Brighton & Hove City Council
Council
4.30pm30 January 2020
Hove Town Hall - Council Chamber
MINUTES
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Present: Councillors Phillips (Chair), Robins (Deputy Chair), Simson, Allcock, Appich, Atkinson, Bagaeen, Barnett, Bell, Brennan, Brown, Childs, Clare, Davis, Deane, Druitt, Ebel, Evans, Fishleigh, Fowler, Gibson, Grimshaw, Hamilton, Heley, Henry, Hill, Hills, Hugh-Jones, Janio, Knight, Littman, Lloyd, Mac Cafferty, Mears, McNair, Moonan, Nemeth, Nield, O'Quinn, Osborne, Peltzer Dunn, Pissaridou, Platts, Powell, Rainey, Shanks, C Theobald, Wares, West, Wilkinson, Williams and Yates.
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PART ONE
62 Declarations of Interest
62.1 There were no declarations of interest in any matters appearing on the agenda.
63 Minutes
63.1 The minutes of the last ordinary meeting held on the 19 December 2019 were approved and signed by the Mayor as a correct record of the proceedings; subject to the following amendments:
47.1 to read – Councillor Powell declared a personal but not prejudicial interest in Item 57, a report of the Executive Lead Officer for Strategy, Governance & Law concerning the proposed Corporate Plan 2020-23 as it referred to partner organisations and she worked for Sussex Police.
50.3 to read – Mr Hawtree presented a petition signed by 112 residents concerning the condition of pavements and kerbs throughout the city.
64 Mayor's Communications.
64.1 The Mayor welcomed everyone to the meeting and wished them a Happy New Year. She then stated that she wished to thank Councillor Robins as Deputy Mayor for his continued support for various engagements over the last few months.
64.2 The Mayor then highlighted some of the recent mayoral engagements which have included;
· Celebration of Life and Love Memorial Service
· Moulsecoomb Forest Garden Christmas Lunch
· Actually, Gay Men’s Chorus Concert
· Burning of the Clocks Parade
· Christmas Day at the Royal Sussex County Hospital and the Hove Methodist Church Christmas Lunch
· Bahais Community Screening
· The Steadfast Association Annual Reunion
· The Year of the Rat Chinese New Year Celebration
· Allsorts and Age UK Charity Events in the Parlour
64.3 The Mayor also reminded the Council of her forthcoming Gala Dinner at the Royal Pavilion on the 27 March, for which tickets were available from the Civic Office.
65 To receive petitions and e-petitions.
65.1 The Mayor noted that no petitions were due to be presented at the meeting.
66 Written questions from members of the public.
66.1 The Mayor reported that 3 written questions had been received from members of the public. She also stated that she intended to take the Notice of Motion, Item 72 (2) on the agenda, Child Refugees, immediately after the final question as it related to the subject of the question. She then invited Mr. Hawtree to come forward and address the council.
66.2 Mr. Hawtree asked the following question; Could Councillor Platts please assure us that this Authority will have no truck with the proposed festival of ‘Brexit’ 2022?
66.3 Councillor Platts replied; Yes, I speak as Leader of the Labour Group and I call on the other Leaders to support me on this.
66.4 Mr. Hawtree asked the following supplementary question; Now rather than dwell on the gloomy task we face tomorrow, can I ask whether you will be supporting the ‘Re-join Movement’ so that England and Wales can follow an independent Scotland and a United Ireland in re-joining and in doing so, as part of this process can I hope that you would support proportional representation towards this end so that coming generations here in Hove and Brighton and elsewhere can enjoy the shared life we had with those people across Le Manche.
66.5 Councillor Platts replied; I think I can only speak in a personal capacity on this issue otherwise I would need to consult my Group members. I support remaining in the European Union and personally, I am a supporter of proportional representation government and for elections.
66.6 The Mayor thanked Mr. Hawtree for his questions and invited Mr. Gunn to come forward and address the council.
66.7 Mr. Gunn asked the following question, on October 10th last year an agenda item passed without any public scrutiny or councillor input on a decision to authorise the freehold acquisition of Valley Social Centre by Brighton & Hove City Council. This then went to Housing on the 13.11.19 and again this was passed without any scrutiny and away from public eyes. An application to protect the venue as an asset of community value has been sent to BHCC. Residents want to keep it in the community’s hands. The former trustees were voted out.
Can you please update the Whitehawk Community and extended community with the council’s current position on this purchase?
66.8 Councillor Platts replied; The council is aware of concerns within the Whitehawk community regarding the future of the Valley Social Centre following its recent closure. In acknowledgement of the current situation, the council felt that it would be appropriate to pause any plans to potentially purchase the site until such a time that the constitutional and other issues have been resolved. I am happy to put that in writing to you if you would like me to do so.
66.9 Mr. Gunn thanked Councillor Platts for her response and stated that he did not have a supplementary question.
66.10 The Mayor thanked Mr. Gunn for his question and invited Mr. Yabroudi to come forward and address the council.
66.11 Mr. Yabroudi asked the following question; When you’ve escaped war to make a new life in this lovely city, what often hurts most is being separated from your family. Sometimes our children must travel to safety alone, like baby Moses, floating in his basket down the Nile.
It’s agonising when we know our son, daughter, nephew or niece has managed to reach Europe but is stuck somewhere. What can the Council do to help children avoid dangerous journeys and find sanctuary in Brighton & Hove?
66.12 Councillor Grimshaw replied; Thank you for your question. Brighton & Hove City continues to participate, whenever we can, in government schemes to accommodate and support children who have managed to enter the UK. We are also pleased to continue to work with the local City of Sanctuary Group on growing our network of ‘Schools of Sanctuary’, improving the experience of refugee children arriving in the city’s schools.
However, we like you, remain concerned about those children who are trapped by the rules in difficult and dangerous situations in Europe and that is why we are supporting the Notice of Motion to put pressure on central government to ensure safe passage for children and to continue to reiterate our willingness to house child refugees.
66.13 Mr. Yabroudi asked the following supplementary question; I do wish to thank you for all the help and support you are bringing across the UK. Even though you know the hard times that we face and all of those people who find it really hard just to flee from the country and to give their children safety and a life. So, what can the people of the city do to help?
66.14 Councillor Grimshaw replied; Thank you once again. To re-iterate we are totally committed, and our hearts are touched by the terrible circumstances we are seeing that is going on in the world now and I personally would like to give my commitment to doing everything I can to help in any way possible.
66.15 The Mayor thanked Yabroudi for his questions and noted that ended the questions for the meeting.
Notice of Motion 72 (2) Child Refugees
66.16 The Mayor then stated that she would take the Notice of Motion, Item 72 (2) on Child Refugees and called on Councillor Littman to propose the motion.
66.17 Councillor Littman proposed the joint motion on behalf of the Green and Labour Groups and noted that he had brought similar motions previously in 2015 and 2017. He noted that the only a small number of places offered by local authorities had been taken up by the Home Office to date and he hoped that all Members would support the motion before them today. He noted that Brighton and Hove was a city of sanctuary and that families should not be separated and every step possible should be taken to reunite them.
66.18 Councillor Allcock formally seconded the motion and noted that follow a deputation to Council in 208 10 refugee children per year would be offered places in the city. He paid tribute to the council team that worked with refugees as well as the organisations in the city and hoped that this would continue and that the motion would be supported.
66.19 Councillors Janio, Appich and Bagaeen spoke on the motion.
66.20 Councillor Littman thanked Councillor Allcock for his support and the backing of the Labour Group and noted the comments during the debate. He hoped that the motion would have the full council’s support.
66.21 The Mayor then put the following motion to the vote;
This Council requests that the Chief Executive:
· Write to the Home Secretary, restating our offer to house child refugees,
· Write to the Prime Minister, asking him to publicly avow his support for the basic principle of Safe Passage, and to state categorically that Brexit legislation will not be used to prevent children trapped in horrendous conditions in France, Greece, and Italy from reuniting with their families in the UK.
66.22 The Mayor confirmed that the motion had been carried.
67 Deputations from members of the public.
67.1 The Mayor stated that no deputations from members of the public had been submitted for consideration at the meeting.
68 Call Over for Reports of Committees.
(a) Callover
68.1 No items on the agenda were reserved for discussion.
(b) Receipt and/or Approval of Reports
68.2 The Head of Democratic Services confirmed that the following report on the agenda with the recommendations therein had been approved and adopted:
Item 71 Review of the Code of Conduct for Members
(c) Oral Questions from Members
68.3 The Mayor noted that there were no oral questions.
69 Written questions from Councillors.
69.1 The Mayor reminded Council that written questions from Members and the replies from the appropriate Councillor were taken as read by reference to the list included in the addendum which had been circulated prior to the meeting as detailed below:
(1) Councillor Theobald
Reply from Councillor Pissaridou, Chair of the Environment, Transport & Sustainability Committee
69.3 As a point of clarity in regards the question, Christmas this year fell on a Wednesday, with the revised collection taking place on Friday 27 December. The collections due on Thursday 26 December were scheduled for Saturday 28 December.
88 missed refuse collections were reported on Friday 27 December.
44 missed refuse collections were reported on Saturday 28 December.
