Agenda item

For a period of up to thirty minutes, a Member of the Council who has given prior notice in accordance with Council Procedure Rule 15, may ask (a) the Mayor, (b) the Leader of the Council or (c) a Member of the Cabinet a question on any matter in relation to which the Council has powers or duties or which affects the Borough.

 

The questions received for this meeting are attached.  A Member asking a question may ask, without giving notice, one supplementary question of the Member to whom the first question was asked.  The supplementary question must arise directly out of the reply.

1.   Question to the Leader of the Council from Councillor Kingsbury

“At the last Council meeting in November, I raised concerns about the excessive fines issued to businesses by District Enforcement and highlighted that their officers are incentivised to issue fines as this was their means of income. Since then, further concerns have emerged about fines being issued to residents for minor issues, such as papers dropped during refuse collection or items removed from communal bins, with fines reportedly reaching up to £500. These practices appear disproportionate and have caused significant distress in the community. Notably, the local Labour MP has now also raised concerns about these fines.

 

Does the Leader of the Council share the concerns of his party’s MP, and will he take action to address these practices to ensure fairness for residents and businesses?”

 

 

Answer:

“Thank you, Councillor Kingsbury, both for your question tonight and your vigilance on this particular contract.

 

As you will recall, back in November, my colleague Councillor Bonfante explained to you that those businesses that do not have appropriate waste disposal arrangements in place can expect to receive a fixed penalty notice. These are legal duties on businesses and have been in existence for a very long time. It is not the fault of this administration that successive administrations before have allowed these breeches to continue with little oversight.

 

You will be aware that Cabinet agreed to appoint District Enforcement Limited for a 12-month pilot scheme to enforce and reduce the scourge that dumped rubbish and littering has on our Borough, and to help further foster a sense of civic pride amongst everyone that lives, works and visits Welwyn Hatfield. Rightly, this is an issue that we know our residents, and the majority of members in this room, care deeply about.

 

Since the start of the contract in September, there has been a marked reduction in fly tipping and illegal dumping in the borough, and an improvement in our overall environment. I think that we can all agree that this is a good thing.

 

We’re aware that some residents have shared their concerns about some of the penalties that have been issued by District Enforcement Officers. Indeed, the Cabinet met last week with District Enforcement’s Managing Director and questioned him on their processes for issuing, and also on reviewing disputed penalties. District Enforcement have put additional measures in place, there has been a robust review of disputed penalties, as well as retraining of all new staff to make sure that penalties are being issued correctly and in accordance with environmental protection legislation and Council policy.

 

We’re also aware of and working proactively with our new MP on cases that he has raised in this area. Do I agree that our MP has every right to raise a concern on behalf of his residents when he thinks there may be just cause to do so? Absolutely Councillor Kingsbury - just as I acknowledge your right to do so here tonight.

 

We will continue to meet regularly with District Enforcement throughout the pilot period to review the guidelines that they are using, and to make sure that their processes are consistent and appropriate.

 

Thank you for your question.”

 

Supplementary question from Councillor Kingsbury

“Hopefully you've addressed the ones that have been of concern and you'll continue to do that. I notice, I know we're getting to the budget debate in a minute,

but this is pertinent to this question. I notice in the budget there's an increased

revenue coming in from district enforcement and yet you're subject to a review period

in terms of what happens with the contract. So does that additional income and fine income you've included in the budget assume that the contract is continued after September this year?”

 

Answer

“My assumption would be that yes on the assumption that there is a successful contract, and the pilot has been successful that would continue. I will double check and get back to you.”

 

 

2.            Question to the Executive Member (Planning) from Councillor Siewniak

As the second Garden City in the UK, a few years after marking our milestone birthday, what are the Council plans to enhance and develop further our cultural and heritage offer?

 

Answer:

“Thank you, Councillor Siewniak for your question.

The joint administration recognises the value of the distinctive heritage and culture that underpins the unique identities of both Welwyn Garden City and Hatfield, and which serves to create the strong sense of place we all love.

I have met with officers a number of times over the last few months to draw up plans for enhancements to the Council's website with the aim of capturing and profiling the heritage of both towns for residents and visitors. I feel this initiative will be an important step in showcasing what is special about our towns so that it is widely understood and respected.

As members will see tonight, we have included a number of budget proposals for 25/26 targeting town centre improvements in Welwyn Garden City and Hatfield.  These proposals include funding towards design guides, a town centre master plan and work to improve public spaces. These initiatives will build on and reinforce the heritage of our towns

Officers continue to work collaboratively with partners to support projects designed to celebrate the rich cultures of our towns, including Vintage Festival, World Food Festival, Diwali and the Romanian Harvest Festival. We also gave away hundreds of Welwyn Garden City town centre heritage maps, designed in the form of a treasure trail, encouraging young children to explore the architectural features and garden city roots of the town and we hope to do the same again next financial year.

