Agenda item

[That the Leader of the Council and Cabinet Members for City Environment, City Economy and Education and Skills  respond to questions received.]

That the responses to the written questions be noted.

a.    Garden Waste Collection Service

 

Councillor Udey Singh asked the Cabinet Member for City Environment:

 

Can the Cabinet Member for City Environment tell the Council how many households have signed up for the new garden waste collection service so far?

 

The Cabinet Member for City Environment, Councillor Steve Evans responded that 7147 households had signed up for the new garden waste collection service.

 

Councillor Udey Singh asked the Cabinet Member for City Environment the following supplementary question:

 

The residents who want to sign up for this service cannot pay by BACS, cheques or cash, the Council’s website requests payment by debit/credit card or advised that a family member or friend can pay on their behalf, does the Cabinet Member agree that this was financially discriminating against those who do not hold a credit or debit card and that third-party involvement could lead to increased fraud.

 

The Cabinet Member for City Environment, Councillor Steve Evans responded no.

 

b.    Westside Link

 

Councillor Simon Bennett asked the Cabinet Member for City Economy:

 

Can the Cabinet Member for City Economy explain how much the Council has spent to date on the controversial Westside Link project?

 

The Cabinet Member for City Economy, Councillor John Reynolds, responded that design stages 1 to 3 of the project had been funded from the Black Country Local Enterprise Partnership (BCLEP) Access to Growth fund for 2017-2018 and 2018-2019 totalling £205,000. To date £181,000 of that fund had been spent over the 2 financial years on design, survey and project management.

 

He added it was proposed that the full project costs for the delivery of Phases 1 and 2, would be secured through the BCLEP and West Midlands Combined Authority. Discussions were currently ongoing and an application for grant funding would be submitted in due course should the scheme continue in it’s present or amended form.

 

Councillor Simon Bennett asked the Cabinet Member for City Economy the following supplementary question:

 

To go ahead with the current plans which were set out in the public consultation was both dangerous and very short-sighted which were the words of Councillor Phil Bateman, the Cabinet Member for City Economy  did not have the support of own party and needed to grasp his portfolio, more than a 1000 traders were against the pedestrianisation plans and St Peter’s church, what will it take for Labour to stop destroying the City Centre ?

 

The Cabinet Member for City Economy, Councillor John Reynolds, responded that he would be interested in the addressees of 1000  traders who had objected to the westside scheme and added that a significant number of strategic partners were in support of the scheme.

 

c.    Non-disclosure Agreements

 

Councillor Sohail Khan asked the Leader of the Council:

 

Can the Leader of the Council please disclose how many non-disclosure agreements were signed by the Council between September 2014 and July 2018?

 

The Leader of the Council, Councillor Roger Lawrence responded the Council like any large commercial organisationwould enter into non-disclosure agreements with partners, stakeholders and other businesses during negotiations of commercial acquisition or disposal or at the commencement of any large project. The Council did not hold the information of numbers for these types of non-disclosure agreements.

 

He added that settlement agreements were also entered into following the termination of an employment contact, a suite of Terms of Conditions would be entered into which contained mutual obligations which were to be abided by both parties, which would safeguard both parties.

 

He added, the Council also incorporated mutual non-disclosure clauses as a matter of cause for every employee who signed a settlement agreement. The overwhelming majority of settlement agreements were signed by employees who request Voluntary Redundancy (VR). This was to ensure the privacy of these employees’ sensitive personal information. Settlement agreements signed by employees requesting VR was 701 and other settlement agreements non-voluntary agreement was 118. There was no payment for non-disclosable agreements.

 

Councillor Sohail Khan asked the Leader the following supplementary question:

 

How much had the Council spent on non-disclosable agreements?

 

The Leader of the Council, Councillor Roger Lawrence responded that no payments had been made for non-disclosure agreements.

 

d.    Unemployment Rates

 

Councillor Wendy Thompson asked the Cabinet Member for Education and Skills:

 

The economic picture nationally remains positive, with the number of people in work at a record high and wages rising at their fastest pace in nearly ten years. Despite this, in Wolverhampton the unemployment rate remains well above average at 7.5%. Can the Cabinet Member for Education and Skills explain why this Council has failed the people of our City and allowed them to be left behind?

