Question from Mrs Susan Hogg to the Leader of the Council

MBC Councillors were elected by the people of Maidstone so please may I ask why do Councillors not return my phone calls and emails when I leave them a message?

The Leader of the Council responded to the question.

Mrs Hogg asked the following supplementary question of the Leader of the Council:

Moving forward, even if they couldn’t answer my question, wouldn’t it be courteous if they answered to say “No I can’t help you” in that situation?  It would be much appreciated, rather than being ignored altogether.

The Leader of the Council responded to the question.

Question from Mr Stephen Thompson to the Lead Member for Planning and Infrastructure

Does Maidstone Borough Council convene a formal forum with local bus operators to ensure an ongoing constructive dialogue on these vital services?

The Lead Member for Planning and Infrastructure responded to the question.

Mr Thompson asked the following supplementary question of the Lead Member for Planning and Infrastructure:

What criteria would you be seeking to follow in order to exercise your responsibility on behalf of the Council and residents to, for example, reduce pollution, build connectivity for public transport services for workers, leisure, school children etc.  What would you be working for on our behalf?

The Lead Member for Planning and Infrastructure responded to the question.

Question from Ms Rachel Rodwell to the Chairman of the Democracy and General Purposes Committee

Given that according to recent figures, 2 million people do not possess the required voter ID for participation in May's local elections and last month, it was recorded that only 10,000 people had used the central government portal to apply for the Voter Authority Certificate, concern is growing that large numbers of people (many from disadvantaged and vulnerable groups) may still be unaware of the changes to the voting requirements or feel unable to make the changes needed to enable them to vote, due to their personal circumstances.

 
Despite the Electoral Commission's pledge to widely publicise the changes, time is rapidly running out for this government to implement them, and we now have the worrying prospect of Maidstone's more disadvantaged and marginalised residents being denied the opportunity to vote on Polling Day.

Will Maidstone Borough Council, therefore, ask officers at the polling stations on May 4^th to record the number of people they will have to turn away, and also to make these findings public, in the interests of transparency and local democracy?

The Chairman of the Democracy and General Purposes Committee responded to the question.

Ms Rodwell asked the following supplementary question of the Chairman of the Democracy and General Purposes Committee:

Will every person that is potentially turned away be recorded and why is it not transparent?  Why would we not know how many people have been turned away?

The Chairman of the Democracy and General Purposes Committee responded to the question.

To listen to the answers to these questions, please follow this link:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nwUO_yK1HyE&t=8098s

Note:  Councillor Hastie entered the meeting during the Question and Answer Session (6.55 p.m.).  She stated that she had no disclosures of interest or of lobbying.