Questions to Council

Oral

11January 2017

Cllr Donnelly

On 16 February 2017 the Evening Chronicle published a story headed “Newcastle City Council give away eight pieces of land in the City for free”  Will Council explain how at a time of austerity and Council cuts the council has allowed land to be lost through adverse possession laws.

For the benefit of transparency and on behalf of the residents, please state the locations of the eight plots of land and their estimated value.
 

Can Council tell us what representations they have made to LGA and Government about business rates, and what assessments they have ordered about the impact:

(a) On businesses in Newcastle?
(b) On the City's revenues?

In the Leader’s capacity as lead member for transport on the NE Combined Authority, can he confirm that the buck stops with him in terms of Nexus' operation of the Tyne & Wear Metro in respect of the failure of the Metro service on Sunday 29th October, and as such, will he make an immediate statement to council on:

- the circumstances of the service failure
- the failure to implement effective contingency plans,
- the failure to honour Metro's Conditions of Carriage,
- how he, NECA, and Nexus propose to address this unsatisfactory state of affairs.

The Evening Chronicle of 10th December reported that the Council has turned down an additional £4m on its sale of the former Jesmond Dene Nursery as it did not pick the highest bidder for the land (nearly £13m). It also turned down the second best offer (£12m) while pursuing the lowest (£9m) offer.

Will Council please advise whether when they made the decision to accept a sum of almost £4million less than full market value they were happy that all the above legal requirements were met?

Will they make public any advice they took on the matter including the reasons for the decision?

Council will be aware of the comments made by the public regarding the implementation of the New Year’s Eve event on the Town Moor.

In particular the following factors:

•  Concerns a risk assessment was not carried out about an event to which families with children were invited, to stand in a muddy field in darkness without lighting for more than an hour before it commenced.
• Complaints about the way tickets were allocated so that people from across Tyneside were able to get them but local residents were not.
• Complaints of the prices charged by vendors and questions arising such as whether the Council benefits from fees or profit share from them.
• Universally bad feedback on social media, especially those who were so upset that they left early (except for the very few in the first couple of rows)

 Does Council believe it brought something extra to our City which was stated as in aim in a previous report to Council, and can they ensure that next year’s event is more accessible and in a safer setting?
 

Having allocated £1m for a Spring Clean the Council is only too aware of the increasing problems of litter, dog faeces and fly tipping, exacerbated by the 50% reduction of bin provision and insufficient new bins being sited.

Although the new bins are larger they do not balance out the restriction due to reduced numbers in placing them adequately to cover areas of need thus causing a deficit. This together with the fact that the new designed bins are being widely vandalised IS causing an extra cost.

Will Council advise if new policies are planned in the new wards to improve the standard of waste collection across the City?
 

In light of the following statement in the Council's MediumTerm Plan Appendix 3 (Cumulative Impact Assessment)

 "The BME unemployment rate continues to be higher in the North East (7.4 %) and Newcastle (7.4%) compared to the England average (6.6%). Additionally, a greater proportion of the city’s BME residents are economically inactive (45%), exceeding both the North East (39.3%) and England (29.2%) averages. 

 BME communities tend to represent a higher proportion of the population in some of the most deprived areas of the city and are therefore potentially more vulnerable to reductions in some of our services."

 [4.6, p13]

 Does Council consider this variance in economic inactivity to be in compliance with its equalities duties, and can it set out the steps it is taking to address this disparity in terms of budget consultation and its corporate policies?

The Council is moving towards introducing congestion charging in large areas of the City

•  The Council has cleared the City of 8,414 trees In the last three years – twice as many as any other local authority. 
• The Council, after changing the status of large areas of green lung greenbelt land, has granted permission for 6000 homes to be built on it. 
• The Council’s proposed increase on parking charges, which already raise £8.5m, which will have a serious impact on the public using the City Centre (with the possibility of more job losses)           
• The Council’s programme of introducing electric vehicle charging points has been slowed to stall – just as the international introduction of electric vehicles is beginning to take off. 
• The Leader of Council recently stated to the press that City air pollution problems have been allowed to build up over decades.

Will Council, in the light of these facts, please explain the contradictory policies for the protection of the environment and the health and well-being of Newcastle residents.
 

The Killingworth Road scheme has drastically overrun due to issues both within and outwith the Council’s control.  This has also presumably increased costs.

Can Council confirm that they will be instructing officers to seek to recover compensatory funds from the utilities and others? Will Council commit to a public inquiry into the issues and publish lessons learned?

During the Killingworth Road scheme the Council had to change its plans due to the inability to purchase all the necessary land.  This has led to the proposed bus lane being shortened considerably.

