Agenda item

Public Questions (30 minutes)

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

The following Public Questions will be heard at this meeting, which will be responded to. The questioners will have the opportunity to ask a supplementary question based on the answer received.

The questions are as follows:

1.     As a local resident in Fairfield near East Croydon station, I’m feeling increasingly anxious when walking around the local area. Especially so after the spike in knife crime we’ve experienced in the last week or so. I’d like to know what is being done to tackle this at source and also what is being done to keep residents such as myself safe from not only actual crime, but the fear of crime itself.

2.     When will the council start taking action against fly tippers, especially in alleyways and hotspots like Euston road?

3.     TFL data for Croydon shows 51% go to work by car, 25% on foot, 17% by bus or tram, 6% by rail and 1% by bike.

Croydon introduced many car-hostile policies and restrictions under the previous administration, often with minimal consultation.

Given the Uxbridge byelection, how will you change the following to a more car-friendly voter-friendly approach – boosting the economy and setting the public free?

20mph on most roads

School streets

Road closures

Low Traffic Neighbourhoods
Controlled parking zones

Yellow lines

High parking charges

Emission charges

Cycle lanes

Road humps

4.     The residents of Croydon welcome and applaud mayor Perry’s Croydon clean-up campaign August 14th (Norbury clean up). But does this extend to eyesore front gardens where owners / occupiers leave fridges, mattresses, sofas in their front gardens and ignore polite requests to clean up their front garden? Is there or will there be a council department which will respond to residents’ complaints about eyesore front gardens, and will such council / department officers attend and deal with and take enforcement action in respect of reported eyesore front gardens?

5.     My name is Lisa Grady, I work at Applegarth school, where my children attended. There has been an increasing risk for the children of Applegarth and Good Shepherd school when crossing the road to school as cars and buses do not stop for them. I have seen children walking into the road having to look around parked cars and buses to try to cross. My son was also almost hit when crossing the road as we couldn’t see clearly. Therefore, could I put forward a request for a zebra crossing to be added in Fieldway by Brierley and Applegarth?

6.     What does Croydon Council intend to do about the total lack of provision for dyslexic primary school-aged children? 1 in 5 children are dyslexic with either ASD/ADHD or Visual Stress conditions, and yet we as one of London’s largest boroughs do not have our own Crested LA maintained school with Level 7 Dyslexic and Dyscalculia input.

7.     As part of the modernisation of Croydon managed bus shelters those in Norbury (and other areas) were removed before the new were available for installation. Residents' are now facing a third winter without shelter. Please could you say when are the new bus shelters likely to be installed?

8.     Government funding settlement for TfL requires TfL to increase fares. As a result, TfL will withdraw One Day Paper Travelcards, contrary to Croydon’s sustainable transport policy. Residents will pay higher fares and make fewer journeys. Those without Oyster cards or bankcards will require single peak tickets for all journeys. Children who do not have an Oyster zipcard will pay peak/adult fares; buses are cashless. The London Mayor is willing to discuss ways of retaining the One Day Paper Travelcard with the Rail Delivery Group and DFT. Would the Mayor support discussions with DfT and retention of One Day Paper Travelcards?

9.     The Croydon Observatory Borough Profile published in June 2023, shows uptake for funded 2-year-old early years places is 9% lower than the London average. Uptake for 3–4-year-old funded places had dropped 5% from the previous year and was 3% lower than the average for London. Given how important early years provision is for lifelong outcomes, especially for children living in areas with high income deprivation how will the council work to improve uptake of funded early years placements to enable Croydon's future generation to flourish?

Before the Croydon Question Time, the Chair informed Council that many residents had submitted questions about knife crime and community safety due to the recent tragic events in the Borough. He advised that in accordance with the Council Procedure Rules similar questions had been grouped together and the first question had been allocated to this topic. He advised that residents who still had questions following the response at the meeting should contact Democratic Services via the online form.  

 Public Questions

1.    The answer was given and printed in the agenda. The questioner had no supplementary question.

2.    In response to the answer given and printed in the agenda, the questioner asked a supplementary question about how penalty notices would be issued if the identity of the perpetrators were unknown as there were no cameras to help identify them.

The Cabinet Member for Streets and Environment, Councillor Scott Roche, advised the NSL service had been cancelled and forcibly taken away. The Council was looking into other options such as redesigning the service, redeveloping the app, reestablishing a new team, and revisiting options the Council could financially support given its limited resources. 

3.    In response to the answer given and printed in the agenda, the questioner asked if the Executive Mayor would write to the Mayor of London to ascertain if his recent strategy for transport in London would be reviewed in accordance with the national guidance and if Croydon would make any changes to its strategy as a result.

The Executive Mayor in response stated the Council was awaiting the release of the detailed guidance on the strategy and he would consult with the Cabinet Member for Streets and Environment to respond accordingly.

4.    In response to the answer given and printed in the agenda, the questioner stated the problem was more about crossing the main road to get to the school. As most children were too small to see round or over the buses before crossing the road. More safety measures were needed.

Councillor Scott Roche, the Cabinet Member for Streets and Environment in response stated, that the relevant officers would investigate the specific situation and respond to the questioner accordingly.

5.    In response, to the answer given and printed in the agenda, the questioner disagreed there was inclusivity and primary support for children with learning disabilities in the Borough. She detailed the difficulties face by her children such as lack of SENCO staff and suitable non-overwhelming learning environments in addition to the closure of Dyslexic society due to budget cuts as evidence the Council needed to do more primary aged early intervention for children in Croydon.

In response, the Cabinet Member for Children and Young people, Councillor Maria Gatland, advised the questioner to email her directly so she could discuss the situation with the Corporate Director Children, Young People & Education.

6.    It was noted that Question 7 had been withdrawn and deferred to the next meeting of Council.

7.    In response, to the answer given and printed in the agenda, the questioner asked if the Executive Mayor to write to the Department for Transport and urge them to negotiate with Rail Delivery Group and The Mayor of London as the decision to withdraw the One Day Paper Travel Card would be detrimental to public transport users in Croydon.

The Executive Mayor responded that he was happy to write to the Department of Transport.

8.    In response, to the answer given and printed in the agenda, the questioner asked about the start and end date of the analysis and when specific actions would commence to increase the uptake for funded 2-year-old Early Years places in the Borough.

The Cabinet Member for Children and Young People, Councillor Maria Gatland, advised she was uncertain of the timing but would be happy to confirm the specifics later in response to a direct email from the questioner.