For Saturday 28 December, there were only two roads with three or more missed collections (both with three). The other reports were individual missed collections. This backs up the feedback from Team Leaders that most roads were collected.
We are reflecting on this year’s approach to the festive period and will make changes as necessary and procuring IT systems to improve the quality of data that we hold.
(2) Councillor McNair
69.4 Brighton & Hove City Council has oversight of the education delivered by schools in the city, in particular of pupils in its care. It also has a responsibility to ensure all children, no matter their religion, gender, race, family income or nationality have as good an education as possible. 13.4% of state-funded secondary school pupils in Brighton & Hove are eligible and claiming for Free School Meals. This is above the average of 9.5% for the Southeast
(https://www.gov.uk/government/statistics/schools-pupils-and-their-characteristics-january-2019).
According to UCAS, the average salary for graduates is 30% higher than for non-graduates aged 25-30.
https://www.ucas.com/undergraduate/student-life/why-choose-higher-education.
Helping the poorest and most disadvantaged pupils in Brighton & Hove attend university is therefore likely to help raise both pupils' and the city’s standard of living. While Brighton & Hove has a higher than an average number of pupils claiming Free School Meals, it also happens to be fortunate in having two excellent universities, and potentially an excellent route for its poorest students to escape poverty.
In order to feel reassured that Brighton & Hove City Council is making the most of its relationship with its two universities, and is providing the very best service to its poorest and most disadvantaged children, could the Leader of the Council:
1) Provide a breakdown of data of pupils by background (ethnicity, religion, income, gender, free school meal) attending university (Russell Group and other) from Brighton & Hove state schools?
2) Detail how local schools and the Universities of Brighton and Sussex, in partnership with the Council, are helping Brighton & Hove’s poorest and most disadvantaged students (with reference to ethnicity, religion, income, gender and free school meals) reach university?
3) Outline methods, and lessons learned from other Local Authorities, to increase progression of Brighton & Hove's most disadvantaged pupils to university which are due to be implemented by Brighton & Hove?
Reply from Councillor Allcock, Chair of the Children, Young People & Skills Committee
69.5 (1) The tracking of post 16 destination data is undertaken by the Youth Employability Service, Families Children and Learning Directorate; however, the requirement to report on the Year 13 leavers (aged 18) was removed by the Department for Education in 2016. And at this time the Council stopped collecting this data. Unfortunately, this means that we cannot provide the data requested. The Department of Education annually publishes official statistics on education attainment which includes achievement of Level 3 by the age of 19. In 2018 (2015 cohort of school leavers) 58% of young people achieved a Level 3 qualification, this is in line with national outcomes. Achievement at Level 3 increases the likelihood of progressing into Higher Education or apprenticeships.
(2) The Sussex Learning Network which includes the two universities and the council https://www.sussexlearningnetwork.org.uk/about-us/ led a consortium bid and was successfully awarded funding to support projects and targeted outreach activity across Brighton and Hove and Sussex.
https://www.sussexlearningnetwork.org.uk/project-category/current-projects/.
(3) The National Collaborative Outreach Programme (NCOP) delivers collaborative innovative and impactful activities and projects in local schools and FE colleges. For example, the program includes black, Asian and minority ethnic mentoring programmes and dedicated information, advice and guidance programmes for the disadvantaged.
Universities and the NCOP programme use dedicated national data sources which identify the likelihood of a young person participating in higher education. In school interventions are targeted to young people who live in postcode areas with a low likelihood of participation. The universities and the NCOP programme will hold equalities data for the disadvantage young people engaged on their programmes. This is not held by the Council.
Both universities demonstrate their commitment to working with disadvantaged students through their widening participation programmes.
They offer a suite of engagement opportunities.
https://www.sussex.ac.uk/about/access-to-education
For example, the University of Sussex compact scheme means that many secondary schools send children to visit and stay at the campus.
The Greater Brighton Metropolitan College also plays an important outreach role to widen participation locally
https://www.sussexlearningnetwork.org.uk/projects/gb-met-2020-outreach-offer/
Children in Care are a group that are prioritised for support. For example:
· From secondary school age they can have access to a Higher Education Student Mentor, who provides impartial information, advice, guidance and support about applying to and the experience of being at university. Currently there are six trained mentors who are care leavers who have attended university.
· The LA fund travel costs to University open days and taster days.
· The Leaving Care team facilitate links to University Care Leaver leads in the University Widening Participation Teams.
· The Personal Education Plan process is used to ensure aspirations to attend university are discussed.
· The Fostering team support foster carers who may not be familiar with the university system.
The Local offer for Brighton and Hove students attending higher education includes:
· Financial support of £670 at the start of each term.
· Free Wi-Fi
· 52 weeks a year rent paid
· Required books, equipment special clothing, field trips etc.
· Travel costs to and from University each term.
· Links are made with the care leaver lead at university.
There are currently 31 care leavers at university.
1) Maximising the attainment and progress of all pupils particularly disadvantaged is a high priority across the City. If young people from a disadvantaged background attain more highly and achieve level 3 qualifications, then the chance of attending University increases.
All universities are required (by the Office for Students) to publish access and participation plans which set how they will improve equality of opportunity for underrepresented groups to access, succeed in and progress from higher education. As an example please see the access plan for the University of Sussex https://www.sussex.ac.uk/study/terms-and-conditions/access-agreements.
Both of the Universities in this city contribute to improving the progression of disadvantaged pupils. The investment in NCOP and the governance, monitoring and reporting requirements implemented by the Office for Students will ensure that national good practice will be captured and disseminated.
Locally, through the Sussex Learning Network, Brighton and Hove, its neighbouring authorities, and FE and HE partners will continue to work together to ensure that the outreach hub funded through NCOP is established and that opportunities for progression remain at the core of the partnership.
There is always room for learning from others’ experiences. Your suggestion that we approach other Local Authorities is welcome and something worth pursuing. This Administration is committed to continue to improve and develop programmes to end the attainment gap for disadvantaged children.
(4) Councillor Deane
For the same time period, how much income has been generated through the council’s ‘bulky waste collection service,’ for residents – (i.e. not commercial collection?) and through fines issued?
Reply from Councillor Pissaridou, Chair of the Environment, Transport & Sustainability Committee
Between 1 April and 31 December 2019, there were 1593 instances of fly-tipping reported to Cityclean. This reporting does not capture all fly-tip instances as if a Street Cleansing Crew discovers a fly-tip while on duty, they will clear it, sometimes before it is reported.
Between April and December, 547 tonnes (figure unaudited) of fly-tipped waste was collected, with an estimated disposal cost of £94,000. (The figure for 2018/19 was 1,392 tonnes, costing £232,000).
This relates to the cost of disposal only, as officer time, vehicles and other associated costs are not separately recorded for the collection of fly-tipped waste from the Street Cleansing budget and therefore we are unable to calculate an accurate cost.
Between 1 April and 31 December:
· 123 Fixed Penalty Notices were issued for residential fly-tipping. This generated £18,900.
· 282 Fixed Penalty Notices were issued for commercial fly-tipping. This generated £75,155
The bulky waste service is contracted out through a concession contract. This means the council does not receive any income through the bulky waste collection service.
(5) Councillor West
The Council has declared a climate emergency, and in response Labour and Greens are agreed on the need for the city to be carbon neutral by 2030. This will be a challenging task and the availability of Government funding to make the extensive changes needed is not apparent and may not be forthcoming. However, the high level of public concern about the climate emergency suggests there is good opportunity for the Council to “crowdfund” investment for local carbon reduction from local people and businesses. This could be offered as a way to off-set current carbon foot-prints while households and businesses make their own carbon reductions. The funds raised could be offered to local carbon reduction projects as grants or recycled as loans from a local green bank. These local projects would not only off-set investors carbon but also support everyone in the city to be better able to effect their own carbon reductions.
I believe the LEP are considering a scheme to harness investment to help fulfil the Sussex Natural Capital Investment Strategy developed by the Sussex Nature Partnership. This could be just one channel for carbon reduction investment raised by Brighton & Hove.
Founding and promoting a carbon reduction fund for the City will require start-up and operational funding. £50,000 would perhaps be of the right order to get this going. What budget provision is the Administration making for this initiative within the 2020/21 budget?
Reply from Councillor Yates, Deputy Chair (Finance) of the Policy & Resources Committee
The council is exploring a wide range of options, including external funding opportunities, to support the Corporate Plan commitment to address the climate emergency and work towards a carbon neutral city. This will not only require the council to consider appropriate and affordable investments but means we must also focus on working with partners and other agencies to use our position as community leader to lead by example, influence and encourage others to adopt climate change strategies and policies.
As Members will be aware, the government have only provided a one-year Spending Review at this time and we are putting the finishing touches to the 2020/21 budget proposals for this council and will bring these to the February Budget Council. Local Government resources remain under severe pressure and yet we must still find funding for essential, statutory services, particularly social care, to support those in need. We are hopeful, however, that some resources can be found to support climate initiatives and support the process of addressing climate change in 2020/21. Once the government have announced the funding position for the longer term, expected later in 2020, we will be able to plan our approach to this emergency with greater certainty.
(6) Councillor Gibson
For the period from 1st of April 2019 to 1st of January 2020 what was:
a) The number of bus lane PCNs issued and what has been the associated fine income?
b) The CPZ permit income?
c) The civil parking enforcement cost?
