CABINET – 15TH FEBRUARY 2007 ITEM 5 QUESTIONS UNDER COUNCIL PROCEDURE RULE 28 In accordance with Council Procedure Rule 28, the following questions have been submitted on notice. The response of the Leader/Lead Member is included. a. Question from Councillor Snartt Does the Leader agree with me: 1. That this Council needs to send a strong message to the Government asking them to take urgent action over the issues of student accommodation which exist in Loughborough, including legislation to amend the Use Classes Order? 2. That this would also be helpful to the student population? 3. That without legislation sustainable communities within certain areas of Loughborough will be difficult to achieve? Response: 1. We recognise the importance of amendments to Use Class Order legislation and are on the case already. I have been working with Andy Reed MP in pressing Ministers on this. In addition we have both highlighted salient comments made locally by SARG and a number of national bodies relating to the position in Northern Ireland where the position is different. We are hoping that the Minister of State, Phil Woolas MP, who visited Loughborough in October will be able to make some proposals with the LGA later this year and I can assure you that Andy Reed MP has placed this matter in the forefront of the Minister’s agenda. 2. Our primary concern is for the community as a whole of which the students are a part. We are working up a Student Management strategy in conjunction with the Students Union, The University, Loughborough College and local residents. The Strategy will bring together all the current activities which the various agencies are carrying out to manage the social and environmental impact of a large number of students in a relatively small town. It will consider how these activities can be improved and extended and it will agree an annual action plan to ensure that the activities take place on an ongoing basis. These activities will include measures to protect students from crime, to ensure that landlords manage and maintain student property well and to deliver responsive cleansing, refuse collection, street management and enforcement services in areas with a large student population. 3. Legislation of all kinds contributes to sustainable communities, as well as personal and collective responsibility, of course. This applies in student areas, areas off high deprivation, rural areas and others. Use Class Orders have already been mentioned and are a necessary for 1 controlling HMOs (i.e. those with more than six residents) but not a sufficient condition for sustainable communities. The Clean Neighbourhoods and Environment Act 2004 gives us specific powers to enforce cleaner streets and raise standards. In Charnwood we have made significant progress, but this is not an event, it is a process. The Anti-Social Behaviour Act 2003 is steadily having a significant effect on protecting communities and operates at various levels. Crime and Disorder Partnerships, Local Strategic Partnerships with Local Area Agreements are all having an increasing impact in helping us all to work together and focus on the most stressed and deprived areas. New planning law too allows us through SPDs to introduce wider regulation to help communities to be more sustainable. b. Question from Councillor Lewis Would the Leader of the Council (or appropriate Lead Member) clarify the current situation within the Borough with regard to infestation by rats. In particular: 1. Has there been an overall increase in call-outs since the introduction of the current wheelie-bin food waste collection? 2. How many call-outs were there, listed by Charnwood Borough Ward, during 2005-06 3. Is this seen to be a problem or potential problem, and what contingencies are there to respond? Response: 1. No, there has been a decrease in Loughborough and in the Borough as a whole since the introduction of the current wheelie-bin food waste collection in 2003/4. By contrast the NPTA report a significant increase nationally year on year for a wide variety of reasons. With respect to wheelie bins, the NPTA recommend these over plastic sacks for obvious reasons. 2. Call-outs listed by Charnwood Borough Ward, during 2005-06 Ward 2003/4 2005/6 Anstey 17 32 Barrow and Sileby West 34 39 Birstall Wanlip 40 44 Birstall Watermead 18 22 East Goscote 1 8 Forest Bradgate 25 41 Loughborough Ashby 17 10 Loughborough Dishley/Hathern 31 19 Loughborough Garendon 35 35 Loughborough Hastings 47 42 Loughborough Lemyngton 32 27 Loughborough Southfields 79 33 Loughborough Storer 19 11 Loughborough Nanpantan 52 40 2 Ward 2003/4 2005/6 Loughborough Outwoods 29 51 Loughborough Shelthorpe 41 32 Mountsorrel 27 26 Queniborough 19 27 Quorn and Mountsorrel C 58 51 Rothley and Thurcaston 85 68 Shepshed East 25 35 Shepshed West 27 51 Sileby 33 34 Syston East 28 23 Syston West 26 29 The Wolds 37 46 Thurmaston 64 40 Wreake Villages 33 32 Charnwood 979 948 Loughborrough 382 300 3. A decrease in call-outs cannot be seen as a problem but our highly professional Environmental Health team are alert to all pest and vermin control issues. In terms of further prevention new Clean Neighbourhoods and Environment Act, give greater powers to act to stamp out litter and fly-tipping. c. Question from Councillor Shepherd The article about concessionary travel in the Spring 2007 edition of "Charnwood News" does not make clear that Charnwood said last September that it could not commit to the scheme offered by the County Council. Why is that not made clear in the article? Response: I made it abundantly clear in August, September, October and November, and that is on record, that Charnwood would participate in a scheme with the County Council to provide County-wide free travel. The local Tory County Councillors who all voted down the subsidy in last year’s budget are attempting to con the public into thinking, quite ridiculously, that Charnwood can decide how the County spends its money. However this is dressed up by the Tories, they, not Charnwood, control the County Council and hold the purse-strings to the substantial budget at County Hall. If they are genuine in wanting to be fair and equitable to Charnwood tax payers they had and still have the opportunity to restore justice to Charnwood’s pensioners. Meanwhile Charnwood will deliver to Charnwood Pensioners the best and biggest concessionary travel scheme in Leicestershire. 3.