This is an opportunity for Members of Council to ask the Mayor, Members of the Executive or the Chairman of any Committee or Sub-Committee a question on notice under Procedure Rule 10.2.

The Mayor reported that 10 questions had been submitted under Procedure Rule 10.2, however, a question from Councillor Mrs. Brophy was not permitted since it would place the Council in breach of the pre-election restrictions which apply during the purdah period in the run up to the Greater Manchester Mayoral elections.

 

(a)        Councillor Chilton asked the following question for which he had given notice:

 

“A recent study, undertaken by the Centre for Economics and Business Research and Royal Mail, found that the Sale postcode is the fourth most desirable in the country, based on a range of factors including good schools, access to green spaces, employment prospects, working hours, affordable housing and commute times. Will the Leader of the Council confirm what measures are being put in place to live up to this accolade by developing and investing in Sale's town and village centres, and addressing remaining areas of social and economic need?”

 

The Leader of the Council, Councillor Sean Anstee indicated that he was proud of the Council’s work to support Town Centres across the Borough to ensure that they were thriving and prosperous places. In relation to Sale, the Council was working to bring forward redevelopment proposals for the town centre and seeking to secure greater levels of investment in the public realm. The Council was also investing in primary schools across the Sale locality to address increasing demand for school places and ensure that primary school provision was met.

 

The Town Centre loan scheme was supporting the establishment of new businesses in Sale with the vacancy rate having been halved over the previous two years. The Leader also advised that the Council was liaising over proposals for the former Trafford Magistrates Court building and continuing to work with the ‘We are Sale Moor’ Group on future proposals in relation to the Warrener Street site in Sale. Supporting community facilities across Sale and the rest of the borough, the Leader cited the success of the Friends of Coppice Library being able to continue to support on-going library provision and was aware of the residents led Community Centre Scheme in St. Marys.

 

Councillor Chilton asked as a supplementary question whether the Leader of the Council would undertake to me with him and other members of the community to discuss what support the Council could offer projects in Sale West and the wider community and Councillor Sean Anstee indicated that he would be delighted to.

 

(b)        Councillor Boyes asked the following question for which he had given notice:

 

“It is widely known that for various reasons health outcomes for people living in the north can be significantly worse than for those living in the south. One of the measures often quoted is that of Death Rates from Heart disease. My question is do we have any data on this particular measure in respect of Trafford especially when compared with the other nine Boroughs in the Greater Manchester conurbation?”

 

The Executive Member for Adult Social Services, Councillor Williams referred to age standardised rates from the British Heart Foundation for deaths from coronary heart disease per 100,000 population and reported that Trafford had the lowest level in Greater Manchester of 82 per 100,000, then Stockport with 85 rising to 132 in Tameside. Councillor Williams also indicated that rates for premature deaths from cardiovascular disease, including both stroke and heart disease were broadly similar to the England average.

 

Councillor Boyes asked as a supplementary question whether the Executive Member could advise what specific initiatives were underway within the Borough to further reduce the number of deaths from heart disease and/or other major causes such as cancer and stroke.

 

Councillor Williams referred to the 5 priority areas set by the Health and Wellbeing Board to address the healthy life expectancy gap, namely, smoking; physical activity; alcohol; mental health; and cancer screening. The Executive Member highlighted a number of programmes to reduce smoking, the leading contributor to cardiovascular deaths and mentioned the Council’s Tobacco Control Action Plan, a new lifestyle service run by Blusci which provides support to assist in stopping smoking, the promotion of smoking cessation amongst vulnerable young people and initiatives to protect children from exposure to second hand smoke. Addressing physical inactivity, the GP Physical Activity Scheme was a new initiative run by Trafford Leisure and the Council had both a population-wide approach to tackle alcohol abuse as well as targeted measures to individuals at risk, including the commissioning of specialist substance misuse services. Councillor Williams indicated that he was happy to provide more detail on the initiatives he had mentioned and the many other programmes undertaken to promote public health in the Borough.

