The deadline for questions to be submitted to the Monitoring Officer is 13 March 2023.
Minutes:
Question from Councillor L J Evans
“In December 2022 BCP Council overwhelmingly agreed to work towards becoming a White Ribbon Accredited organisation.
Please may I ask what progress has been made so far and what our next steps are?”
Response by the Leader of the Council, Councillor P Broadhead
We have made contact with the White Ribbon organisation to establish the criteria and process to seek the accreditation we approved. Our next steps are to identify a dedicated contact and coordinator to take this forward and also to identify male ambassadors within the organisation.
There is a financial commitment but this can be met within the Corporate Equalities budget so will not present a barrier.
[Councillor Bobbie Dove left the meeting at 23:15]
Question from Councillor A Jones
Following the recent site meeting, could the Cabinet Member confirm whether protective wands will be installed along the length of the cycle lanes in Christchurch Rd and if so when this work will take place given the ongoing frustration with the volume of illegal parking in this area?
Response by the Portfolio Holder for Finance, Net Zero and Transport, Councillor M Greene
Following the site meeting, which only took place a couple of weeks ago, I asked officers to investigate the practicalities and cost of segregating the mandatory part of the Christchurch Road cycle lane with wands. That review is currently taking place and the results, which I expect will come over the next few weeks, will be shared with ward members so they can feed into what action might be taken.
[Councillor Lisa Lewis left the meeting at 23:16]
Question from Councillor J Bagwell
Can the Leader please explain to this chamber why an historic piece of street furniture was allowed to be removed by property developers, as "in the way of their development" this being a large cast, road sign which carried the ancient Poole Crest and Emblem stating , 'Welcome to the Historic Borough of Poole' Twinned with Cherbourg, this situated on the Blandford Road.
It would seem that the planning department allowed this sign to be removed, with no consideration of the historic heritage value to Hamworthy/Poole and the continuing twinning link with Cherbourg, or any reference to ward Cllrs regarding it's arbitrary removal.
May we also be advised as to where this BCP Council asset is now and why the request by myself and my fellow ward Cllr Dan Butt to reinstate this historic ' street furniture' asset has been refused by the Chief Executive.
The residents of Poole would also like their Civic Regalia back in Poole and not locked up in a cupboard in Bournemouth Town Hall.
These belong to the people of Poole, not Bournemouth and should be kept in Poole.
When will these be returned and when will the Mayor of Poole have a permanent home like the Mayors of Bournemouth and Christchurch who enjoy their individual Civic Office Homes in their own home towns.
Response by the Leader of the Council, Councillor P Broadhead
The sign was removed as part of the legal agreement to enable the redevelopment of 556, 558 and 560 Blandford Road. It was located too close to a new pedestrian access into the site.
The planning department had considered the impact of this. The conditions require the developer to arrange the relocation of the sign at its own expense and requires it to contact the Council to arrange this. The developer hasn’t done this yet as the development is currently in progress.
Regarding the Poole Mayoralty, the future location of the Poole Mayoralty is being considered as part of the ongoing accommodation project. Councillors and Charter Trustees will be fully engaged in those discussions as we move towards any decision.
Question from Councillor L J Evans
“Serious allegations have been made both in the press and to all Councillors about one of our key BCP Council Officers.
Please could you assure us how BCP Council is committed to upholding the highest standards of honesty and integrity within its recruitment processes and explain when a proper performance management process will be put in place?”
Response by the Leader of the Council
“I would like to assure you that BCP Council is committed and working hard to uphold the high standards of performance management in our recruitment process.
One of the key aims in our effort to transform BCP Council into a modern, accessible, and accountable council is to get that ability to deliver key services to our communities and that depends upon our ability to acquire and retain the right people with the right balance of behaviours and skills.
Although clearly this has become more challenging with the national and local shortage of candidates with the right competencies and experience in many professions, we have recognised that we need to change how we acquire, invest, develop and retain our current workforce, and also align this closely to a talent management framework which underpins high standards of both behaviour and performance.
To achieve this we have developed a three-year programme of improvement which has clear outputs and includes revising our recruitment processes and creating a sustained performance culture. There is a tremendous amount of activity underpinning this and I actually have a list of activities and developments both over the last 12 months and the coming 12 months which I have in writing but in the interest of the late hour I will provide this in writing to Councillor Evans after the meeting if Councillor Evans finds this acceptable. However just to reiterate we are completely committed to delivering high levels of integrity into these processes and we always investigate any allegations or complaints thoroughly.
[Councillors Julie Bagwell, Steve Baron, Daniel Butt and Judes Butt left the meeting at 23:22]