Agenda item

To deal with written questions submitted by Members of the Council.  Copies of the questions and of the draft replies (which are subject to amendment by the Leader of the Council) will be published shortly before the meeting.

Copies of questions submitted under Standing Order 13.1 together with draft replies had been published in advance of the meeting. The replies were confirmed by Members of the Executive, supplementary questions were asked and replies given as set out below:

 

1.      Question from Councillor Saj Hussain

 

“Is there capacity at the Eastwood Centre to take on extra swimmers and groups displaced by closing pool in the park?”

 

         Reply from Councillor Ellen Nicholson

 

         “Eastwood Leisure Centre has proved to be very popular since it opened in October 2021. Whilst the Eastwood Leisure Centre will have some capacity to take on a proportion of Pool in the Park users, it would not have sufficient capacity to accommodate all displaced users and groups.”

 

         Supplementary Question

 

         No

        

2.      Question from Councillor Steve Dorsett

 

“What are the latest visitor numbers on a monthly and annual basis that use the Pool in the Park every year?”

 

         Reply from Councillor Ellen Nicholson

 

         “Please see Appendix 1 for visitor numbers for Pool in the Park and our other leisure facilities.”

 

         Supplementary Question

 

         No

 

Reply from Councillor Ellen Nicholson

 

“I was just going to suggest if you did have a supplementary question that the Freedom Leisure performance board will be meeting in October, if you wanted to come along to that Councillor Dorsett, I can invite you along if you wanted to look at the performance.”

 

Reply from Councillor Steve Dorsett

 

“Thank you very much, I am already a member of the Leisure Partnership Board.”

 

3.      Question from Councillor Kevin Davis

 

“Is the new S151 officer contracted inside or outside of IR35?”

 

         Reply from Councillor Ann-Marie Barker

        

“The Section 151 role is a statutory post and as such any appointment is deemed to be an employee of the Council and would be inside of IR35 regulations.”

 

         Supplementary Question

 

         No

 

4.      Question from Councillor Josh Brown

 

“How much CIL developer contributions has WBC received since the S114 was issued?”

 

         Reply from Councillor Liam Lyons

        

“The Council has received £688,524.56 of CIL contribution since the S114 was issued.”

 

         Supplementary Question

        

No

 

5.      Question from Councillor Saj Hussain

 

“Surrey county council have taken over highway verges who is responsible for areas which are not highways?”

 

         Reply from Councillor Peter Graves

        

“A land owner is ultimately responsible for maintaining their land.  Woking Borough Council continue to maintain its own land and any land it has historic agreements in place to manage.

 

In addition, during this transitional period, Council Officers are supporting Surrey County Council to improve the accuracy of their mapping data (to ensure their new verge maintenance contract covers all SCC land) and investigate any areas where the land ownership appears unclear.  These are reviewed on a case by case basis to ensure the most appropriate outcome.  Any areas of specific concern can be raised to our Neighbourhood Officers.”

 

Supplementary Question

  

“Historically, we've got no man’s land in Goldswork Park, areas like that, which are classed as no man’s land, and in the past Woking Borough Council’s Serco have mowed those verges and now they are becoming a bit of a hazard.  Is there any way that we can look at those please?.”

 

Reply from Councillor Peter Graves

 

“Very pleased to contribute actually because I had the pleasure yesterday of being introduced to the Council GIS system and the GIS system covers all land ownership across the Borough and it's incredibly comprehensive.  It is also extremely complicated and it is a work in progress, so there are areas where there is, it's very unclear who actually owns bits of land and I will talk to Officers to see if we can identify these errors which my colleague has seen as being no man's land and I'll come back to you thank you.”

 

6.      Question from Councillor Steve Dorsett

 

“What alternative options have been investigated to keep Pool in the Park open?”

