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 3 questions had been received under Procedure Rule 10.2.

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

“Could Trafford Council initiate a campaign amongst schools in the borough to make parents aware of the danger of car exhaust emissions on public health and to encourage them to turn off their car engines whilst picking up or dropping off their children at school?”

Councillor Lamb, the Executive Member for Health and Wellbeing thanked Councillor Jarman for the question and believed it raised a wider issue than just that of air quality, important though that was, as Public Health England and the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence had said that the people most at risk from vehicle exhaust fumes were the over 65’s and children.

The Executive Member considered that as many children as possible should be encouraged to walk to school where there was a reasonable alternative to being driven to and dropped off at school. The Council was involved at a Greater Manchester level in promoting the Living Streets Programme and a number of schools in Trafford were already involved. The aim was to reduce the number of parents who drove their children to school by encouraging the school to develop active travel among their pupils. This would have benefits for air quality, traffic congestion and importantly, physical activity. The scheme rewarded children who walked all or part of the way to school, at least once a week, with a monthly collectible badge and children logged their daily journeys on an electronic travel tracker, loaded onto a laptop in each classroom. On a national level the scheme had resulted in a 23% increase in daily walking journeys to school as well as a 30% decrease in cars outside school at pick-up and drop off times.

The Council would encourage schools to participate in the Living Streets programme. Councillor Lamb was very happy to seek to promote the programme along with the quite specific message about increasing parental awareness of the dangers of car exhausts and would exhort parents, as a minimum, to turn off their engines while picking up/dropping off children. Should parents or carers drive children to school, he would encourage them to drive at a slow, steady speed near schools and to park safely, with consideration for neighbours and other road users, away from the school gate, and undoubtedly to turn off their engine whilst waiting.

The Executive Member was in broad agreement with the thrust of the question and believed there were things the Council could do to encourage and persuade parents and carers to partake in better options for getting their children to and from school.

Acknowledging Councillor Lambs’ response and permitted a supplementary question, Councillor Jarman enquired whether or not a scheme could be initiated. Councillor Lamb confirmed that he was supportive of such an initiative and believed that there were things that the Council could do, suggesting a dialogue with schools to ask them to engage with their parents and children along the lines he had outlined. 

(b)        Councillor Mrs. Brophy asked the following question, the first of two questions for which she had given notice:

“Are there plans to increase the roads maintenance funding, to benefit pedestrians, cyclists and vehicle users, in the 2018/19 budget?”

In response, Councillor John Reilly, Executive Member for Highways, Parks and Environmental Services explained that he was unable to answer the question at present because the budget for highways was based on the grant the Council receives from central government through the Department of Transport and this was yet to be confirmed. The Council, therefore, was unable to set the 2018/19 budget and its implications at the moment, although it was anticipating a similar amount to 2017/18 of £2.1 million. The 2018/19 budget would be set in February 2018, however, Councillor John Reilly advised that an additional £600,000 had been identified and allocated in the current year to be spent on the borough’s roads and highways and that this information was freely available to all Members in the last Revenue Budget Monitor report to the Executive.

(c)        Councillor Mrs. Brophy asked the following question, the second of two questions, for which she had given notice:

“Are there plans to restrict the most polluting vehicles that are currently granted licences via Trafford Council processes, in order to improve the air quality in our borough?.”

Councillor Hopps, Executive Member for Housing and Strategic Planning confirmed that there was a specific action within the Greater Manchester Air Quality Action Plan for Greater Manchester Councils to work together to review how they would introduce quality controls to prioritise low emission vehicles operating as licensed taxis and private hire vehicles within the city region. In addition, Transport for Greater Manchester was working with licensing teams in seeking to standardise minimum emission requirements and maximum age of vehicles allowed to operate in the future. The Council was fully engaged in this work and would ensure that it operated in accordance with any new guidelines.

As a supplementary question, Councillor Mrs. Brophy asked what assessments had taken place on the impact on air pollution and public health as a result of diesel vehicle generators used by catering and ice-cream vans and other similar vehicles that were licensed by the Council for use at locations outside large sporting/entertainment events or in close proximity to children’s play areas? Unfortunately, Councillor Hopps did not have the information to hand but assured Councillor Mrs. Brophy that if the question was put in writing he would provide an answer.

The Deputy Executive Member for Highways, Parks and Environmental Services was not in a position to answer the second part of that question but did indicate that there were improvements and with additional resources it could take time to bear fruition, however, the Council were monitoring things very closely.