Reply from Councillor Pissaridou, Chair of the Environment, Transport & Sustainability Committee
a) To the 1st January 2020, we have issued 48,918 Bus Lane PCNs. Total income to the council in this same time period is £1,979,709. Some of this income will be attributable to Bus Lane Enforcement issued in the previous financial year as income is based on when it is received rather than when the ticket is issued.
b) CPZ income (which is interpreted as all resident permit related income) is £3,320,000 up to 1st January 2020.
c) The amount paid to our enforcement contractor, NSL, is £2,977,575 up to 1st January 2020.
(7) Councillor Gibson
Reply from Councillor Williams, Chair of the Housing Committee.
As at 1st January 2020 there have been 28 homes sold under the Right to Buy scheme this financial year.
(8) Councillor Gibson
Reply from Councillor Yates, Deputy Chair (Finance) of the Policy & Resources Committee.
The following annual repayment costs are based on the published Public Works Loan Board Certainty rates on the afternoon of 23/01/2020:
|
Based on Annuity |
Period |
|||||
|
5 years |
7 years |
10 years |
15 years |
20 years |
25 years |
|
|
PWLB Certainty Rate |
2.23% |
2.29% |
2.45% |
2.75% |
2.93% |
2.99% |
|
Loan amount |
£'000 pa |
£'000 pa |
£'000 pa |
£'000 pa |
£'000 pa |
£'000 pa |
|
£5m |
1,068 |
781 |
570 |
411 |
334 |
287 |
|
£10m |
2,136 |
1,562 |
1,140 |
823 |
668 |
574 |
|
£20m |
4,272 |
3,125 |
2,279 |
1,645 |
1,336 |
1,147 |
|
£25m |
5,339 |
3,906 |
2,849 |
2,056 |
1,670 |
1,434 |
|
£30m |
6,407 |
4,687 |
3,419 |
2,468 |
2,003 |
1,721 |
|
£35m |
7,475 |
5,468 |
3,989 |
2,879 |
2,337 |
2,008 |
|
£40m |
8.543 |
6,250 |
4,559 |
3,290 |
2,671 |
2,295 |
|
£50m |
10,679 |
7,812 |
5,698 |
4,113 |
3,339 |
2,868 |
(9) Councillor Gibson
Reply from Councillor Williams, Chair of the Housing Committee
The council has collected 85.7% of rent due in 2019/20 up to 31/12/19. The council is due to pay 91% of rent due in 2019/20 to Seaside homes and currently this is estimated to total £4.444m. Therefore, based on this collection rate continuing for the rest of the year, this would lead to a forecast shortfall of £0.257m in rent to be met by the council. However, this forecast could reduce depending on the success of the current financial recovery plan.
(10) Councillor Hugh-Jones
1) Can you please confirm that the Private Sector Housing Enforcement Strategy will cover this;
2) Indicate what resources the Council is allocating to implementation of this Strategy from April and specifically what resources will be allocated to enforcement of EPC ratings in the private rental sector;
3) Indicate (i) how many private rented sector properties in the city are currently F and G rated and (ii) provide an estimate of how many of these properties will be subject to an exemption because the cost cap of £3500 is insufficient to improve the property’s rating to EPC E and landlords are unable to able to secure third-party funding to cover all or part of the cost of improving their properties to EPC E.
Reply from Councillor Williams, Chair of the Housing Committee
1) While our Private Sector Housing Enforcement policy does not specifically cover the EPC ratings, all statutory duties in relation to the private sector will be addressed.
2) ‘Potential Investments’ included in the Draft Revenue Budget & Capital Strategy 2020/2 (reported to Policy & Resources Committee on 5 December 2019) includes potential additional investment of £100k to cover full-year costs of supporting and continuing the Private Sector Housing Enforcement Policy agreed by Housing Committee on 18 Sept 2019.
i) The analysis carried out in 2018 showed the following estimates in the PRS;
· 1312 F rated properties
· 421 G rated properties
ii) We do not have data to provide an estimate of how many of these would be exempt under the £3500 cap on without further analysis. It is also worth noting that this is not the only eligible exemption under the regulations so would not necessarily give us an accurate indication of the total number of these properties that would be exempt. To estimate the above would require a fuller analysis of a number of datasets so that any enforcement can be targeted effectively. In addition, some of these properties may be homes we are already aware of and involved with, including existing HMO’s or properties where we have open Requests for Assistance with Private Sector Housing officers.
(11) Councillor Fishleigh
Reply from Councillor Yates, Deputy Chair (Finance) of the Policy & Resources Committee
The council has to date, set aside £2 million capital resources to support the Madeira Terraces project, which is in addition to the £440,000 raised through crowdfunding.
The planned expenditure of these resources is set out in the table below and excludes any further fundraising or grants that may be required to complete the first 30 arches or subsequent phases.
|
|
2019/20 £ |
2020/21 £ |
2021/22 £ |
TOTAL £ |
|
Council Funding – Design Team for first 30 Arches |
50,000 |
500,000 |
|
550,000 |
|
Council Funding – build/ implementation / fit-out |
|
|
1,450,000 |
1,450,000 |
|
Crowdfunding toward build / implementation/ fit out of 3 arches |
|
|
440,000 |
440,000 |
|
TOTAL |
50,000 |
500,000 |
1,890,000 |
2,440,000 |
(12) Councillor Druitt
· what has been done since
· what, if anything, was attempted but not achieved
· what is still outstanding pending officer time or financial resources, and what is the plan for this
· what, if anything, it has been decided not to pursue
Reply from Councillor Pissaridou, Chair of the Environment, Transport & Sustainability Committee
On each occasion that this matter has been discussed at council meetings, the Administration has clearly explained its approach and priorities for cycling. This is all recorded in the minutes of those meetings which are published on our website.
The current priority is the development of a Local Cycling & Walking Infrastructure Plan; and we are making good progress on it. The plan will significantly help us to identify needs and barriers and establish the cycling and walking priorities that will contribute towards delivering a safe, accessible, sustainable and high-quality transport network that everybody can use.
Last year, our Environment, Transport and Sustainability Committee considered reports about the plan and established a Member Task & Finish Group to enable councillors to oversee its development. The Group met for the first time in December, and I am sure that you will have been briefed on all of this by Councillor West, who represents your group on it. Future meetings will involve and engage stakeholders, and there will also be wider consultation as the plan is developed. The current programme indicates that the plan will be completed by the end of this year.
However, that isn’t all that we are doing on cycling and walking. There are many projects and programmes taking place that include new and improved cycling provision, and which promote and enable more cycling as part of our overall transport strategy. These include prioritised maintenance of road and pavement surfaces; all three phases of the Valley Gardens project; and the continuing success of the city’s BikeShare scheme.
I therefore look forward to continuing to work with all councillors to ensure that these priorities will enable two of the key commitments in our Corporate Plan to be delivered. These are to ‘Develop an active and sustainable travel network’ and to ‘Increase healthy life expectancy and reduce health inequalities’.
All of this work will ensure that walking and cycling can become people’s first choice for as many of their journeys as possible.
(13) Councillor Mac Cafferty
Reply from Councillor Yates, Deputy Chair (Finance) of the Policy & Resources Committee
The council takes all appropriate steps available to it to minimise the risk of redundancy as far as possible. Where staff are potentially put at risk of redundancy through the proposed deletion of a post, or posts, in a service, the council will invite applications for voluntary severance from relevant staff wherever practicable. This process operates alongside the council’s redeployment pool into which people at risk of redundancy are placed in an attempt to find and match them to suitable alternative employment within the council.
The council is not currently dealing directly with any member of staff who has been made redundant but there are a number of people who are potentially at risk of redundancy subject to the outcome of the aforementioned processes.
The numbers of staff at risk of redundancy are as follows:
(a) Families, Children & Learning: 4 people at risk of redundancy.
(b) Strategy, Governance & Law: 2 people at risk of redundancy.
The following directorates do not currently have any staff at risk of redundancy:
Housing, Neighbourhoods & Communities
Finance & Resources including Orbis Services
Health & Adult Social Care
Economy, Environment & Culture
(14) Councillor Mac Cafferty
Reply from Councillor Pissaridou, Chair of the Environment, Transport & Sustainability Committee
The TBM09 forecast for Cityclean agency spend is £0.950m. This is the result of higher than budgeted staff costs due to the additional collection drivers and operatives to cover the service, as well as increased costs following the fire at Hollingdean Waste Transfer Station.
Cityclean are acting to reduce the overspend. We are recruiting additional posts within CityClean so that there is less reliance on agency staff. Cityclean use agency staff to cover sickness and annual leave; staff work outside in all weathers undertaking manual handling and this can have an impact on absence levels. A well-being group has been set up to look at the key causes of sickness absence to look at wellbeing initiatives to support attendance at work. As part of the Modernisation Programme the service is identifying opportunities to reduce the reliance on agency workers.