 

(c)        Councillor Lally asked the following question for which he had given notice:

 

“Given that the Trafford Leisure Company have made the difficult decision to close the William Wroe golf course on 31 March 2017 and the George Carnell Leisure Centre , please could the Executive Member for Communities and Partnerships articulate what measures have been taken to ensure users of these facilities have been given alternatives and outline what the immediate plans are for William Wroe after March 31st and expand on the investment being proposed by Trafford Leisure Company and the Council into the estate?”

 

(Note: Councillor Lamb declared a personal interest in this matter as a member of Trafford Leisure Company.)

 

Councillor Lamb, Executive Member for Communities and Partnerships reported that following Trafford Leisure Board of Directors decision to close the golf facility on 31 March 2017 discussions were held by Council officers with other golf clubs in the area to discuss and secure alternative arrangements for William Wroe users so that they could continue to play golf locally. Trafford Leisure also put in place a preferential scheme for anyone wanting to transfer to Altrincham golf course.

 

A full communication plan was drawn up by Trafford Leisure to ensure all existing users were properly informed and had the opportunity to have a personal discussion about their options. Customers were contacted personally and in addition six ‘drop in’ sessions were held at George H Carnall Leisure Centre for people to call in and discuss their options.

 

To date, the William Wroe Veterans Club, which had 50 members, had voted to transfer to Altrincham Golf Course. 50% of those people with a full private membership had already agreed to transfer to Altrincham Golf Course with more expected and, discussions were underway with all ‘pay and play’ users, who were being offered a 20% discount for 12 months for ‘pay and play’ at Altrincham Golf Course.

 

With regard to George H Carnall Leisure Centre, the Leisure Company had been clear that closure would not be until development had been completed at Urmston. All customers had been assured that relocation would be appropriate for the sport, and that, wherever possible, it was local.

 

In both cases, the Executive Member affirmed that there had been a high degree of communication with, discussion with and commitment to customers to ensure that they remain active in their chosen sport and that the disruption to their routine was minimised.   

 

Concerning the future of the William Wroe Golf Course, Councillor Lamb could only comment that the land would remain in the ownership of the Council.

 

Commenting on the leisure investment the Council was making into the estate Councillor Lamb referred to his report to Scrutiny Committee a week earlier on the overall strategy. In November 2016, the Council’s Executive approved a strategy aimed at securing long-term improved health outcomes by closing inequality gaps across Trafford communities. The strategy had three key themes:

 

1.       Investment in Trafford’s leisure centres

2.       The development of a Playing Pitch Strategy

3.       Facilitating population level behaviour change to physical activity

 

The Executive Member expanded upon four aspects of the strategy: Capital investment; the playing pitch strategy; Tackling health inequalities through behaviour change; and Trafford Leisure Company initiatives that were already underway. He believed that there was very imaginative, interesting and exciting work being undertaken by the Leisure Company and its partners in promoting and sustaining healthy lifestyles for the residents of Trafford.

 

Asking a supplementary question, Councillor Lally queried whether such a mature and large green space in Flixton, once returned to the Council remit and remaining an area of high value, would then revert to meadow status. Councillor Lamb confirmed that the land would revert back to the ownership of the Council and the land would have its grass cut on a regular basis and that basic maintenance would continue. 

 

(d)        Councillor Bennett asked the following question for which she had given notice:

 

“Is the Executive Member for Finance aware that Trafford Leisure now insist that people wanting to access their services can only pay on-line?”

 

In response, Councillor Myers, Executive Member for Finance indicated that he was aware of the practice.

 

As a supplementary question, Councillor Bennett asked that the Council make overtures to Trafford Leisure and ask that they rethink the policy so that there is equal opportunity for all Trafford residents that wished to engage in physical activity.

 

Councillor Myers advised that Trafford Leisure had consulted its customers regarding improving communications generally and feedback from parents and carers was that they wanted to manage their accounts and make payments online. A new software system provides that opportunity for 2 activities, Learn to Swim and Gymnastics and allowed for a reduction in administration costs helping to keep costs down for parents and carers and improving communication. In addition to online payments, direct debit payments were an option and with over 8,500 children involved in the 2 programmes each week, to date, over 6,000 had signed up and registered on the system. The Executive Member indicated that customers had choice and flexibility on how they wished to pay for all other activities, whether that was for swimming or any of the other facilities available.

