To deal with supplementary questions arising from the attached questions of which written notice has been given. 

 

Notes:

 

(i)         Answers to written questions shall be circulated at the commencement of the meeting.

 

(ii)        The Lord Mayor will have regard to the list of questions and the political composition of the Council in calling on Members to put their supplementary question to the Leader of Council and Portfolio Holders.

 

(iii)       A period of up to 30 minutes shall be available for supplementary questions to Members of the Executive.

 

1.    Councillor Caroline Firth

As a stakeholder governor at Airedale General Hospital on behalf of this council, I am concerned about the large amount of reinforced autoclaves aerated concrete on the site and back the board’s plea to the Government for a rebuild on the site. The hospital staff are working hard to keep patients safe and ensure the Government knows about the issue, including putting in a funding bid for a new state-of-the-art and environmentally friendly hospital. Can you tell us what Bradford Council and the wider Act as One partnership is doing to support Airedale Hospital with this issue?

 

2.    Debbie Davies

Would the Portfolio Holder for Neighbourhoods and Community Safety confirm how many hate crimes have been reported to each of the various Hate Crime Reporting Centres available across the district and how many have been reported via the app?

 

3.    Councillor Aislin Naylor

I have recently had a constituent get in touch regarding recycling in schools. This person works in a school and is concerned about the amount of waste that is being thrown out that could be recycled.

I understand that the onus is on the schools to recycle their rubbish and that the Environmental Task Force team is setting up an Eco school programme to be delivered in schools.

My question what else can the council do to encourage schools to recycle their waste, especially kitchen waste such as cardboard, tins and plastic containers?

 

4.    Councillor Caroline Whitaker

Item 4.7 of the proposed 2023/24 budget (‘Reviewing waste services to reduce costs and maximise efficiencies’) includes the potential closure of the Keighley Household Waste and Recycling site. Can the Leader please explain: (a) the reasons behind this proposal; and (b) when will the report relating to this proposal be provided to councillors?

 

5.    Councillor Aneela Ahmed

Does the leader join me in placing on record our congratulations and thanks to the brilliant individuals from our district who won Community Stars Awards last month and those who have been recognised for their achievements in the New Year’s Honours?

 

6.    Councillor Tariq Hussain

Can I have the latest stats on how many people we are supporting into employment or upskilling through Skills House?

 

7.    Councillor Andrew Loy

How many fixed penalty notices have been issued under the Ilkley riverside PSPO since its introduction?

 

8.    Councillor Caroline Firth

Thwaites Brow Road – known locally as The Twines – was put forward by Keighley East district councillors for refurbishment into the Keighley Towns Fund bid, which was successful. When can we expect work on this road to be carried out?

 

9.    Councillor Caroline Firth

How many street lights have been replaced by LED lights in the district by ward and when are the remaining replacements due to take place by ward? Have all the posts that were chopped down for safety reasons now been replaced?

 

10.Councillor Debbie Davies

Could the Portfolio Holder for Education, Employment & Skills please provide an update on how the ‘Bradford for Everyone Strategy 2018-2023’ is progressing in relation to its aim to “invest in a central unit that will support the way the provision of English language teaching for adults in the district is currently being accessed…we will make sure that all adults have access to high quality English language provision”?

 

11.Councillor Aislin Naylor

Recently a cannabis farm was found locally resulting in a large number of police, ambulance and fire crews and others being deployed to deal with it. This led to emergency services being out of action while the services juggled their resources to maintain cover across the rest of the district.   Does the Portfolio Holder agree that people who set up cannabis farms are putting others at risk and in his role as Portfolio Holder for Community Safety advise us of what more can he do to support already stretched partner emergency services?

 

12.Councillor Anna Watson

The government has approved £25 million for projects to regenerate Shipley. However, over the last 12 months, the town has seen the closure of two banks and an anchor retailer (Wilko). Since those funds were agreed, there has been insufficient communication with Shipley’s district councillors on the redesign of the town centre (which was last publically consulted about in 2020). Can the Leader therefore provide us with detailed information about: (a) the stage that the redesign of the town centre has reached; and (b) when the local Shipley councillors - town and district - will next be able to formally input suggestions into these proposals?

 

13.Councillor Caroline Firth

Does the leader share my view that Prime Minister Rishi Sunak taking a private jet to visit Keighley recently makes a mockery of the Government’s plans to cut carbon emissions? Does she also agree with my assessment that flying here amplifies the fact that we desperately need a Northern Powerhouse Rail station in Bradford – something the PM has rowed back on despite his predecessor agreeing the city needed one?

 

14.Councillor Caroline Firth

The budget proposal to close Keighley household waste and recycling centre has generated lots of concern from residents in Keighley East and the wider area. Please can you remind people how they can feed their views into the budget consultation?

