Question Q Time

PUBLIC QUESTION NO. 1

LONDON BOROUGH OF

COUNCIL MEETING

1 MARCH 2011

Question asked by: Mr J Holland

Member to reply: Councillor Wise

Question

Please could the council tell us the total amount of money that will have been spent on the refurbishment of Fordham Park, . Could I also ask how much the ongoing annual cost of all maintenance and other services for the park will be, and who will be providing these services.

Reply

The cost of the refurbishment of Fordham Park is estimated to be £1,125,000. The funding for the whole of the project was provided by the Homes & Communities Agency as part of a programme of infrastructure improvements in North Lewisham. The contractor will provide a 12 month defect liability and 24 months defect liability for trees.

The cost of the annual maintenance and management of the park is £32,000 This is provided by Glendale as part of the Council’s Green Space Management contract which covers all parks within the borough.

Question Q Time

PUBLIC QUESTION NO. 2

LONDON BOROUGH OF LEWISHAM

COUNCIL MEETING

1 MARCH 2011

Question asked by: Ms A Bennet

Member to reply: Councillor Best

Question

If arrangements are made for a transfer of library functions to other bodies and for the formation of up to eight community libraries, as proposed in “Budget Strategy 2011-14 and Savings Options - Libraries”, will these arrangements include:

1. Collection and publication of statistics on visits to, and issues made from, each community library in a manner and form directly comparable with those at present collected?

2. Will there be full publication of the methods used to collect any statistics, including the location of points at which visitors to the community library are counted

3. Will there be a requirement for these community libraries to participate in CIPFA and other surveys and for the Council to publish results on the same basis as the present Lewisham Council Libraries?

4. Will there be recording and publication of the number of occasions on which each community library is not open for the normal advertised hours?

Reply

Statistical information, including issues and visits will be collected across the service, including at the Community Libraries.

The standards applied to evaluate the library service provision will not change. These standards are the same as those applied by other library services and set by the Chartered Institute of Public Finance and Accounting (CIPFA). Community Libraries and Hub Libraries will contribute to the service provision and as such will be monitored in the same way. The Community Libraries will be treated as part of the service provision and will be subject to PLUS (Public Library Users Surveys) and CIPFA monitoring. Unplanned closures are part of the CIPFA annual return.

Question Q Time

PUBLIC QUESTION NO. 3

LONDON BOROUGH OF LEWISHAM

COUNCIL MEETING

1 MARCH 2011

Question asked by: Mr P Richardson

Member to reply: Councillor Best

Question

What are the figures for vists and issues for each of the public libraries in Lewisham from April 2010 to January 2011?

What are the costs per visit, and the costs per issued item for each of Lewisham's libraries? Reply

The cost per visit and the cost per issue can only be estimated on the basis of the previous full financial year. In 2009 – 2010, we counted 2,028,349 visits and 1,146,461 issues. The Library Service’s Net Expenditure was £ 4,282,234.10. Therefore, cost per visit was £2.11 and the cost per issue was £3.74.

Issues

2010/2011 Apr May Jun Jul Aug Sep Oct Nov Dec Jan Library Group CENTRAL Lewisham 19,288 18,843 19,373 22,712 23,069 21,037 22,025 20,076 17,986 18,853 Total 19,288 18,843 19,373 22,712 23,069 21,037 22,025 20,076 17,986 18,853 203,262 DISTRICT 9,658 8,504 7,142 9,596 11,045 9,768 10,197 10,695 7,389 8,724 7,069 7,384 7,837 8,665 9,733 8,341 8,853 8,169 5,241 7,743 Forest Hill 8,587 7,962 8,791 8,654 10,263 9,018 9,461 8,358 6,314 8,176 Wavelengths 7,188 6,814 7,236 8,051 8,594 8,234 7,195 7,121 5,560 6,937 Total 32,502 30,664 31,006 34,966 39,635 35,361 35,706 34,343 24,504 31,580 330,267 NEIGHBOURHOOD Blackheath Village 5,150 5,070 4,664 5,684 5,500 5,054 5,044 4,890 3,420 4,333 5,475 5,116 5,550 5,932 7,043 5,422 6,036 5,663 4,332 5,343 Grove Park 3,284 3,045 3,789 3,250 3,369 3,439 3,764 2,805 1,701 2,718 Manor House 8,542 8,923 8,276 9,362 10,410 8,999 9,779 8,438 6,377 8,316 New Cross 2,660 3,009 2,894 2,705 3,002 3,106 2,770 2,881 2,076 2,526 Sydenham 3,454 4,404 3,712 4,532 4,142 4,350 4,035 4,097 3,044 4,550 Torridon Road 4,588 4,510 5,106 5,252 3,384 179 13 5 1 0 Total 33,153 34,077 33,991 36,717 36,850 30,549 31,441 28,779 20,951 27,786 314,294

