To receive the written reports of the Executive and Overview and Scrutiny Committee Chairs, and to receive questions and answers on any of those reports in accordance with Standing Orders 10(2)(a) and 11.

The Mayor introduced the summary reports from the Leader, Cabinet Members and Overview and Scrutiny Committee Chairs and asked for questions on any of the reports.

Councillor Chris Blakeley asked a question of Councillor Stuart Whittingham, Cabinet Member for Highways and Transport, whether he was aware of officers from Highways Services having written to community groups to inform them that from Christmas 2019 they would be charged for electricity used in lighting displays and would he withdraw this miserly instruction recognising the great works these community groups do in encouraging people to visit and shop in these towns. Councillor Whittingham agreed that he would supply an answer in writing.

Councillor Dave Mitchell asked a question of Councillor Stuart Whittingham, Cabinet Member for Highways and Transport, on when pothole repairs would be undertaken on the A41 at the junction of Eastham Rake and Stanley Lane, having written 6 times to Highways Services about the matter. Councillor Whittingham agreed that he would supply an answer in writing.

Councillor Mike Sullivan asked a question of Councillor Phil Davies, Leader of the Council, referring to the Wirral Green Spaces Alliance Group on whether it would be possible for all political groups to work together to save the green belt. Councillor Davies stated that he was very sympathetic to this proposed approach as the green belt was something which united the Council. He made the offer to work with other Parties on this issue and asked if they would join with him in trying to persuade the Government to use the lower Office of National Statistics figure for the number of new homes required each year in Wirral. He also asked if the other two party leaders would join with him to put as much influence on owners of brown field sites to build on these sites as soon as possible as he believed that brownfield sites were the only way forward. He had written to the Secretary of State twice asking the Government to allow Wirral to use the lower figure of 477 houses required per year.

Councillor Ian Lewis asked a question of Councillor Janette Williamson, Cabinet Member for Finance and Resources, if she could advise him in writing on how much uncollected and unrecoverable poll tax (community charge) had been written off by the Council since 1991 and did she believe that the policy of non-payment pursued and encouraged by a previous Leader of this Council was reckless. Councillor Williamson agreed to supply a written response.

Councillor Allan Brame asked a question of Councillor Phil Davies, Leader of the Council, regarding the total cost to the Council of staging Liverpool’s Dream, the ‘Giants’. Councillor Davies responded by thanking all the officers who had worked on this event, an evaluation of the economic impact was currently being undertaken by the Liverpool City Region which he would be able to share with Members when it was available. An estimated 80,000 people had attended the event at New Brighton on Friday, 5 October with an overall total of 1.3m across the whole weekend. The previous visit of the ‘Giants’ in 2014 to Liverpool had provided economic benefits of £46m. The cost to the Council was £20,000 with the majority of funding being provided by the LCR Combined Authority, Metro Mayor’s office and a grant from the Arts Council. Some capital improvements had also been made in New Brighton in advance of the event.

Councillor Jeff Green asked a question of Councillor Chris Jones, Cabinet Member for Adult Care and Health, regarding the additional £2m for Wirral University Teaching Hospital to assist with winter planning. Councillor Jones responded that the service was always grateful for more money and that work was undertaken across the health economy with health and social care working together to alleviate winter pressures and would be reported to the Health and Wellbeing Board.

Councillor Andrew Gardner asked a question of Councillor George Davies, Cabinet Member for Housing and Planning regarding the production of the Local Plan. Councillor Davies responded that it had been 14 years since the last Plan was produced, when the three Party Leaders worked together to ensure the Unitary Development Plan came into effect. He acknowledged that the Council was running behind in its production of the latest Local Plan but he would ensure that the Plan was with the Government by May, 2019.

Councillor Dave Mitchell asked a question of Councillor Angela Davies, Cabinet Member for Jobs and Growth, regarding the proposed Eureka Centre at Seacombe and funding for the Wirral Visitor Economy. Councillor Davies responded by acknowledging the substantial part that the Visitor Economy played and the number of roles, professions and employment associated with it. The Council was always looking to increase spend by visitors and to have them stay for longer. She expressed delight at the number of different events organised by the Imagine Wirral team and that they were now working hard for next year’s programme of events when Wirral would be the Liverpool City Region Borough of Culture.

Councillor David Burgess-Joyce asked a question of Councillor Angela Davies, Cabinet Member for Jobs and Growth, regarding Peel Holdings and potential investment in the Borough. Councillor Davies stated that Peel Holdings should have ‘come up to the plate a lot sooner’, although she was pleased with the really positive work on Wirral Waters One, where 500 new homes would be built, providing a real catalyst for the area and that the Council continued to work hard with Peel.

Councillor Mary Jordan asked a question of Councillor Phil Davies, Leader of the Council, if he would support the Wirral Festival of Music, Speech and Drama, which would be celebrating its 70^th anniversary in 2019, an organisation which supported children and young people to flourish in all aspects of the arts. Councillor Davies responded that he would.

Councillor Andrew Hodson asked a question of Councillor Phil Davies, Leader of the Council, regarding the withdrawal of Storey Homes from any development associated with the proposed Hoylake Golf Resort and whether he was aware of how unpopular Redrow Homes were on Merseyside. Councillor Davies responded that the project was still at the early stages with the developer undertaking a series of feasibility studies and a detailed report would be going to Cabinet at the end of this year or beginning of the next with the results of these. The next stage would then be to look at the funding and financial package required for house building, the golf course, hotel and links academy. He believed that there would be potentially substantial benefits to jobs and investment in the borough and of the need to look at the evidence for the whole proposed package rather than jumping to any conclusions.

