In accordance with
the Constitution, a Member may ask the Leader, the Chair of the Council
or a Committee Chair, a question on any matter in relation to which the Council
has powers or duties or which affects the Borough.
No questions have been received.
Minutes:
Two questions from Members
were received and they were taken in the order that they were received.
Councillor Higgins asked the
following question:
Following debate with
Councillors at the State of Melton event and subsequent Scrutiny meeting, could
the Leader clarify the agreements and actions in relation to Car Parking
arrangements, and income to the council, with respect to the Cattle Market lease.
Also, could the Leader
confirm income from this specific arrangement is for the general fund use for
the Council.
In his response, the Leader
stated that the trend showed that income has been decreasing, and that this had
been a longer-term trend. He confirmed that the details of this would be made
available within the Members Bulletin and SharePoint portal. He confirmed that
income does go into the general fund. In regards to
the second car park, as the council was not rightly focussing on the Levelling
Up Fund investment, works to the current car park would quite rightly be
limited now, as the focus needs to be on the more substantial investment.
Councillor Higgins opted to
ask a supplementary question and asked the Leader what plans he has with regard to car parking charging for the users.
In response, the Leader
commented that he had no plans but he does have ideas,
however the ideas would all be comprehensively considered before any idea is
implemented.
Councillor Cliff asked the
following question:
Is the leader aware of the
latest CQC inspection of maternity services which found a “deterioration in the
level of care” being provided for those using maternity services at both the
Leicester Royal Infirmary and Leicester General Hospital, dropping ratings for
both hospitals from “good” to “requires improvement”. In contrast, inspectors
of our own midwife-led unit here in Melton, praised staff, saying they, “should
be proud of the safe care they were providing.”
We were assured as part of
the plans that earmarked St. Mary’s Birth Centre for closure, that this was a
relocation, and that St. Mary’s would not close until the new unit was open on
the Leicester site currently under development.
So, in
light of this concerning CQC report, will the Leader please write to the
Trust on behalf of our whole community to insist that the condition would
remain, and that St Mary’s Birth Centre should not be closed prematurely, in
order to prop up failing services elsewhere?
In
his response, the Leader thanked Councillor Cliff for raising the issue and
stated that he was aware and would write to the NHS Trust on behalf of the
Council regarding this issue and seek assurance about the required improvements
before any closure of the Melton facility.
In
asking a supplementary question, Councillor Cliff asked whether the Leader was
aware of any proposals for the site if the St Mary’s Birth Centre was to close.
In
his response, the Leader stated that there were Community Health and Well-being
Plans, however he stated that he was not aware of any specific plans for the
site. The Leader stated that he would pose the question.
(At
7:29pm, during the consideration of this item, Councillor Evans left the
meeting.)