Agenda item

a)         Public Questions (30 minutes)

 

To receive questions from the public gallery and questions submitted by residents in advance of the meeting.

 

 

b)        Leader and Cabinet Member Questions (105 minutes)

 

To receive questions from Councillors.

The Mayor explained that Croydon Question Time would be taken in two parts.

 

The first part was public questions to the Leader and Cabinet, which was followed by questions from Members to the Leader and Cabinet. Wherever possible, the Cabinet Member provided an answer during the meeting, but if a question required detail that the Cabinet Member did not have with them then a written response would be published on the Council website within the following three weeks.

 

Public Questions

 

There were 30 minutes allocated to public questions, firstly from those who were in attendance and had emailed in their questions in advance.

 

The first question was from Mark Samuel:

“As a licenced radio amateur and to celebrate the love and affection of Her Majesty the Queen’s Jubilee would she agree to lend her written support to Ofcom for use of a special call sign within Croydon particularly all the green and open spaces. Could she also ask the Leader of the Opposition to do the same. ”

 

In her response the Leader, Councillor Hamida Ali stated that the Platinum Jubilee was an opportunity to celebrate lifelong service across the Commonwealth and outlined some of the events that had already taken place.

 

The Leader continued by stating that Ofcom had already given their support to having dedicated call signs but that she was very happy to lend her support to Mr Samuel for a call sign for use in Croydon.

 

In his supplementary question Mr Samuel asked:

 

“Would you be able to confirm that the Queen’s Gardens would be open sometime this year, as I visited this afternoon and they were still closed and being one of the principle parks in this area that would be a superb location to air a special call sign that I will be applying for. Thank you for undertaking your research into call signs but I am just hoping that the Queen’s Gardens will be open as I was told that they won’t be open until after the elections in three (sic) months’ time because of storage space. So if you could assist with that I would be very grateful.”

 

In her response, the Leader confirmed that she would ask when the Queen’s Gardens would reopen and get back to Mr Samuel and that the Platinum Jubilee weekend would be after the election.

 

The next question was from Tony Pearson:

 

“Will the Leader outline the plans that have been made to celebrate the Platinum Jubilee of Her Majesty, the Queen?”

.

In her response, the Leader confirmed that street parties would be facilitated and the usual fees were being waived to enable as many communities as possible to celebrate in the ways that they wished.

 

In his supplementary question Mr Pearson asked whether the Leader agreed that the only way this Jubilee would be celebrated in Croydon was for this morally bankrupt authority to be replaced by a Conservative administration and Conservative Mayor.

 

In her response, the Leader stated that she had hoped that this would have been a genuine question about this important civic event, and that it was rather unseemly to be politicising Her Majesty’s role.

 

The next question was from Amy Foster.

 

“My children attend Oasis Academy Ryelands in Oakley Road, South Norwood. I have been very impressed by how the school students and their teachers have encouraged active travel within their community, surveying their peers on how they get to school, creating a video as part of the COP26 Conference here in Croydon. However, what has made the true difference is the School Streets Scheme which has removed excess traffic from outside the school. Could the Cabinet Member please confirm when the School Streets Scheme will be returned to opening in Sandown Road so that the students and their parents can get to school safely?”

 

In his response, Councillor Muhammad Ali was pleased to announce that the Traffic Management Advisory Committee unanimously agreed to reintroduce the ten schemes that were temporarily suspended.  In addition the council had received funding to introduce two additional School Streets which would be put in place subject to consultation after May this year and further funding had been received for ten more from Transport for London (TfL), subject to consultation.  Any school that wished to be considered should contact the council.

 

The next question was from Kofi Frimpong.

 

“As this Labour council is about to make cuts of £470,000 to street lighting what provisions are being made to ensure that hotbeds of crime such as Norbury Avenue, Green Lane and Georgia Road are safe at night to walk through?”

 

In his response, Councillor Muhammad Ali stated that one of the council’s top priorities was to keep communities safe and the lighting upgrade completed in 2016 led to improved safety. Councillor Ali confirmed that in January this year a new lighting regime was introduced which had not led to an increase in crime levels and any areas where CCTV cameras were present would remain at 100% functionality. The results of this trial would be discussed at a future Cabinet meeting.

