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The Council received nine
questions from Members to Committee Chairs/Portfolio
Holders.  The responses to the nine
questions had been published in the supplementary agenda for the
meeting.
 

(A)      
Question from Councillor Graham Lawrence CC re:
maintenance of children’s play areas across the
Borough
No supplementary question was
asked.
 

(B)      
Question from Councillor Phil Bibby CC re: road
sweeping and parked vehicles
Supplementary question –
“Could a system be introduced for the hot-spotting of certain
roads for sweeping, so that residents could be
pre-advised?”
 
The Executive Portfolio Holder
for Environment & Performance acknowledged the issue and stated
that it may be helpful to have a meeting with officers at the
Cavendish Road Depot to discuss a possible way forward.
 

(C)      
Question from Councillor Bret Facey re: the recently
refurbished Shephalbury Park tennis
courts
Supplementary question –
“When identical tennis court refurbishment schemes to the
Shephalbury Park project were proposed
in Barnet, Harrow and Gloucester the Labour Group Leaders on those
councils denounced them as privatisation of the parks and a slap in
the face to less well-off tennis players.  Who is right, Councillor Henry or the Leaders in
Barnet, Harrow and Gloucester?”
 
The Executive Portfolio Holder
for Culture, Leisure & IT replied that Councillor Henry was
right.  For whatever reason those other
councils made their decisions was a matter for them.  In Stevenage, the Council supported tennis and
local people, especially youth involvement, and Councillor Henry
had been instrumental in making that happen.
 

(D)      
Question from Councillor Chris Howells re:
pedestrian safety in the Town Centre.
Supplementary question –
“Can the Town Centre Neighbourhood Wardens be given some
powers to address cycling, skateboarding and the use of e-scooters
in the pedestrianised town centre?”
 
The Executive Portfolio Holder
for Community Safety & Equalities answered that, by law, the
Town Centre Wardens had very limited powers, and commented that it
was a Police matter.  She was aware that
the Police patrolled the area on a periodic basis, but also that
they had other priorities.  She
suggested that the matter be raised at the forthcoming Police
Priorities Meeting.
 

(E)      
Question from Councillor Stephen Booth re:
consultation with Ward Councillors ahead of Council sales of green
space or other land for development
No supplementary question was
asked.
 

(F)      
Question from Councillor Andy McGuinness re: the
Council’s 2030 decarbonisation target
Supplementary question –
“Will Members be given a cast-iron guarantee that work will
be done to baseline the Council’s carbon footprint, in order
that progress can be measured on an annual basis towards the 2030
decarbonisation target?”
 
The Executive Portfolio Holder
for Environment & Performance agreed that the Council could not
at the moment be precise about status against its 2030 target,
although the answer to the original question referred to the
Climate Change tracker.  The
Council’s responsibilities mainly concerned the
decarbonisation of its housing and the vehicle fleet.  He added that the annual Climate Change update
report would be submitted to the Executive in October 2023, and he
agreed that in order to performance manage the process the Council
would need to know the current position, the direction of travel,
and the constraints/obstacles in the way.  In October the tracker would also be presented to
the Overview & Scrutiny Committee and the Environment &
Economy Select Committee.
 

(G)     
Question from Councillor Robin Parker re: the
legalities of the use of electric scooters
Supplementary question –
“Could the Council publish information about the illegality
of electric scooters in the Chronicle Magazine, via posters on
noticeboards and community centres, and on the SBC
website?”
 
The Executive Portfolio Holder
for Community Safety & Equalities replied that the Council
would publish this information.
 

(H)      
Question from Councillor Graham Snell re: the
long-term plans for the former car park area to the north of the
new Multi-Storey Car Park.
Supplementary question –
“Could I be out in touch with an officer in the Regeneration
Team to discuss the future proposals for this area of
land?”
 
The Executive Portfolio Holder
for Economy & Transport replied that Councillor Snell was
welcome to contact any officers in the Regeneration Team to discuss
the matter.
 

(I)         
Question from Councillor Tom Wren re: a suggestion
from an electric bike scheme.
There was no supplementary
question, but Councillor Wren welcomed the fact that electric bikes
were to be included in the cycle hire scheme being investigated by
the Council.