(15) Councillor Mac Cafferty
Reply from Councillor Pissaridou, Chair of the Environment, Transport & Sustainability Committee
We have only started logging the specific costs of materials issued for community clean ups since we set up the new inbox at the end of September. We therefore can only provide an estimated expenditure on materials used for this purpose which is £16k. This has provided paint, cleaning products; equipment; community storage units for materials which includes 6 community ‘Superbins’ and a strongbox. The demand for community strongboxes (for storing materials) is high and they are also more efficient as we can keep them stocked with materials rather than making special journeys. This also gives the groups greater independence and flexibility, so we are looking to invest another £5k for 5 more boxes in the near future to meet demands. This does depend on us finding a suitable location and key holders.
We have taken the opportunity of the additional funds for material to expand the ‘tidy up team’ approach from working in parks to working across the city wherever volunteers want to hold a tidy up event. We have now have more than 100 Tidy Up Team volunteers and a large number of community groups and individual who regularly clean up their area and paint out graffiti. So far this year there have been 163 beach cleans supported by the council and the community clean-up fund. We are grateful to all of the volunteers and community groups who make such a valuable contribution to their communities.
We are researching new street cleansing equipment to steam clean pavements. We have trialled hot foam technology, but we have further research to do.
Any remaining funding from the additional £33k will be used as a contribution towards the cost of hiring temporary staff in the summer to manually remove weeds.
The graffiti wipes contain chemicals that cause irritation to the eyes and it is advised that the product should not enter drains due to its hazardous nature. The Operatives that use them are COSHH trained and wear PPE at all times. Without suitable training, it has been determined that the wipes are not suitable for the general public to use. We are looking into options to find an alternative that is suitable for the public to use.
(16) Councillor Mac Cafferty
Reply from Councillor Yates, Deputy Chair (Finance) of the Policy & Resources Committee
A council communications officer and a projects officer have been working with the universities of Sussex and Brighton to target students on fly-tipping and general waste.
A plan is being drawn up that will target the city’s student population (of around 40,000) on recycling, cutting contamination and warning of Fixed Penalty Notices (FPNs) for littering and most importantly fly-tipping.
Student landlords will also be targeted on fly-tipping at the beginning and end of terms.
Joint communications will be carried out through liaison with the Universities’ community ambassadors and targeted communications through direct mailing, leaflets, face to face visits, and through a stall at student fresher’s weeks and fairs.
The budget will be used to design and produce a suite of communications to help deliver the above including leaflets, pop-up banners, traditional and social media education campaigns, paid for advertising in university and other student popular media.
The Universities have advised the best time to target their students is in the New Year as new students are more settled in by this time.
(17) Councillor Mac Cafferty
Reply from Councillor Moonan, Chair of the Health & Wellbeing Board
The CCG is not aware of any validated measure of GP waiting times. Nevertheless, our regular engagement with patients and with practices suggests that a number do have trouble accessing their GP when they want. To improve this situation, the CCG takes a threefold approach, commissioning extra appointments for patients; improving the signposting for patients so they can see the right clinician for them; and supporting General Practices to remain as resilient as possible given the current national workforce pressures.
Improved GP Access
We understand that people cannot always go to see their GP during standard working hours, so the NHS has expanded local services to help more people get access to the right medical professional, providing the right care, in the right place at the right time through the Improved Access programme.
Residents can now benefit from easier access to evening and weekend appointments, being made available at GPs across the city. This service sees local GP practices working together to offer patients appointments at more convenient times when they call their local practice. Patients can make an appointment between 6.30pm to 8.30pm at night in the week and from 10am to 4pm on a Saturday and Sunday. These appointments are in addition to the usual GP surgery opening hours from 8am to 6pm.It means that when patients contact their doctor they will be offered appointments at an accessible time and day at surgeries in the city where appointments are available, which may not always be patients’ usual practice. Appointments may not be at patient’s usual practice, but if they talk to a receptionist, they can help patients find the right service and at a time that works best for them.
The CCG is currently commissioning software for practices to offer online consultations, should patients request them. This is in addition to, rather than replacing existing appointments and will become available during the next 12 months depending on the practice decision to access the service.
Better signposting
People can also dial 111 if they need medical help but are not in a life-threatening situation. NHS 111 is a non-emergency service patients can use if they are unsure of which healthcare service they need to visit. It offers access to advice 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, by phone and online and can connect callers to healthcare professionals, including nurses, emergency dentists or GPs. 111 can also link to the NUMSAS service, offering emergency prescriptions to be picked up from a pharmacist without having to contact a surgery. From 1 April 111 will also offer a Clinical Assessment Service (CAS), offering patients the opportunity to speak to a clinician rather than a call handler. Research suggests that a significant number of patients will need no further action once they have spoken with the CAS.
More resilient general practice
Every effort is made by our CCG to support local General Practice services in the city, which we know are facing the same pressures that are being reported from around England. A key area of our plans to improve health care is to make sure general practice is more sustainable for the years ahead, and there are a number of ways in which we support our practices, including:
· Engagement with the overseas recruitment programme
· Supporting a wide staff mix within practices, which can include employing nurse practitioners, paramedics or pharmacists
· Providing access to the primary care development fund
· Support funding bids to NHS England
· Providing support for GPs trained in the city to stay once qualified
· Enabling mentoring and peer support for new GPs
Additional information
· It is true to say that in the last ten years there has been a significant reduction in the number of practices in Brighton. However, the following should be noted.
· In the last few years this trend has stabilised, with only one proposed merger in the last 24 months which will not result in any reduction of numbers of practice staff in the city.
· The mergers and any closures of local GP surgeries are not the result of any CCG funding cuts or reorganisation, but the decision of the practice partners.
· Often, as with the recently proposed merger of Matlock Road, the numbers of staff remain the same, transferring to the newly merged organisation.
· Every effort is made by the CCG to support local General Practice services, which we know are facing the same pressures that are being reported from around England.
· As a statutory public body, the CCG works within the current policy and framework set out by NHS England and will continue to do so to ensure patients receive on going GP services.
GP funding specific:
· GPs are self-employed practitioners.
· Unlike hospital doctors, GPs are usually not employed by the NHS – their practice works like a small business, receiving a sum of money per patient which is then used to pay for the premises, staff and other costs. Profits from this pay GP partners.
· B&HCCG cannot legally be a provider of GP services.
(18) Councillor Powell
• How often, and to what cost have the lifts broken down?
• How often have the accessible toilets been out of order, and what timescale is given to getting them back functioning again? Who is responsible for ensuring toilet rolls and soap? I have, on more than one occasion, had to go and report the lack of facilities to the reception at the town Hall.
• Could you clarify if all hearing loops are functioning adequately, and if a given number of staff know how to actually work them? If not, can this be put in place please?
Reply from Councillor Platts, Leader of the Council
Council Chambers and meeting rooms have step-free access, so either are on the ground floor with level or ramped approach or have lift access if located above ground floor. Both are accessible to residents.
Both Brighton Town Hall (accessible to residents) and Barts House (accessible to staff) have evacuation lifts which can accommodate 13 standing users, or 1 wheelchair user accompanied by assistants. In either case evacuation of disabled people is a managed system using trained personnel, but this does limit the number of people who cannot use stairs accessing spaces above ground floor.
It is the responsibility of the organiser of any meeting or event to ensure that the space they choose to use suits the access/egress requirements of those expected to attend and that they are responsible for completing a Personal Emergency Evacuation Plan (PEEP) for any individual who may experience difficulties.
How often, and to what cost have the lifts broken down?
The 3 main civic buildings that the Property facilities and building services team are responsible for, have in the last 12 months suffered the following failures: Brighton Town Hall – 1 breakdown and 1 entrapment at a total cost of £160 ; Hove Town Hall- 11 breakdowns and 1 entrapment at a total cost of £1180. Bartholomew House 17 breakdowns and 1 entrapment at a total cost of £6200.
How often have the accessible toilets been out of order, and what timescale is given to getting them back functioning again?
There are several accessible toilets at Hove Town Hall and only the one in the main reception has experienced issues with frequent blockages and “spoiling” incidents. This toilet is used throughout the day by the public and is unsupervised by the concierge team. We have a cleaning staff member and an in-house plumbing technician based in Hove Town Hall and the majority of incidents are attended to and the toilet returned to operational use within the hour.
We have no record of any failures elsewhere but if they were to occur the Premises plumbing technician would attend within a 4-hour response time.
Who is responsible for ensuring toilet rolls and soap? I have, on more than one occasion, had to go and report the lack of facilities to the reception at the town Hall.
The Property premises facilities team are responsible, and the toilet consumables are cheeked and maintained on a daily basis, should the consumables run out, the staff in both town halls will replenish immediately.
Could you clarify if all hearing loops are functioning adequately, and if a given number of staff know how to actually work them? If not, can this be put in place please?
The Premises audio technicians (2 No) regularly test the fixed loop hearing enhancement systems on a quarterly basis. These systems are switched on permanently and there are visible instructions in each room for hearing aid users to switch their aids to the loop frequency.
If a meeting space does not have a permanent hearing enhancement system, the premises facilities team have several portable systems (infra-red and induction loops) which can be set up for use by premises and guidance on use provided. The cost of providing these and the guidance is recharged to the meeting organiser.
Feedback from users has highlighted that poor acoustics in Committee Room 1 and the Volks Room at Brighton Town Hall means induction loops do not work efficiently in these spaces. Property is currently in the process of arranging for both these rooms to be acoustically treated by a specialist contractor.