 

         Reply from Councillor Ellen Nicholson

        

“Freedom Leisure manage the leisure facilities on our behalf and their contract expires in November 2025. To date, discussions are ongoing with Freedom Leisure to review costs and in particular the approach to pricing to consider changes.  When compared to other similar pools in the surrounding area, Pool in the Park charges are comparatively cheaper.  Re-programming of the pool is also under consideration to make it more commercially viable, but this is likely to displace some current users.  In August 2023, the Council submitted a bid to the Sports England Swimming Pool Support Fund, but our bid was immediately declined due to the Council’s financial position and the Section 114 notice. The consultation launching on 2 October 2023 will seek further suggestions on other options.”

 

         Supplementary Question

 

         No

 

7.      Question from Councillor Kevin Davis

 

“The most recent Green Book with Treasury Information featured (March 2023), has no loans from 1989. How was Pool in the Park financed when it was built 34 years ago, how much did it cost, what was the loan valued at, and how is this reflected in the March 2023 Green Book?”

 

         Reply from Councillor Ellen Nicholson

 

         “The Council does not hold data on the original financing of the Pool in the Park in 1989.  There are no financing costs assumed in the current costings for Pool in the Park relating to its original construction.”

 

         Supplementary Question

 

         No

 

8.      Question from Councillor Josh Brown

 

“What steps has the Council taken to ensure it can cope with increase in demand for Council services if it agrees cuts to funding for Citizens Advice and Woking Community Transport?”

 

         Reply from Councillor Will Forster

 

         “It is regrettable that grants to these wider services will be affected due to the financial challenges faced by the Council.  If the proposals are agreed at Council this evening, then Officers and I will be meeting with both organisations to best plan the way ahead.  Feedback on the proposals is also being sought through the consultation process.  This will inform the Council’s impact assessments and subsequent plans for how we continue to engage with the voluntary sector moving forward.”

 

         Supplementary Question

 

         “Thank you very much, Mr. Mayor.  Looking at the cuts to these vital services, can you commit that if they do indeed proceed that the Council will have enough resources going forward after the budget’s agreed? Thank you.”

 

         Reply from Councillor Will Forster

 

         “Thank you Mr. Mayor, and I will thank Councillor Brown for his question. If Council agrees the MTFS this evening, it will authorise Council Officers and myself as a Portfolio Holder to engage with the third sector to understand what the impacts will be on us, on them, and on residents, before making any further decision, thank you.”

 

9.      Question from Councillor Kevin Davis

 

“At such an important time post S114 notice, why have we had no Treasury Information since the March 2023 Green Book, six months ago?”

 

         Reply from Councillor Dale Roberts

 

         “As part of the review of the Council’s performance management and financial reporting, work is ongoing to improve the way all financial information is compiled and presented, for example the recent new budget monitoring report.  Given the limited resources in the finance team and urgency of other work, the information in the Green Book has had to be put on hold until this review is completed.  However, I can confirm that a mid-year review of Treasury Management is planned for the November Executive that will provide information for Members in accordance with CIPFA Codes of Practice.”

 

         Supplementary Question

 

         No

 

10.    Question from Councillor Kevin Davis

 

“What is the actual cash subsidy (not interest payments or capital depreciation) that is required to run Pool in the Park?”

 

         Reply from Councillor Ellen Nicholson

 

         “The capital and financing costs are true costs reflective of running the venue however it is true to say that these would not all be saved by closing the venue.  The actual cash subsidy projected for 2023-24 is circa £450,000.  This figure does not include significant capital works required or debt finance.  Further work will be done over the coming weeks to understand the ongoing investment needs of the building.”

 

         Supplementary Question

 

         “I do, Mr Mayor, thank you very much. Thank you for the answer Councillor Nicholson.  So what I need to understand here is obviously the figure here, finally managed to get too, that is different to what's actually written in the MTFS by quite a margin. My real question and I appreciate you probably can't answer this, but I'll be incredibly impressed if you can, to me and to what we've been told is Pool in the Park is a discretionary service, and so I'd like to understand what subsidy we currently give to the Eastwood Centre swimming area, because if Pool in the Park is discretionary then surely the Eastwood Centre would be discretionary and as such I would expect to see that in the MTFS report as well. Thank you very much Mr Mayor.”