 

In his supplementary question Mr Frimpong stated that back in November he had been informed that light levels at a particular junction were below guidance levels, and asked whether the guidance on light levels were no longer suitable and whether the council would be consulting residents after the trial period.

 

In his response, Councillor Muhammad Ali confirmed that all changes in light levels were within the British guidance and confirmed that any future changes to this policy would be consulted on.

                             

The next question was from Sangeeta Gobidaas.

 

“Asking the Cabinet Member for Homes now that we are nearing the one year anniversary of the Regina Road housing airing, what actions have been taken by the council to improve the lives of residents since last year?”

 

In her response, Councillor Hay-Justice confirmed that the one year on report had been discussed at great length and she summarised the improvements that had been made including greater engagement with residents and structural surveys.

 

In her supplementary question Ms Gobidaasasked what the Cabinet’s future plans were for improving the lives of residents.

 

In her response, Councillor Hay-Justice stated that the Improvement Plan would ensure that improvements were ongoing.

 

The next question was from Simon Fox.

 

“Why have residents in supported living blocks and council homes in Waddon been so neglected and unable to get answers from the Labour councillors and Labour council to fix major problems in their homes?”

 

In her response, Councillor Hay-Justice stated that this question had been raised at Council at the end of last year and she referred Mr Fox to the webcast in which she had explained the situation following a visit that she had made with the Ward Councillors. Councillor Hay-Justice believed that all the issues had now been addressed apart from one door, for which parts had been ordered, and asked Mr Fox to make her or the Ward Councillors aware if there were any other issues.

 

In his supplementary question, Mr Fox highlighted cases where he believed work was outstanding and stated that if anyone still believed that Labour would help them with housing why should they continue to do so.

 

In her response, Councillor Hay-Justice stated that Layton Crescent works had been completed and reminded Mr Fox to use the Ward Councillors as a route to report issues.

 

The next question was from Richard Harris:

 

“Fly tipping, graffiti and street litter blights this borough in its entirety but especially in the north of the borough. However, it is increasingly clear that this council is repeatedly ignoring residents’ reports of fly tipping in the north of the borough leading to a loss of confidence in local democracy and a loss of pride in this borough. Can we have a commitment that reports are responded to in a timely manner in order to restore confidence from with community”.

 

In his response, Councillor Muhammad Ali explained the differences in response to fly tipping on public and private land and asked Mr Harris to contact him with any specific cases that were outstanding.

 

In his supplementary question, Mr Harris asked whether there was a reason that the streets in the borough were such a mess down to the fact that the council could not afford to provide basic services to the residents anymore due to financial mismanagement of the Labour Group.

 

In his response, Councillor Ali confirmed that nothing had been removed from the waste management contract.

 

The next question was from Blake O'Donnell:

 

“Fly-tipping has been a continual blight in Norbury Park. It has been raised time and again at Council Meetings and yet the problem persists with no sign of any improvement. Does Labour like fly tipping or have they simply given up?”

 

In his response, Councillor Ali reassured Mr O’Donnell that the council proactively dealt with fly tipping and stated that more than 95% of reports were removed within 24 hours and that the council had issued over 1800 fixed penalty notices and had achieved 106 successful prosecutions.

 

In his supplementary question, Mr O’Donnell asked why the council did not undertake more on the ground measures such as installing a skip on public land, informing the residents that it existed and putting up notices in fly tipping hotspots saying that there will be prosecutions for doing it.

 

In his response, Councillor Ali stated that he could not place skips in public parks and confirmed that there were plenty of bins in all the parks with additional provision in the summer time and signs were already up in hot spot areas.

 

 

Leader and Cabinet Member Questions

 

With the end of time allocated to questions from members of the public in attendance the Mayor moved on to questions from members to the Leader and Cabinet Members.

 

Questions to the Leader

 

In his question, Councillor Perryasked whether the Local Plan would still be submitted to the Planning Inspector later this month and questioned whether now was the right time to be doing so at a time of a change of governance of the council.

In her response, the Leaderreminded Members that Council had made the decision on how to respond.

 

In his supplementary question, Councillor Perryacknowledged the Leader‘s personal effort in stepping up as Leader and wished her well in her future endeavours.

 

In her response, the Leader thanked Councillor Perry for his kind words.

 

In his question, Councillor Fraser asked how the Leader had turned adversity into progressive change.