LRC 20 80 64 22 691 18 49 67 14 49 1,074

TOTAL ISSUES 84,963 83,664 84,434 94,417 100,245 86,965 89,221 83,265 63,455 78,268 848,897

Visits 2010/2011 Library Group Apr May Jun Jul Aug Sep Oct Nov Dec Jan CENTRAL Lewisham 28,287 27,614 31,083 28,056 30,130 31,628 31,855 30,240 20,895 26,985 286,773 DISTRICT Catford 30,879 28,527 26,600 31,549 23,930 25,133 23,973 24,440 21,413 22,633 Downham 36,565 35,652 41,638 37,264 35,758 35,021 35,799 32,038 22,281 30,293 Forest Hill 8,978 9,705 11,929 10,752 10,843 12,162 12,208 11,674 8,683 10,747 Wavelengths 15,016 13,609 16,112 16,384 15,914 13,780 13,671 14,207 9,995 13,934 TOTAL 91,438 87,493 96,279 95,949 86,445 86,096 85,651 82,359 62,372 77,607 851,689 NEIGHBOURHOOD Blackheath Village 7,599 7,947 7,309 8,091 7,126 7,360 7,897 6,785 3,939 6,467 Crofton Park 6,482 6,424 6,920 7,385 7,837 6,881 7,550 6,891 4,288 6,691 Grove Park 3,656 3,063 3,920 4,132 3,555 3,703 3,743 3,488 1,706 3,465 Manor House 14,715 14,504 14,488 15,088 14,715 14,311 17,749 15,328 9,389 13,515 New Cross 4,082 4,804 4,794 5,029 4,520 4,594 4,033 3,708 2,239 3,384 Sydenham 5,093 4,699 5,139 5,952 6,617 5,242 5,382 4,995 2,693 4,292 Torridon Road 5,624 5,821 5,975 6,709 4,378 0 0 0 0 0 TOTAL 47,251 47,262 48,545 52,386 48,748 42,091 46,354 41,195 24,254 37,814 435,900 TOTAL VISITS 166,976 162,369 175,907 176,391 165,323 159,815 163,860 153,794 107,521 142,406 1,574,362

Question Q Time

PUBLIC QUESTION NO. 4

LONDON BOROUGH OF LEWISHAM

COUNCIL MEETING

1 MARCH 2011

Question asked by: Mr P Richardson

Member to reply: Councillor Best

Question

How is it that Greenwich Borough has been able to find considerable savings to its Library and Information Serice without closing libraries?

Will Lewisham Council investigate to see if this could be emulated in our own Borough?

Reply

In common with most Local Authorities, Greenwich Council is considering a range of options for reducing costs, these include the introduction of a Trust model. They have yet to make a final decision on the future direction of the service.

Supplementary Question No.4

Mr Richardson

I am afraid the answer has not been answered fully. Has the council looked into this Trust model that Greenwich is looking into.

Councillor Best

I have been advised that in view of your letter to the Secretary of State I need to provide written replies to your questions.

Question Q Time

PUBLIC QUESTION NO. 5

LONDON BOROUGH OF LEWISHAM

COUNCIL MEETING

1 MARCH 2011

Question asked by: Ms L Galloway

Member to reply: Councillor Klier

Question

Given that Tidemill is an outstanding school with an excellent history of parental and community involvement. How can the council ensure that the school undergoes a proper and full consultation with an equality impact assessment when the governors consider afresh whether to make a new application to the Department for Education?

Reply

Under the new Government’s legislation, applying for Academy status is a matter for schools themselves, not the Local Authority. However, we will always be available to advise schools on process. The letter of 15 th November 2010 from the Executive Director for Children and Young People to the Chair of Governors of Tidemill School formed the Local Authority’s response to the Tidemill governors’ consultation. The response noted that “It is for governors to be satisfied with the quality of consultations to date and that the school’s community feels sufficiently consulted”. This remains the Local Authority’s position in relation to any subsequent consultation if Tidemill should decide to reapply for Academy status and enter into consultation on that new application. It is also for the governors to be assured that they have complied with the need to complete an Equalities Impact Assessment. The Department for Education guidance to schools wishing to convert to Academy status makes it clear that they are required by the Academies Act 2010 to carry out a consultation on the conversion process with appropriate stakeholders before entering into a Funding Agreement with Secretary of State.

There is no requirement of a school to consult with its Local Authority. The guidance simply states that “You may wish to contact your local authority to notify them of your registration of interest in becoming an Academy.”

Question Q Time

PUBLIC QUESTION NO. 6

LONDON BOROUGH OF LEWISHAM

COUNCIL MEETING

1 MARCH 2011

Question asked by: Mr P Richardson

Member to reply: Councillor Best

Question

It is proposed that five ' Neighbourhood' libraries in the borough will be closed with some of them reducing to 'Community' library status instead.