Councillor Tony Cox asked a question of Councillor Angela Davies, Cabinet Member for Jobs and Growth, regarding why no studies had been undertaken for alternative proposals for the proposed Hoylake Golf Resort site, such as a possible wetland resort. Councillor Davies responded that she believed that this was something being explored.

Councillor Jo Bird asked a question of Councillor Janette Williamson, Cabinet Member for Finance and Resources, regarding the community wealth building strategy. Councillor Williamson responded that Neil McInroy of the Centre for Local Economic Strategies was working with the Council on a community wealth building strategy which would enable more of the Wirral pound which the Council and its partners spent to be kept on Wirral to help with the regeneration of the more deprived areas.

Councillor Pat Cleary asked a question of Councillor Angela Davies, Cabinet Member for Jobs and Growth, regarding what efforts were being undertaken to ensure the new Eureka Museum at Seacombe would be at least carbon neutral if not Carbon negative. Councillor Davies expressed excitement at the proposed new museum, having visited the Halifax site and seen first-hand the amazing facilities on offer there. Science and technology were at the forefront of their work and she would ensure that this comment was fed into the project.

Councillor Les Rowlands asked a question of Councillor Angela Davies, Cabinet Member for Jobs and Growth, regarding the temporary post of Project Manager for the Wirral Growth Company. Councillor Davies responded by referring to the huge reduction in full time equivalent posts at the Council by 35% since 2011 with barely enough staff to run day to say services. It was not an effective use of public money to employ highly paid staff permanently when they could be brought in for a limited period of time. The Growth Company would be looking at new ways to bring in income for the Council which would lead to an increase in employment, apprenticeships and a hire local / buy local policy.

Councillor Gerry Ellis asked a question of Councillor Phill Brightmore, Cabinet Member for Leisure and Recreation, regarding the decline in the number of people playing golf at a time when the Council was spending money on proposed new golf provision in Hoylake. Councillor Brightmore responded that although it was in decline nationally it remained quite popular on Wirral attracting a large number of events and it was entirely right to invest in this provision but in a new and fresh way.

Councillor Stuart Kelly asked a question of Councillor George Davies, Cabinet Member for Housing and Planning, regarding empty homes and a breakdown of the 42 selective licensing prosecutions. In response, Councillor Davies stated that he would provide a written response on the selective licensing prosecutions With regard to empty properties he referred to the Empty Property Grant of up to £5,000 which was available to help with the refurbishment costs of a property located in a designated Selective Licensing area. There were currently 4 Selective Licensing areas which were in some of the most deprived areas of the Borough and a further 4 areas had been agreed recently by Cabinet.

Councillor Adam Sykes asked a question of Councillor Phil Davies, Leader of the Council, regarding the important part which libraries played with the Council’s cultural services. Councillor Davies responded that he did believe that the arts and culture industry were often seen as nice to have rather than an essential part of the economy. It was his passion to ensure they did take centre stage and thanked Councillor Chris Spriggs for all the work she had undertaken in championing this sector. With regard to libraries and other leisure and cultural services there was a need to ensure they were financially sustainable and Councillor Phill Brightmore would be bringing forward detailed proposals on these reviews with recommendations in the next couple of months. 

Councillor David Elderton asked a question of Councillor George Davies, Cabinet Member for Housing and Planning, regarding the consultation methodology for the Local Plan review. Councillor Davies responded that consultation was still ongoing and this would be made available as soon as the figures were released by the Government, which were due on 3 December, 2018 and the consultation results would be reported back to Cabinet on 17 December, 2018.

Councillor Bruce Berry asked a question of Councillor George Davies, Cabinet Member for Housing and Planning, regarding the withdrawal of Magenta Living from Property Pool Plus and would this make it harder for people on Wirral to find suitable accommodation. Councillor Davies responded that yes they had withdrawn which did cause a problem as they were the biggest Registered Social Landlord on Wirral. They were still working with the Council on a lot of other properties but the revenue which came into the Council to be a member of Property Pool Plus was no longer there.

Councillor Tony Norbury asked a question of Councillor Janette Williamson, Cabinet Member for Finance and Resources, regarding a forthcoming Policy Forum on 27 November, to be the first of many with grassroots members and Council tax payers, with full cabinet involvement. Councillor Williamson welcomed this as any kind of engagement with the wider community was always welcomed.

Councillor Steve Williams asked a question of Councillor Stuart Whittingham, Cabinet Member for Highways and Transport, regarding requests and problems referred to BAM Nuttall by the public and Members and whether those they had not been able to action before the transfer of the service had all been identified for action. Councillor Whittingham stated that the transfer had all gone smoothly on 1 October and that BAM Nuttall had handed over a number of jobs which were all in hand.

Councillor Kathy Hodson asked a question of Councillor Stuart Whittingham, Cabinet Member for Highways and Transport, regarding the Pothole Action Fund of £563,000 and how much had been spent as it was reported at the Business Overview and Scrutiny Committee in September that only £33,000 of it had been so far. Councillor Whittingham responded that that figure was for the first quarter and the Council had until 31 March, 2019 to spend the funding which it would do.

Councillor Lesley Rennie asked a question of Councillor Tony Jones, Chair of the Environment Overview and Scrutiny Committee, regarding the progress in introducing a ban on overnight parking of campervans at Kings Parade and Coastal Drive in New Brighton. Councillor Jones responded that this matter came under the remit of the Business Overview and Scrutiny Committee and he therefore could not update the Council.

The Civic Mayor informed the Council that the allotted time for this item had been reached and no further questions were to be taken.