(19) Councillor Hills
Reply from Councillor O’Quinn, Chair of the Licensing Committee
The Council undertakes significant unmet demand surveys (every 3 years) to ensure that there is no significant unmet demand for Hackney Carriages in the City. The Council has a policy of having a mixed fleet of saloons and WAV’s with the widest range of vehicles available for proprietors to licence. As no vehicle is suitable for all wheelchairs there are times such as during school runs when there will be a delay for passengers that do not use a reference wheelchair. However, we would expect, as a matter of courtesy, the operator to be clear to any passenger of the waiting time or delay prior to offering the booking. Drivers are not legally compelled to carry any passenger that is not in a reference wheelchair, but Operators in the City have booking systems that match regular passengers to a vehicle that is able to safely carry the users of other types of chair where possible. Approximately 50% of the Hackney Carriage fleet is wheelchair accessible and 22% of the private hire fleet is wheelchair accessible which is amongst the highest in the country. Complaints of this nature are rare, but where the taxi licensing team have received complaints, officers work with the operator and liaise with the complainant to improve procedures. For example, some local operators now offer driver incentives to take wheelchair bookings.
(20) Councillor Hills
What can be done to ensure all licensed taxi drivers ensure the safe positioning of wheelchairs on all journeys?
Reply from Councillor O’Quinn, Chair of the Licensing Committee
Drivers of wheelchair accessible vehicles are required demonstrate every 3 years that they are competent in the safe loading/unload of wheelchair passengers by passing a wheelchair exercise test. The proprietor must also ensure that their drivers are competent in their particular vehicle. The Hackney Carriage Office has not received any complaints in recent years that wheelchair passengers are not being strapped down correctly, but if complaints were received then officers would investigate to ensure the driver had undertaken the necessary training and was competent. The passenger/carer also has a responsibility to ensure that the chair/themselves are securely strapped in and to alert the driver if there is a problem before the vehicle moves. The chair should be marked with the clamping points and/or the driver provided with instructions to the driver where it is safe to clamp any particular chair.
(21) Councillor Osborne – Council Homes
Reply from Councillor Williams, Chair of the Housing Committee
As at 24th January 2020 there are total of 22,135 bedrooms within the residential properties let by the Council (Housing Revenue Account).
It is not possible to accurately provide data as to how many bedrooms aren’t occupied as we are unable to extract data as to the relationships between the occupants or whether they share bedrooms , for example couples and / or siblings.
It is possible to extract data which provides the number of bedrooms and number of occupants for each council housing property.
As of 31 December 2019, there were 2,059 households with fewer occupants than bedrooms, about 18% of households.
However, overall, there are more occupants in our stock (25,097) than bedrooms (22,135).
One of our priorities is to make best use of our council housing stock, this includes supporting residents to ‘downsize’ when they choose and provide a range of options for them to support this.
The Council has a Tenant Incentive Scheme (TIS) which offers financial incentives to tenants to downsize when they are in accommodation that is larger than they need. This is advertised regularly in Homing In.
Our TIS officer has introduced herself to tenant's representatives and is happy to attend any meetings to raise awareness of the scheme.
Additionally, if the Housing Officer is aware that a household is under-occupying accommodation, they can discuss the option to downsize with them.
We also proactively contact tenants who are under occupying and at risk of accruing arrears to initiate discussion on options to move to smaller accommodation.
In addition, our Allocations Policy and any Local Lettings Plans for new build council homes both offer priority to residents who are downsizing from larger accommodation.
We are also reviewing our Seniors Housing offer to ensure it is attractive for people to downsize into.
(22) Councillor Osborne - Allotments
How many hectares of land is designated for allotments within the local authority? How many people in total are on the allotment waiting list and what is the expected waiting time for someone on this list to get an allotment?
Reply from Councillor Pissaridou, Chair of the Environment, Transport & Sustainability Committee
60.7028 hectares (both cultivated and uncultivated) are designated for allotments.
Of that, 48.5614 hectares are cultivatable allotment land i.e. let and vacant plots
As of 21/01/20, there are 1,297 applicants on 35 separate site waiting lists.
Each site has its own waiting list with widely different waiting times. For the large sites on the western edge of the city with high-capacity and low demand the wait can be six to twelve months. On some of the tiny sites with less than ten plots in dense urban areas the wait is highly likely to be in excess of ten years. An average wait of two to three years on most larger sites is realistic.
(23) Councillor Osborne – Storage Facilities
Reply from Councillor Yates, Deputy Chair (Finance) of the Policy & Resources Committee
Within the council’s operational portfolio there are storage facilities within the basements of Hove and Brighton Town Halls which are both fully utilised. Hove Town Hall issued by road safety, legal, premises cleaning consumables, printing paper, schools service cleaning equipment hire store, premises helpdesk technicians’ consumables store. Brighton Town Hall is where ICT and rangers’ teams have equipment stores, the bike store and another premises helpdesk technicians’ consumables store. There are also small consumable storage rooms at Portslade Town Hall, Moulsecoomb and Whitehawk hubs. (All consumable stores are stock managed, used and replenished on a regular basis to ensure VFM and economy of scale in consumable replacement).
The Museums Service leases in a property for storage use. This lease will be assigned to the Royal Pavilion & Museum Trust when the museums service is outsourced.
Within New England House the council’s school meals team and electoral services each occupy a unit for storage. Both services have confirmed that they do not have spare room in these units.
Within the commercial, agricultural and seafront portfolios there are properties including industrial units, lock up garages and seafront arches that are let or sublet for storage.
This response does not take account of storage facilities within the Housing stock.
(24) Councillor Osborne – Usage of Lawn Mowers and Leaf Blowers
Reply from Councillor Pissaridou, Chair of the Environment, Transport & Sustainability Committee
This equipment is used by the council.
We have 183 mowers, with a total value of £859,180.
We have 40 leaf blowers, with a total value of £10,268.
We have 84 strimmers / brushcutters with a total value of £25,245.
We cannot isolate the specific running costs of this equipment from the City Parks budget.
Please note, these are not all petrol-fueled machines. In line with our commitment to be carbon free by 2030, increasingly, as battery-powered technology improves, we are moving to battery operated machinery. A significant percentage of Cityparks’ strimmers are now battery powered. Details of hedge cutting equipment was not requested, but this is another area where we are switching to battery-powered machines.
(25) Councillor Osborne – Pest Control
Reply from Councillor Pissaridou, Chair of the Environment, Transport & Sustainability Committee
2017: 1399 domestic treatments undertaken of which 862 were for rats and 335 mice.
2018: 1128 domestic treatments undertaken of which 668 were for rats and 336 mice.
2019: 566 domestic treatments undertaken of which 319 were for rats and 89 mice.
(26) Councillor Osborne – Dog Poo Fines
Reply from Councillor Pissaridou, Chair of the Environment, Transport & Sustainability Committee
One Fixed Penalty Notice has been issued for dog fouling since the 1st April 2019, which has generated £75 income to the council.
It should be noted that catching perpetrators in the act is very difficult. Keep Britain Tidy research shows that some dog owners act irresponsibly when they think they are not being watched., this makes it very difficult to catch owners as they are more likely to pick up when people are around, especially our Environmental Enforcement Officers.
We rely on intelligence from residents and complainants. We ask questions to gather information via our website and the contact centre, including: times and locations that the dog is walked; the breed/type of dog and any distinguishing features and the description of owner.
This depends on whether witnesses will give statements on offenders but not many people want to do this.
70 Oral questions from Councillors
70.1 The Mayor noted that 17 oral questions had been received and that 30 minutes were set aside for the duration of the item. The Mayor then called on Councillor Mac Cafferty to put his question to Councillor Pissaridou.
Councillor Mac Cafferty Subject matter: Communal Bins After Christmas
70.2 Councillor Mac Cafferty asked the following question, everyone will be aware we have had another Christmas where my residents and others in the city have had bins uncollected for days and weeks. With usual predictability there always seems to be an excuse. All this when we are spending £11K a week on agency workers and an answer to my written question today tells us we spend an unbelievable £.95million on City Clean agency workers. The indicators are telling us that collections for recycling and waste are up. My residents are careful to separate their waste and recycling and keep their end of the bargain by disposing of waste responsibly. When is the administration going to ensure the city council keeps its’ end of the bargain and ensure timely and regular bin collections?
70.3 Councillor Pissaridou replied, we are aware of issues with communal bin collections over the festive period. As you have said there is nothing more to add than this was a result of staffing issues relating to one of the rounds covering the central area of the city.
We experienced a high number of staff taking annual leave and sickness over the period. We did use other crews via overtime over two days to pick up the missed work, including Communal Bin crews on rest days.
70.4 Councillor Mac Cafferty asked the following question, my point was that Christmas seems to join Pride or virtually any event any time of the year, we don’t have to wait for ceremony seemingly and with Sundays. I have now raised the point about communal recycling bins through Full Council with 5 oral questions in the past 5 years and we still seem to have made no progress. I would like to ask Cllr Pissaridou who has now been the Chair of the Environment Committee for over half the year and I am wondering when is she going to get to grips with it?
70.5 Councillor Pissaridou replied, we are reflecting on this year’s approach to the festive period and will make changes as necessary. We are also planning changes through the Modernisation Programme as reported to Environment, Transport & Sustainability Committee last month.
