Minutes:
Councillor Thomas Dyer to Councillor Ric Metcalfe, Portfolio Holder for Our People and Resources
Question
As the Executive Member for Communications, Councillor Metcalfe admitted himself at the Executive meeting on the 20th February that the City Council, under his leadership, did not adequately consult with both residents and businesses regarding the future of the Lincoln Christmas Market. This follows claims from Sharon Edwards that several years ago a senior officer raised concerns at how big the Christmas Market has become.
We are told that this has been privately known about for a while, the advanced public consultation has been non-existent, stakeholders have been left uninformed, the entire Lincoln Christmas offering is now uncertain.
Has Cllr Metcalfe learnt any lessons from the last couple of weeks?
Answer
We are a Council who ordinarily exercise extensive consultation. In addition, we have a good record of consultation as a matter of course. In relation to the Lincoln Christmas Market, the Council could have consulted more widely prior to the decision to end the Market in the tradition form. However, for any consultation to be meaningful, there has to be an offer of some degree of choice. This was a rare occasion whereby no choice was available to the Council or anyone else. The independent multi-agency Safety Advisory Group advice was emphatic - on public safety grounds, the Christmas Market could not continue in its current form. There will be meaningful consultation on the events programme going forward to make it a safer environment.
Supplementary
Residents, businesses, and tourists are dissatisfied. Is it time for Councillor Ric Metcalfe to step down as Leader of the Council?
Answer
The emphatic advice received from the multi-agency Safety Advisory Group was clear that, ‘…no revisions to the market event plan will safely deal with any increase in visitor numbers beyond those experienced in 2022’. The Council could not ignore that advice or to offer that advice for public debate. We had a solemn duty to safeguard public safety. We were aware that members of the public and businesses, like us, held great affection for the Christmas Market. In addition, we were aware that the market provided an opportunity for businesses to generate revenue over the winter months and as such, businesses may have preferred us to ignore the advice provided to us from the Safety Advisory Group. On occasion, it was necessary to put popularity aside to ensure the correct thing was done for the right reasons. This was one of those occasions. We were not saying goodbye to Christmas, we were going to find a better and safer way to enjoy Christmas.
Councillor Hilton Spratt to Councillor Donald Nannestad
Question
Can the Portfolio Holder please explain what if any impact the current economic climate has had on our housebuilding programme?
Answer
It hasn't made any difference to our plans so to speak, however we must accept that material and labour costs have increased significantly, perhaps upwards of 30%. Additionally, supply can be an issue with respect to certain types of materials which of course, can cause delays and sometimes additional costs. Due to the September 22 budget from former Prime Minster Liz Truss, interest rates have increased dramatically so if we had planned to borrow to bring forward schemes, the financing cost has also increased significantly. However, we intend to continue with our plans at this stage.
Supplementary
Have we cut back? Have we stopped building Council houses, reduced building, or increased building?
Answer
We are continuing to build and have a good track record for building new properties for a Council of our size. As with other areas of the Council we are punching above our weight. From 2018-19 we have added 362 homes to our housing stock which is an excellent record. In addition, we will add 42 properties on Rookery Lane, which is close to completion, and with a further 11 new properties planned for Hermit Street. We also have the Western Growth Corridor which includes 640 affordable homes.
Councillor Mark Storer to Councillor Bob Bushell
Question
Over the last year I have repeatedly reported graffiti in Temple Gardens at the Usher Gallery. Whilst officers have responded quickly, the repeated clean-up operation is an ongoing cost to the taxpayer and unpleasant for residents and tourists. Does the executive member agree with me that CCTV is necessary to detect and deter criminal damage in Temple Gardens?
Answer
It is unfortunate that there have been a number of graffiti attacks in the Temple Gardens/Usher Gallery area since Covid restrictions were eased. As the Usher Gallery is managed by Lincolnshire County Council City Council, officers have needed to work with their officers to see what can be done to deter future attacks. CCTV is one option and officers are in the advanced stages of agreeing an installation for CCTV now which we hope will be able to add some protection to both the Gallery and the Temple Building itself. It is hoped that terms of agreement should be reached very soon, with installation this spring subject to agreement.
Councillor Rachel Storer to Councillor Neil Murray
Question
When did the executive member first become aware that discussions were taking place to cancel the Christmas Market?
Answer
I first became aware that discussions were taking place to cancel the Christmas Market on 11 January 2023.
Supplementary
Given the haste that the decision was made in, does the Executive member agree that it is time to pause the decision to reflect on the impact and consult more widely?
Answer
The Executive member had not been consulted on the decision, prior to being informed in January, and that was thanks to those sat in front of him.