 

In her response, the Leader statedthat maintaining local control had been vital and outlined a number of steps that had been taken and reiterated some of the points she had made earlier. The leader continued by listing the services that had been protected.

 

In his supplementary question, Councillor Fraser asked how the Turnaround Brick by Brick programme would be added to affordable homes in Croydon this year and next.

 

In her response, the Leader stated that there would be 337 more genuinely affordable homes through Brick by Brick’s programme and that the delivery of affordable homes in the borough was a great achievement in tackling the borough’s housing crisis.

 

In his question, Councillor Jason Cummings askedwhy the Labour group felt that it was appropriate for the Chair of Scrutiny to be from the same party as the elected Mayor.

 

In her response, the Leader stated that it seemed that the Opposition had already conceded defeat in the Mayoral election.

 

In his supplementary question, Councillor Cummings stated that when they won the election the Conservative Group would like the Chairman to be from a different party as that would be a better way to hold the Mayor to account and asked again why was it blocked.

 

In her response, the Leader stated that Scrutiny had been invested in an independent chair of the General Purposes and Audit Committee and given it the resources to carry out its function without party politics.

 

In his question, Councillor Mann thanked those community champions with whom he had worked and asked how the successors could maintain and build upon the progress made in Crystal Palace and Upper Norwood.

 

In her response, the Leaderhoped that after the election there would be a direct link to the permanency he sought.

 

In her question, Councillor Oviri asked whether the Leader still felt that having an elected Mayor was a bad idea.

 

In her reply, the Leader reminded Members that it had been important to put that view to the people of Croydon and there was an emphatic vote in favour of an elected Mayor.

 

In her supplementary question, Councillor Oviri asked whether the Leader shared the electorate’s enthusiasm for the upcoming election.

 

In her response, the Leader stated that she was in favour of the democratic response that the people of Croydon had chosen and she hoped that having an elected Mayor would elevate its voice in the London-wide conversation.

 

Pool 1

 

With the end of the time allocated for questions to the Leader, the Mayor moved to questions to the Cabinet Members in the first pool. Councillor Hay-Justice, Councillor Shahul-Hameed and Councillor Muhammad Ali were invited to make their announcements.

 

Councillor Hay-Justice had no announcements.

 

Councillor Shahul-Hameed made her announcements regarding the Business Expo which had taken place and the Big Lunch events which were due to take place over the Jubilee Bank Holiday weekend.

 

Councillor Muhammad Ali made his announcements regarding the installation of electric vehicle charging points and the new business low emission scheme along London Road. In addition, Councillor Ali confirmed that the tree planting drive was continuing including the school tree planting project.

 

Councillor Ali concluded by confirming that he would not be seeking re-election and thanked all those who had supported him over the years.

 

In her question, Councillor Hale asked how the Cabinet Member could state that the Housing Service was one of the best when the Housing Improvement Board Report had stated that not enough improvements had been made in the last year or whether the Board was wrong in its assessment.

 

In her response, Councillor Hay-Justice clarified that the aim was to be the best through setting up the Improvement Board and that the Board’s report was not where the council had hoped to be and that the pace of improvement needed to be faster.

 

In her supplementary question, CouncillorHale stated that tenants had not been consulted on the 4.1% rise in rent.

 

In her response, Councillor Hay-Justice confirmed that tenants and leaseholders had been consulted on the increase which was in line with Central Government’s recommendations and reminded Members that the consultation was not mandatory.

 

In his question, Councillor Carseridesasked what support the council provided to help businesses recover from the pandemic.

 

In her reply, Councillor Shahul-Hameed confirmed that some businesses had been adversely affected by the pandemic particularly those in the night-time economy, hospitality, culture, and leisure. Councillor Shahul-Hameed continued by listing the support that was being provided by the council and the business groups that they were working with to deliver this funding.

 

In his supplementary question, Councillor Carserides asked what further support was required from Government to support businesses.

 

In her response, Councillor Shahul-Hameed stated that she would continue to campaign for further support, such as rate relief and VAT reductions.

In his question, Councillor Millsonasked which were the four Priority 1 and Priority 2 issues that were still outstanding from the Air Quality Audit carried out in 2018/19 and why they had not been closed after such a long period of time.