 Can Council confirm whether they signed off this scheme before confirmation of all land purchases being received?  Would it not be normal practice to delay starting any major highways scheme until all necessary land has been secured?

There are a number of properties on Killingworth Road and Gallalaw Terrace that have been adversely affected by the Killingworth Road highway scheme.  Businesses on Station Road have also been adversely affected by the delays to the scheme.

Will Council consider instructing the Council’s Revenue department to give discounts in Council Tac to the domestic residents and a discount in Business Rates to the business owners over and above any minimum level of compensation usually applied.

At a time when confidence in politicians is at an all-time low it does not help that information is deliberately kept from the public in the many Delegated Decisions which we receive on a weekly basis by the Council, which are private and confidential. All of which will be in the public interest. 

Elected members, according to the Newcastle Charter, are advocates for the residents they serve. As this is the case we are in a position where residents are not informed on any of these matters until it is a fait accompli. How does this fit with the Council’s communication/consultation strategies to ensure that residents are at the very heart of Council policy rather than at the end of the process once decisions have been made?
 

In the Budget for 2019-20 Council removed the exemption provided for blue badge holders that allowed people with disabilities to park in Council operated car parks for free.

Now that this policy has been in place for almost a year, what steps has Council taken to instigate a post-implementation impact assessment?  Will this policy be reviewed by Council at any point to ensure that it does not create a disproportionate impact on people with disabilities, now and in the future?

Written

To protect and maintain front line services the Council over the past years has purchased Northern Rock Tower for £22m in 2009 (this to create at least 300 jobs and secure a further 2000 in the City).  £45m was allocated to refurbish the Civic Centre and lease space to the Courts.  More recently a £13.3m loan was made to Newcastle Hospitals NHS for a 9-storey car park, £15m was loaned for the Crown Plaza Hotel and £8.9m for street lighting and energy saving LED lights and the list goes on.  
 

When services like grass cutting, litter and graffiti removal and general environmental services are being drastically reduced/cut will Council provide details of how the above policy has improved front line services for the taxpayer.
 

Newcastle City Council is said to issue 40,000 permits a year to utilities to dig up roads and pavements.

What changes to policies, procedures and personnel is Council considering so that:-

1. Each application is given proper scrutiny and
2. Councillors are alerted to permits issued for their wards.
    

The region with the highest fixed period and permanent exclusion rates is the North East.  The fixed period rate for 2018/2019 is 8.00 compared to 5.36 nationally. The permanent exclusion rate has increased from 0.14 to 0.17 compared to 0.10 nationally. Children who have been excluded from school are at risk from further truancy, poor educational attainment and a lack of information about employment, education and training opportunities post-16 which may lead them into a life of crime.

 What is Council’s policy for reducing fixed period and permanent exclusions and supporting these young people into becoming productive adults of the future?

At this time, many parents and children are anxiously awaiting the results of appeals panels to see if their children will be admitted to a school within their local community.

Can Council assure all parents in delivering school places there will be a school within walking distance for their primary aged child and that secondary aged children will not have to travel across the city and out of their community to receive the education all children are entitled to?

Conflicting policies have consistently characterised your administration over the past several years:

• Savage spending cuts on services
• Consistently compounded Council Tax rises well over inflation
• Colossal Civic Centre project spending on borrowed cash
• 21% Pay rises for the Chief Executive (over 12 times inflation) in the last 3 years taking the salary cost to £184,000pa
• A recruitment freeze and cessation of all non-essential spending in an attempt to balance the books. 

Will Council please explain to residents how these contradictory policies fit in with the administration’s Fairness Agenda?

On Dec 16^th 2020 a landmark Coroner’s ruling in the case of Ella Kissi-Debrah a 9 year old previously sporty, active girl who had developed Asthma, decided that exposure to poor air pollution contributed to the Asthma she had contracted and her death from respiratory failure.

 In light of this ruling, would Council outline the activities  initiated to ensure citizens are not exposed to nitrous dioxide and particulate matter in excess of WHO guidelines, especially in locations such as Great North Rd, Coast Rd and Central Motorway, and the avoidance of similar litigation.

Council will be well aware that residents are facing a 5% rise in Council Tax and administration to date has invested £30m into the Crowne Plaza Hotel.  The question that I have been asked by my residents is how a further £5m of funding devolved from National to Local Government has been awarded to top up the £30m already allocated.  Under what principles is the Council being run and does Council believe that the Crowne Plaza 4-star hotel is a cultural asset.

Last year, Ouseburn Ward Councillors were told we could have a ‘school street’ scheme around Hotspur Primary to reduce congestion, improve air quality and provide a safer environment for children entering or leaving school.  We have since been told that the Council cannot enforce such a scheme, so it will not go ahead.