Is it not true to say that Lewisham's Library and Information Service will be unable to match these 'Community' libraries with those they intend to replace?

Reply

The five buildings that will offer Community Library Services will be managed in new ways and will offer new services, some of which will be superior to those currently provided. For example the development of new services will be supported by the introduction of self issue technology which is not available in the five buildings at present. Furthermore customers visiting the community libraries will be able to use stock through the London Libraries Consortium that provides access to millions of titles that are held in branches across London.

Supplementary Question No.6

Mr Richardson

In the improvement you refer to, you are including machinery that’s self issue and self return. The net gain of that is possibly to reduce the numbers of staff. And in terms of using the London Libraries Consortium to provide books these would indeed have to be ordered, and therefore by the customer paid 50p a time. I believe that contravenes the 1964 Act in terms of it being a comprehensive and efficient service, would you not agree.

Councillor Best

It is a very long letter that you have written to the Sectary of State and requires detailed consideration so in view of that, once again we’ll provide a written reply.

Question Q Time

PUBLIC QUESTION NO. 7

LONDON BOROUGH OF LEWISHAM

COUNCIL MEETING

1 MARCH 2011

Question asked by: Mr G Thurley

Member to reply: Councillor Wise

Question

The only toilet for the & Cemeteries has been closed since the beginning of November, following damage apparently caused by an overheating water heater. When it is anticipated that the toilet will be repaired and brought back into use?

Reply

Unfortunately following the incident in November, some of the lead piping was stolen which caused flooding. The police became involved in investigating the theft of the lead piping and we have had to wait until their investigations were completed to begin repair work.

It is hoped that the repair work will now be able to start as soon as possible.

Supplementary Question No. 7

Mr Thurley

Is it intended to improve the toilet facilities of the Lady Well Cemetery rather than just repair the damaged that was done in October.

Councillor Wise

Thank you for your question Mr Thurley. It is something we are looking into and I will have a written reply for you as soon as possible.

Question Q Time

PUBLIC QUESTION NO. 8

LONDON BOROUGH OF LEWISHAM

COUNCIL MEETING

1 MARCH 2011

Question asked by: Mrs J Nathan

Member to reply: Mayor

Question

Has the Young Mayor of Lewisham ever been a female? Do females stand for election to this position? Are there Lewisham students, who are educated outside of the Borough of Lewisham, eligible to vote in the Young Mayor elections?

Reply

Yes, Siobahn Bell was Young Mayor in 2006-07. Many young women stand for election and the following have been Deputy Young Mayors: 2004-05 Camilla Dixon 2006-07 Luziane Tchiegue-Nouta 2007-08 Naz Ramadan 2008-09 Natalie Powell-Davies 2009-10 Lola Mustapha

If a young person aged 11-17 lives in the borough but is educated outside the borough they can apply for a postal vote which will be sent with a manifesto to their home address. They need to apply in advance of the election date, the same as for an adult election.

We are open to ideas in terms of getting the message out to young people educated outside the borough that they need to apply for a postal vote. It is currently advertised on the websites and social networks.

Question Q Time

PUBLIC QUESTION NO. 9

LONDON BOROUGH OF LEWISHAM

COUNCIL MEETING

1 MARCH 2011

Question asked by: Mrs P Richardson

Member to reply: Councillor Best

Question

If the option of establishing Community Libraries manifests itself, will these libraries be part of the Chartered Institute of Public Finance and Accountancy (CIPFA) surveys and CIPFA statistics?

If they are to be open 7 days per week, how many hours of each day will they be open?

Reply

The five Community Libraries will be included in the Public Library Users Survey (PLUS) and in CIPFA statistics.

The opening hours for each Community Library have yet to be determined and will be negotiated in consultation with the anchor organisation involved in the running of the buildings.

Question Q Time

PUBLIC QUESTION NO. 10

LONDON BOROUGH OF LEWISHAM

COUNCIL MEETING

1 MARCH 2011

Question asked by: Mrs P Richardson

Member to reply: Councillor Smith

Question

Which property related costs managed with the Property Services Budget are held by the Regeneration Directorate in connection with the Lewisham Library and Information Service?

Where does the money to repay the debt incurred on the Manor House come from? How much money is made from renting out the Manor House?

The premises related costs for the Manor House are given as £72,681. How are these made up?

Reply

The Property Services budget in the Regeneration Directorate meets all the facilities management costs of the Libraries Service.

The costs of debt repayment, including principal and interest repayments, are met corporately and are described in the Council’s Budget as “Capital charges and Capital financing costs”.