 

(e)        Councillor Adshead asked the following question, the first of two, for which he had given notice:

 

“Can the Executive Member for Economic Growth and Environment confirm whether or not the current advice from Government in relation to leaves that are collected from the highway/footpath is that they are classed as contaminated and are therefore not recycled?”

 

The Deputy Executive Member for Economic Growth and Environment, Councillor Shaw confirmed that the Council was complying with the Environment Agency ruling of 2012 that local authorities could not send street collected leaves for composting due to the presence of chemicals arising from vehicle emissions. The Council was aware that in 2015 Surrey Council conducted its own trials which found that only 1 from 66 samples taken exceeded the acceptable limit, however, the outcome indicated a need to continue with the precautionary approach. Although wanting to encourage the recovery of biodegradable waste through recycling, the Environment Agency need to ensure that the resultant compost was fit for purpose and only used where it could confer agricultural and ecological benefits without harm to human health or the environment.

 

As a supplementary question, Councillor Adshead queried which dustbin residents should use to dispose of contaminated leaves from the highway and whether Amey would continue to collect should grey bins be used, therefore, not treating such disposal as if it were garden waste. Councillor Shaw indicated that he would take the question away and respond to Councillor Adshead as soon as practical.

 

(f)         Councillor Adshead asked the following question, the second of two, for which he had given notice:

 

“Please can the Executive Member for Economic Growth and Environment please let Council know the full cost of writing to all residents across the Borough in relation to the green bin tax?”

 

Responding to the question, the Deputy Executive Member for Economic Growth and Environment, Councillor Shaw, sought to clarify that the scheme was not a tax since residents had a choice on whether or not to opt in. The only cost was £3,020 for the information leaflets that accompanied the Council Tax bills which was included in the case for savings.

 

Councillor Adshead asked as a supplementary question what work had been done to estimate the amount of garden waste that could be fly tipped or disposed in grey bins and what the cost would be to the Council and effect on recycling rates. Councillor Shaw indicated that there was little evidence of fly tipping from the other councils operating similar schemes.

 

(g)        Councillor Mrs. Haddad asked the following question for which she had given notice:

 

“The Council has recently received a copy of the report following the joint local area SEND inspection.  Please could the Executive Member for Children’s Services update the Council as to the outcomes of the inspection?”

 

Councillor Hyman, Executive Member for Children’s Services informed the Council that between 30 January 2017 and 3 February 2017, Ofsted and the Care Quality Commission (CQC) conducted a joint inspection of the local area of Trafford to judge the effectiveness of the area in implementing the reforms for children and young people who have special educational needs and/or disabilities (SEND), as set out in the Children and Families Act 2014.

 

The Executive Member outlined the main findings from the inspection as follows:

 

·             Clear procedures and assessment systems ensure that the identification of needs was strong in the early years. Agencies worked closely together to identify needs and then provide the required support for young children and their families.

·             Joint commissioning between healthcare services and the local authority was well established.

·             The educational needs of children looked after who have special educational needs and/or disabilities were well catered for.

·             The vast majority of Trafford’s children and young people who have special educational needs and/or disabilities attended schools that were good or outstanding.

·             Trafford has a long-standing and very active independent advice and support service (the Trafford parents and young people partnership). This service was valued highly by parents and provides effective support.

·             Pupils receiving special educational needs support made consistently strong academic progress from their starting points.

·             Young people were prepared well for adulthood. There was a wide range of options to match young people’s aspirations. The proportion of young people not in education, employment or training was low. The proportion of adults who had learning disabilities in paid employment was well above the national average.

·             There had been a high level of unease among parents regarding the statutory assessment of needs. This resulted in higher than average numbers of parents requesting a tribunal hearing to challenge decisions around statutory assessment. A fundamental review has improved processes and strengthened communication with parents, thereby increasing the capacity of this service to deliver. However, parents who had yet to experience the new process remained frustrated by historical problems.

