To deal with supplementary questions arising from the following 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 Richard Dunbar

Universal Credit is now being rolled out across the district. Would the Leader be able to point out the support available for those recipients who will now struggle with the harsh realities of this failed scheme?

 

2.         Councillor Debbie Davies

Following the Born in Bradford report, which stated that 2572 Bradford children need glasses but hadn’t been taken to their appointments (having a direct impact on literacy) can the Portfolio Holder for Health and Wellbeing advise whether anything is being done to ensure that parents take their responsibilities more seriously?

 

3.         Councillor Jeanette Sunderland

Leeds City Council has agreed 20mph will become the new speed limit for 90 additional areas with signage (rather than traffic calming) to hasten improvements to pedestrian safety and to make Leeds a Child Friendly City.

 

Can the Portfolio Holder advise the Council what plans they have for following the excellent example set by Leeds Council?

 

4.         Councillor Kevin Warnes

Does the Leader of Council agree that it is vital that local residents and councillors are fully involved in developing plans for the new Otley Road/Bradford Road junction, as was the case when the old ‘Saltaire roundabout’ junction was re-developed five years ago, in order to ensure that the final design incorporates as many beneficial features as possible for local families, the nearby school, pedestrians and cyclists; and what steps is she taking to ensure that this process of community engagement actually happens?

 

5.         Councillor Dunbar

Would the Leader welcome the recent announcement that the maximum stake for Fixed Odds Betting Terminals will be reduced from £100 to £2 after a well fought campaign but criticise the unnecessary delay which will cause more harm in this district and across the country?

 

6.         Councillor Aneela Ahmed

Does the Leader join with me in congratulating Judith Cummins MP’s well deserved award from the charity Brake recognising her work on road safety which this Labour Group has made one of its manifesto priorities?

 

7.         Councillor Jackie Whiteley

Does The Portfolio Holder for Health & Wellbeing recognise that despite recent initiatives to retain staff, a regrading exercise is also required in order to attract and retain more experienced Social Workers, as the failure to do so is resulting in an increased use of expensive agency staff and subsequent increased budget pressures, whilst increasing the workloads of full time permanent staff?

 

8.         Councillor Cath Bacon

What steps have been taken to improve our response times to street light repairs and what work is being undertaken to look at LED lighting to improve energy efficiency and reduce maintenance costs? 

 

9.         Councillor Ralph Berry

Can the portfolio holder say if there is any scope for the Council to work in closer collaboration with schools and Ofsted-registered voluntary sector education partners to meet the needs of a growing number of young people?

 

10.       Councillor Robert Hargreaves

Does the Leader of the Council recognise that it was a missed opportunity to not show the World Cup on the Big Screen in Centenary Square and will she confirm that similar mistakes will not happen again?

 

11.       Councillor Alan Wainwright

Is it possible for council wardens to be trained up to do enforcement on the significant problem of parked vehicles preventing access to pavements and entrances?

 

12.       Councillor Jeanette Sunderland

Analysis by the Institute of Fiscal Studies has predicted that around 160,000 (1 in 8) of the 1.3m children who currently qualify for free school meals will become ineligible under new criteria requiring families to be on Universal Credit, and with net earnings of less than £7,400. They predict that around 210,000 children not currently eligible will also qualify under the new criteria.

 

Can the Portfolio Holder advise us what impact this will have on families and school budgets in Bradford?

 

13.       Councillor Hassan Khan

Will the Leader tell us what the latest is on Clean Air Quality in the District.  I understand that we were going to be given funding for a Clean Air Zone like they are doing in Leeds but that the Government changed their mind at the last minute?

 

14.       Councillor Simon Cooke

Would the Portfolio Holder for Regeneration, Planning & Transport, confirm the number of homes permitted by Planning Permissions relating to the City Centre where construction has not yet commenced, coupled with the number of homes covered by Planning Permissions relating to the City Centre, where construction commenced in the 2016/17 and 2017/18 Municipal Years?

 

15.       Councillor Rizwana Jamil

Does the Leader join me in welcoming the recent training for elected members around awareness of people trafficking and what the signs are? What work are we able to do with partners to get those messages out to the wider community?

 

16.       Councillor Tess Peart

Will the portfolio holder tell us what plans are being made for the new city centre markets to regenerate a wider area and whether the project will improve links between the middle or top of town and the Broadway area?

 

17.       Councillor Debbie Davies

Can the Portfolio Holder for Education, Employment and Skills Portfolio confirm whether the measures of success, such as increasing the number of applications by 50% whilst retaining high quality teachers and Leaders in the Bradford District, have been achieved following the employment of a Teacher Recruitment and Retention Strategy Manager?

 

18.       Councillor Nazam Azam

Do you join with me in feeling relief at the arrest of a suspect linked to the hate crime letters sent to Muslims earlier this year?  This blatant Islamophobia cannot be tolerated.

 

19.       Councillor Michelle Swallow

Could the portfolio holder please work with and use his influence with the West Yorkshire Police to suggest that in the interests of supporting road safety for motorists and pedestrians they consider signing up to the free service offered by Nextbase dashboard cameras which allows members of the public to upload instances of dangerous driving to the relevant Police Force, as it is my understanding that many police forces have signed up to this and I believe it will help to improve our safety and driving standards?

 

20.       Councillor Alun Griffiths

In their recent report Public Health England have warned that some types of LED streetlights, which are replacing many traditional streetlights across the country, could potentially harm people’s eyesight and that Councils could, if they have been installed purely on the basis of energy efficiency and cost, then it is possible to end up with lighting scheme that will not be fit for purpose. 

