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 Executive Member for Leisure and Community from Councillor Fitzsimon

I have been told that Mill Green Museum is closing during the week and will no longer be open during the summer holidays for families and local residents to enjoy.  Additionally, I understand that the holiday training project for young people to support them in preparing for the world of work and independence through experience of working in catering and hospitality at the Miller’s kitchen won’t be taking place.

 

Could the portfolio holder reassure members and residents that these rumours aren’t true and Mill Green Museum will continue to remain open for families and residents to enjoy?”

 

Answer

“The museum will continue to open on Fridays and Sundays and during the week for pre-arranged school visits during the Summer term. 

 

The holiday training project for young people will unfortunately be postponed until Summer 2026 as it had been relying on a lot of our resources to manage this operation in the past.  We are reviewing the way that we run the Summer activities programme and looking to engage with more volunteers to support our programme going forward.  We arel continuing to put on a range of activities for families and residents to enjoy.”

 

Supplementary comment

“That is good news. The Millers' Tea Room in particular has been a much loved and valuable resource for our borough and many families have enjoyed visits there to the museum as well so I'm sorry that the cooking experience is not going ahead but at least the museum and the mill tea room will be open.”

 

2.     Question to the Executive Member for Housing from Councillor Kingsbury

“The redevelopment of Queensway House has been due to take place for several years. Whilst I understand there may be issues with decanting leaseholders, this surely could have been resolved by now. Can the portfolio holder update us on the situation and when the things will move forward?”

 

Answer

“As I’m sure you are aware, site assembly for major regeneration projects is always a long and complex process and there were many parties with property interests at Queensway House, including residential long leaseholders, who have previously purchased under right to buy, commercial tenants and parties with protection of the Digital Economy Act 2017.  Many of these parties enjoy statutory protection and the Council has been required to reach agreements on a voluntary basis with them. 

 

The vast majority of occupiers have now been decanted, and the Council continue negotiations with the few remaining tenants.  Ultimately, if agreement is not reached, the Council may be required to seek a Compulsory Purchase Order.  However, this is an expensive and lengthy process and is a power of last resort, which should only be utilised when other options have failed.”

 

Supplementary question

“You mentioned the expense of these things. I wonder, you may not have it to hand at the moment, I wonder if you know what the cost of continuing with the building, obviously is a waking watch there for people who are in

the building, so do you have any figures for the amount it costs for that

process and also any ongoing costs for keeping the building open?”

 

Answer

“I don't have that information to hand but we can provide that

information.”

 

It was agreed this information would be circulated after the meeting.

 

3.     Question by Councillor Mitchinson  to the Executive Member for Economic Development and Climate Change

“As it is essential for the council to maximise revenue to protect vital services could the relevant portfolio holder tell us how many retail units are owned by the council in the borough, how many are currently vacant, such as the former carpet shop in WGC town centre, and what measures are being taken to secure tenants as soon as possible?

 

Answer

“We own about 140 retail units in the borough and I’m proud to say that we only have two vacant units, including the former carpet shop mentioned in your question.  Both of the units were vacant due to the companies going into administration. 

 

We are delighted by the level of interest shown in the vacant unit in WGC town centre and I’m very pleased to see that the unit is currently under offer and with solicitors.

 

The high level of occupancy rate is down to the hard work of officers and I would like to take the opportunity to thank them for all the work that they have done.”

 

Supplementary question

“That was good news, though. And that is great, the level of occupancy. As you're aware though that there are several retail units in the new development of White Lion Square in Welwyn Garden City Town Centre, which is one of the many excellent schemes that we instigated during the years where we were in control. Could you confirm when these units will be released by the developers to the council and when they may be available for renting so that project can finally sort of come to fruition.”

 

Answer

“I suppose there are several reasons as to why those units are sort of currently still with the developers, but as soon as we have an idea of kind of when we are expected to sort of have those have them back with us so that we can let them out, we'll make sure that you're sort of kept in the loop with that one.”

 

4.     Question by Councillor Platt to the Leader of the Council

“A year or so ago the Joint Administration launched the HEART vision for the community. As we know, Local Govt is full of acronyms and buzzwords, so can the Leader give examples of how this vision is more than one of these, and if (and how) the 5 areas of HEART have been implemented to benefit WelHat residents?”

 

Answer

“As Leader of the Council, I’m incredibly proud of the progress made by the Joint Administration in the past two years in every aspect of the HEART vision.  I’m very conscious of the limited time allowed to answer this question, and we have seen many achievement videos in the past Council meetings as well as the one shown tonight, which demonstrates the collaborative working relationship between members and officers.  Having said this, I would still like to mention a number of examples of great work.

 

Homes to be proud of – The Joint Administration was instrumental in getting our last Local Plan over the line and work has already commenced to work on the new Plan, which will set out how we want to shape our borough going forward. This together with building more affordable homes such as Ludwick Green and the great work on improving the efficiency rating of our housing stock, they will certainly turn into homes that we are all proud of.

 

Economy that delivers for everyone – Alongside our regular markets in Hatfield Town Centre, we are holding a number of exciting events this year.  In particular, Spring Fair is due to take place on Saturday 29 March, and families can look forward to a Pokemon event, Star Wars, and Easter Eggstravaganza later this year.  We also look forward to the transformation of Market Place this year.