 In the meantime, the requirement for social distancing has created increased friction between drivers and parents queuing outside Hotspur, and many other schools in the City, and at least one parent has been hit by a car.  Can Council explain why cities such as Birmingham and Brighton have successfully implemented School Streets, but Newcastle can’t?

There has been a drive by Central Government, in light of Brexit, and most recently because of the
global pandemic, to focus on buying British goods to kickstart the economy.  We are all aware of
local businesses suffering and at a time when they need our support Council’s have big buying
powers and should be leading by example in setting a ‘Buy Local, Buy
British’ policy first.

Would Council therefore advise what steps will be taken to ensure that within the Council’s Directorates and policies, products should always be sourced and made within this country and local suppliers used rather than looking further
 afield.

The last review of ward boundaries by the Boundary Commission for England was flawed from the start
with huge discrepancies in the sizes of ward electorates.  Those discrepancies are increasing, with
the difference between the ward with the most and least electors now at 4,277 according to the
latest documents supplied to Constitutional Committee.

I am sure Council agrees with me that each vote should as far as possible be of equal weight in every area of our city. Therefore will they agree to write to the Boundary Commission requesting that a review of the
Newcastle upon Tyne City  Council ward boundaries be immediately set in motion?

Kim McGuinness, Northumbria Police and Crime Commissioner, has launched an online survey asking residents, particularly women, to give their views as to what makes them uncomfortable, or even frightened, when out and about, particularly at
night.

The Council is spending £8m in order to save on electricity consumption by 50% to 70% with projected annual savings of £1.4m, however, at what cost has this been done to ensure residents feel safe and secure travelling
across our city at night?

 Could Council advise what they intend to do, for the benefit of community safety, about the unsatisfactory illumination of street lighting, given that over a period of time, street lighting column bulbs have been reduced
from 150 watt/75 watt down  to, in some cases 24 watt to 33 watt.

Motorbike Anti-Social Behaviour is a growing problem in the Outer West of Newcastle with residents stating they feel intimidated by the riders who are taking over the streets and some of our green spaces.

When standing for re-election the Police and Crime Commissioner promised to invest in drones to track and take action against the riders. Will Council make representations to Northumbria Police for the Outer West to pilot the Police and Crime Commissioner's drone programme and for this to be given dedicated resources?

Does Council agree with me that prevention is better than cure and we need an urgent review of potential access routes that may have been created by broken fences and gates that stop  motorbikes and where identified, should be urgently repaired?

A report presented to Cabinet in June 2019 about Play Space Investment showed that Lemington Ward was amongst the seven wards with the most substantial gap in access to youth play space. The report stated that the skate park at the West Denton Community Association should be retained as “its removal would result in a very large gap in access.”

The skate park has subsequently been removed and the site identified for a housing development, further increasing the gap in access in Denton and Westerhope Ward and neighbouring wards. With the loss of this provision, most young people in Lemington Ward will be well in excess of 15 minutes walk from the closest youth play area. Lemington Ward has three children’s play areas and all are in desperate need of repair and no youth play provision at all.

Does Council agree with me that young people in Lemington
 Ward deserve access to a local park?

In more than 20 years representing my ward on the city council, rats have rarely been an issue. Over the past year, there has been a significant increase
in rat-related casework and I understand from colleagues and from YHN this is a citywide trend.

 What is the Council’s strategy for addressing the increase in citywide reports of rats, and is it sufficiently effective?

Opposition literature distributed in West Fenham ward states that the LibDem team are "opposing plans by the council to make more cuts to much needed street cleaning and bin collection crews"  This statement has caused a great deal of distress to council staff and their families and has led to the Director of Operations and Regulatory Services writing to council staff to assure them that there are NO planned job cuts to refuse collection or street cleansing teams.

Can the cabinet member please confirm that this is the case and outline future plans for those services?

As part of the Safe Newcastle Partnership, wards across the City purchased redeployable CCTV.  However, the equipment was purchased some significant time ago and the cameras are not HD, do not have night vision and in reality are no longer fit for purpose.

As the City Council must be aware and continue to be committed to this important resource, would the Leader of Council please advise what policy and procedures are in place to update the equipment across the City to the new improved standard?

This year there has been an improvement in some wards regarding strimming alongside guardrails and street furniture etc.  However, there is no follow-up in chemical treatment to prevent the same from happening again.

Could the Leader of Council advise on the full details of the current policy on strimming and chemical treatment used across the City and any changes/improvements planned?

