28 April - 53 Questions. Few Answers
With
the anti-Shvorob question out of the way Councillors got the full 30 minutes to
ask questions. Four of the first five were Children’s Services related from which we learned not a lot.
The question from Labour’s Zainab Asunramu was batted away by Cabinet Member
Read because the answer was easily available on the Council’s website. In a
follow up exchange with Conservative Lisa Moore he said there were just a few
signs that the Covid related jump in demand for Children’s Services might be abating, “but very early days”.
Councillor Asunramu tried her luck with Cabinet Member Caroline Newton (Education).
The response was not unlike Councillor Read’s, but more diplomatic obviously.
A
plan had been published (PDF) and debated at both the recent Cabinet meeting and the Scrutiny meeting.
A similar question from Conservative Ward-Wilson prompted Councillor Newton to
rerun the comment that the CQC/OFSTED report was “disappointing with widespread
systematic failings leading to concerns” and another reference to the recently approved plan.
Councillor Asunramu’s question about reimbursing parents who had been left out
of pocket by Bexley’s SEND failures was well received by Cabinet Member Newton
(“there was an inequity”) but there was no straight-forward answer.
Councillor O’Hare asked how much money was Sadiq Khan taking from Bexley
residents through the Mayoral precept. Deputy Leader Leaf relished being able to
relate that Band D has gone from £276 in 2016, after eight years of
reductions by the previous Mayor, to £471·40. Total takings have gone from £21·7
million to £39·6 million, plus Business Rates and the ULEZ tax.
In return TfL investment in Bexley has gone down by more
than 80% and the Government has had to bypass the Mayor with a rescue package for potholes. It will be
Pay Per Mile next and Khan refused to accept extra funding for the police
leaving us 1,000 officers short. “Sack Sadiq!”, a comment which prompted the
Mayor to utter the word “purdah”.
Labour Leader Borella responded with “Bus Hopper fares, free meals for Primary
school pupils, SL3, funding for a Violence Reduction Unit and more affordable housing in Bexley”.
Fact Checker Leaf said the VRU was funded by Central Government and Khan refused
to take the extra crime fighting money offered by the Government. “The borough
needs a Mayor who will invest in the police and the city as a whole.”
Councillor Chris Ball (Labour, Erith) asked how many libraries would be left by the
end of this Conservative administration. Answer “All twelve and there are no
current plans to change that”. Councillor Ball was concerned that community run
libraries resulted in a loss of professional librarian jobs.
Cabinet Member Sue Gower said that Library use in Bexley is as high now as it was pre-Covid.
Time was up. No more questions.