The estimated income in 2010 – 11 from renting space in Manor House Library is £50,000. The breakdown of estimated premises costs of Manor House Library in 2010 -11 is :-

Repairs and maintenance £ 11,800 Security £ 125 Risk Assessments £ 2,889 Utilities £ 5,050 Cleaning £ 31,678 Other £ 21,847

TOTAL £ 73,389

Question Q Time

PUBLIC QUESTION NO. 11

LONDON BOROUGH OF LEWISHAM

COUNCIL MEETING

1 MARCH 2011

Question asked by: Mrs P Richardson

Member to reply: Councillor Best

Question

In view of the considerable sums required to deal with the poor conditions of some library buildings, who would pay for renovation work to make these buildings viable if an 'asset transfer' took place?

Who would then be responsible for maintenance and payment for same?

Reply

In the case of those buildings which will be considered for asset transfer, responsibility for those ongoing repairs and maintenance will be held by the organisation taking on the asset.

Where the buildings are likely to be the subject of a leasehold arrangement those responsibilities will be negotiated as part of the leasehold transaction and could therefore include the initial investment by the Council.

Supplementary Question No.11

Mrs Richardson

I don’t know if you can answer this or not, but perhaps you could tell us what an asset transfer entails?

Councillor Best

Once again a written reply will be forthcoming. However, we did set out details about the asset transfer in the expression of interest that were widely available and I do believe you had copies of that, Mr and Mrs Richardson.

Question Q Time

PUBLIC QUESTION NO. 12

LONDON BOROUGH OF LEWISHAM

COUNCIL MEETING

1 MARCH 2011

Question asked by: Ms A Bennet

Member to reply: Councillor Maslin

Question

Budget Strategy 2011-14 and Savings Options - Libraries says:

“the reasonable working expectation before the announcement of the Comprehensive Spending Review (CSR) on 20 October 2010 was that net savings of £60m over the period 2011/12 to 2013/14 would be required, or approximately 25% of the Council’s service budgets”

Are there non-service budgets? If so, what are they and how much will they be cut by?

Reply

The revenue budget savings requirement is based on net controllable revenue expenditure. i.e. Directorate cash limited budgets. There are a number of budgets which are held centrally for corporate purposes, which do not form part of the controllable expenditure of service directorates. These include a budget for Capital Expenditure charged to the Revenue Account (CERA), Treasury Management budgets, debts charges and various provisions for items such as early retirement and voluntary severance. These budgets are reviewed on an annual basis and similar to service budgets are subject to reductions.

Question Q Time

PUBLIC QUESTION NO. 13

LONDON BOROUGH OF LEWISHAM

COUNCIL MEETING

1 MARCH 2011

Question asked by: Mrs P Richardson

Member to reply: Councillor Best

Question

It has been reported in the press that the Minister of State at the Department of Culture, Media and Sport (DCMS) is prepared to take action against councils which threaten library services, using his powers under the Public Libraries and Museums Act 1964. Is Lewisham one of the Councils that has received a letter from the DCMS to this effect? If it has what does it intend to do about it?

Reply

The Council has not received any letter from the Minister of State for Culture, Media and Sport indicating that he is to take any action against Local Authorities.

Question Q Time

PUBLIC QUESTION NO. 14

LONDON BOROUGH OF LEWISHAM

COUNCIL MEETING

1 MARCH 2011

Question asked by: Mr P Richardson

Member to reply: Councillor Best

Question

Para 8,7 of the Mayor and Cabinet Report titled Budget Strategy 2011-14 and Savings Options - Libraries (for the Mayor and Cabinet meeting on 17th February 2011) states that 16,104 signatures had been received on petitions against library closures from the five threatened libraries at the time of writing, and that more were expected on 17th November 2010. What was the figure on that date?

Have more signatures been received since 17th November 2010? If so, how many signatures in total were received? Reply

In total there have been 25,448 signatures received through written petitions and online petitions. The numbers received via e-petitions for each library are:

Blackheath e-petition - 349 Crofton Park e-petition - 652 Grove Park e-petition - 93 New Cross e-petition - 269 Sydenham e-petition – 698

Supplementary Question No.14

Mr Richardson

It is to do with the petitions. Some considerable time ago, in a response to similar numbers of petitioners a previous cabinet member of this council once said that council has an obligation to listen but no obligation to act. Can this still be considered a philosophy that is democratic in 2011.

Councillor Best

Well yes of course we have been listening. Which is why we have put out the expressions of interest on the libraries and we got feedback. Which is why we carried out a number of public meeting and of course you were present for those ten public meetings and for our users discussions. We have had enormous opportunity to get that feedback. We welcome people giving their views to us. We welcome people protesting. But of course we are in a difficult position and that is what we have explained through our public meetings on a range of issues that you are about to hear later on Mr Richardson.