After the Council's budget was set on 2 March it has taken until Friday 24 June (nearly 4 months) to establish the ward budget for Chapel ward.  This will no doubt be similar for the other 25 wards in the City.

Chapel Ward has been allocated a mere £3,250 which is disproportionate to the population and Council Tax paid.  The discrepancy in the monies allocated per ward is untenable and the present system needs to be reviewed.

Would the new Leader of Council please advise if he intends to re-visit the current system of allocating funds, possible using a cap on lower and upper budgets rather than the present system which might be fairer?  Also, in the interests of openness and transparency publicise the allocation of monies to all the 26 wards.

In January 2022, I asked the Cabinet Member whether there were plans to review the tree policy as a result of the challenges created during the recent storms and despite concerns expressed by numerous residents about the impact of trees close to their homes.  I was told that the tree policy would not be reviewed.

During the recent local election campaign, I was advised by residents in Lemington Ward that Labour canvassers had indicated that the problems being expressed would be tackled by a review of the tree policy.

Is this one of the policies that the new administration is planning to reset or were residents being misled?

In his budget speech, the former Leader of Council announced that £1.2million was being set aside for delivering programmes in every ward of strimming fence lines, cleansing traffic islands and crossings, improving neighbourhood focal points and enhanced shrub maintenance, grass cutting and weed killing.

How has Cabinet determined that this additional money will be distributed between wards and categories of spend?

The Government recently announced proposals to enable tenants of Housing Associations to buy their properties at a discounted rate and the new Leader of the Conservative Party expressed desire to widen the opportunity for more social housing tenants to buy their own Council owned properties.  Both these proposals will lead to further reduction of properties available to rent for low-income families.

What action has the Cabinet Member taken to lobby Government on behalf of this City Council, or in conjunction with other agencies or authorities to ensure our residents have access to a stable supply of affordable properties to meet future varied housing needs.

Amongst the social housing blocks owned by the City Council there are some 200 lifts which older residents and those with mobility problems rely heavily on.

All lifts have maintenance contracts with clauses to ensure swift attention in case of equipment failure but some are taking days or weeks to rectify.  A new repair and maintenance contract was signed recently following a procurement exercise.

As the contract has resulted in a series of lift related problems across the City will the Cabinet Member outline the steps taken to revise or replace the contract to ensure lifts are repaired quickly which reflects value for money and that tenants receive apologies and reassurance about future lift repair performance.

The Newcastle Charter states that ward budgets allow ward communities to fund "support local projects, initiatives and research".  It has become clear that more and more expectations are being placed on ward budgets and they have not been set at a level to cover all of these demands.  Could the Cabinet Member review the policy for ward budgets to:

• Make it clear the council infrastructure within a ward that ward committees are liable for maintaining from their own budget rather than central city council budgets,
• Increase the level of ward budgets to take account of these additional demands,
• Have the amounts of all ward budgets confirmed as part of the budget setting process.

The Customer Service Centre at West Denton closed its doors to the public when the temporary library opened. The building awaits demolistion. I officially opened its doors on 8 December 2003 as the Council's 'first' local purpose-built centre at a cost of £3.4 million. In just three weeks 15,000 people had used the Centre showing how valuable and needed the service provided was. At the time 6 local customer service centres were opened across the City, by 2007. Newcastle Council stated in the Neighbourhood's First Leaflet, printed in March 2004 "The centres are being built as a direct result of you telling us what you want from us - easy access to Council services in your area, under one roof." As the bulldozers move in it is obvious that policies have moved away from a Customer First driven agenda.

Could the Cabinet Member consider reviewing the policy and process for dealing with residents' queries and ensure that we are not leaving those behind who cannot access the internet?

Back in 2003 in the Council's publication Streets Ahead the then Cabinet Member for Community Planning said "Improving street lighting is a top priority for residents in bother areas (Newcastle and North Tyneside) and we expect this project to have a significant impact on road safety, tackling crime and improving the local environment." In some cases street light columns are buried in trees and project very little light on to the footpath. the policy at the time was to make streets safe.  What has changed?

Will the Cabinet Member consider reviewing the policy for managing street lighting which has become lost in tree foliage to ensure that lighting in all areas of the City are up to the required standard of safety and illumination, making it safer for all?

Cllr Stone

Further to announcing that the Council was carrying out a review on Low Traffic Neighbourhoods over the summer, it will be concluded in December into how it had implemented numerous road closure trials.

Following the publicity in introducing the Jesmond low traffic neighbourhoods initiative where Police response rates fell and it also stated ambulances and other emergency vehicles would be seriously delayed due to the diversions caused by the trial. The Council cannot have a policy that places residents at risk. 

