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Agenda item

Question Time:

(i)                 To answer questions from members of the public pursuant to Procedure Rule No. 10.

 

(ii)               To answer questions from members of the Council pursuant to Procedure Rule No. 11

 

Minutes:

QUESTIONS FROM MEMBERS OF THE COUNCIL NO.1

 

Under Procedure Rule No 11, Councillor T Clements will ask the Leader of the Council , Councillor J Oates, the following question:-

 

“With the ever-growing tally of military veterans taking their own lives like Lance Shingler due to lack of support please can I ask what this council is doing to identify veterans within our community and what support is offered to them if required?”

 

Councillor J Oates gave the following reply:-

 

“Thank you Mr Mayor and thank you Councillor Clements.

 

We should remember that anybody taking their own life is any absolute tragedy, for that person in the run up to that event, but also for their family, friends and colleagues.

 

In terms of servicemen Tamworth is a signatory in the Staffordshire Armed Forces Covenant which seeks to support current and former armed forces personnel in their communities

 

The Covenant was signed by the Staffordshire County Council in 2015 and was also adopted by Tamworth Borough Council

 

Details of the County wide scheme, including current funding programmes are on the County Councils website.

 

The aims of the Staffordshire Armed Forces Covenant are to:

 

 

  • Encourage local communities to support the armed forces community in their areas and to nurture public understanding and awareness among the public of issues that face the  armed forces community 

 

  • Another aim is to recognise and remember the sacrifices faced by the armed forces community, it is key that we refer to the community not just the individuals who served because their families certainly served alongside them as do their friends and colleagues.

 

  •  It also aims to encourage activities which help to integrate the armed forces in to communities and into local life  

 

 

  • Also encourage the armed forces community to help and support the wider community, whether through participation in events and joint projects, and other forms of engagement

Tamworth is committed to supporting veterans and serving members of the armed forces and their families through a variety of ways Mr Mayor, for example

 

  • Priority award under the Councils Allocations policy and access to the housing register seeking to accelerate re-housing is one of our large focuses this is important Mr Mayor we hear all too often about servicemen or woman who struggle to get re housed after leaving the forces

 

  • Our homelessness Strategy also identifies current and former members of the armed forces, partnering with organisations such as SSAFA to prevent homelessness and prevent crisis

 

 

  • Recent award of MHCLG funding for rough sleeping  has been successful (£100k) and will help signpost vulnerable applicants, including veterans, through a range of social and health pathways

 

One of the main Community Safety Partnership priorities is to support vulnerable people and as such ex-armed forces personnel who require support will be signposted where the situation merits, including organisations who can help support them with housing, mental health and job opportunities.

 

Only this afternoon Mr Mayor I was in the presence of a former member of the armed forces who is re training in the building industry and he has got that training from support that has been given out locally and signposting for that position. Thank you Mr Mayor.”

 

Councillor T Clements asked the following supplementary question-

 

“Thank you Mr Mayor, and thank you to the leader for his response.

 

Tamworth Conservative group now has three veterans sitting on this Council, I’m not all alone anymore.

 

We all have varying degrees of what is actually on offer to those that have served Queen and country. We all know about the Royal British Legion and we all know about SSAFA to name two.

 

So can I ask the leader and this Council to take forward my questions and maybe bring a report back at a later date? Thank you.”

 

Councillor J Oates gave the following reply:-

 

“Happy to have a further discussion with Councillor Clements, Mr Mayor.”

 

 

QUESTIONS FROM MEMBERS OF THE COUNCIL NO.2

 

Under Procedure Rule No 11, Councillor Dr S Peaple will ask the Leader of the Council , Councillor J Oates, the following question:-

 

“Following HM Government’s announcement that Planning Reform is to be included in their legislative programme, what steps is the Leader taking to restate to ministers, the case made by Tamworth BC about the negative impact the proposed reforms are likely to have on Tamworth?”

 

Councillor J Oates gave the following reply:-

 

“Thank you Mr Mayor, Thank you Councillor Peaple.

 

Just for the newer members or those that aren’t aware, in October 2020 the Council responded to the consultations on Government proposals to reform the planning system  set out in the Planning White Paper and the Changes to the current planning system consultation document.

 

In response, this Council raised a number of concerns and this was done cross party about the elements within their proposals and their potential negative impact on Tamworth.

 

I was part of that discussion I think, I most members who were on the Council at that time where. These included:

 

·         The introduction of a zone based system for plan-making

·         Changes to the standard method for calculating housing need that would inflate Tamworth’s requirement

·         The Removal of the Duty to Cooperate that the Council has used effectively to deliver against its housing need

·         Automatic outline planning permission in some designated areas

·         Changes to decision making that would see stricter timescales introduced and a refund of application fees where they are not met

Government announced in April 2021 the intention not to take forward their proposed changes to the standard method following the consultation exercise, however responses to the other elements of the consultations are yet to be published. This is particularly important Mr Mayor I will continue to push the argument to defend our position and ensure that decision making powers are not eroded but are strengthened in Tamworth.

 

Only this afternoon I was in conversation with our MP, the housing minister about planning reform and I gave him a clear indication that we would not be sitting quietly allowing the Government to erode any of our powers Mr Mayor”