 

In his response, Councillor Muhammad Ali stated that the Air Quality Action Plan was currently under review and that the updated Air Quality Strategy and Action Plan would be going out to the public in due course and offered to speak to Councillor Millson directly to give him more specific details.

 

In his supplementary question, Councillor Millson stated that he believed that the Air Quality Action Plan had not been monitored and this had been picked up by Internal Audit and asked why this audit point had not been tracked by Cabinet Members.

 

In his response, Councillor Muhammad Ali stated that air quality was being tracked and that the revised Strategy and Action Plan would link to other strategies related to the environment and climate change.

 

Councillor Canning asked when the new bus shelters would be installed as the previous ones had been removed ten months ago.

 

In response, Councillor Muhammad Ali reminded Members that a contract had been signed with VALO four months ago and 53 sites had been submitted for planning; some shelters were expected to be installed within the next few weeks. The delay had been due to ensuring that the design of the shelters was right.

 

Councillor Stranack stated that the decision to close the Addington Community Centre would leave the New Addington Boxing Club homeless and that next year’s budget would cut two police officers from the New Addington Safer Neighbourhood Team. Councillor Stranack also asked whether Councillor Shahul-Hameed and the rest of the Cabinet felt that they had let the residents of New Addington down.

 

In her response, Councillor Shahul-Hameed reminded Members that the council worked very closely with the Police and the community to make sure that there were enough Police, and that involvement with the Safer Neighbourhood Team ensured that these issues were tackled collaboratively.

 

In his supplementary question, Councillor Stranack stated that the community of New Addington was very disappointed by this decision and asked that the Cabinet Member worked with Councillor Young to consult with the community before making the decision to sell the valued community asset.

 

In her response, Councillor Shahul-Hameed acknowledged the community’s concern at the lack of community spaces for young people and outlined some of the support that was being given to community and voluntary organisations.

 

Councillor Jewittasked the Cabinet Member to confirm that the concerns of the Grange Road residents about speeding vehicles would be monitored as a matter of urgency.

 

In his response, Councillor Muhammad Ali stated that the signage installed in 2020 had been effective but where motorists insisted on travelling at speed enforcement would be needed and the council must rely on this to be carried out by the Metropolitan Police. Councillor Ali continued by stating that he would raise the concerns with the Metropolitan Police and request some additional enforcement was carried out.

 

Councillor Ali concluded by giving some information on the Roadwatch Scheme which he would pass on to Councillor Jewitt.

 

Councillor Redfernstated that there had been a homeless community in the Wellesley Road subway and asked why this was being allowed to happen.

 

In her response, Councillor Hay-Justice confirmed that she had been approached by several councillors who were concerned about particular individuals and that officers had been working with partners to provide a wraparound service. However, it had been difficult to encourage some individuals to move at this time.

 

In her supplementary question, Councillor Redfern asked for more specific actions that would be undertaken in the next few weeks.

 

In her response, Councillor Hay-Justice stated that this issue was not as easy to resolve as many people thought as some of these individuals had complex issues and there were a number of agencies working closely together to provide support. In addition those agencies ensured that the wellbeing of the individuals was maintained and not all of them chose to accept the accommodation that was available.

 

 

Pool 2

 

With the end of time allocated to questions to the Cabinet Members in the first pool, the Mayor signalled he was moving on to questions to Cabinet Members in the second pool. Councillor King and Councillor Young were invited to make their announcements.

 

Councillor King used his announcement to pay tribute to all those councillors who had chosen to step aside at the elections in May and especially to the Leader whom he was proud to have served alongside.

 

Councillor Young had no announcements.

 

In his question, Councillor Jason Cummings stated that during the period that Croydon Affordable Housing was identified as having a £73 million risk an ex-Labour councillor in Croydon was appointed as a Director and the appointment had never been brought forward to council. He asked who had made that appointment.

 

In his reply, Councillor King stated that the appointment had been made before he had become the Cabinet Member.

 

In his supplementary question, Councillor Cummings stated that the website was not updated for fifteen months so no one knew that he had been appointed as a director of Croydon Affordable Housing and asked again whether the Cabinet Member felt it was appropriate to appoint a Labour politician to a Director post.

