Agenda item

(Copy herewith)

The acting Leader of the Council submitted his Cabinet Member report. He thanked the previous Leader for her work and paid tribute to the commitment and dedication she had shown in her previous position. He elaborated on the report and stated that the work with the Emergency Nightshelter was forging ahead and that waste contact services were soon to be considered by Cabinet. He further reported that he had attended a Councillor Development briefing on Treasury Management and that he had participated in a number of other activates including a Dementia Walk, Northampton Partnership Homes AGM and attended the Community Foundation Awards.

In response to questions asked, Councillor Nunn confirmed that he supported the Thorplands 81 team in Round Spinney and noted the shortage of football pitches. Responding to further questions, Councillor Nunn stated that a Cabinet Advisory Group had been established and attended by cross party members to discuss progress of waste management and reported that the contract would be open to scrutiny emphasising the need to get the Council and residents the best service. Responding to a further question, the acting leader confirmed that he would support Northampton Partnership Homes submitted a report on the building of the new Council homes and expressed his commitment to delivering the new houses.

Councillor Hadland submitted his Cabinet Member report and elaborated thereon. He thanked the previous Director of Regeneration, Enterprise and Planning who had recently retired and left the authority and noted the work that had been undertaken whilst he had been in position.

In response to questions asked, Councillor Hadland commented that there had been some activity on the Churches site in St David’s which would prove to be beneficial to the Town. In response to concerns raised about unadopted roads, he reported that developers were not compelled to adopt roads but stated that he would explore the issues with the county Council in order to try and resolve the problems. He further confirmed that he was not aware of the final figures of the costs of the work carried out on St Giles street and confirmed that the funding came from the capital programme. He also reported that work had been carried out in Far Cotton to ensure that the Council’s HIMOs policy was credible and that a town wide survey was being carried out to assess any shortcomings of the policy.

Councillor Hibbert submitted his Cabinet Member report and congratulated the Nightshelter Project Manager for his work and also offered his further thanks to people offering to volunteer. He stated that there was a need to distinguish between rough sleepers and homelessness as the needs of both groups were not the same and should be dealt with separately. It was noted that those volunteers would be vetted prior to any work carried out, to ensure that those considered to be most vulnerable would be protected and also noted the appointment of 2 full time staff members for the Nightshelter.

In response to questions asked, Councillor Hibbert explained that the business case for the Social Lettings Agency had yet to be finalised. He responded to a further question by reporting that should people find themselves in a vulnerable financial position with regards to their housing, they should firstly contact the Housing Options team before a situation escalates. He answered a further question by noting that improvements would be made to the Eastern part of the town would be carried out over the next 10 years.

Councillor Hallam submitted his Cabinet member report and elaborated thereon. He stated that there had been a ‘Killing with Kindness’ event carried out in partnership with Northampsonthsire |Police and stated that whilst people were tempted to give money to people on the street, they should direct their donation to a recognised charity to ensure that the money would not be spent on illicit drugs and on alcohol. Councillor Hallam further noted that a study was being undertaken to look at the roles of PCSOs and Wardens that would explore combining the roles, which had already been piloted in Blackpool.

At this juncture of the meeting, the Mayor expressed that time restraints had drawn Cabinet Member Presentations to a close.