within the community; and if so, whether the number of concerns recorded could be reported.
Reply
Councillor Bushell advised that it was likely the Police had been concerned about issues, for example as a result of postings on social media. Councillor Bushell stated that he would provide detail on the number of concerns raised and reiterated that the Police, the licensing team and other organisations worked directly with venues and through the monitoring of social media, to identify intelligence on this matter.
Councillor Alan Briggs to Councillor Bob Bushell, Portfolio Holder for Place
Question
A report to the County Council’s Environment and Economy Scrutiny Committee details that Lincolnshire’s recycling rate is at 44.6%. Can the portfolio holder indicate what this figure is for the City of Lincoln?
Reply
Councillor Bushell advised that Lincolnshire’s figure of 44.6% included dry waste recycling and materials recycled at household waste recycling centres. Lincoln’s combined figure for the year to date, was 35.1%, a slight increase compared to last year. Councillor Bushell added that the figure of 35.1% could be improved, and the Lincolnshire Waste Partnership would recognise that. The Waste Partnership was making efforts to increase recycling for example by collecting the same type of materials in each bin in all Lincolnshire district councils, and trying to educate residents on what can be put in each bin.
Councillor Bushell also referred to a section 51 notice, which was likely to be received before 2024, enabling a separate paper and card collection, and possibly after that, separate collections of food waste. Currently these were voluntary initiatives, but it was likely that the Government might make these mandatory requirements.