 

In his response, Councillor King stated that as he had not been involved in the process he did not know what criteria were applied to the appointment, the experience or skills required. However, Councillor King reminded Members that the governance arrangements had been improved and more training provided since this appointment had been made.

 

In her question, Councillor Jewitt asked what assumptions the council had made regarding inflation the next year and for the remainder of the Medium Term Financial Strategy (MTFS).

 

In his reply, Councillor King stated than when the MTFS was agreed in March 2021 it had been assumed that wage and contract inflation would be 2% but this had been raised during the course of the year.

 

Councillor King reminded Members that in the recently agreed budget, contract inflation was assumed at 5% and wage inflation at 3% and thought that these were prudent assumptions but acknowledged that should inflation continue to rise then the situation may need to be reviewed.

 

In her supplementary question, Councillor Jewitt asked what the consequences of rising inflation were for the council.

 

In his response, Councillor King stated that the cost for the year 2022/23 of rising inflation was £20 million and for the term of the MTFS is would be £50 million and that this would lead to less funding for resident priorities.

 

Councillor Rocheasked whether the Cabinet Member thought that it was morally acceptable to set a budget based on fixed penalty notices.

 

In his reply, Councillor King stated that he did not believe that the issuing of fines was a question of morality.

 

Councillor Prince asked what was the forecast for this years’ council budget and what the implications were for the next year as a result.

 

In his reply, Councillor King stated that the latest forecast was a broadly positive one with a £1.6 million predicted underspend.  Any underspend would go into reserves to give additional relief against some of the uncertainties next year such as inflation.

 

In her supplementary question, Councillor Prince asked whether the difficult decisions that had been necessary to produce a balanced budget had been supported by the Opposition.

 

In his response, Councillor King stated that none of the difficult decisions taken had been supported by the Opposition.

 

In his question,Councillor Ward asked when the public would hear the results of the three investigations currently being undertaken.

 

In his response, Councillor King confirmed that the work was ongoing and believed that the Chief Executive would brief Councillors when she was in a position to do so.

 

In his supplementary question, Councillor Ward asked for assurances that evidence would not be lost.

 

In his response, Councillor King acknowledged that Councillor Ward was an early advocate for better retention of documentation and hoped that he would state that the situation had improved.

 

Councillor Agboola asked the Cabinet Member for assurance that when property assets had been sold, that the monies were ploughed back into the communities where these sales had taken place.

 

In his reply, Councillor Young stated that he could not give that assurance as the funds became capital receipts which were then used ahead of any borrowing due to the interest costs incurred on borrowing.

 

In his question, Councillor Kolade asked when the last time was that the external review of the council’s internal audit function took place and when the next one was due.

 

In his reply, Councillor Young stated that he did not know the exact date but would write to Councillor Kolade giving him full details.

 

In his supplementary question, Councillor Kolade asked in light of the issues that had been raised by external auditors, what confidence the Cabinet member had in the internal audit processes.

 

In his response, Councillor Young stated that he had absolute confidence in the internal audit function of the council.

 

In her question, Councillor Jewitt asked whether the council’s commissioningand procurement function was fit for purpose as the current council term came to an end and how prepared it was to make the budget savings required in 2022/23.

 

In his response, Councillor Young explained that the work that had been undertaken in reviewing all the contracts and improving governance had already led to savings being made.

 

 

Pool 3

 

With the end of time allocated to questions to the Cabinet Members in the second pool, the Mayor signalled he was moving on to questions to Cabinet Members in the third pool. Councillor Campbell, Councillor Lewis and Councillor Flemming were invited to make their announcements.

 

Councillor Campbell thanked the Leader for her service and Councillors Bernadette Khan and Louise Woodley for their support to social care. Councillor Campbell thanked the staff of Freeman Court for their work which had been reflected in the most recent Care Quality Commission (CQC) inspection.

 

Councillor Campbell continued by giving Members an update on the work of the Autism Partnership.

 

Councillor Flemmingreminded Members of the achievements made within her portfolio over the last four years. Councillor Flemming gave her thanks to Councillor Shafi Khan for his work in supporting her throughout and also listed others councillors on both sides of the chamber and ex-councillors for their support and encouragement.

 

Councillor Lewis reflected on the last eight years and stated that there had been significant investment in the culture sector over that time. In addition, the borough had been awarded nearly £250,000 of Heritage Lottery Funding for a music trail within the borough which was in addition to the £250,000 already pledged by Heritage Lottery Fund.

