238 Public Questions PDF 107 KB
To receive questions from members of the public, of which prior notification in writing has been received (no later than noon two clear working days before the day of the Council meeting).
Should you wish to submit a question please complete the online form at www.maldon.gov.uk/publicparticipation.
Minutes:
In accordance with the Council’s public speaking protocol it was noted that the following question had been received from Mr Tom Kelly:
‘Why has MDC failed to improve the overall vista for visitors at Maldon Cemetery and kept many parts looking decrepit with insufficient regular staff or set out an overall plan of improvement, yet can spend over £218,000 a year on Councillors’ allowances?’
The Leader of the Council had provided the following response to this question and this had been published as a supplementary document to the Council agenda.
The Council recognises the importance of ensuring that we provide peaceful, well maintained cemeteries where our residents can mourn their loved ones, and our staff strive to deliver a good level of service across all of our three cemeteries.
We are currently exploring opportunities to ensure that we are able to provide greater resilience to the maintenance of our cemeteries. This includes the way in which the service is delivered as well as opportunities to improve the layout of some areas to enable us to manage the maintenance to maximum effectiveness.
We also looking at how we can improve the way in which we work with and support our volunteers, who add value to the maintenance of our Cemeteries
A report will be brought forward to the Strategy and Resources Committee on 9 November 2023 to consider options for delivering greater resilience and maintaining a more consistent standard of grounds maintenance across our cemeteries.
Strategically, it should be noted that Maldon, like all other Councils faces budget pressures, and there is an ongoing piece of work to look at how we deliver quality services across the whole Council, but in the limit of the funding available to us. Members’ allowances will be included in those wider considerations. I also note that the recent Remuneration Panel report did find the Maldon allowances to be broadly in line with others.