Meeting: County Council (County Hall, Durham - Council Chamber - 06/08/2008 10:00:00 AM)
Item: A4 Questions received from the public
Northern Relief Road
Question
Having read information in the Durham Times three questions I have are as follows:
1) With news that further congestion charges in Durham City will not now take place has the idea of a northern relief road also run its course?
2) With Unitary status what influence will the majority of city residents have in order to stop the misguided idea of a northern relief road?
3) Why has it taken so long for any information to come into the public domain about this whole transport topic?
Answer
1. The preliminary transportation analysis and option appraisal work that is currently being undertaken in connection with a possible Transport Innovation Fund bid will soon be completed following which the outcomes will need to be reviewed. No recent statements have been made by the County Council with regard to any further congestion charging in Durham City or the possibility of a northern relief road.
2. With the imminent transition to a new authority, it was considered more appropriate for any proposals to be considered by the new Members. This extended timescale has also enabled the option analysis to be fully completed and discussed with the Department of Transport.
3. The Authority has yet to determine the nature of any consultation they may wish to undertake on any potential package of measures to deal with the future management of traffic demands in the City which may include infrastructure improvements. However, if a public consultation takes place the procedures will be the same for the new Unitary Authority as they would be for the present County Council.
Premier Waste
Question
As the major shareholder in Premier Waste how could the council allow such a mess as reported by BBC Inside Out? Is there no monitoring system to ensure they work within the law? Has anyone lost their job or been disciplined due to the mess? Will this mess not cost council tax payers as this fundamental mistake will mean the council will not meet its targets for reducing waste? How much has this mess cost the council to date?
Answer
Durham County Council has been working with Premier Waste over recent years to divert waste away from landfill. Premier Waste in partnership with the County Council and DEFRA has been developing an innovative aerobic digester treatment which turns waste into a product that can be used as land restoration material.
The process is highly regulated and monitored by the State Veterinary Service, DEFRA and the Environment Agency. This material can be granted an exemption by the Environment Agency for use as restoration material for land improvement. The material from the process was being stored pending use at Todhills for restoration of the landfill site there. Unfortunately some of the batches of the material used at Todhills may not have reached the required temperature to completely sanitise it within the digester process and therefore the material had to be considered as ordinary waste and taken to landfill. The material itself, although classed as waste has been through a treatment process and therefore is not in anyway hazardous.
There have been some processing problems and these are now being dealt with by Premier in liaison with the regulatory bodies (DEFRA, Environment Agency and the State Veterinary Service) to ensure that in future the Company can demonstrate that all batches are inert.
Any staffing issues where there may have been instances of performance being below expectation is an internal issue for the Company to resolve. The outcome of any such discussions are confidential between the parties.
In terms of targets, until recently, the County Council has been able to meet its recycling and composting targets due to the use of aerobic digester and once the process is again on stream then this will improve. There has been no additional cost to the taxpayer. It is cheaper to landfill waste at the moment than it is to treat it. This will start to change in the next few years when the cost to landfill will increase. The Council with Premier are investigating alternative treatments to reduce landfill and protect the environment.
Questions relating to the new Unitary Authority
Questions
1. Can we be assured that the £12m, £21m saving as stated by those pushing the unitary Authority will be a reality and not pie in the sky?
2. It is noted that you will be putting to the public the choice of the name of the new council. How long has it taken for these names to be shortlisted?
Is it the case that the politicians have been unable to decide the new name due to differences? What will the costs be of the different options? As a resident the name means very little to me and I would prefer you to spend the money on better services.
Answers
1. The proposal for a future Unitary structure for County Durham - the Bid document - included estimates of transitional costs of £12.5m, savings of £20.5m and investments of £15.2. The Bid detailed that these savings would come over two years. Included within investments is the commitment to bring former district Council tax levels down to that of the district with the lowest council tax - currently Easington, and formerly Chester-le-Street - referred to as equalisation of Council Tax levels.
Work has been ongoing since the acceptance of the Bid was announced, and we are just about to embark on the Budget and Medium Term Financial Plan process for next year and the following two years.
We are confident that the unitary council will achieve the level of savings outlined in the Bid, will stand by the commitments to equalise council tax, and will provide resources to deliver the level of investment in services included in the Bid.
2. There has been no special shortlisting process to draw-up alternative names for the new authority. The names on which we are currently consulting have been suggested over a period of time as those which are potentially most likely and most suitable.
On the question of costs, while there have been various figures publicised in the press and elsewhere, the detailed costs of any re-branding options have not been finalised.
However, there will inevitably be some costs associated with re-branding, whatever name is chosen for the new council. Even if the name ‘Durham County Council’ is retained, at least some of the vehicles, properties etc currently owned and managed by the seven district councils will have to be re-branded and re-badged in due course.