Councillor David Clarkson to Councillor Ric Metcalfe
Question
On the 20th February the Executive agreed to set aside the existing budget provision for the Christmas Market to provide a wider events programme throughout the year, including a new “Christmas in Lincoln” offer. This budget stands at £260k pa. Will the Leader put on public record today that this budget will not be cut or watered down in any way for the next 5 financial years at the very minimum?
Answer
The Medium Term Financial Strategy makes a provision of £260kpa (plus inflation) for the Christmas market and it is this budget that will be transferred to deliver a year-long program of events and activities as per the Executive decision made on 20th February 2023 (pending call in). However, Members will be aware that within that MTFS, the council will face considerable financial challenges in 2025/26 onwards necessitating savings of approximately £1.75m. Therefore, I am not in a position today to guarantee any budget provision will stay exactly the same across all services within the council for the next 5 years.
Supplementary
Would you agree that for the alternative Christmas offering to be successful, there needed to be a set period to ensure its development. Five years was a reasonable amount of time to evaluate whether it would be successful.
Answer
We intended to make a success of the alternatives but were unable to make promises with regards to funding. There were considerable ways in which funding could be attracted to new offerings. We were determined to make a success of the alternatives and welcomed comment on what they should be.
Councillor Alan Briggs to Councillor Sue Burke
Question
Can the Executive Councillor detail the commitments made for the financial year 2022/23 via the council’s Discretionary Rate Relief Policy?
Answer
The Council have currently awarded £36,155.18 through the Discretionary Rate Relief Policy for 2022/23, these cover 8 properties.
In addition to these there is currently one further property, which is currently the subject of approval, which will increase the amount committed by a further £6,090.86.
Supplementary
What do you expect the budget to be next year?
Answer
It was too early to know the answer to the supplementary question.
Councillor Matthew Fido to Councillor Donald Nannestad
Question
I have spoken with tenants at De Wint Court recently, when they took on their tenancy, they were assured that they would have utility bills provided to them individually every quarter. However, they have never received a single bill or been asked for payment. They understand that they will receive bills from mid-March going forward once Esher hands over the building to the Council, but their anxiety stems from not knowing if at some point they end up with demands for an excessively large lump sum of money. What reassurance can the portfolio holder give to tenants of De Wint Court that they will not end up with an excessively large bill to pay?
Answer
The Council itself has not had any bills for Gas and Electric since the facility opened in April last year. This because the contractor did not register meters and did not do the required handover to the utility supplier. Since October, when the extent of the situation became known to us and the supplier accepted our ownership, we have been working tirelessly to resolve this situation.
Despite providing form after form and all the required documentation, as of today we still have not moved forward. We have now escalated this with both the contractor of supplier via the Council’s Legal Team, it’s utilities advisor ESPO and Ofgem. We have kept residents appraised of the situation through resident meetings, individual letters and via the resident Committee's representatives. Please remember our staff are on site all day, seven days a week and therefore respond to all resident enquiries.
We have provided residents with the opportunity to pay, on account, to the Council and as of today’s date, 29 have taken up this facility. Some residents have been concerned about accessing the government fund of £400 rebate. We have recently had it confirmed that this is now available to facilities with a commercial supply, however residents must apply personally for the rebate.
Our staff will be on site this week to assist those residents who need help to do this online. I have agreed with the Director of Housing that if the situation remains unresolved by the end March, we will instigate an estimated billing system based on tariffs we have in other similar facilities, in order give residents some reassurance as there is no doubt this situation is unsettling for some of our most vulnerable tenants. I can give Councillor Fido my personal reassurances that none of residents will be left financially disadvantaged by this position which is not of theirs, or the Council’s making. We will continue to update the residents and I hope to have the situation rectified soon.
Supplementary
Acknowledgement was given to the work of both the Portfolio Holder and officers in beginning to address the concerns since the question was lodged and an update was looked forward to.
Answer
It was not the only issue. There had also been an issue with television licences. We submitted information to TV Licensing on at least four occasions but each time they lost the information.
Councillor Eddie Strengiel to Councillor Neil Murray
Question
By how much have the council's (projected) costs risen for the delivery of Phases 1a & 1b of the Western Growth Corridor?
Answer
There is a revised funding requirement of £4.320m to support these initial infrastructure works. This represents an increase of £2.105m over the 2019 estimates, largely as a result of cost-price inflation.
The return to be derived from the subsequent housing development, which is estimated at £2.415m, will help to recover the cost of this initial infrastructure in part over the short-medium term, leaving an estimated net cost of £1.906m.
Over the longer-term, revenues from land sales and housing delivery unlocked by the Phase 1b work will cover these costs in full and generate a surplus for the Council. The award of grant to support the bridge works under LUF2 will accelerate delivery of this infrastructure and should reduce the financial risk to the Council in delivering Phase 1b, helping to offset the additional upfront requirement for Phase 1a over the longer-term.