Finally, officers have recently met with Visit Herts to agree funding for a promotional package highlighting various visitor attractions across the Borough and this will launch in the new financial year.

I look forward to Councillor Siewniak's support in promoting these various initiatives as they take place.”

 

Supplementary question

“Can the Council promise to work closely with our key partners in particular with our community and voluntary organisations?”

 

Answer

“Yes, I think that is absolutely essential to make sure the community and key partners are included in these types of projects, particularly where heritage is concerned, because it’s the community that gives that heritage meaning, and vice versa. So, I would say for sure that would be the case.”

 

 

 

3.            Question to the Leader of the Council from Councillor H.Goldwater

“Currently, there are 192,000 children with a parent in prison in England and Wales. There have been many instances where children have been discovered living on their own after their parent has been sent to prison. For example, a boy was found living on his own without any gas or electricity - he was going to school everyday without the school knowing that his mum had been sent to prison. Richard Holden MP is calling for an identification system to be introduced. This will enable these prisoner families to receive support, so these instances of neglect can be avoided in future. As Welwyn Hatfield Borough Council manage housing in the Borough, this is an issue that is relevant to this council.  

 

I am calling on the Leader and Deputy Leader of Welwyn Hatfield Borough Council to write a letter to The Parliamentary Under-secretary of State for Victims, Alex Davies-Jones asking his support in the implementation of this identification system.”

 

Answer:

“Thank you Councillor Goldwater for raising such an important issue and you’ve done such a good job of explaining in the question why this is such an important issue.

 

We know that statistically, children with an imprisoned parent are more likely to suffer from mental health issues, they are also more likely to face economic hardship and engage in criminal behaviour.

 

I read that around 3 quarters of children leave the family home whilst their mum is locked up - this means they not only lose their parents, but their home and possibly their school too.

 

I know the government recognises that the children of those who are imprisoned are at far greater risk of being drawn into crime than their peers and that they are working to ensure that those young people are identified and offered support to break the cycle. And I also understand that from April 2025 the Government has made available £500m for local authorities to provide more integrated care.

 

But, on this particular issue both the Deputy Leader and I are more than happy to write to Alex Davies-Jones to support measures to help identify those children most at risk.”

 

 

4.            Question to the Leader of the Council from Councillor Hobbs

“There are a number of ethical issues that council pension funds are contributing to, including the investment in companies involved in the arms trade and human rights abuses - such as those supplying weapons to regimes accused of war crimes, or where there are links to forced labour practices. I am particularly concerned that the pension contributions of Council staff could be, unbeknownst to them, being used to provide arms to conflicts around the world.

 

I believe that Hertfordshire County Council could demonstrate leadership in this area by aligning their investments with the values of our community, the values of the members of staff who pay into their pension, and with a strong commitment to human dignity and global peace.

 

Do the Leader and Deputy Leader agree with me? And will they commit to writing to Hertfordshire County Council to request that they review their pension fund investments, and begin the process of divesting council pension funds from all arms manufacturers and companies known to profit from human rights violations?”

 

 

Answer:

“Thank you Councillor Hobbs, and personally thank you for raising this important question - The thought that I, when working in local government, could have been unknowingly funding the arms trade, human rights violations or supporting forced labour makes me, on reflection, feel physically sick.

 

You are absolutely right to highlight the power and influence of pension funds, and the important role that they have in ensuring they invest ethically - especially one dealing in public funds.

 

Hertfordshire County Council’s Pension Committee is responsible for setting principles around responsible investment, in particular, they are free to avoid certain kinds of prudent investment, which they consider scheme members would regard as objectionable - equally they may also make ethical investments provided these are justifiableon investment grounds.

 

Currently, it should be noted that the Herts County Council Pension Committee has already identified a number of Environmental, Social and Governance issues, which they actively engage with their Fund managers.  For example, under human rights, they would particularly raise concerns with the Fund managers for child labour issues in foreign subsidiaries of UK companies, or operations in countries with oppressive regimes.  I was also made aware of a public petition on the County Council website calling on Herts County Council to divest their pension fund from companies complicit in war crimes, apartheid and occupation, which I will be signing after this.

 

We will absolutely write to Hertfordshire County Council requesting for them to go further to avoid investment in all arms manufacturers and companies known to profit from human rights violations, and request information on the makeup of their current portfolio.

 

Thank you for your question.”