One of the main purposes of re-organisation is to make the provision of local government services in County Durham less confusing and more accountable. That is not going to be achieved without some degree of re-branding so that people know the name of the council providing those services.
Finally, we welcome and fully support your wish to see this current reorganisation result in improved services. Our work on the transition to unitary status is focused on the mechanics of seamlessly dovetailing together eight organisations so that the services they currently provide are not interrupted and are provided efficiently, effectively and economically once the new authority comes into being.
We can reassure you that high upon the new authority's agenda will be the identification of ways of avoiding any and all unnecessary expenditure and a determination that the efficiencies and savings achieved by reorganisation are re-invested in strengthening the very front line services you mention.
Remembrance Sunday Road Closures
Question
Can we have an assurance from the new Authority, they will do everything to support the many parades and services for Remembrance Sunday by not charging for road closures?
Answer
It has always been the policy of both County and District Councils to support local parades whether to commemorate Remembrance Sunday or for other community events. As such we have never charged for processing any necessary road closures and have assisted organisers whenever possible. There are no plans to change this position with the creation of the new authority and indeed the new organisation should be better placed to help foster local community activity.
Support for Children with Special Educational Needs
Question
Children with Special Needs on transferring to schools require extra support, a capital sum is involved. Why doesn't each child have an allowance which moves with them? So saving Head teachers the ongoing administration to try and get the monies from the LEA who have a closing date or is probably not compatible with the move.
Answer
All schools in County Durham have significant sums of money to help them meet the needs of all their pupils, automatically built in to the delegated budgets that they receive from the County Council. This includes money which the Local Authority would expect them to deploy to provide additional support to children with Special Educational Needs. Head teachers do not need to apply for this resource.
In addition, children with more complex needs can be assessed by the Local Authority for a statement of Special Educational Needs. This describes the extra support a child requires in school, which may be provided for by the resources the school already has in its budget or, where necessary, with additional resources provided by the Local Authority. The system which provides for Statements of Special Educational Needs is largely governed by national legislation. If a child with a statement were to move between schools the Statement would normally apply in the new school, and any additional Local Authority resource would be provided to the new school for the following financial year. The Local Authority has also delegated further sums of money to groups of our schools known as Communities of Learning to support the inclusion of children with special needs into mainstream schools. Individual schools can be assisted by resource from the Communities of Learning in meeting the needs of children with special needs.
Traffic Levels, Forecasts and Statistics
Questions
1) What further plans does the council have to help reduce irresponsible car use in Durham city?
2) Future projections of traffic levels presumably factor in the price of oil. On what oil price are current predicted traffic levels based?
3) Statistics often play a large part in the reporting council policy and findings - for instance, in relating the results of consultations. What specific training in the nature and defensible use of statistics is given to the relevant council officers?
Answers
1. Firstly I find it difficult to relate to the idea that we somehow have “irresponsible” car use within the Durham City or indeed elsewhere in the County. Detailed investigation has shown that significant traffic congestion only occurs in Durham City during the morning and early evening and is mainly associated with people travelling to and from work.
In the recent successful collaboration with Channel 4 we tried to persuade people currently using the car to travel to work 5 days a week, to switch to an alternative once a week. If everyone in Durham City could achieve this then traffic levels could fall be 20% which would have a dramatic effect on the current congestion.
We therefore are continuing to target our resources to working with the major employers around the City Centre to encourage alternative travel. We have recently held another successful travel to work day in June concentrating on the City area and will be holding another event in September but this time in the Consett and Stanley areas.
It is important that we continue to look at all aspects of commuting and have recently been successful in attracting national funding as only one of a handful of recipients to prepare a travel plan for Durham Rail Station. This type of activity together with School Travel Planning, promoting walking and cycling and providing high quality services such as Park and Ride, will all help to reduce traffic problems.
2. Traffic forecasts are currently based on a national transport model which looks at trends in car ownership, changes in the cost of travel and land use changes. Although the model is set nationally the data is derived from local information and traffic growth can be forecast at a regional level. When using this type of forecast to look at potential changes to the transport network a 15 to 20 horizon would normally be used, therefore recent changes in fuel prices are unlikely to have any effect. Further information on the National Trip End Model (TEMPRO) can be gained from the Department of Transport.
3. There are many employees of the Council who use statistics and the outcome of consultations as part of their work across a broad range of services. Where this is relevant, people with appropriate statistical training and experience are appointed to the Council or are given the necessary training and support they need to carry out their duties. Some training will be very specific to the methods of data collection and systems that are being used, some of which will be in line with nationally agreed procedures.