 

Action on Climate Change - We are incredibly proud that the Transition to Net Zero strategy was recently approved following public consultation.  Our new Climate Hub, our one stop shop for everything climate related in the borough is also well used by our residents.

 

Run an effective council – Last month, we delivered another balanced budget despite the challenging financial circumstances that all councils in the country are facing.  We have also recently launched our chatbot, WelChat, which provides another communication channel for our residents to find out information about our services at the time of their choosing.

 

Together, create opportunities for our communities – For those who were able to join us at the One Welwyn Hatfield Community Awards event a couple of weeks ago, we celebrated the incredible individuals, organisations, and businesses that make a real difference in our local community.  The event was a great success, and I would like to thank all officers in their hard work in organising it.”

 

Supplementary question

“My question actually just came to me. My supplementary question, when you finished off on the Community Awards and the video that sort of pre-empted this question. It's been a raging success, I think, the awards. I think the officer told me that entries were up 80 % this year and that the awards are fully funded by the sponsors and the donations they make. So my question is are we going to continue that for the foreseeable future?”

 

Answer

“Yes.”

 

5.     Question by Councillor Panter to the Executive Member Environment

“In previous year, there have been complaints about the grass cutting over the spring period. Can the portfolio holder for Environment please teel us what has been put in place this year to improve the situation?”

 

Answer

“We have acknowledged the service challenges experienced during summer 2024, and discussed extensively with our contractor, Krinkels, to put an improvement plan in place. 

 

Back in December 2024, we agreed eleven actions aimed at improving grass cutting, managing shrub and hedge growth and establishing new wildflower areas to boost biodiversity across the borough.

 

A key improvement is the introduction of a zonal approach to maintenance. Dedicated teams will focus on completing all tasks within a specific zone, such as grass cutting, strimming, and blowing, before moving to the next zone.  This approach will also cover play areas and communal residential spaces managed by the Council.  Shrubs and hedges will also receive a more thorough cutback to address seasonal growth effectively.

 

We have also worked with our contractors to ensure an increased level of quality assurance for both contractor and council staff.

 

I’m also pleased to see that Krinkels have made substantial investments of about £300,000 in the service and that new mowers and other new grounds maintenance equipment will be used as the grass cutting programme commences shortly. While I can’t guarantee the weather will be nice, I’m confident that residents will see a marked improvement this year.”

 

Supplementary question

“Would the portfolio be able to explain how any relevant information

however great or small can be communicated to councillors please?”

 

Answer

“Yeah, I think one of the bigger issues last year was that Councillors weren't

given the information when residents came to them. They didn't know what to say. And that's something we are very much improving. It's been a big part of my portfolio to be able to improve member engagement. And what we're going to do is make sure that the Members' Hub is completely stocked with any issues you may have. Hopefully, they won't be required, but we're going to make sure that every single member has access to the information they'll need to be able to assure residents about the grass cutting situation. And while I sincerely hope there isn't a flush, we'll make sure all members are equipped if one does happen.”

 

6.     Question by Councillor Hobbs to the Leader of the Council

“Since 2010, local government has endured central government funding cuts of more than 50%. Although the current Labour Government’s recent increases in local government spending are a positive development there is still a huge demand on local government. Between 2010 and 2020, councils lost 60p out of every £1 they have received from central government.

 

Research by UNISON has shown that councils across England, Wales and Scotland are facing a collective funding shortfall of more than £4bn by the financial year 2024/25 and a cumulative funding gap of £8bn by 2025/26.

 

Since 2010, the local government workforce has endured years of pay restraint with the majority of pay points losing at least 25 per cent of their value since 2009/10. Staff have endured the worst cost of living crisis in a generation.

 

At the same time, workers have experienced ever-increasing workloads and persistent job insecurity. Across the UK, 900,000 jobs have been lost in local government since June 2010 – a reduction of more than 30 per cent.

 

In addition, local government has arguably been hit by more severe job losses than any other part of the public sector. There has been a disproportionate impact on women, with women making up more than three-quarters of the local government workforce.  

 

Recent research by UNISON shows that if the Government were to fully fund the unions’ 2025 pay claims, (such as the pay claims submitted by UNISON, GMB and Unite) around half of the money would be recouped thanks to increased tax revenue, reduced expenditure on benefits and tax credits, and increased consumer spending in the local economy. 

 

Will the Leader and Deputy Leader of the council write to the Chancellor to acknowledge the pay rises that local government workers deserve, and to explore reimbursing local councils to fund such pay increases?”

 

Answer

“I know that it's such an important subject for you personally, given your involvement and experience outside this chamber as a union organizer and an educator, so thank you for your important work in the area.

 

We know that officers in this council work extremely hard with councillors to improve the lives of our residents.  It is absolutely right and just for a decent pay rise to be awarded to all officers.

 

I’m aware that we are part of the national pay negotiation process and understand that no decisions have been made yet on the pay claims.  Both the Deputy Leader and I will be more than happy to write to the Chancellor and asking for the pay increases to be fully funded by the government.”