Agenda item

Questions to the Leader of the Council

Councillor Chittenden asked the following question of the Leader of the Council:-

On Wednesday 14 March 2012, the Locality Board for Maidstone is due to meet to hear the report from Officers on the consultation relating to the proposed closure of Youth Centres in Maidstone and to make decisions on the future of youth facilities in our town.

Will the Leader of the Council confirm that, in the interest of open government, this meeting will be open to the public, promoted and advertised in advance, and webcast so individuals who are unable to attend can see or review the debate?

The Leader of the Council responded to the question.

Councillor Chittenden asked the following supplementary question of the Leader of the Council:-

When I raised the same issue with County Councillor Mike Hill, the Cabinet Member for Customer and Communities, his response was that at present the Locality Boards are not open to the public and there are no arrangements in place for their work to be webcast.  In the light of this response, and bearing in mind that we have already been told that the future of our libraries will be the next main issue to be passed down to the Locality Boards after youth services, can the Leader of the Council give an assurance that all future meetings of the Locality Board will also be open to the public, including those held at County Hall?

The Leader of the Council responded to the question.

Councillor Newton asked the following question of the Leader of the Council:-

Can the Leader of the Council confirm what percentage of employees of Maidstone Borough Council has been made redundant since May 2010?

The Leader of the Council responded to the question.

Councillor Newton asked the following supplementary question of the Leader of the Council:-

Are further redundancies planned this year?

The Leader of the Council responded to the question.

Questions to Cabinet Members

Councillor Paine asked the following question of the Cabinet Member for Community and Leisure Services:-

What is the current status of Maidstone’s draft Leisure and Culture Strategy?

The Cabinet Member responded to the question.

Councillor Paine asked the following supplementary question of the Cabinet Member for Community and Leisure Services:-

Could the Cabinet Member speak to the relevant Officers to see if Maidstone Borough Council could benefit from a Member workshop or group, perhaps later in the year, to see how the fifty five Members of the Council could contribute some of their time towards developing and supporting cultural activities in Maidstone?

The Cabinet Member for Community and Leisure Services responded to the question.

Councillor Daley asked the following question of the Cabinet Member for Corporate Services:-

A rumour has been circulating that the Council is about to dispose of or sell the Victorian bandstand in Brenchley Gardens – Can you please either confirm or deny this?

The Cabinet Member for Corporate Services responded to the question.

Councillor Daley asked the following supplementary question of the Cabinet Member for Corporate Services:-

If the Council is not going to sell or dispose of the bandstand, then what exactly is it proposing to do with it?  By completely removing the supporting grant which makes it possible for bands to perform and not otherwise proactively supporting the band concert season, the bandstand will remain an empty shell to the annoyance of all those people who have enjoyed the concerts over many years.  Is this the kind of community engagement the Council has in mind?

The Cabinet Member for Corporate Services responded to the question.

Councillor Daley asked the following question of the Cabinet Member for Economic Development and Transport:-

In the Cabinet Improvement Plan paper of 8 February to which you presumably subscribed and agreed, there are many separate sections designed to show how the Council may improve service delivery and also save money.  In the section dedicated to the Hazlitt Arts Centre there appears what looks to me like a conundrum.

It says the Council’s aim is to make the Hazlitt a ‘Vibrant Theatre that people will want to go to all of the time’ and in the next line says that it will ‘cut its subsidy by 50%’.  It then goes on to say that it will ‘increase community participation and involvement’.

Would the Cabinet Member care to tell us how making a vibrant business is really going to be achieved by cutting the subsidy – and what is meant by ‘community involvement and participation’ in this context?

The Cabinet Member for Economic Development and Transport responded to the question.

Councillor FitzGerald asked the following question of the Cabinet Member for Economic Development and Transport:-

Can the Cabinet Member for Economic Development and Transport inform Members of the total number of new homes granted planning permission to date this year but not including those knocked down to rebuild or updates or changes to previous permissions granted?

The Cabinet Member for Economic Development and Transport responded to the question.

Councillor FitzGerald asked the following supplementary question of the Cabinet Member for Economic Development and Transport:-

Given the low number of planning applications again this year and the three year period for implementing permissions, there is an added need for some incentive to support regeneration.  What plans are being put in place by the Council to address the plight of those on the housing waiting list?

The Cabinet Member for Economic Development and Transport responded to the question.

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

http://clients.westminster-digital.co.uk/maidstone/mg_proxy.aspx?mg_a_id=9731