To receive any questions from Members, notice of which has been given in accordance with Procedure Rule 15.2, attached marked 6.

The Speaker advised that eleven questions from Members had been received in accordance with Procedure Rule 15 (copies of the report containing the detailed questions and their formal responses are attached to the signed minutes, including the late response to Question 9).

(i)              Received from Mr M Kenny and answered by Mr G Butler, Portfolio Holder for Leisure, Libraries and Culture, about the sale of Fairtrade products at the Theatre Severn café/restaurant – copy attached to the signed minutes.

By way of a supplementary question Mr Kenny asked if the sale of Fairtrade products at the café could be insisted upon as well as showcasing the café for local producers.

In response the Portfolio Holder confirmed that market testing was currently being undertaken and that he would include Mr Kenny’s suggestions in future negotiations.

(ii)             Received from Mr M Kenny and answered by Mr M Price, Portfolio Holder for Planning, Housing and Commissioning (Central), about fracking policy and making Shropshire ‘Frack Free’ as in Cheshire East – copy attached to the signed minutes.

By way of a supplementary question Mr Kenny asked if he could have an answer to the element of his question about a ‘frack free Shropshire’, which had not been included.  

In response the Portfolio Holder said that further to attending a seminar in Preston on Fracking, which he found most informative, he was now arranging for speakers to come to Shrewsbury and provide a similar information session to which all Members would be invited.

(iii)            Received from Mr K Pardy and answered by Mr S West, Chairman of the Shropshire and Telford Fire and Rescue Authority about officers’ expenses claims in the light of efficiency cuts - copy attached to the signed minutes.

Mr Pardy thanked Mr West for his informative answer and confirmed that he did not wish to ask a supplementary question.

(iv)           Received from Mr A Boddington and answered by Mr K Barrow, Leader of the Council, about the collapse of Ludlow’s town walls and their repair – copy attached to the signed minutes.

By way of a supplementary question Mr Boddington asked if it would be possible to unlock negotiations by way of obtaining some grant ‘in kind’ and thereby access Heritage Lottery funding.

In response the Leader confirmed that negotiations were already taking place for repairs to be made to the town walls in Ludlow.  He asked Mr Boddington to meet with him after the meeting to discuss the matter further.

(v)            Received from Mrs P Moseley and answered by Mr K Barrow, Leader of the Council, about the closure of Hartley’s Day Centre, Shrewsbury – copy attached to the signed minutes.

By way of a supplementary question Mrs Moseley asked with hindsight, would the better course of action have been to have halted proposals to close Hartley’s Day Centre when the legal challenge was first initiated, and to conduct an appropriate consultation as required by law and would Councillor Barrow acknowledge that the judgement from The Court of Appeal had harmed the reputation of the Council and its standing with the residents of Shropshire and partner organisations, and that, even at this late stage, an apology should be offered to those who have been adversely affected.

In response the Leader confirmed that it was important to focus on the future, not the past. He believed that the service was now run better and more cost effectively with better outcomes for the people of Shropshire.

(vi)           Received from Mr R Evans answered by Mr S Charmley, Portfolio Holder for Business Growth, ip&e and Commissioning (North) - detailed questions about ip&e - copy attached to the signed minutes.

By way of a supplementary question Mr Evans asked if ip&e were responsible for a two year contract for Consultants at a cost of £95,000 per annum, agreed at a meeting on 28 October 2013.  Furthermore he asked for confirmation that the £500,000 loan to ip&e over 30 months (agreed at Cabinet in June 2013) had been repaid within the 30 months as stipulated.

In response the Portfolio Holder indicated that he would let Mr Evans have a written reply.

(vii)          Received from Mr R Evans and answered by Mr S Charmley, Portfolio Holder for Business Growth, ip&e and Commissioning (North) - further detailed questions about ip&e – copy attached to the signed minutes.

By way of a supplementary question Mr Evans asked if the Directors of ip&e were appointed by Cabinet and why Members could not see ip&e’s accounts without going to Companies House.

In response the Portfolio Holder confirmed ip&e was the future for Shropshire Council and the people of Shropshire.  It was not outsourcing, it was transferring services.  Many reports had been made to Cabinet and Council about ip&e.  In conclusion he asked Mr Evans to meet with him after Council to discuss the matter further.

(viii)        Received from Mr M Williams and answered by Mr S Charmley, Portfolio Holder for Business Growth, ip&e and Commissioning (North) about the redevelopment of the Riverside Centre, Shrewsbury - copy attached to the signed minutes.

By way of a supplementary question Mr Williams asked if the Portfolio Holder agreed that the Shrewsbury Bus Station was sub-standard and would he agree to it being included in any redevelopments of the Riverside shopping centre.

In response the Portfolio Holder asked Mr Williams to meet with him after the meeting to discuss the matter further.

(ix)           Received from Mrs C Barnes and answered by Mr M Price, Portfolio Holder for Planning, Housing and Commissioning (Central), about ip&e’s AGM - copy attached to the signed minutes.

By way of a supplementary question Mrs Barnes requested that a special Enterprise and Growth Scrutiny Committee be held to scrutinise ip&e’s first two years of operation and their trading activities, and that this meeting be held before the revised Business Plan was agreed on 15 October 2014.

In response the Portfolio Holder confirmed that he would discuss this request with the Chairman of Scrutiny and get back to Mrs Barnes.

(x)            Received from Mrs C Barnes and answered by Mr S Charmley, Portfolio Holder for Business Growth, ip&e and Commissioning (North) about land searches - copy attached to the signed minutes.

By way of a supplementary question Mrs Barnes asked if the extra resource put in place to deal with the recent backlog of land searches would remain in place to keep turnaround down to 15 days and also from where the extra staff would be pulled in to undertake this work and if there had been any knock-on effect due to this.

In response the Portfolio Holder confirmed that turnaround was now down to 10 days and asked that she speak to the officers directly if there were any future problems in this regard.

(xi)           Received from Mr A Boddington and answered by Mr M Price, Portfolio Holder for Planning, Housing and Commissioning (Central) about planning performance in the county – copy attached to the signed minutes.

By way of a supplementary question Mr Boddington asked if the Portfolio Holder was proud that there were only 14 other authorities performing slower than Shropshire Council.

In response the Portfolio Holder commented that despite going through VER and re-design recently, plus having to deal with the extra work created by SAMDEV and the 5 year land supply, which had escalated planning applications, he was pleased to confirm that major planning applications with a target of 40% were actually achieving a 95% target.

This was an area of ‘work in progress’ but he was confident that things would improve and asked everyone to support the Council.