Petitions
There
was one speaker, Mr
Taylor
(00:24:00),
retiring chair of 'Friends of City Farm', for a 841 signature petition asking the council to respond to the decline of the park.
Unsurprisingly since the closure of the rather good city farm
facility there, the state of the park had worsened, fewer people
visit and there is increased “mindless vandalism”. In my view
the council needs to maintain the park in good order and the police
need to round up and deal with the criminal element.
Public
questions
There
were two speakers having supplementary questions who had asked two
public questions each.
The
first was myself. My first question (question 1) had followed up a
previous public question on pupil numbers in the city. I am trying to understand how the council
calculates its projected numbers. It is interesting to compare the responses I got in
each case. Previously the cabinet member for education was Cllr Alan Dutton. He was a bit out of his depth in dealing with my questions,
but given that was the case his response was very reasonable. He had
talked to me about this after the meeting and had arranged a meeting
for me with him and officers to discuss the issues. This was most
welcome and interesting and I had got some answers on how the council
is dealing with post-16 education and training from this meeting, but
did not achieve very much clarity on the pupil number projections. A
suggestion at that meeting that I could be sent specific reasons for
figures that appear anomalous has resulted in the current public
question, because I was sent no further information. The current
question simply asks for the information that I wasn't sent. The
current cabinet member for education is Cllr Shaun Pender, but his
answer, or one that officers may have written for him, simply doesn't
provide the specific answers. The 6 specific cases I list show
changes in numbers, as compared with 55 similar cases for which
numbers remain constant.
I
made clear in asking my supplementary question that it was addressed
to Shaun Pender. To be honest I was quite shocked that he did not
appear to acknowledge that I was addressing him while I spoke, in
fact he gave the impression of totally ignoring me. My supplementary
question was (0:28:48):
“The
6 anomalous cases I highlighted have not been explained, so I will
turn the question around. With the exception of the years 2 to 3 and
6 to 7 transitions, in 55 out of the 61 transitions between years
projected, the pupil numbers remain precisely constant. Why?”
I
had hoped the instinctive reaction to this would be that of course
these could easily be expected to stay constant and that this may
help Shaun Pender better understand why I am asking about the few
that aren't. But I was gobsmacked by the initial response. He said
nothing at all. In the end the Lord Mayor Sheila Pitt had to insist
(0:30:30) that he answered me, to which he just said (0:30:21)
it was complex and he would email me. I await the email.
My
second question (question 3) had arisen because I was amazed to see
the contents of my green recycling box being emptied into my blue bin
on collection. Cllr Andy Platt, cabinet member for green enterprises and clean city, had explained why, although this did
highlight inadequacies in the vehicles used. I would like to see
recycling done most effectively, as I'm sure the council would or
should, so my supplementary question was (0:30:52):
“Your
answer indicates that when the right vehicles are actually working,
the paper is kept separate and dry. But I have heard that wet
cardboard also causes problems. So why can't small cardboard items
such as cereal boxes be put in the green box with the paper to keep
dry?"
Now
this might actually be a good idea, or else there may be a very good
reason why it wouldn't be, but I didn't get
an answer to this. Andy Platt was at least polite and paid attention
and said there would be new vehicles, but basically said instructions
should be followed with regard to recycling. I can follow
instructions fine, but I think more can be done to engage the public
by way of explanation rather than just preaching. The council's web
site is 2 years out of date with its waste data and contains little depth. (In fact I recently had a much
more informative and interesting discussion about recycling with
someone unconnected with the council.)
The
second speaker was Gabrielle Hoban who had asked Council LeaderMohammed Pervez (question 4) about Stoke being broke. Mohammed
Pervez had talked about their 'mandate for change'. Gabrielle asked
a supplementary question (0:33:25) about why the council is
selling off rather than optimising on heritage buildings in the city.
Mohammed Pervez said (0:34:38) he would respond in writing.
Gabrielle
asked another question (question 5), of Cllr Andy Platt, about why
the Hanford incinerator will not be re-commissioned after 2013 and
where a new incinerator would be located. His reply had indicated
that Hanford would continue. Gabrielle asked (0:35:16) when
the Hanford incinerator is going to be decommissioned and where
incineration will take place after that. Andy Platt said
(0:36:05) it would stay where it is because it won't be
decommissioned, but would be transferred from the private company
'Hanford Waste' to the city council in 2020.
Motion
against blacklisting
I
won't report on this in detail, but mention it because I think it is
very important. I am a trade union member, but not of Unite and not
one that contributes to the Labour party. I think trade unions make
a hugely valuable contribution supporting their members at work, but
I dislike the Labour party. Organisations that blacklist treat
workers badly because they are union members or raise important
issues such as health and safety concerns. Such targeting of
individuals for doing the right thing is totally unacceptable.
Health and safety at work is a hugely important issue and would be
important for good employers as well as employees. Good employers
treat people with respect and protect their well being. It really
doesn't do anyone any good in an organisation if work and
effectiveness suffer because of employee ill-health or even death,
due to adverse conditions at work. The webcast
of the meeting is worth a watch, from (0:42:22) onwards, as
councillors of various political persuasions make good points and
raise significant concerns, including discussion of Kier.
The motion was carried unanimously.
UPDATE 3/8/13:
I received an email on 26/7/13, not from Cllr Pender, but from Paul Gerrard:
Response to supplementary question to Cllr Pender at the City Council on 4 July
“Why pupil numbers were constant in relation to 55 out of the 61 transitions referred to.”
The answer to this question is set out in the earlier responses. The degree of movement tolerated within year groups reflects the nature of the model used – not all transitions will show changes under all models.
So I am no further forward! I still do not understand the pupil number projections because they remain unexplained to me. I would really like to know "the nature of the model used" but it seems this is to remain a dark secret.