Councillor Bell Subject matter: Local Businesses
70.6 Councillor Bell informed the Mayor that he wished to withdraw his question.
Councillor Hills Subject matter: Voluntary Payments to the Council
70.7 Councillor Hills asked the following question, Local Government spending has been slashed by a quarter over the past decade and due to the Governments’ Austerity Policy, our annual funding has dropped by £490 per head in our city which is a lot higher than the £270 national. I by no means condone this but I doubt that our newly elected government will be reversing the cuts on the scale necessary any time soon. So, one way of putting some money back into the public purse might be by giving wealthier residents the option of making extra payments to their council tax. Voluntary council tax schemes have been introduced in Westminster in London with some success and other authorities such as Islington are looking at introducing a similar scheme. The money raised could be used to support the homeless which affects 1 in 75 people in our city or could be used to improve youth or mental health services. These extra payments could be a good way to give extra help to the most vulnerable people in our society who have been hit hardest by government savaged cuts. Have administration looked at this? And I would like to know if it something we could re-consider?
70.8 Councillor Yates replied, I think it probably is the time that we looked at this again we looked at it back in 2018. We evaluated the options and we considered whether it was something that at that time residents would feel that it was something that they were going to be supportive of us introducing. I don’t think the time was right then and I think it is worth us reconsidering and looking at that again, so I would welcome having a cross party conversation with all groups and all councillors about how they would like to see that introduced and we can look at a range of different options. We know that we have some important crises not just in our finances but also in our climate and diversity. If we can establish a fund which is going to be suitable and give that support to additionality and making sure that we are giving additional benefits to local residents from the additional funds that they may wish to contribute I think that would be a great thing.
70.9 Councillor Hills asked the following supplementary question, many homeless people are distrustful of mainstream authority and therefore don’t always take up support when offered. Westminster have spent some of their voluntary council tax money on employing 2 extra rough sleeper support officers to engage with people on the streets. Is that something that we as a local authority we could consider with the extra funds that we raise.
70.10 Councillor Yates replied, as I said what I think would be a good thing to do is to look at all the different options that are possible, Youth Services, climate change etc. there is such a wide range of ways that we might want to introduce it. I don’t think we can directly commit to one solution on the basis of one oral question at Full Council, but we can certainly commit to looking at that and bringing it into discussions.
Councillor Mears Subject matter: Housing Repairs
70.11 Councillor Mears asked the following question, can the Chair of Housing confirm that when the in-house repair service that is due to start on 1 April 2020 will stay within the budget, to ensure more funding is not used from Housing Revenue Account so affecting funding needed for repairs that will be raised by tenants?
70.12 Councillor Williams replied, our future repairs programme is delivering new arrangements for repairs and maintenance, planned work and major works across the council housing stock. There is a huge range of activity underway across these three streams, as I am sure you are aware, and the programme is focused to go live for 1 April. There has been a vast amount of work undertaken so far to ensure that this service will operate smoothly and, may I take this opportunity to offer many thanks to officers to say that this is mainly down to them.
As far as repairs go the programme team are supporting the transfer of 160 staff into the organisation. A lot of positive early engagement has been undertaken and in the next few months the final stages of that transfer will be completed. The focus for delivery of repairs and maintenance is ensuring the positive and consistent service for residents from day one. A range of communication plans are in place to ensure residents are updated throughout this period. With regards to supporting maintenance and repairs alongside the delivery of service by council employed operatives, supervisors, repairs desk staff, post room service there are arrangements for support for these services. To maintain consistency for residents we will be using the existing MCN system provided by Mears to raise repairs and manage works.
70.13 Councillor Mears asked the following supplementary question, can the Chair of Housing guarantee that the new inhouse repairs service will be managed professionally and properly. My reason for asking is that in the past I challenged the, then, Executive Director and Legal as the message from the council from the previous conservative administration have let a ‘light touch’ contract. I have confirmation in writing that the problems that the council have experienced over the life of the contract have been due to the management of the contract and not the form of the contract.
70.14 Councillor Williams replied, yes it will be conducted professionally and managed appropriately.
Councillor Janio Subject matter: The Future of Democracy
70.15 The Mayor noted that the question had been withdrawn.
Councillor Fishleigh Subject matter: A259
70.16 Councillor Fishleigh asked the following question, my question is not about the A259 specifically, but it was however prompted by traffic grinding to a halt on the A259 between Newhaven and The Marina and I hope that the answer will be interesting and useful to all councillors who are dismayed when road works pop up in their ward with no prior warning. Two things contributed to the chaos on the A259 the second week of January, firstly there was no advance communication to residents and road users, secondly Southern Water’s contractor had no information about the different traffic flows in the area. Please would the council evaluate its existing processes with a view to improving communications and producing traffic management plans that can be used when there is both planned and emergency works on major trunk roads
70.17 Councillor Pissaridou replied, the council has a Permit scheme in operation that enables all works carried out on the highway to be coordinated so that the impacts are mitigated. This includes works carried out by utility companies. The permits do include conditions that the companies have to comply with for example manual control of temporary lights or out of hours of working. Full responsibility for managing the works and complying with the conditions falls to the specific companies. The utility company are responsible for the publicity and management of the works including local engagement. The team who look at the hundreds of permits that are submitted challenge the companies on how long the works will take and arrange for inspectors to visit to check on the works. Roadworks are published on a national web site called one network
70.18 Councillor Fishleigh asked the following supplementary question, we are all very concerned with congestion and traffic pollution I think it would be a good idea if we didn’t leave responsibility for traffic management to outside companies and their contractors.
70.19 Councillor Pissaridou replied, the council is now looking at what action can be taken under the New Roads and Street works Act with the utility to ensure that there is no repeat of this in the city.
Councillor Rainey Subject matter: Brighton Youth Centre
70.20 Councillor Rainey asked the following question, Brighton Youth Centre is a much-loved institution in Queens Park ward, however it is in dire need of rebuilding. The centre offers a mix of activities and projects for all young people including young carers, young offenders, young parents, homeless young people and young people with disabilities. Please can we have a political commitment from Labour to support for the rebuild of the centre, and assurance that the capital investment and revenue required will be forthcoming, securing the proposed matched investment from Onside?
70.21 Councillor Allcock replied, I agree that the Brighton Youth centre provides a good service for young people and I know that the building needs significant work. We are committed to reviewing youth services across the city and establishing a central hub. There are a range of options for establishing a youth hub and these will be considered by the review and a cross party working group. It is absolutely vital that the review takes account of the opinions of young people across the city and existing youth providers.
Onside is one of the options we will consider. Onside is a charity which secures charitable donations that match local authority capital and revenue investment. I visited an Onside centre in January along with Councillors Knight, Clare and Shanks and a paper was discussed at the January Children and Young People’s Committee about the youth review and Onside.
The latest figures that we have from Onside are that the Council would need to contribute £3.65 million towards the capital cost and £200,000 towards revenue in the first three years. Onside would commit to contributing £4.75 million capital and £1 million for three years. In the longer term a local Youth Zone charity would need to raise revenue of £1 million a year.
We are anxious to hear details of future Government funding which may contribute to both capital and revenue costs, but we haven’t heard anything yet. We also need to know more about the Government funding settlement for local authorities beyond April 2021. This and other information is already available and I can assure the you that we are committed to developing a central youth hub. However, we must also be confident that sufficient funding is available and that the hub will be financially sustainable in the long term.
70.22 Councillor Rainey asked the following supplementary question, please can we also have a commitment that the much need rebuild of Brighton Youth Centre and it becoming a central youth hub for Brighton & Hove and that it will not mean that funding for youth services will be cut elsewhere.
70.23 Councillor Allcock replied, there is a review going on that looks at all that and the cross-party group is fully aware of all the vital youth services that are contributed across the local authority by many voluntary organisations and the cross-party working group will look at all those things.
Councillor Wares Subject matter: Duke’s Mound
70.24 Councillor Wares asked the following question, please could the Chair of ETS confirm that in the event of the junction of Duke’s Mound being modified it is subject to a full traffic modelling study, including the impact of vehicle displacement and environmental impact assessment and also overlap with the modelling for Valley Gardens 3 and the A259 in its entirety. My request is to ensure that we fully understand the entire impact of all the highway schemes along the A259.
70.25 Councillor Pissaridou replied, the question on the paper was Duke’s Mound, it is an intensely complex area, the question put is complex in itself. I have 3 pages of notes that I don’t propose to sift through and read out to Councillor Wares. I suggest that we send a detailed written response.
70.26 Councillor Wares asked the following supplementary question, if Duke’s Mound junction is modified, will you promise that it will be subject to a full transport modelling exercise, an environmental impact study and a review of all the displacement that may or may not cause.
70.27 Councillor Pissaridou replied, we will incorporate the answer in our written response.
Councillor Ebel Subject matter: Brexit
70.28 Councillor Ebel asked the following question, in the latest EU Nationals Briefing I see that so only 417 EU nationals have used the scanners in Brighton Town Hall to apply for EU settled status. I also noted that so far only half EU nationals in Brighton & Hove have applied for the EU settled status. Can you commit to another campaign to promote the scanners for example a social media campaign that was done in October when the scanners were set up initially?
