Issue - meetings

in accordance with Standing Orders, written answers to the following questions will be circulated on a supplementary agenda.

(A)         Question from Councillor Julie Ashley-Wren

Fire brigades nationally have been warning about the increasing danger of fires from lithium-ion batteries in e-scooters and home modified e-bikes. The London Fire Brigade recently announced there have been 169 e-bike and 36 e-scooter fires in the capital up to the end of September, sadly resulting in two fatalities

What proactive action is the Council taking to reduce the risks of these serious fires in our council properties, and in particular within our flat blocks?

(B)         Question from Councillor Robin Parker

The SBC website states that Chronicle magazine is delivered up to 5 times a year.  How many times was it actually delivered in 2023, 2024 and 2025; how many addresses were missed each time; what checking was done (and how) to obtain these figures; what remedial action is taken for missed addresses?

(C)         Question from Councillor Stephen Booth

Regarding the new food waste disposal scheme, I understand that DEFRA will be covering the initial set-up costs of this, the Government’s so-called "Simpler Recycling" scheme, how will ongoing and annual service costs be met and how much will this amount to annually? Given that waste collection authorities may decide "frequency and methodology for collection in a way that meets local needs and provides value for money for taxpayers" what consideration has been given to alternative collection methods to that proposed by the Council?

(D)         Question from Councillor Peter Wilkins

The Council website states it aims to remove offensive graffiti before other graffiti, and within one day of receiving a report, and all other graffiti within five days. Can you provide data that shows the councils performance against these standards for removing graffiti and offensive graffiti?

(E)         Question from Councillor Andy McGuinness

What costs have been already incurred by the Council and how much officer time has been taken up in dealing with Local Government Reorganisation in Hertfordshire?

(F)          Question from Councillor Tom Wren

At the council meeting held on 24th July 2019 I asked a question asking for figures for the number of council trees felled and replanted in the proceeding 3 years. This showed the council was not meeting it's pledge to plant replacements trees nearby for all felled trees. Please could the same figures be provided for each year 2020-2025. 

(G)         Question from Councillor Rob Henry

Does the Labour administration agree with me that free, fair, and open elections are fundamental to our democratic process and must be protected without exception?

(H)         Question from Councillor Mason Humberstone

Can this administration explain what it is doing to ensure that local infrastructure and essential services are not overwhelmed by the increasing number of new developments in our town?

in accordance with Standing Orders, written answers to the following questions will be circulated on a supplementary agenda.

(A)         Question from Councillor Peter Wilkins

What air quality monitoring systems are currently in place across Stevenage, how is the council using any data generated to control and manage pollution hot spots, especially around our schools and nurseries?

(B)         Question from Councillor Phil Bibby

Does the Cabinet member consider that the level of compensation agreed for the period of stall holders being unable to trade, caused by the delay in relocating the Indoor Market, is sufficient?

(C)         Question from Councillor Robin Parker

Has a suitable small mechanical sweeper now been obtained, if so when did it start being used, and what proportion of the borough has now been covered using it?

(D)         Question from Councillor Stephen Booth

Can councillors please have a regular monthly summary statement of staff and employee movements and changes, including new postholder appointments and people leaving and joining the Council.

(E)         Question from Councillor Tom Wren

When letting commercial property, what due diligence checks does the council undertake on prospective tenants to safeguard against properties being used for illegal activity or money laundering?"

(F)          Question from Councillor Andy McGuinness

When can council leaseholders expect to receive final bills for the major refurbishment works? Please could the answer be broken down to include the years when work was completed and when final bills will be issued?

(G)         Question from Councillor Rob Henry

Does the Leader agree that this council has a duty to be financially responsible and to keep our debt as low as possible?

(H)         Question from Councillor Mason Humberstone

Does the Leader agree with me that community cohesion remains of paramount importance, and that it is increasingly at risk due to the rising number of illegal migrants arriving in our town?

in accordance with Standing Orders, written answers to the following questions will be circulated on a supplementary agenda.

