City Centre Bench
Councillor Thompson to ask the Cabinet Member for City Assets (Councillor Bilson):-
"Can the Cabinet Member advise Council upon the rationale for a stone bench sourced in China costing around £20,000 to be placed in the City Centre?"
City Centre Highways Layouts
Councillor Thompson to ask the Cabinet Member for City Assets (Councillor Bilson):-
“Can the Cabinet Member advise Council upon what criteria are being used to evaluate the outcomes of the new highway layout in the City Centre?”
Waste Recycling Centres
Councillor Paul Singh to ask the Cabinet Member for City Environment (Councillor S.W. Evans):-
“Can the Cabinet Member advise Council upon the full-year saving likely to be made through the current opening hours of the waste recycling centres at Shaw Road and Anchor Lane, when compared to the opening hours that applied before they were originally shortened?”
Interim or Agency Staff
Councillor Thompson to ask the Cabinet Member for Resources (Councillor Johnson):-
“Can the Cabinet Member advise Council on the number of posts within the authority filled by interim or agency-employed staff, at a cost to the authority of more than £600 per day or equivalent, and how many of these have been employed by the authority on that basis for more than six months?”
Minutes:
City Centre
Bench
Councillor Thompson asked the
following question:
Can the Cabinet Member advise Council upon the rationale for a stone bench sourced in China costing around £20,000 to be placed in the City Centre?
Councillor Bilson advised that planning permission for the Princess Street Scheme had been approved in July 2008. He confirmed that the stone bench art work was included in the scheme at no cost to the Council and had been individually designed and manufactured for incorporation in Princess Street as part of the City Centre Transport and Movement Scheme. He advised that the new bench was to be included to add distinctiveness to the square and making a significant contribution to the City Centre public art provision.
Councillor Thompson queried the five year delay to the scheme and whether the material for the artwork could have been sourced from suppliers in Ironbridge.
Councillor Bilson clarified that the stone masons were commissioned by the developers under the Section 106 agreement and that it was the developers’ decision to use black granite from China.
City Centre Highways Layouts
Councillor Thompson asked the following question:
Can the Cabinet Member advise Council upon what criteria are being used to evaluate the outcomes of the new highway layout in the City Centre?
Councillor Bilson advised the City Centre Transport and Movement Scheme was being delivered in a phased approach which was illuminating frequently used shortcuts in the City but that it was too early in the process to evaluate the outcomes. He advised that success would be measured on the contribution the highway layouts make to the City centre as a shopping and leisure destination and would also lead to fewer traffic casualties.
He referred to recent engagement with stakeholders and investors to the City relating to the emerging connective places strategy and of the anticipated improvements to the Scheme through consultation.
Waste Recycling Centres:
Cllr Paul Singh asked the following question:
Can the Cabinet Member advise Council upon the full-year saving likely to be made through the current opening hours of the waste recycling centres at Shaw Road and Anchor Lane, when compared to the opening hours that applied before they were originally shortened?
Councillor Steve Evans confirmed that household waste recycling was under review and that amending opening hours of waste recycling sites may recognise savings of £38,000. He paid tribute to the way in which Amey management and employees worked with the Council to improve waste services.
Councillor Paul Singh referred to 2,500 reported fly-tipping incidents last year and asked if the likelihood of an increase in fly tipping as a result of reduced waste recycling site opening hours had been taken into account.
Councillor Steve Evans advised that a review of fly tipping had been requested to establish where and what was being tipped. He advised that there were two recycling centres available and that there should be no excuse for tipping litter. He advised that a cleaner and greener environment is a corporate priority and that action would be taken with fines of up to £20,000 for any tipping offence.
Interim or Agency Staff
Councillor Thompson asked the following question:
Can the Cabinet Member advise Council on the number of posts within the authority filled by interim or agency employed staff, at a cost to the authority of more than £600 per day or equivalent, and how many of these have been employed by the authority on that basis for more than six months?
Councillor Johnson advised that during the delivery of the transformation programme there was a need for specialist advice on a short term and temporary basis which was considered best provided by interim staff who were employed under temporary employment conditions. He advised that there were 12 interim members of staff employed at a cost of £600 or more a day and confirmed that eight of those had been employed for more than six months.
Councillor Thompson asked a supplementary question relating to careful monitoring of the interim staff and the specialist skills they provide. She requested that this issue was not lost and recognised that the Council was going through transformation and that specialist skills would be required.
Councillor Johnson advised that the Director of Finance held a senior officer group meeting to review spend across the Council and that this group closely managed spend on interim staff.