Will the Cabinet Member review this policy and provide an update on what action/adjustments could be considered to ensure that mistakes are not repeated? 

A recent report found 93% of Council maintained Schools in England were rated Outstanding or Good, compared to 87% of Academies. The same report also found 72% of Council maintained schools have maintained their Outstanding rating compared with 60% of Academies. 

Evidence shows the Council should be able to open their own schools again, allowing freedom to improve standards for every child and compete fairly, clearly showing that Council maintained schools are out-performing academies. 

Will the Cabinet Member advise whether there needs to be a change in policy in favour of retaining council maintained schools and whether he will make representations to national Government in support of this policy?

There are a lot of problems at the Cenotaph and surrounding areas of Old Eldon Square with vermin defacating on it and members of the public are feeding the birds, making the problem worse. It is unclear what the current policy is.

Will the Cabinet Member consider changing the policy to ensure action is taken to protect the Cenotaph and Old Eldon Square from vermin, such as introducing a ban on feeding birds in Old Eldon Square?

Around 4 in 10 households in Newcastle do not have access to a car and residents on foot, due to safety, are unable to use the recycling centres and struggle to dispose of waste responsibly. The recent pop up household recycling events were a big success. 

Moving towards net zero, households choosing not to have a car may increase the numbers unable to access to the city's recycling centres. It could be possibly done safely if there were designated times for people bringing waste on foot.

Will the Cabinet Member consider organising further events for areas with the lowest car ownership as well as reviewing the policy on the management of recycling centres to allow some access to recycling centres for people on foot?

In a now deleted tweet from Wednesday 11 October, announcing her departure from Cabinet, Cllr Byrne stated: "I have had concerns for some months that there may be officers undermining (Newcastle City Council). This issue has not been resolved and I realise that it is not possible for me to remain in Cabinet if I do not trust officers." This accusation came in the wake of my questions to Cllr Kemp at the last meeting of Council regarding allegations of bullying and a "toxic culture". 

Could the Leader of Council outline what he plans to do to draw a line under this matter and restore public confidence that management and governance at the highest level is operating as it should?

Can the Leader of Council confirm to Council that the climate between officers and cabinet is now free from bullying and toxicity, that he does not anticipate further departures from either side in coming weeks, and that there are no foreseeable reasons for further delay to publication of the Council’s corporate plan, transformation plan, and digital transformation plan?

Does your appointment signify a change in the Council’s waste management policy, particularly in regard to incineration?

No-one will find themselves unmoved by the horrific scenes we are seeing unfolding in the Middle East right now.  The conflict in Israel and Gaza has provoked a strong reaction across the world.  As a result, Jewish and Muslim communities everywhere, including here in our own city of Newcastle, have increased feelings of vulnerability and concern for their safety.

Does the Cabinet Member believe that there are any additional steps that could be taken to reassure and support he Jewish and Muslim communities of Newcastle at this difficult time, whilst we all hope and pray for a resolution to the conflict.

Further to recent distress caused to hundreds of families as a result of the council's levelling of grave memorials in a number of the city's cemeteries, particularly Heaton Cemetery, does the Cabinet Member have confidence that the council has complied fully with relevant Government guidance issued to local authorities (1) and the Local Government Ombudsman's guidance to the public (2) that councils may be at fault if they:

• carried out the testing with staff or contractors who were untrained,
• failed to assess the risk posed by the memorial properly,
• laid memorials flat without considering other methods of making a memorial safe.

In responding, can the Cabinet Member additionally confirm that the council will arrange to make available to elected members the findings of any formal risk assessment it has carried out in respect of grave memorials and public safety.

Utility Costs - Cost of Living Crisis - In these times of austerity and increasing utility costs for both gas and electric, I was surprised to see that the Christmas tree at the Civic Centre still has the lights not only remaining on the tree but lit up some 50 days after they should have at least been switched off!

This obviously is a waste of valuable resources but is the tip of the iceberg when the Civic Centre is lit up late each evening like Blackpool illuminations with every floor fully lit when it is extremely unlikely that there is anyone working in the building.  When the Council is constantly offering residents advice and tips on saving energy and being cost conscious surely they should be setting an example.

Would the Cabinet Member please review the policy on what cost saving approach can be implemented to ensure that the Council is both leading by example and ensuring that public finances are efficiently managed?

Underinvestment in Pavement Repair/Priority - At a recent Question to Council, Council accepted that there was a £12.64 billion backlog of maintenance required on the highway network across the City.  In recent years funding has been extremely limited and has concentrated predominantly on roads rather than footpaths, leaving residents vulnerable to slips, trips and falls.

Would the Cabinet Member please review the policy on the repair/maintenance of not only roads but pavements?