Agenda item

Members are reminded that under paragraph 11.1 of part 4 of the Constitution, questions can be asked of the Leader and Cabinet Members without notice about any matter contained in any address.  Questions shall be limited to five minutes in total for each announcement.

Councillor R Blunt made the following announcements:

-   The Boundary Commission had now released the results of the recent boundary review of the District.  This meant that the District Elections in 2015 would be based on the new ward structure.

-   Another successful budget proposal was to be considered by Members, in particular, council tax had been frozen for the fifth year in a row, car parking charges had been frozen for the seventh year in a row and there were no charges for green waste collections.  As part of the budget process, provisions had been made to support the Living Wage for the Council’s lower paid staff; this was to help the lowest paid staff during the difficult economic climate.  It was acknowledged that the Labour group had also been working on the issue and it was pleasing to see them join the debate by introducing the motion which was on the agenda.  Unfortunately, Councillor R Blunt advised that the Conservative group could not support the motion in its entirety as it could have a negative impact on local businesses and potentially increase tender prices for the Council.

-   Provision was being made to provide financial support to spruce up town centres, support existing and new businesses, and increase affordable housing.

Councillor T Gillard announced that plans for the new Formula E at Donington Race Track were going well and he would give a more detailed update at the next meeting.

Councillor T J Pendleton announced that the eight children’s centres within the District had recently been inspected by OFSTED and all had been classified as good, this was a great success for the District.

Councillor T Neilson stated that he welcomed the changes that had been made to the budget proposals during the budget process and he was glad the Labour group had had some impact.  He reminded Members that he had strongly opposed the boundary review as the Labour group believed it was unnecessary, however they took part fully in the consultation process and were pleased to see some of their suggestions in the final results.  He thanked the Council Officers and the Boundary Commission for the work they had undertaken.

Councillor S Sheahan stated that he was pleased with the outcome of the OFSTED inspection on the children’s centres and thanked the staff for the great work that they do day to day with the children.

Councillor D De Lacy asked for an update on the issue that was raised under Questions from Councillors at the previous meeting regarding 45 people within the District who according to tenancy records could be entitled to ‘Bedroom Tax’ refunds.  He explained that he expected to see it on the agenda as the Portfolio Holder had promised to provide an update at the previous meeting.  Councillor R D Bayliss reported that the reason an update had not been given was that it was still a work in progress but was happy explain the current position.  He explained that the refund applied to anyone who has had a continuous tenancy and received benefits since 1996 and information dating back to this period was no longer kept on file, therefore a particular process had to be followed to identify those people.  The people that had been identified were being written to and the correct process was being followed.  Councillor R D Bayliss agreed to provide another update when he had more to information to report.