Agenda item - Written questions from members of the public.

A list of public questions received by the due date of the 22 January 2009 will be circulated separately as part of an addendum at the meeting.

47.1       The Mayor reported that five written questions had been received from members of the public and invited Mr Hawtree to come forward and address the council.

47.2       Mr. Hawtree asked the following question:

"With the emerging Library Plan in mind, could Councillor Smith please tell us what steps he will be taking to ensure that all teenage pupils in this authority's schools are introduced to the library service and encouraged to make full use of it?"

47.3       Councillor Smith stated that "All reception age school children (4-5 year olds) and all new year 7 intake, (11+ year olds) are being automatically joined up to the public library through our easy joining arrangements, and their membership cards sent out directly to their homes.  Library staff are working closely with schools to encourage children and teenagers to read and use our libraries, through new projects, events and activities around reading and writing.  For instance, a creative writing programme has begun in partnership with three local secondary schools, and we are planning new online book groups for teenagers.  This will build on the existing reading group for 7-11 year olds called ‘Chatterbooks’ which meets fortnightly.  Brainwaves, a study support group for teenagers is running in Jubilee Library, and a new ‘Manga’ Group has been set up in partnership with Varndean School for teenagers to draw graphic novel type stories.  Libraries are also working in partnership with the Children & Young People’s Trust, to develop a City-wide Reading Strategy to encourage reading and improve literacy levels across the city.”

47.4       Mr Hawtree asked the following supplementary question:

“I am irresistibly reminded of John Lennon and his scriptures on local government.  Perhaps you will remember, Councillor Smith, in December 1966 he discovered that there were 4,000 holes in Blackburn, Lancashire and, in fact, I think he would be shocked to find that the situation here is rather worse.  In the Jubilee Library there are 256, I had to count them all the other day.  These are the sockets for the wiring above shelves which are still non?existent.  As it is if the city’s teenagers were all inspired by your various plans to borrow just one book, there would be no books left on the ground floor.  At a time when the council has found other building work difficult to carry out, could we have these long expected shelves built and well filled so that teenagers and all other readers can explore books that in these times above all can make such a difference to the course of life? 

In America recently with the recession the use of libraries has gone up considerably.”

47.5       Councillor Smith responded, “We do our best in the city under our resources and he knows it very well and I think any Member of this chamber does, that we do the best we can for the citizens of our city.”

47.6       The Mayor thanked Mr Hawtree for his questions and invited Ms Offer to come forward and address the council.  The Mayor noted that Ms Offer was not present at the meeting and therefore a written response would be given by Councillor Theobald. 

47.7       The Mayor then invited Mr Unwin to come forward and address the council.  The Mayor noted that Mr Unwin was not present at the meeting and therefore a written response would be given by Councillor Theobald.

47.8       The Mayor then invited Mr Savvides to come forward and address the council.

47.9       Mr Savvides asked the following question:

“The area east of the railway bridge was a designated Air Quality Management Area. In 2007 when discussing this area, and the effect the dump would have on the air quality, council environment officers said that air quality would deteriorate as a result of the heavier traffic caused by the dump. In addition the council representatives suggested that they would consult the local population in order to find a solution to this problem.  I would like to know what steps the council has taken to monitor the air quality in the residential areas around the dump, what happened to the consultation and what they propose to do to improve the air quality?  I would also like to ask that if any monitoring of the facility is carried out can that be by an independent body, rather than Veolia, and that the results of this monitoring be made public?”

47.10   Councillor Theobald stated "Thank you for your question.  The council is discussing with the Department for Environment, Food & Rural Affairs (Defra) the next steps for the monitoring arrangements for our Air Quality Management Area and Air Quality Action Plan.  We have a local Air Quality Strategy that applies to the entire city and I would recommend that residents look at our City Airwatch Website which has excellent up to date information on air quality across Brighton & Hove."

47.11    Mr Savvides asked the following supplementary question:

“I am also monitoring the quality of the air that is being filtered from the Waste Transfer Station because, as I understood it, the filters needed to be changed on a weekly basis in order to make sure that the air being driven out from there is safe for us to breathe in the locality.”

47.12    Councillor Theobald responded “We are constantly monitoring air quality right the way across the city and regular inspections are made of what you term ‘the dump’ but what we refer to as the Waste Transfer Station and that has regular inspections to ensure that all is well.”

47.13    The Mayor thanked Mr Savvides for his questions and invited Ms Deller to come forward and address the council.  The Mayor noted that Ms Deller was not present at the meeting and therefore a written response would be given by Councillor Theobald.