 

The Cabinet Member for Education and Skills, Councillor Lynne Moran, responded that jobs and employment were increasing in the City and local residents were getting upskilled to successfully compete for these jobs. Contrary to what the question suggests the City was showing positive trends in unemployment. Unemployment in the City has been halved in the last 4 years, (moving from 14% in 2014 to 7% in 2018).

 

She added since January 2017 Wolves at Work had moved 3492 residents into work. The latest Annual Population Survey data showed that one in four (26.2%) of the working age population were now educated to degree level or above – an increase of 11% in just one year. In the same year - the number of residents without any qualifications reduced by 6300. The total number of jobs increased from 98,000 in 2016 to 100,000 in 2017 (+2%). This was almost double the national rate.

 

She added the Council acted as a catalyst to assist people getting jobs and recent examples included apprenticeships at a WV Living housing development site, two women securing employment at a construction site, and partners were also encouraged to employee local people. 

 

Councillor Wendy Thompson asked the Cabinet Member for Education and Skills the following supplementary question:

 

Why are the figures at the bottom and below national average in the wards for the Cabinet Member for Education and Skills, Leader and Deputy-Leader and why were targets not acheived in these wards?

 

The Cabinet Member for Education and Skills, Councillor Lynne Moran, responded that the Council had delivered a very successful youth employment initiative called Impact. Impact supported some of the most vulnerable young people aged 15 – 29 to engage in learning, training and employment. It provided intensive support and had been extended in the City for a further 3 years due to its success.

 

She added that the number of young people who were participating in some form of education or training was at an all-time high. This was due to the excellent work of the Connexions service who provided advice and support to vulnerable young people in the City and encouraged them back into learning. In 2017 the nationally published annual out turn statistics showed that 94.3% young people were participating in learning, the highest in the Black Country.

 

She added the Council also funded grass roots level delivery to ensure that skills and employment was accessible to deprived neighbourhoods and communities in the City, this work had engaged with over 3,833 residents in the last year

 

She added that Workbox was also had great success story, which provided information and advice on skills and employment. The Workbox website gets over 600 unique visits per day and since June 2017, over 3400 people and over 100 providers have registered.

 

She added the Council had achieved resounding success despite  Conservative cuts and in spite of in work poverty being at the highest. The value of pay had fallen, average earnings falling and there was a rise in the number of people attending food banks.

 

e.    Civic Hall Organ

 

Councillor Jane Stevenson asked the Cabinet Member for City Economy:

 

In September 2016, Councillor Reynolds said that the Civic Hall organ was “of historical significance” and appointed renowned organ specialist Steve Tovey to lead the project to remove and restore it to its former glory. Mr Tovey sadly died at the end of September 2016, so what steps did Councillor Reynolds take to ensure that this important project continued, so that the organ could be removed from the Civic Hall and preserved?

 

The Cabinet Member for City Economy, Councillor John Reynolds, responded that following in depth discussions with the Heritage Lottery Fund were held in 2016. The council were advised that a bid to fund the removal and restoration of an organ of this nature would not be successful. It was the view of Heritage Lottery Fund that other, more visible organs, which would cost significantly less to restore would be their priority.

 

He added it was the council’s intention that the organ restoration formed part of the overall restoration scheme, however this was now deemed not to be financially viable due to the poor condition of the organ pipes. This therefore meant that with Heritage England’s agreement, and the knowledge that any restoration would cost approximately £2m, the decision had been taken reluctantly to remove the organ, and listed building consent had been granted for its removal.  

 

Councillor Jane Stevenson asked the Cabinet Member for City Economy the following supplementary question:

 

Why was the organ not removed before the asbestos work was carried out, why was the offer from the organ charity refused, which was at no additional cost, would the Cabinet Member meet with her and the organ preservation society?

 

The Cabinet Member for City Economy, Councillor John Reynolds, responded that Council needed to distinguish between the organ and organ pipes. The recent work carried out did not have an impact on the organ or organ pipes. Asbestos had been added to the building at various stages as the building had been modified and developed over the years. Therefore, all items removed had been treated as contaminated waste to ensure the project could continue in a timely manner. 

 

He added if a pipe was removed it would cost £250 to test each pipe for asbestos and there would be further costs to remove the pipes. If Councillor Jane Stevenson had attended the Capital Projects Member Reference Group, she would have had the opportunity to ask questions however, the Conservative Group had not attended the meeting.

 

Resolved:

 

That the responses to the written questions be noted.