Minutes:
(A) Dr
Eynon asked the following question of the Leader or his nominee:-
“1. Can the Leader please explain the rationale for commissioning a report by Winckworth Sherwood to look at alternative models for Museums, as promised at the meeting of the County Council on 19th February, and then failing to finalise and publish this document?
2. Will the Leader agree to release the Winckworth Sherwood report so that it may be scrutinised?”
Mr Blunt replied as
follows:-
“At the meeting of the Council in February this year I said in answer to a question that Winckworth Sherwood had been engaged to look at options for the delivery of museums. As has been explained subsequently to the Group Leaders and Spokespersons, the commission was withdrawn with Winckworth Sherwood’s agreement.”
Dr Eynon asked the
following supplementary question:-
“Thank you for your reply. I recognise that there is a similar question (e) which has the reply that no payment was made for a report from Winckworth Sherwood as there was no report, but can I ask what sums of money were spent in preparing for this report that none of us have now been allowed to see?”
Mr Blunt replied as
follows:-
“I think the answer is zero but what I will do is I will research it for you and drop you a line.”
(B) Mr
Charlesworth asked the following question of the Leader or his nominee:-
“Can the Leader please tell me the current cost for each grass cut carried out in the Borough of Oadby and Wigston?”
Mr Osborne replied as
follows:-
“The current cost for cutting approximately 220,000 square metres of grass in the Borough of Oadby and Wigston is £5,580.”
(C) Mr
Charlesworth asked the following question of the Leader or his nominee:-
“Is the Leader aware of the appalling state of the Wakes Road island following the works carried out by the Council to install traffic signal controls to the roundabout? Is he also aware that this is the main gateway to Wigston and its current state undermines the regeneration work that is to commence soon? What remedial action does he therefore propose?”
Mr Osborne replied as
follows:-
“Directly linked to the levels of rainfall during last winter being at their highest for 248 years, the soil at the Wakes Road roundabout was waterlogged during the final stages of the scheme work. At the point of general scheme completion in December 2013, it was concluded that it was prudent to leave the grassed areas in the centre of the roundabout and on the adjacent verges for restoration to good order until the spring of 2014 when conditions would be improved.
The postponement of remedial work was for a longer period than expected, due to the continued high levels of groundwater. Consequently, the re-levelling and re-seeding did not occur until the third week in April 2014. Normal grass cutting has not been carried out in these areas to allow them an opportunity to re-establish to a suitable condition to resume normal grass cutting. However, when the site was re-inspected on Monday 23rd June, the poor appearance was noted and arrangements made for further remedial work.
On Friday 27th June, the remedial work commenced, planned to span a three day period. 20 tonnes of topsoil material has been deposited to overlay stony ground, the primary cause of the problem. It is anticipated that these remedial works will markedly improve the appearance of the site.”
(D) Mr Spence asked the following question of the Leader or his nominee:-
“I have been advised that due to recent changes in the UK recycled plastics market, plastics are currently not being recycled. Will the Leader :
a) Advise whether plastics collected as part of the borough/district refuse collections and at RHWS sites are sent for recycling and, if not, indicate what happens to these plastics?
b) If the plastics are not recycled will the Leader agree with me that this current state of affairs is regrettable and that in the interest of transparency residents should be advised that at present plastics are not being recycled?
c) Given that local residents take the time and effort to sort and separate materials for recycling, including plastics, will the Leader give a commitment to recycling plastics as soon as it is economically viable to do so?”
Mr Pain replied as
follows:-
“a) Plastics collected as part of the borough/district refuse collections continue to be recycled and each local authority makes its own arrangements for this to happen. Plastic bottles from the Recycling and Household Waste Sites (RHWS) are also recycled. Since the end of July 2013 it has not been possible to recycle rigid plastics from the RHWS such as damaged toys, broken garden furniture, guttering or old water butts. Over the last 12 months these materials have been sent to landfill.
b) The facility that previously accepted the mixed rigid plastics closed temporarily last summer and as a result the County Council tried to find alternative outlets to recycle this material. This coincided with a drop in the world market for plastics recycling and resulted in an increase in the quality standards for acceptance of mixed rigid plastics and a reduction in available outlets. The authority therefore had no choice but to send this material to landfill for disposal.
Rigid plastics only represent approx 0.4% of the materials that are recycled from the RHWS. By continuing to separate rigid plastics at the sites we will be in a better position to start recycling when an outlet is found as the public will not have got out of the habit of separating this material.
c) The County Council appreciates the efforts that are made by Leicestershire residents to separate their waste for recycling which has resulted in consistently high recycling performance over recent years. We will continue to try to find alternative outlets that could accept mixed rigid plastics and will continue to encourage higher levels of reuse and recycling in future.”
(E) Mr
Charlesworth asked the following question of the Leader or his nominee:-
“Can the Leader
advise me:-
a)
Whether
the £3000 cost of the Winckworth Sherwood report on
Museums was met by the County Council or from an external source?
b)
Whether
he considers that the Museums Service was the correct body to commission the
report?”
Mr Blunt replied as follows:-
“a) No payment was made for a report as there
was no report.
b) Matters relating to the commissioning of
the report cannot be commented upon at this stage for the reasons explained to
the Group Leaders.”
(F) Mr Wyatt asked the following question of the Leader or his
nominee:-
“1. Is the Leader aware
that the Council has approximately £6m worth of items in its inventory, with
around 5-10% in public exhibitions or displays at a time, and the rest in
storage, costing approximately £150,000 a year?
2. Would the Leader be willing to review the use of this inventory, similar to a number of local authorities across the UK, so the Council can ensure that these assets are being used to their full potential?”
Mr Blunt replied as
follows:-
“1. Yes.
2. No. 5-8% of the total collections are on public exhibition or display at any one time, a figure comparable with most other Museums Services. Some collections were never intended to have a use in displays or exhibitions but to contribute to the fields of scientific or archaeological research. Other collections are permanently accessible to schools and colleges.”