70.29 Councillor Yates replied, there is a range of work going on at the moment and with our newly appointed or relatively newly appointed Brexit Communications Officer to try to raise awareness in the city both of need to apply for the EU Settled Status Scheme but also the methods the council have put in place to support them and the other methods that exist such as migrant help. One of my concerns is the fact that the support that is being put in place by the government towards migrant help ends at the end of March so in just over a months’ time with no information about how that can be increased or continued for the future so one of the things that we are going to be doing is as well as trying to actively encourage everybody to enter the scheme as quickly as possible. It is trying to find a way to get that scheme extended so that those who may well be without documents entirely and needing the greatest levels of support can get that support in our city because we are a city of sanctuary because that does matter as does being in Europe.
70.30 Councillor Ebel asked the following supplementary question, my question concerns the EU citizens who don’t have an ID document currently so they need to potentially travel to obtain an ID and there was something in the latest Brexit briefing about having a fund available to help these people and I would like to know the current status of this fund and when it is expected to come into effect and will it have a low level of bureaucracy because if you don’t have ID for certain reasons then you will also struggle to access the funds so there needs to be a low level of access.
70.31 Councillor Yates replied, absolutely, at the moment the burden of that has been falling to local organisations, especially local churches and local communities to be supporting those who need the funding to be able to get up to London to get to their consulate and to have their new documents supplied to them at an additional cost. We want to see relatively simple discretionary payments to be made from with this organisation within the funding that we have been given to support the transition over Brexit. We have got until next year to make sure that its in place. We had a meeting a couple of weeks ago and legal officers are looking at what changes that we may need to make in order to allow officers to authorise those sorts of discretionary payments and we have kept all 3 groups informed in that as it is important that we all stand fully behind those in need at this time of stress.
Councillor Peltzer Dunn Subject matter: Monarchy
70.32 Councillor Peltzer Dunn asked the following question, in the Evening Argus recently quotes were attributed to you regarding the Monarchy. Could you please confirm were these remarks correct or if not, could you please let us know exactly, as Mayor, what you said?
70.33 The Mayor, Councillor Phillips replied, I spoke about the Monarchy in different forms and I am don’t have that in front of me, I spoke about it, I was on TV about it so I am not 100% sure about what I said from what you are quoting, I don’t have that in front of me. What I can say is that it was not about specific individuals, it wasn’t personal thing, it was about my view about the Monarchy in general and I did not say it in my capacity as Mayor I said it as a MEP at that time.
70.34 Councillor Peltzer Dunn asked the following supplementary question, the city is justly proud of its’ mayoral tradition. A tradition which has its’ routes in representing the Crown within the city. I was going to ask would you agree with me that it is essential that the holder always maintains strict neutrality and refrains from giving opinions which appear to reflect the view of the Mayoralty rather than that of an individual. You have actually pre-empted me there and I am most grateful for that, but I think it is essential that the Mayoralty is seen to be neutral particularly in matters that appertain to a far wider audience. Because there is no doubt about it that sometimes somebody can say something within this chamber and it is not just reported within the area but is reported nationwide and can be detrimental to the interests of the city. I am grateful for your comments and I don’t request a response.
Councillor Heley Subject matter: Recycling
70.35 Councillor Heley asked the following question, why has the city clean account on Twitter been closed temporarily for over a year and how ‘temporary’ is temporary?
70.36 Councillor Pissaridou replied, I have no idea, but I will find out and let you know.
70.37 Councillor Heley asked the following supplementary question, this is a service that residents are deeply frustrated with. When are communications between City Clean and residents going to be improved?
70.38 Councillor Pissaridou replied, we are going to have a really big push this year on increasing recycling and we will be rolling out a programme, a revised recycling action plan will be brought to ETS Committee and a project board has been started from January and involving partner agencies to ensure that we have a real focus on increasing recycling. A leaflet with information about what can and can’t be recycled will be delivered to all households with their council tax bills, so everybody will know what they can recycle and what they can’t.
Councillor Barnett Subject matter: Basic Services
70.39 Councillor Barnett asked the following question, given your vision for this city, how and when are you going to clean up the city. We have grass verges that are covered in mud, pot holes, aggressive beggars, graffiti and I am wondering with all your promises that you are going to clean up the city, when are you going to start please?
70.40 Councillor Platts replied, by 2020 local councils were faced with a reduction to core funding of nearly £16 billion over the preceding decade, that means we will have lost 60p in every £1 for local services, that is the reality of nearly 10 years of tory government and residents are seeing the consequence of those cuts. Despite this we are taking steps to modernise our services and we are consulting the local community on how we can work together to keep the city clean including the best way to eliminate graffiti and tagging. We have already introduced fines for littering, including spitting. I would welcome any representation Councillor Barnett would like to make for her friends in government on the need for increased funding in local authority services which would support these efforts. City Clean is working hard to maintain the appearance of the city.
70.41 Councillor Barnett asked the following supplementary question, I don’t want to hear about cut backs we are talking about basic services, and these are not getting done. I wonder if you met up with Caroline Lucas and she could work with you. You could walk around the city and see the state of it maybe she could make her appearance a bit more focal and we could clean it up and get civic pride back in the city as it used to be. It is not all about money it is about basic needs.
70.42 Councillor Platts replied, I have already given Councillor Barnett her response but one thing we won’t be doing is taking you up on your suggestion to hose down homeless people in the squares.
Councillor Hugh-Jones Subject matter: Equality Impact Assessments
70.43 Councillor Hugh-Jones asked the following question, there was a cut to domestic violence services originally proposed in the 2019-20 budget that was of a similar level to this years’ proposed cut. Why was the Equality Impact Assessment a 5 last year and a 1 this year?
70.44 Councillor Grimshaw replied, that is a really good question and it deserves a full and proper answer and I will make sure that officers get it to you.
70.45 Councillor Hugh-Jones asked the following supplementary question, I understand that Equality Impact Assessments address a broad impact of policy changes on certain groups. I am interested in the level of detail that these go into. For example, are needs of wheelchair users considered before large recycling bins are rolled out on streets with narrow pavements?
70.46 Councillor Grimshaw replied, I have been advised that this question is better answered by somebody other than me, so I will get officers to write back to you.
Councillor Nemeth Subject matter: King Alfred
70.47 Councillor Nemeth asked the following question, given that it was expected in 2017 that Chris Nicholson would be pulling out of the King Alfred project with the first ultimatum being given to them in March 2019 a project board was to be formed in December 2019 with me questioning the specific matter once again just before Christmas and no date yet in the diary why has it taken just so long to get things moving with specific regard to a project board meeting formally or otherwise?
70.48 Councillor Robins replied, a Project Board has now been set up and will have its first meeting in February/March this year. It will consist of Councillors Moonan, MacCafferty, and Nemeth.
70.49 Councillor Nemeth asked the following supplementary question, I was hoping for the reason behind the delay but thank you for the update. My supplementary question is a subjective one, but I am hoping to get the Lead Members views on why Brighton & Hove is so far behind all surrounding authorities when it comes to building sports centres.
70.50 Councillor Robins replied, I am not sure we are that far behind all surrounding authorities when it comes to building sports centres, but I will check and come back to you with a written reply.
Councillor Gibson Subject matter: Budget Commitments to Achieve Council Priorities
70.51 Councillor Gibson asked the following question, whilst I am very aware of the constraints that we have talked about earlier in terms of government cuts in terms of funding and how that has been frustrating and potentially can frustrate our ambitions as a council for things like the ‘carbon neutral by 2030’ the Housing and Homelessness joint Labour Green programme and Community Wealth Building. Can you nevertheless assure the council that these gaols will be given high priority in the budget proposals shortly to be put forward to the Policy & Resources Committee on 13 February.
70.52 Councillor Yates replied, yes.
70.53 Councillor Gibson asked the following supplementary question, will you undertake to look favourably on Green budget amendments to seeking to achieve these priorities especially as these amendments will be designed in a way that doesn’t take money from any other service?
70.54 Councillor Yates replied, as you know one of the things that you and I have been involved with over the last few weeks has been specifically looking at the proposals that are coming forward and trying to judge them against the things and places and where we agree and where the city voted overwhelmingly in favour of us focusing our priorities. So, making sure that this council is financially sustainable, making sure that we are developing community wealth-building potential, that we are achieving zero net carbon by 2030. Addressing Housing and Homelessness crisis in the city; supporting a diverse, welcoming and tolerant city with reducing inequality; not increasing inequality and supporting those most likely to be affected by the impact of austerity. That is where the focus of this budget will be seen as well as trying to address any of the issues that have been addressed by members in their questions tonight. Even Cllr Barnett’s question about basic services, we have to get it all right, but we have to do it within a reducing financial envelope. It makes it harder and harder which means we have to be clearer about our choices. Those are where are choices are going to be focused, those are where the choices and preferences were focused when we were talking to the Greens and when we were talking to the public during the election period. I am hoping that is where we are going to come to a solution where everybody is happy, including the Greens with all their amendments.
