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Agenda item

Questions to Leader of the Council

To provide an opportunity for Councillors to ask questions to the Leader of the Council in accordance with the Council’s Standing Orders.

 

Process:

No more than 15 minutes will be allocated at the Council meeting for questions to the Leader of the Council.

 

The question must be addressed through the Mayor or the person presiding at the meeting and not directly to the person being questioned.

 

Minutes:

The Leader gave the following announcements, before proceeding with questions:

 

The recent announcement regarding ORB Steelworks.  This was very sad news for workers and their family, it was frustrating when our ability to influence  such matters was limited.

 

The Council was to receive an employer recognition Gold Award from the Armed Forces.  This supported individuals transferring from Armed Forces and Special Reserves.

 

The British Transplant Games was an outstanding success.  Residents showed their support.  It was reiterated by the Leader that Newport was only the second city in Britain to be a Donor City and receive an Award.

 

The annual Food Festival would take place on 5 October.  The Council was grateful for the support of the businesses.  The highlights would include chef demonstrations and street entertainers and the Leader was looking forward to judging the Teenage Chef competition.

 

Leaders Questions

 

Orb Steelworks

Councillor M Evans referred to the announcement that hundreds of jobs were under threat at TATA Orb Factory which was disappointing news for the workforce, family and wider community and thoughts were with them at this difficult time.  Support was offered from AMs and MPs and a statement was given by Ken Skates, Wales Economy Minister who said that the Welsh Government would do everything it could to support individuals, the community and supply chain affected by the news.

 

Councillor M Evans did not recall anything being mentioned sooner by the Leader and asked what had the Council therefore done over the past few years and since the announcement to address their concerns.

 

The Leader agreed it was a blow for the city, however there was no prior warning from TATA steel about the decision or the challenges facing the business.  The Council would now be working with TATA and the Welsh Government to provide as much support as possible to those affected by the announcement.

 

In addition, Councillor M Evans asked the Leader to address what  the Council had done over the past few years.  The Council had an economic development department that would be expected to be involved in such matters ,in addition, could the Leader also be more specific on what assistance would be offered to the employees now and in the past.

 

The Leader advised that the list of measures would be clearly ascertained and a response would be provided for the opposition Leader.

 

Councillor K Whitehead referred to the appointment of an interim Chief Executive which was a highly paid appointment and asked if a job sharing arrangement could be agreed in times of austerity.

 

The Leader advised that a Chief Education officer post had been shared once between two authorities but did not consider that the sharing of a Chief Executive post would be practical at this current time as  the Council already had one of the lowest amount of staff in a senior position.

 

Councillor Carmel Townsend asked whether there would be a road safety strategy in place for Newport in view of the increasing traffic.

 

The Leader met with the G10 group to discuss traffic issues.  As a result it was hoped that there would be increased spending in road safety for the M4.  Consultation engagement would be in place to get plans and policies up to speed.

 

Councillor S Marshall asked the Leader how school attendance in Newport compares to attendance in other schools in Wales at Secondary School level.

 

The Leader was pleased to announce that Newport was at the top of rankings, seven out of 22 during 2018/19 which was above the Welsh Average which demonstrated a commitment from schools.