(A)         Question from Councillor Peter Wilkins

Does the council have a strategy to limit or manage the number and siting of HMO’s (Houses in Multiple Occupation.)  For private development and for use by the public sector?

(B)         Question from Councillor Phil Bibby

Would the Cabinet Member please inform us as to what sporting and leisure activities, currently provided by the Leisure Centre, will not be accommodated within the planned new Leisure Centre, and how many residents will be affected?

(C)         Question from Councillor Robin Parker

Reference the charges for routine domestic garage forecourt maintenance which SBC introduced, please let me know:

The start date of the charges; the reason why the charges were introduced and which cabinet member(s) or committee made the decision to introduce them; whether tenants and owner occupiers pay the same; the way the charges are collected; the percentage collection rate for (a) tenants (b) owner occupiers; the action taken against (a) tenants and (b) owner occupiers, who fail or refuse to pay the charges; the process by which (a) tenants and (b) owner occupiers know for certain that the work that they have paid for has in fact been done; and what physical checking and monitoring there is to make sure that the work paid for has been done.

(D)         Question from Councillor Stephen Booth

Can you please inform Council when the current IT system used by councillors, involving Microsoft Outlook and Civica’s ModGov application, will be improved? Will councillors be consulted ahead of changes?

(E)         Question from Councillor Andy McGuinness

What is the cleaning regime for high foot fall destinations like neighbourhood and shopping areas across the Town?

The Council received five questions from Members to Committee Chairs/Portfolio Holders. 

The Mayor reminded Members that Standing Orders allowed for one question with a supplementary question only.  She advised that she had used her discretion this time to allow for a question with multiple parts but would not allow this at future meetings.

The responses to the five questions had been published in the supplementary agenda for the meeting.

(A)      Question from Councillor Peter Wilkins re: Houses of Multiple Occupation (HMO’s)

Supplementary question – Will the Council do all it can to stop the indiscriminate use of HMO’s to house asylum seekers when the hotels are closed as this is not an appropriate form of housing in terms of monitoring or support for asylum seekers and would be unpopular with local residents?

The Portfolio Holder advised that the future use of HMO’s in Stevenage was currently not known and Councillor Wilkins had been provided with the information relating to the practical planning policies in place to restrict the use of HMO’s in terms of ASB, parking and noise.  The Portfolio Holder agreed to provide a more detailed answer outlining the Home Office’s policy on rehousing people in an asylum situation into communities when he could.

(B)      Question from Councillor Phil Bibby re: Sports and Leisure Centre

Supplementary question – Is the Portfolio Holder disappointed that the new leisure centre does not accommodate as many sports as the current one does and does not include emerging sports such as pickle ball and padel tennis.

The Portfolio Holder advised that it had been fifty years since the original arts and leisure centre had been built separate from the original swimming pool and a new facility was needed and that this would be a much improved offer for more people in the Town.  He would be happy to meet with anyone particularly dissatisfied with the range of activities in the new leisure centre and had already arranged meetings with a number of interested parties.

(C)      Question from Councillor Robin Parker regarding: Garage Forecourt Maintenance.

Supplementary question – can buying a small sweeper be considered to ensure all parts of the garage forecourts could be cleaned.

The Portfolio Holder advised that she would ask officers to look at the possibility and price of the suggestion from Councillor Parker.

(D)      Question from Councillor Stephen Booth regarding: IT

Supplementary question – Could Members be given the opportunity to provide some input into the current software used at the Council

The Portfolio Holder for Resources advised that the software used was used across the Globe and it appeared that most Members managed to use it with no real issues.  Additional training was available if Members felt this was needed.

(E)      Question from Councillor Andy McGuinness regarding: the cleaning of shopping areas around the Town

Supplementary question – Could there be some consideration that due care and attention be given to our much loved and much used local shopping centres.

The Portfolio Holder for the Environment advised that  ...  view the full minutes text for item 11