·             Published information showed that until recently, the local area’s performance in meeting expected timescales for the completion of education, health and care assessments was weak.

·             Meaningful co-production of services with parents was underdeveloped.

·             Parents were frustrated by delays in accessing speech and language therapy and child and adolescent mental health services.

·             The targets set for children and young people in their education, health and care plans (EHCPs) were not always clear enough.

 

Councillor Hyman confirmed that the full findings were included in the Inspection Letter and that he would be pleased to ensure that anyone who wished to obtain a copy of the public document was able to do so. He also indicated that it was important to know where the Council was not as good as it would wish so that steps could be taken to remedy those shortcomings.

 

As a supplementary question, Councillor asked the Executive Member to comment on what steps were being taken to respond to areas for improvement outlined in the report?

 

Councillor Hyman welcomed the opportunity to inform the Council of the remedial actions being taken to address the shortcomings that had been identified. The local area SEND Board which had only formed in July 2016 and was accountable to Trafford Health and Wellbeing Board was formulating a local area joint strategic plan to respond to the areas for improvement identified in the letter. Areas for development included:

 

·             Ensuring that parents and carers were engaged in meaningful co-production, both during the statutory assessment process and the planning for future provision.

·             Improving the timeliness of access to some health services and reducing waiting times.

·             Improving and recording of outcome measures for children and young people in their EHCPs and ensuring that the timescales for completion of plans was met.

·             Ensuring that families and front line professionals were aware of and able to access the local offer.

 

(h)        Councillor Cordingley asked the following question for which he had given notice:

 

“A number of residents have received letters from their landlord, Equity Housing Association, that Equity have transferred their property back to the owners, Trafford Council and they should liaise with Trafford with regard to paying their rent to them.

 

As these properties are on Trafford’s land sales programme, can the Executive Member clarify the current position and who their landlord is so that they can give assurance to residents who have lived in these homes for up to twenty years or so?”

 

The Deputy Executive Member for Economic Growth and Environment, Councillor Shaw confirmed that there were 10 properties on the land sales programme that were leased to the Equity Housing Association, however, it was inappropriate to comment further as the Council was involved in a legal dispute, although he assured Councillor Cordingley that the Council was working to reach a conclusion.

 

Councillor Cordingley asked as a supplementary question whether from now on, the Council could provide full disclosure to Ward Councillors and be more open than had been over the past two years. Councillor Shaw reaffirmed that the Council was working hard and although he could not provide actual detail at the moment, he would ensure that all pertinent information would be provided to Ward Councillors once the legal position permitted.

 

(i)          Councillor Cornes asked the following question for which he had given notice:

 

“Following a question raised in Council in early 2015 the then Executive Member for Economic Growth and Planning confirmed there would be additional monitoring of Air Quality around Kingsway Park Primary School. Please could the current Executive Member for Economic Growth, Environment and Infrastructure share with Council the main findings of this additional monitoring undertaken near Kingsway Park Primary School in Davyhulme East Ward?”

 

The Deputy Executive Member for Economic Growth and Environment, Councillor Shaw confirmed that the Council’s Regulatory Services team undertook an Air Quality Monitoring Project at Kingsway Park Primary School between March 2015 and June 2016. The monitoring data confirmed that there were no exceedances of the UK National Air Quality Objectives for that location. Sulphur dioxide monitoring confirmed that levels were well below the UK Air Quality Objectives and the results of heavy metals monitoring revealed that concentrations were below the assessment criteria and that no further heavy metals monitoring was required.

 

As a supplementary question, Councillor Cornes asked the Deputy Executive Member to expand further on the Council’s commitment to enhancing air quality across the rest of the Borough. Councillor Shaw stated that the Council would remain vigilant and proactive in its continued commitment to enhance air quality within the Borough and provided an example where, with the Executive Member, the Council had worked to secure the commitment of a local company to plant dozens of trees at Kingsway Park and Barton Clough Primary Schools, which was successfully completed with input from City of Trees, formerly Red Rose Forest.