In terms of the Phase 1b costs (Tritton Road, Eastern Access), detailed design work is now required in order to finalise the technical construction details for the road and bridge work which will inform the detailed cost plan for these works. The arrangements for moving forward with this work, to obtain detailed costs is set out in the Part A Executive Report of 20th Feb 23 under ‘Funding - Levelling Up Fund 2’.
Supplementary
There was information within the leaflet for the Western Growth Corridor development that confirmed £20m was to be spent on both bridges. Could the Portfolio Holder confirm that £20m is enough to cover two bridges?
Answer
Information received confirmed that £20m was sufficient to cover both bridges. I am happy to share all information with the whole Council.
Councillor Martin Christopher to Councillor Sue Buke
Question
I would like to raise a persistent problem in our City that has been causing inconvenience, health risks, and environmental hazards to residents and visitors alike - the issue of dog fouling. Despite any past efforts to raise awareness of responsible pet ownership and the importance of cleaning up after dogs, many owners continue to neglect their duty and leave their dog's mess on our streets, parks, and other public spaces.
This is not just an aesthetic problem - it poses a health risk to humans and animals alike, as dog faeces can carry harmful bacteria and parasites that can cause illness and infection. It also creates an unpleasant and unwelcoming environment for people to enjoy our public spaces, discouraging them and adding to our already poor health outcomes.
The Council website boasts a "Zero tolerance" policy on dog mess, yet with Zero enforcement officers and Zero Educational programmes, I feel "Zero Consequence'" would be a more appropriate description of our present stance.
I would like to know when the public can expect this Council to employ an enforcement officer and finally act on this very real issue that impacts everyone's enjoyment of our City.
Answer
The Council does take a zero tolerance approach to dog fouling and has several officers who are enforced to take action under the relevant legislation. However, the vast majority of our residents know that it an offence to allow their dogs to foul and the very small number of irresponsible dog owners that don’t clean up after their dog normally do so when they know other members of the public, or our Enforcement Officers aren’t about to witness them doing it. This makes identifying offenders and taking action very difficult but where we can identify an offender, we will take action.
We receive in excess of 3,500 service requests a year into a small team with limited resources and the team must prioritise their time across a range of demands, both reactive and proactive.
The priority for awareness raising in the team at the moment is fly tipping – a crime that continues to blight many of our neighbourhoods.
We encourage the public when they are reporting the issue to identify who the perpetrator was and where the incident took place to enable enforcement action. We did not receive any enforceable complaints in the current financial year. The complaints received have either been anonymous or with no witnesses to the incident having taken place. There have been no identified hot spot areas from the complaints received.
Supplementary
Maybe we should amend the website from ‘zero tolerance’ as we have not convicted anyone in the last 3 years.
Answer
We have not had the evidence available to identify the perpetrator. We do have a zero tolerance. We ask for cooperation with our residents to bring cases to us with the information we need to locate the offender.
Councillor Clare Smalley to Councillor Donald Nannestad
Last month I asked how many reports of mould in our properties we’d had following the death of a child in an unfit mouldy home in Rochdale. I was told this number was 311, I would have liked to have had the opportunity to ask for update on how we are tackling these mouldy homes tonight.
Unfortunately, my supplementary question last month asked how many the of 311 properties were severe cases and therefore causing a risk to health. This question couldn’t be answered at the meeting in January. This I do appreciate, however, as I’ve still not received the answer, I am therefore having to ask this question again tonight.
Answer
We treat all cases seriously. There is always a potential risk to health particularly homes where young children or older people are living. The policy is to try and inspect each case within 3 days and then carry out the appropriate treatment. A further 200 or so mould and damp cases have been reported since your last question. The City Council is no different to any other housing stockholder in that there has been a huge increase in reports of damp and mould since the Rochdale inquest. However, we have always had reports of mould and damp in our properties, and we respond accordingly.
Supplementary
Is there a target for us to make sure our homes are mould free? We all deserve to live in a house that is mould free and it is disappointing that we expect to live in mould.
Answer
We cannot guarantee we can get to a position where there is no mould or damp in any of our properties because it is something that comes and goes but we do our best to deal with the issues that are raised. The Housing Ombudsman previously published a spotlight report on mould and damp and early this month produced an update which we will be working through. In the update the Ombudsman makes it clear that any stockholder which has a low level of complaints about this issue will be viewed in the same way as one which has a high number of complaints. This is because it is important that tenants have the confidence to complain when they have an issue. Also, if people complain it means we can do something about it and learn from it.