 

Can the Portfolio Holder assure members that the replacement street-lighting systems being installed across the District do not have the potential to harm people’s eyesight?

 

21.       Councillor Alan Wainwright

Does the Leader join me in celebrating the England football team and manager doing us proud at this World Cup, including Bradford’s own Fabian Delph and goalkeeper Jordan Pickford who spent a year at Bradford City?

 

22.       Councillor David Heseltine

Can the Leader of the Council inform members whether we can change the criteria to allow Area Committees to be able to use discretion in residential parking schemes?

 

23.       Councillor Tess Peart

Does the portfolio holder have an update on our campaigns for a city centre highspeed rail stop and for improvements on the Skipton-Colne line?

 

24.       Councillor Martin Love

At an event in London on June20th, hosted by UK100 and IPPR, the Leader of Council said ‘Through the Council’s close links with health researchers, we have the evidence base to support making air quality improvement a Council priority. For this reason we have developed a Low Emission Strategy as early as possible to secure improvement and health benefits for our population.’ Can she tell us what action has so far been taken by the Council to support the Low Emission Strategy?

 

25.       Councillor David Warburton

Can the Leader give an update on the council’s progress in investing more with local companies to support the ‘Bradford Pound’?

 

26.       Councillor Rebecca Poulsen

Given the recent announcement of £60 fines being introduced for residents guilty of contaminating recycling bins, would the Portfolio Holder for Environment, Sport and Culture provide reassurance that some humanity, common sense and discretion will be used to differentiate between deliberate and accidental contamination, along with an idea of how the Council will implement the penalties for cross contaminating waste in the communal recycling bins used by many hundreds of residents throughout the District?

 

27.       Councillor Sue Duffy

Would the Leader agree with me that it is worrying that the Government are refusing to publish a national Carers Strategy two years after consulting with 6,500 Unpaid Carers?

 

28.       Councillor Aneela Ahmed

Can the portfolio holder give an update on progress of the District Economic Strategy?

 

29.       Councillor Brendan Stubbs

Bill Grimsby has recently published his second review into the future of Town and City Centres in the UK. As part of that review there are a number of recommendations that could help secure the future of our high streets across Bradford District including recommendations for Government, Business and Local Authorities including, 

 

a, Establishing Town Centre Commission under strong, established leadership through the local authority for each town centre, with a defined remit to      build a 20-year strategy for their unique place. Ensure that this vision is underpinned by a comprehensive place plan.

 

b, Introduce clear high street assets ownership accountability by establishing a landlord register for each town to be able to trace the owner of every single property and engage them in the health and wellbeing of the place.

 

c, Local authorities should establish events teams to manage a comprehensive programme of activities that complement the Town Centre Commission Plan by driving footfall to local high streets.

 

Can the Portfolio Holder detail any plans Bradford Council have to take forward these and other ideas within the review to supplement any work already being done by the Council to secure a viable future for high streets across the district?

 

30.       Councillor Richard Dunbar

Would the Portfolio Holder join me in congratulating the organisers of the Bradford Literature Festival for the most successful year yet? 

 

31.       Councillor Dale Smith

Can the Portfolio Holder for Regeneration, Planning & Transport, confirm what progress has been made with the transfer of responsibilities from the Police to the Local Authority, relating to the removal of obstructions, particularly on pavements?

 

32.       Councillor Richard Dunbar

Our pioneering, connected and confident economic strategy creates a very clear vision for the future of our district. Would the portfolio holder be able to let us know how we will meet our key targets of raising GVA by £4bn, getting 20,000 people into work and 48,000 more people achieving NVQ3 level skills?

 

33.       Councillor John Pennington

As seven previous Lord Mayors, along with Baroness Castle, David Hockney, Brian Noble and Ken Morrison, have been granted Freedom of the City, could the Leader of Council advise us as to when Jack Tordoff will be joining the list?

 

34.       Councillor Geoff Reid

To the Portfolio Holder. Will the Council press the Diocese of Leeds about the future of their derelict land on the former Rimswell House site, Greengates, which has sat overgrown and a magnet for vandals for many years. It would better serve local residents and the area if it were brought back into use?

 

35.       Councillor Martin Smith

Can the Portfolio Holder for Regeneration, Planning and Transport, advise colleagues of progress made, since the launch of the Girlington Master Plan last October at the Cathedral?

 

36.       Councillor Warnes

Will the Leader of Council please outline the key reasons why Bradford Council’s greenhouse gas emissions have fallen from 88,302 tonnes in 2009-2010 to 45,844 tonnes in 2017-2018, an impressive reduction of approximately 48%; and explain what plans and carbon reduction targets are currently in place to ensure that this contraction continues from 2020 onwards?

 

37.       Councillor Russell Brown

Can the leader confirm, following my questions earlier in the year, that a STEM champion has been “appointed” and whether a bespoke, local, STEM plan has been initiated?

 

38.       Councillor Geoff Reid

To the Portfolio Holder. When is the installation of traffic lights at Moorside Road/Harrogate Road expected to happen as part of the Fagley Quarry development?

 

39.       Councillor David Heseltine

Can the Portfolio Holder for Environment, Sport & Culture, advise members of what powers are available to resolve problems caused by the overspill of parked private hire vehicles into residential areas, when designated ranks are full?

 

Council Document “E” details the questions from Members to the Leader of Council and Portfolio Holders and the answers given.