 

15.Councillor Mike Pollard

Could the Portfolio Holder for Regeneration, Planning and Transport please inform council of the annual income currently derived from the £1 evening charge imposed at some of the District’s car parks?

 

16.Councillor Mohammed Shafiq

It was great to see some of our amazing foster families recognised in the Fostering in Bradford long service awards. Does the portfolio holder join me in thanking them for their service to the children of our district and can she update me on what actions we are taking to recruit and retain more foster carers.

 

17.Councillor Liz Rowe

Does the portfolio holder for healthy people and places share my concern about recent comments made by the MP for Shipley to a constituent, when he said that NHS performance is solely down to NHS staff and he implied that government does not have any role in supporting and challenging the health service to deliver for patients?

 

18.Councillor Debbie Davies

As the huge £2.9million figure quoted for the demolition of the NCP car park on Hall Ings has surprised many people, would the Portfolio Holder for Regeneration, Planning and Transport be so kind as to disclose details of the number of quotes received for this work and explain why this contractor was chosen?

 

19.Councillor Julie Humphreys

Does the Leader agree that the current difficulties being faced by public services and the professionals who provide them are the direct result of chaotic government leadership and austerity over the past decade?

 

20.Councillor Angela Tait

Can the portfolio holder explain how the government’s plan to block-book beds in residential care to ease NHS pressures will play out in our district and can you confirm how we perform on this measure of supporting people out of hospital and into more appropriate settings?

 

21.Councillor Mike Pollard

Could the Portfolio Holder for Children & Families please give an update on the plans for additional ‘small group’ homes to be developed, in accordance with Recommendation 5 of the Development Plan for Children’s Homes approved at the meeting of the Executive on 7 June 2022?

 

22.Councillor Tariq Hussain

To the portfolio holder for healthy people and places, can you update me on how our district’s hospitals and health system is coping with the rise in winter viruses and pressures on services we’ve been seeing across the country.

 

23.Councillor Nazam Azam

Can the Leader confirm whether the government has been in touch to clarify its policy on investment zones? It was only as recent as mid-October that councils were encouraged to apply for these zones but now it seems to have been scrapped or scaled back already in another government U-turn.

 

24.Councillor Debbie Davies

Would the Portfolio Holder for Regeneration, Planning and Transport confirm when the 79 successful traders for the new Darley Street market, who applied for stalls before the end of August and were due to be confirmed in October, will actually be announced?

 

25.Councillor Brendan Stubbs

The Government's commitment to increase funding for schools by £2.3 billion each of the next two years in November, equating to about a 3% increase in the school's budget for the UK. Schools are currently facing inflation of around 7-8%, this combined with deficits from the 2022/23 financial year is putting many schools in a precarious financial state.

How many schools in the district are planning to cut teaching and classroom support staff? What plans are in place to ensure that class sizes are not allowed to increase and what steps has the portfolio holder taken to guarantee children in the district do not suffer a poor education in the coming years?

 

26.Councillor Matt Edwards

As we prepare for Bradford 2025, can the portfolio holder please confirm the short and long term plans for the Wakefield Road Cycle route? In addition to this, what will the Council be doing to ensure the subways under Wakefield Road, Tong Street and Rooley Lane are clear and safe for pedestrians?

 

27.Councillor Nazam Azam

I know the Leader has been lobbying ministers to invest in better rail services for our district. Can she give an update on our efforts to get better services locally and to London especially as our year as UK City of Culture moves closer?

 

28.Councillor Aneela Ahmed

Does the Leader share my serious concern at Tory MP Andrew Bridgen recently spouting conspiracy theories about the Covid vaccines, and can you tell us what activity is currently taking place in our district to increase take-up of the Covid and flu vaccines in these winter months?

 

29.Councillor Falak Ahmed

Would the Leader of the Council confirm whether the Council has a Fairtrade Champion and if so who is it and what is involved in their role?

 

30.Councillor Tariq Hussain

Can the portfolio holder reassure me that, in spite of a decade of government austerity, how much of the district’s road network we are gritting and how often?

 

31.Councillor Hassan Khan

How many warm spaces are we providing across the district and is there warm space provision that’s easily accessible for all residents who need it?

 

32.Councillor Mohammed Nazam

As the UK Youth Parliament has 369 members, aged between 11 and 18, elected each year by over 500,000 young people in elections in over 90 percent of constituencies, in order to hold debates and plan campaigns to represent the views of young people in their area, to government and service providers, would the Leader of the Council please inform colleagues how Bradford MDC supports the Youth Parliament?

 

33.Councillor Fozia Shaheen

To the Leader – do you agree with Molly Russell’s father, Ian, and Labour’s shadow culture secretary Lucy Powell about the urgent need for tougher laws to keep children safe online than the government was planning to introduce, including the need for legislation on legal but harmful material.

Details of the questions from Members to the Leader of Council and Portfolio Holders and the answers given had been circulated and published on the Council’s website.