To answer questions submitted by Councillors under Standing Order No. 11(2)
Minutes:
Question from Councillor Thomas to Councillor Virdi:
“Please provide breakdown of expenditure and income for Rushcliffe-run events in the past year, including West Bridgford Christmas Lights, Proms, Lark in the Park, Taste of Rushcliffe, Cinema etc, Remembrance, Armed forces day, Civic Services etc including identification of any grant funding and recharge to West Bridgford Special Expense.”
Councillor Virdi advised that due to the detailed nature of the request, a handout was being circulated to the meeting, and it showed that for a number of excellent events there was a net direct cost of £40k.
Councillor Thomas asked a supplementary question:
“Is providing free outdoor cinema in an affluent area of the country a reasonable use of public funds allocated to the so called Levelling Up Fund given the state of our hospitals and schools and the hardship being endured by many families?”
Councillor Virdi responded by stating that events referred to were for all residents, with Proms in the Park having over 8,000 attendees. He advised that the cinema event was actually funded by the UK Shared Prosperity Fund (UKSPF) rather than the Council.
Question from Councillor Grocock to Councillor J Wheeler:
“I'd like to thank Councillor J Wheeler for his prompt and positive support in confirming to me that the Council continues to ban live animals being awarded as prizes at events on Council land in line with a national RSPCA campaign. Will the Council provide evidence to the RPCSA, perhaps the record of this meeting that we have such a ban in place and can be added to the list of councils that support their campaign to ban this inhumane practice?”
Councillor J Wheeler confirmed that in the Council’s booking terms and conditions for any activities on its land, it was clear that live animals could not be given away as prizes, which he was very proud of and he stated that the Council would be contacting the RSPCA to ask it to update its records.??
Councillor Grocock asked a supplementary question:
“Additionally, given our Town and Parish Council partners own and manage a number of parks, playing fields and open spaces in the borough, should we also encourage their adoption of this ban, perhaps at the forthcoming Town and Parish Forum on 10?November?at the Bingham Arena, so we can fully eradicate this outdated practice in Rushcliffe?”?
Councillor J Wheeler responded by agreeing that the Council should work in partnership with town and parish councils to ensure that this practice was banned, if they wished to do so, as it was a matter for individual councils. Councillor Wheeler advised that this issue would be raised in the next Town and Parish Councils Newsletter and encouraged all Councillors to raise this where appropriate in their wards.???
Question from Councillor Grocock to Councillor Inglis.
“Given the fact that national legislation will soon legally require local authorities to collect and recycle food waste separately from general waste and recycling, should Rushcliffe Borough Council implement a similar pilot to the one currently being delivered by Nottingham City Council and undertake a food waste collection trial in a ward within the Borough?”
Councillor Inglis informed Council that as the top recycling authority in the County, Rushcliffe was very proud of delivering a top-quality waste collection service for local residents. The idea for a pilot had previously been raised at Full Council in December 2022, when it was explained at the time that for the Council to unilaterally implement a food waste collection scheme even as a pilot would be premature, unwise and unaffordable. Importantly the Council had continued to work collaboratively on an externally funded project through the Nottinghamshire Joint Waste Management Committee (JWMC), which had developed a model for how food waste could be collected and disposed of across Nottinghamshire, as it was vital that this work was done as a system. This work would ensure that the Council and indeed the whole County were in a very good place to implement a weekly food waste collection service once the Government confirmed its requirements and funding arrangements for local authorities to deliver such a service. It was widely acknowledged by DEFRA that there had been slippages to the planned programme; however, the Council through the JWMC was continuing to press for clarity to be provided as soon as possible. In the meantime, the Council had secured a range of discounted deals on home composters that residents could use for the disposal of their food waste and those could be found on the recycling page of the Council’s website.??
Question from Councillor Williams to Councillor Clarke?
“Following the decision at Cabinet last week to move forward with a detailed Strategic Working Group to address parking issues in Bingham, could the leader please give an update on how this will progress?”
Councillor Clarke referred to the debate earlier this evening and reiterated that now Cabinet had agreed to establish a working group, that would be meeting in the next few weeks, with all parties involved, including stakeholders, and the three levels of Council, and it would consider all options to decide the most holistic approach and would canvass local opinion. He reiterated that the process was extremely important and that it would be driven forward, with regular meetings.
Question from Councillor Bird to Councillor Clarke.
“Would the Leader of the Council confirm that Rushcliffe Borough Council will continue to work with Bingham Town Council to improve the car parking provision in Bingham?”
Councillor Clarke confirmed that this would be the case and thanked Bingham Town Council for engaging with Rushcliffe and referred to the importance of all stakeholders working together, and he reiterated that it was absolutely vital that Rushcliffe worked closely with the Town Council to ensure that local opinions were included and that all possible options were looked at in the wider sense.