In accordance with the Council’s Constitution, a member of the public resident within the Borough may ask a maximum of two questions relating to the business of the Council providing notice has been received by 10.00am two working days before the relevant meeting.

Mrs Jan Gearon-Simm had submitted the following question:

1.     A group of YouTube stars have raised more than $6m (£4.7m) to plant trees around the world.

YouTubers have created the #Team Trees project.

All donations are sent directly to the ARBOUR DAY FOUNDATION,  a US non profit organisation dedicated to planting trees, which they will plant around the world starting in January 2020 with the aim of completing the project within 3 years.

Will Brentwood Borough Council contact the ARBOUR DAY FOUNDATION, having first identified areas in Brentwood where trees can be planted?

Cllr Hossack responded as follows: Thank you, Jan, as always your questions are welcome and always well intended.  The nub of your question is really whether we will contact the Arbour Day Foundation.  To put in context, we are moving on with this, I don’t need to contact the Arbour Day Foundation.  I do wonder if there is any value in contacting them as it is a US non profit organisation, they might be interested in Brentwood Tennessee, not Brentwood, Essex; but I’ll tell you what I’ll do for you.  If you write me the letter as a concerned resident, I will put a covering letter to it, stick in an envelope with a stamp on it, as I know you don’t email.  It would be much more efficient and environmentally friendly if you were to email and I would encourage you to do so; remember we have a contract with residents to go green.  If you send that to me, I will forward it on to the Arbour Day Foundation, but it doesn’t deter from what we have already resolved to do; we have 5 country parks and we made a decision last week to plant out in Hutton as a starter, we have a very ambitious arbocultural assistant and I am quite confident that through him we will do some excellent tree planting work in the coming years.  These are the sorts of things you will see suggested and covered in our Corporate Strategy.  So I think we’re on it, but to keep you happy, as you know I’m very fond of you Jan, you send me a letter and I will send it on to the Arbour Day Foundation, and we’ll make a joint approach.

Mrs Patricia Smith had submitted two questions:

1.    What obligation is there upon Brentwood councillors, (and what mechanisms are in place to ensure), that Brentwood Council members respectfully and fully consider and properly answer a resident's questions; that residents can physically easily hear the verbal response in the Council chamber in it's entirety, from where they are obliged to sit (at the back, with councillors sitting at a distance and speaking in a direction away from them); and that members issue a proper (timely) response clearly in writing, and properly, thoroughly, investigate and follow up afterwards the concerns raised in residents' questions?

Cllr Hossack responded as follows:

Thank you, Mrs Smith, and again thank you for your questions as I know you always show a keen interest in local democracy and you should be commended for that.  I can advise that Members and the Council take residents’ questions very seriously and any response is carefully considered and if there is a need to follow up, we will always do so and I personally will always do so accordingly.  I can advise that in line with the Council’s Constitution, a verbal response given at the meeting, as such as I am giving now, will be recorded in the Minutes of the meeting so there is always a written record of that.  The other point you raised is good, but hopefully what you are seeing in this response is better, as we are face to face, and I agree with you, that me having been given an answer with my back to you is not ideal, this is much better and I am grateful for the layout of the new chamber, and the technology.  The microphone being portable, is essential that Members put the microphone in front of them, one between two, so its properly recorded.  There is always an audio recording and a written recording in the Minutes.  Therefore, I am comfortable we are going about it in the right way.

2.    Regarding Brentwood Council's complaints system, and the associated Council responsibility for accountability, democracy, and for ensuring the vital independence of any necessary scrutiny of itself, in how it deals with complaints. 

What mechanisms are in place to ensure the objectivity, impartiality and fairness of the Brentwood Council Complaints process? Please explain how the Council attempts to ensure that principles and standards of response to complaints are adhered to.

      Cllr Hossack responded as follows:

I will now respond to the written question you put formally and which was received by the Council.  The Council’s formal complaints policy sets out how the Council deals with formal complaints and is in line with best practice.  This includes two stages of officer responses, the second response by a senior officer and if required an independent final stage undertaken by the local government ombudsman.  In addition, the Council’s Audit & Scrutiny Committee review all of the Council’s complaints via a cross-party working group and through the committee itself.  Thank you for your question.