 

         Reply from Councillor Ellen Nicholson

 

         “Thank you for your question, Councillor Davis.  You're right, I can't answer that question about the Eastwood and any discretionary spending, we will come back to you. I'll speak with Officers and come back to you.  As you will be aware, the financing for the Pool in the Park is incredibly complicated, as we were together at the Tuesday's internal Finance Task Group, and I just want to thank our Council Section 151 Officer for their willingness to engage with Members across party looking at the in-depth study of those finances and a much-needed review. Thank you.”

 

11.    Question from Councillor Kevin Davis

 

“If Pool in the Park is closed, what is the interest amount we will still need to pay and for how long, and when will the capital depreciation be written down to zero?”

 

         Reply from Councillor Ellen Nicholson

 

         “There are two elements to this.  Firstly, the cost of financing all of the ThamesWey energy equipment and plant, which will come to an end in 6 years’ time and is valued at circa £2 million.  Secondly, there is £1.5 million outstanding on a loan for the refurbishment of slides and changing rooms with 16 years remaining on the loan term.  The repayments of both loans are currently encapsulated in the leisure accounts, but if closed these would become a liability.”

 

         Supplementary Question

 

         “Thank you very much, Mr. Mayor.  I do have a supplementary question and I thank Councillor Nicholson for the answer.  With £250,000 ongoing costs that aren't obliterated when we close the Pool in the Park, given that we were told it was £700,000 subsidy and we now know that £450,000 isn’t the actual cost, that means £250,000 is left. How do we intend on meeting that figure when there is no income coming into Pool in the Park? Thank you very much, Mr. Mayor.”

 

         Reply from Councillor Ellen Nicholson

 

         “Thank you, Councillor Davis.  So as I've just said in my previous answer, the Finance Task Group that we are both part of have been looking at Pool in the Park finances and it's been incredibly difficult to separate Pool in the Park finances. For example, when I became Portfolio Holder last year, we became aware of the fact that we didn't have any idea of an accurate representation of the energy costs in the Pool in the Park and the Leisure Centre, and since that time we've put in metering to actually be able to better understand the energy costs. So that's just one facet of the complicated picture that we have with Pool in the Park that we're working our way through, so I think it's something that we're still to find out. Thank you.”

 

12.    Question from Councillor Kevin Davis

 

“What is the Woking Borough Council obligated liability to Woking Football Club in the event of their promotion out of the current National League into the fourth level of the English Football League?”

 

         Reply from Councillor Dale Roberts

 

         “Further work is being undertaken on Kingfield Leisure and the link with Woking FC as part of the review of the 24 companies that the Council has an interest in.  Further information will be provided when this review is complete.”

 

         Supplementary Question

 

         “Thank you very much Mr. Mayor, I do have a supplementary question.  This tests my memory, well my memory doesn't come into it all, but Councillor Johnson's may.  My understanding was that there was an undertaking obligation back in the mid 90s and I'm trying to understand whether we talk about Kingfield Leisure and talking about the review of the 24 companies, are we looking in the right place, are we sure that obligation is within that and not actually directly with Council? Thank you Mr. Mayor.”

 

         Reply from Councillor Dale Roberts

 

         “Thank you Mr Mayor, thank you Councillor Davis for the question. It's pretty difficult to say, what was the question, are we looking in the right place? It really is difficult to find anything frankly. It was pretty common with obligations made by the previous administration, the documentation was poor, section 114 numbers, poor record keeping as one of our legacies. It's another mess that we're working our way through and so, as I stated in my earlier answer, further work, further information will be provided when the review is complete.  Thank you, Mr. Mayor.”