 

In addition, Councillor Lewis clarified a response given earlier in the meeting, regarding the Local Plan review timetable.

 

Councillor Bainsasked for details on the proposal for the new leisure centre in the south of the borough.

 

In his response, Councillor Lewis stated that he had long been an advocate of a new leisure centre in the south of the borough but that it would be down to the new Administration to decide on a plan for delivery.

 

In his supplementary question, Councillor Bains asked for the specific date of when the leisure centre would open.

 

In his response, Councillor Lewis stated that it would be up to the electorate to decide at the election which option they preferred.

 

Councillor Carseridesasked how within the Authorised Contractual Scheme (ACS) Strategy how demand would be reduced without harming the most vulnerable.

 

In her response, Councillor Campbell stated that the model being used ensured that people received the right level of support and the right time to reduce the demand.

 

Councillor Campbell continued by informing Members of the reporting mechanisms including annually by the Care Quality Commission.

 

Councillor Chatterjee asked how much the proposed new leisure centre in the south of the borough was going to cost.

 

In his response, Councillor Lewis reiterated that it would be up to the future Administration to decide on the options and that should the Labour candidate for Mayor be elected then a feasibility study would be undertaken.

 

In his supplementary question, Councillor Chatterjee asked whether the costs would be cost neutral or similar to the Fairfield Halls refurbishment costs.

 

In his response, Councillor Lewis confirmed that Fairfield Halls was in a better place as a result of the investment and was looking forward to being able to support the cultural sector in Croydon.

 

In his question, Councillor Bonello asked that following the death of Kyrell Matthews what assurances the Cabinet Member could give that Children’s Services in Croydon were well placed to ensure that the children and young people were adequately safeguarded.

 

In her response, Councillor Flemming stated that this case had been discussed at Scrutiny and listed the learning that had arisen and some of the changes that had occurred in working with other partners to join up information.

 

In his supplementary question, Councillor Bonello asked what had changed in the way the department operated since Kyrell’s death.

 

In her response, Councillor Flemming stated that the referral thresholds had been reviewed and all cases were now reviewed independently by the Safeguarding Partnership.

 

In her question, Councillor Appleton asked whether the labour Party Mayoral candidate had shared fully costed plans for the new leisure centre with Labour Councillors.

 

In his response, Councillor Lewis stated that he had made clear the choice that the electorate could make on 5 May.

 

In her supplementary question, Councillor Appleton stated that her question had not been answered and asked again whether fully costed plans had been shared by the labour mayoral candidate.

 

In his response, Councillor Lewis stated that there was a fully costed plan to deliver a new leisure centre in Purley.

 

In his question, Councillor Bonello asked whether the Cabinet Member would join him in thanking the social workers for their tireless work going above and beyond to keep the borough’s young people safe and whether she agreed that Croydon was fortunate to have such a dedicated and child focussed workforce.

 

In her response, Councillor Flemming agreed wholeheartedly with Councillor Bonello and that it was both a stressful and rewarding role. All Members, as Corporate Parents needed to applaud them for their dedication.

 

In his supplementary question, Councillor Bonello asked what impact a decade of austerity had had on the way Children’s Services worked in this borough.

 

In her response, Councillor Flemming confirmed that austerity had blighted Children’s Services in the borough and had added pressure right across the country. She stated that it cost money to support the most vulnerable children and so commitment was required from the Government.

 

In his question, Councillor Parker stated that Purley Pool and Leisure was a well-loved and well used facility and that the Conservative Mayoral candidate had put forward a plan to refurbish and reopen Purley Pool and asked the Cabinet Member to explain the Labour position on a proposed new leisure centre in Purley.

 

In his response, Councillor Lewis agreed that Purley Pool was a much-loved facility which was at the end of its life and patching it up was not considered an option.

 

In his supplementary question, Councillor Parker stated that the Administration had let the people of Croydon down and their refusal to refurbish Purley Pool showed that they had learnt no lessons from Fairfield Halls.

 

In his response, Councillor Lewis reiterated that there would be a clear choice for voters on 5 May.

 

With an end to the time allocated to questions to Cabinet Members in the third pool, the Mayor brought Croydon Question Time to a close.