Agenda item

Members question time will last up to 30 minutes, questions will be taken in order of receipt, in rotation from each political group on the Council. The deadline for submission of questions is Tuesday 20 July at 12 noon. Questions to be submitted to democratic.services@adur-worthing.gov.uk

Questions received can be asked of the following:

a)    The Chairman

b)    A Member of the Executive

c)    The Chairman of any Committee

d)    The Councils representative on any outside body

Questions cannot be asked on the following

a)    A specific planning or licensing application

b)    A specific staffing appointment, appeal or Standards determination

Question from Councillor Sluman for Councillor Boggis, Executive Member for Regeneration

With the exit of IKEA and the agreed 4th arm development going ahead, what will this council be doing to encourage a sustainable and green led company take on this land,  in order to off-set all the damage done to our local environment and pressure on infrastructure, whilst adding value to the local community

The Executive member replied that the approval of the 4th arm by this Council’s Planning Committee was positive news and was very much part of the planning permission that included IKEA.  IKEA’s departure from the site was unwelcome news but the Executive Member was very pleased to confirm that the infrastructure improvements that would help unlock investment and jobs would still be delivered. 

The original report to the Council’s Planning Committee highlighted the importance of new jobs to accompany the new homes that were already being built.  The Council was now highlighting the opportunity the site presented to inward investors and the Council recognised that the ‘green-tech’ sector was an area of real potential for growth. 

Question from Councillor Arnold for Councillor Evans, Executive Member for the Environment

With the news that Southern Water have allowed 6,971 separate discharges across the six years equating to 7,400 Olympic-sized swimming pools, what action is this council taking with Southern Water to protect our communities public health and protect the success of the exciting Sussex Bay kelp work

The Executive Member replied that the Council had been working with Southern Water on the Bathing Water Enhancement Programme designed to raise bathing water quality to an 'excellent' standard. This had involved officers from Public Health & Regulation and Building Control alongside West Sussex County Council Highways working in partnership with Southern Water to identify misconnections (properties that were discharging foul water into the surface water drainage system) and ensure they were rectified by connecting them to the foul water sewer system. This reduced the amount of polluted water entering the sea. The programme identified and rectified a number of misconnected properties and had also provided extra sewer maintenance and cleansing. The Council would continue to work in partnership with Southern Water to reduce and where identified rectify misconnections. The Council had also increased its dog fouling patrols on the beach to reduce dog waste entering the sea.

Question from Councillor Stainforth for Councillor Albury, Executive Member for Customer Services

The JOSC working group submitted an interim report of concerns on Housing Repairs around Oct 2020, as far as we know no response has been made. Many of our Adur Homes residents, particularly in estates in Cokeham, Southlands and Eastbrook are living in near squalid conditions. When will Adur Homes tenants have the Capital Works Programme publicly available, so they know how long they have to wait? Can we make a commitment that as a landlord, Adur Homes will ensure that everyone will have a decent home?

The Executive Member advised that the Council was committed to ensuring that all the homes in its stock were  brought up to decent homes standard. On the 2nd of March 2021, the Joint Strategic Committee approved the revised Housing Capital Investment Programme for 2021/22 and 2022/23 and released the sum of £5.6 million for each year in 2021/22 and 2022/23.

Fire safety and other health and safety works had already commenced.

Replacement of community alarm systems and fire safety improvement works to sheltered housing schemes were already ongoing,

The contract for fire safety improvement works to the Council’s general needs blocks of flats had been awarded and the contractor was already setting up on site

Work on internal alterations to provide protected means of escape from all internal rooms had started and a project manager had been recruited to manage the works

The Council was starting the second phase of the replacement of existing flat entrance doors with new certified fire doorsets; the new doorsets had undergone primary fire testing to ensure they complied with the latest guidance issued since the tragic Grenfell fire and a contractor had been appointed to install these doors

External works to Bushby Court and Beachcroft place, which could not commence last year due to the COVID-19 pandemic, were already ongoing; the works included replacing communal entrance doors, screens, intercoms and works to common parts.

The Joint Strategic Committee recently approved that the main building in Ashcroft be redeveloped and the 8 bungalows within the scheme be refurbished to ensure it met decent homes standards

Consultation with residents on regeneration of Southwick Estate had already begun and a programme of essential works that would be undertaken during the consultation was being drawn up and would be shared with residents once it was completed. Works to Rock Close and Locks Court, which were part of this area, had been put on hold pending the outcome of the Consultation. The programme of works being drawn up would  include revised works to Rock Close and Locks Court.

The Council secured £1.3 million from the Public Sector Decarbonisation Scheme to improve the energy performance in Shadwell Court and Marsh House. Work had already commenced on delivering

Brand new renewable heating systems, including radiators and controls

Solar PV panels

Cavity Wall Insulation at Shadwells Court and

A Ground Source heat pump at Shadwells

The Head of Housing and his team, along with the Councillor of Cokeham Ward and the Executive Member, inspected Adur Homes stock in Millfield in May this year. The Head of Housing and his team along with Councillor Wilkson were at this moment (7pm on 22 July 2021) in a meeting with residents at the Harriet Johnson Centre updating them on the improvement works to be undertaken to their homes.

The Council accepted all the recommendations of the JOSC working group on repairs and maintenance. Officers met with the JOSC working group on 11 February this year, and provided an update on the progress being made.  Officers would be meeting again with the working group on 29 July. 

Question from Councillor O’Neal to Councillor Angus Dunn, Executive Member for Resources

Appendix 1 sets out policies relating to the workforce pay and highlights the relationship between the remuneration of its Chief Officers and that of all other salaried staff. The median average salary of non-executive employees is stated as £25,481, with the pay between this median average and the basic salary of the Chief Executive in the ratio of 1:4.92. On these figures, the CEO’s salary would be £125,366.52, roughly equivalent to the current level of remuneration. If the CEO’s level of salary is increased, will the current ratio of 1:4.92 between the remuneration of the Chief Executive and the average annual pay of other Council employees who are not Chief Officers be maintained?

The Executive Member advised that the ratio between the Chief Executive and the Council employees changed every year. This was due to the staffing levels, both in numbers and in salary levels, changing on an almost daily basis with new roles being created, staff leaving and new staff starting, which would all affect the median average. The increase in the Chief Executive salary would affect the ratio along with other factors, including those above. All officer roles within the Councils were graded via the Greater London Provincial Council Job Evaluation Scheme and could be reviewed at any time.

Question from Councillor Arnold for Councillor Parkin, Leader

Brighton BikeShare scheme, the business community have been promised consultation on hub locations by Mr Brewer, Francesca Illife (latest JSC) – can we have your assurance this will happen, and willingness to look at new locations

The Leader responded that the Council has worked closely with Steer, an external consultancy with expertise in the design of transport and mobility schemes such as the extensions of Brighton BikeShare to Adur & Worthing. The recommended locations for the hubs had been created by Steer according to expected user demand in order to maximise the coverage and usage of the scheme. These locations would be refined as the procurement and mobilisation of the Concessionaire partner was delivered and appropriate leases on parcels of land across the District were completed. With the scheme not due to launch until Spring next year, the Council was of course willing to listen to feedback on the proposals and would welcome evidence suggesting amendments to proposed locations.