To receive any questions submitted from Members of the Council in accordance with the provisions of Procedure Rules 30 and 30A.

      i.          Miss Waller

Many people in the rural parts of Rutland rely on the internet to secure essential purchases.  However, finance companies are in the process of changing their security and to use credit or debit cards in future to make these purchases people will need to enter a code the card company will text to them.  This will be impossible to receive for many of us who have no mobile signal where we live and will make on line purchasing extremely difficult.  What is RCC doing to improve the mobile network in the County, especially as in some cases the Council gave planning permission for new mobile masts which have either not been erected or have been erected but not activated?

Response provided by Mr Hemsley (Leader of the Council):

Access to high quality fixed and mobile broadband is seen by Rutland County Council as strategically important for the County. The Council recognises the importance for residents and businesses to be able to access both, whether they are at home or on the move, to help them run their businesses, keep in touch with friends and family, shop and pay bills online etc.

The Council has held meetings with three of the leading mobile operators to understand their current and future roll out plans for Rutland and received positive feedback from the operators on their intentions to improve coverage across the County. The operators were questioned on the issues of disparity between indoor and outdoor signals, particularly impacted in stone built properties. OfCom has recently held auctions of bandwith at frequencies which will provide both better coverage in rural areas and better indoor quality going forward.  Mobile operators are also developing new equipment (including external antennae on homes to boost the signal) and new technology (such as WiFi calling, which will allow mobile phone calls and texts to be made and received over WiFi).

The Council is also bidding for funding to central government to roll out full fibre to strategic public assets across the County, bringing greater access to full fibre (1Gigabit capability) fixed broadband. In doing so, this will also provide the ability to accelerate the roll out of 4G and ultimately 5G mobile broadband services to more rural parts of the County.

Unfortunately, despite the Council granting planning approval for a number of new mobile masts, it has no legal power to insist that these are erected by the mobile operators. Whether they choose to proceed with such masts will depend upon their own business plans, which change as new technologies develop. It is likely that Rutland will never get 100% full mobile coverage of 2G, 3G or 4G because of the rurality and topography of some areas in the County, but the Council will continue pushing to get coverage to as high a level as possible, and press mobile operators to roll out other technologies, such as those previously described, to maximise access to the network.

Miss Waller asked the following supplementary question:

Can I ask that this council lobby Central Government to find alternatives for those who don’t have adequate mobile phone coverage, to ensure they are not put at a disadvantage?

Mr Hemsley responded that they would lobby Central Government and would also look at this issue as part of the Rural Strategy.

     ii.         Mr Bird

Can the Leader please confirm the amount of allowances paid to Councillors during the financial year 2018/19 to date?

Response provided by Mr Hemsley (Leader of the Council):

We have paid £152k in allowances thus far in 2018/19.

Mr Bird asked the following supplementary question:

Would the Leader like to comment on the appropriateness of former Councillor Alderman accepting his allowance based on my understanding that he has failed to attend a single meeting of Council business whilst elected to serve his community. Also to the best of my knowledge as his fellow Ward Councillor, he has not been involved in any Ward work or issues.

Mr Hemsley responded as follows:

Mr Alderman has been paid £2313.21 in allowances, this includes an overpayment of £78.54 which the council we will seek to recover.  My personal opinion, in view of the fact that Mr Alderman did not take part in council business and did not attend a single Council meeting, is that Mr Alderman should repay the amount in full to RCC, alternatively he may consider a donation to a charitable cause.  I might suggest For Rutland so that the tax payers that elected him were able to get some compensation for his lack of attendance.