Councillor Powell Subject matter: Equalities
70.55 Councillor Powell asked the following question, as Labour Administration and Green opposition we have agreed to work together in some key areas, one being the City of Sanctuary. Projects like the Inclusive Cities Project, Fair and Inclusive work shop for members to be rolled out to staff, the Equality and Inclusion Partnership. All that in conjunction with all the fantastic work done by our very valued third sector. It is with great concern then that we see a number of cuts proposed by the Labour administration to these areas, one of them being the £134k cut to the third sector development staffing. That is the council’s equalities posts, those people are knowledgeable, passionate, hold gravitas, know what they are doing. If, and it is a big if, that cut were to go through I need to ask you who on earth will deliver that equality work which is so needed, and crucially will this Labour Administration confirm that if that cut is administered that you will not bring in an expensive outside consultant to then deliver that same work?
70.56 Councillor Grimshaw replied, part of being the Lead for Equalities and us working together has been wonderful and we are all likeminded with the same gaols and aims but as has already been stated we are under severe budget cuts so whatever cuts are taken or brought forward as budget proposals will undergo impact assessments but I, like you, also feel grave concern and hope that a way forward will come out which benefits our manifestos and looks after our wonderful and diverse city.
70.57 Councillor Powell asked the following supplementary question, to put it in context we have Brexit tomorrow we have a majority tory government that have appointed an Equalities Chief who voted against equal marriage. We know that hate crime is on the rise in the city and we have all been attending those commemorations only this week on the holocaust and the hatred that fuels that. So now has never been a more important time to put equality and diversity needs as a top priority for this council. Do you really believe that these proposals that you have put together in that budget, are they really in line with the Corporate Plan and more crucially what message does it send to our residents who are counting on us to be that City of Sanctuary if you are going to cut equality posts?
70.58 Councillor Grimshaw replied, I think it is important to clarify what is going on at the moment. We don’t have a formal, final set of budget proposals. That will be determined at the Budget Council when councillors vote on the proposals. The proposals that have come forward at the moment and I appreciate that things may have changed since Cllr Powell was last a councillor have been a set of proposals that were based at looking at a saving proposal of around £15m which was where we thought the gap was, before we had heard of the Local Government Finance settlement and before we understood fully about what was going to happening in future years, and officers were asked to come forward with a set of proposals, those are the proposals that you are asking about at the moment. When you ask the question and ask are they aligned with the Corporate Plan that is the process that myself and Cllr Gibson have been going through at the moment which is looking at the proposals and judging them against the key priorities that we share with you over the Corporate Plan. We will see those proposals changing and transforming over the course of the next 6 weeks and eventually, hopefully, as I say, I want everybody to be happy with the budget proposals or at least content. I don’t know that we will all be happy about some of the changes that are going to have to happen, but we are not happy about the amount of money we have got to start with but, unfortunately, I blame the government for that.
Councillor Druitt Subject matter: Progress Towards a Net-Zero Economy in the City
70.59 Councillor Druitt asked the following question, a key component of our commitment to a Net-Zero carbon city by 2030 is a zero-carbon economy. What is the administration’s vision of what a zero-carbon economy looks like in Brighton & Hove and what do we need to do as a council and as a city to make that happen?
70.60 Councillor Platts replied, a report was brought to the December meeting of the Policy & Resources Committee looking at how the council will reduce the city’s carbon emissions, including plans to establish a carbon reduction programme with the aim of making Brighton & Hove carbon neutral by 2030. Making the economy net zero-carbon is of course a key part of this.
The Circular Economy Framework is one of the work streams that the Economic Development Team is developing to help support our carbon neutral 2030 ambitions. There have been a series of engagement workshops delivered in the last 6 months with stakeholders and council officers to understand the Circular Economy and what this means for the Built Environment and Construction sector and Visitor Economy sectors; the two significant sectors for the city in terms of carbon emissions and production of waste.
The Circular Economy Framework is due to be adopted by spring 2020 and will be expanded as further sectors are identified and developed.
70.61 Councillor Druitt asked the following supplementary question, I am glad you mentioned Policy & Resources Committee because I note after the changes to the TECC Committee earlier last year the responsibility for economic development rests with Policy & Resources which already has a huge amount on its plate.
Does Policy & Resources Committee actually have the capacity to make sure that this can happen in the time frame that it needs to happen and if it doesn’t at the moment what can we do as a council to make it?
70.62 Councillor Platts replied, Policy & Resources should have the capacity I guess that also depends on the number of questions that get put to that committee as well, but we have also got the Carbon Neutral working group that is cross-party, so all 3 parties are involved in that so that also has capacity to look at a lot of this work.
71 Review of the Code of Conduct for Members
71.1 RESOLVED: That the changes recommended in paragraph 3.4 of the report and reflected in appendix 2 be approved.
72 The following Notices of Motion have been submitted by Members for consideration:
(1) IMPACT OF CLIMATE EMERGENCY
72.1 The Notice of Motion as listed in the agenda was proposed by Councillor Hugh-Jones on behalf of the Green and Labour Groups. Councillor Hugh-Jones stated that there was a need to take action and to encourage the government to be open and transparent about addressing climate change and enabling local authorities to progress in meeting carbon neutral targets and implementing change such as energy efficient schemes and feed-in tariffs.
72.2 Councillor Henry formally seconded the motion and stated that tackling climate change had to be a priority, and everyone had to be encouraged to support the change. There was a clear need to build energy efficient homes and to encourage alternative ways of travel. He hoped that the motion could be supported.
72.3 Councillors Janio, Pissaridou, McNair, O’Quinn and West expressed their support for the motion and the intention to hold a Climate Assembly to consider how the city can address the issue.
72.4 Councillor Hugh-Jones welcomed the comments and stated that she hoped the Climate Assembly would put forward recommendations that could be considered and developed.
72.5 The Mayor then put the following motion to the vote:
This Council requests that the Chief Executive write to the Environment Secretary Theresa Villiers and Robert Jenrick (MHCLG)] urging the Government to:
- take a lead on preparing for and mitigating climate change nationally and internationally
- strengthen building standards and introduce funding mechanisms to make existing and new housing stock fit for the future
- put in place legislation and resources to allow local authorities committed to achieving zero carbon emissions ahead of the Government’s 2050 target to achieve their goals
- measure UK emissions to include “offshore” emissions from imported goods, aviation and international shipping.
72.6 The Mayor confirmed that the motion had been carried unanimously.
72.7 The Mayor then adjourned the meeting for a refreshment break at 6.15pm.
72.8 The Mayor reconvened the meeting at 6.45pm.
(2) CHILD REFUGEES
72.9 The Notice of Motion was taken as part of the discussion on Item 66 (3), public question and is detailed under that item.
(3) MADEIRA TERRACE
72.1 The Notice of Motion as listed in the agenda was proposed by Councillor Mears on behalf of the Conservative Group. Councillor Mears noted various attempts had been made to raise the funds required to enable the restoration of the terraces but stated that time was running out and action needed to be taken before it was too late. She believed that the council should look at its own assets and determine whether there was an opportunity to sell any and use the receipts to help fund the restoration of Madeira Terrace. The council had a responsibility as the custodians to maintain and protect the city’s heritage.
72.2 Councillor Nemeth formally seconded the motion and stated that there was a need to review the assets held by the council, and to find a solution to enable the full restoration of Madeira Terrace.
72.3 Councillor Rainey moved an amendment on behalf of the Green Group which was formally seconded by Councillor Mac Cafferty.
72.4 Councillor Platts moved an amendment on behalf of the Labour Group which was formally seconded by Councillor Robins.
72.5 Councillors Janio, Fishleigh, Simson Bagaeen, Gibson, Peltzer Dunn, Hamilton, Littman and Yates spoke on the motion and the amendments and expressed their support for the restoration of Madeira Terrace and the need to ensure that the necessary funding could be secured to enable a restoration programme to be agreed.
72.6 Councillor Mears thanked everyone for their comments and the support for the aims of the motion. She stated that she was happy to accept the amendment from the Green Group but not the amendment from the Labour Group.
72.7 The Mayor noted that the Green Group amendment had been accepted, but that the Labour Group amendment had not and therefore put the Labour amendment to the revised motion to the vote, which was carried.
72.8 The Mayor then put the following motion to the vote:
This Council resolves to request the Policy & Resources Committee:
· To call for a report to its meeting on the 19th March 2020 fully detailing all options available to the Council to ensure the full restoration of Madeira Terraces.
· For this report to make specific reference to the delivery of the three crowdfunded arches as well as exploration of proposals for the restoration of the remaining arches from external organisations.
·
For this report to also explore the viability of joint public and
private investment for the Committee’s consideration.
72.9 The Mayor confirmed that the motion as amended had been carried unanimously.
(4) MAry clarke statue
72.10 The Notice of Motion as listed in the agenda was proposed by Councillor Janio as an Independent Member. Councillor Janio noted that a local charity had been seeking support and funding to enable the provision of a statue to mark the work of Mary Clarke, who was one of the first suffragettes to die in seeking to gain the vote for women. The charity had sought to work with the council, but progress had been slow, and he hoped that approval of the motion would show the council’s support and enable the project to move forward.
72.11 Councillor Grimshaw formally seconded the motion and stated that she was pleased to be able to confirm the Labour Group’s support for the motion. She hoped that officers would be able to work with the Charity to progress matters and enable the recognition of the contribution made by Mary Clarke to the cause to be made.
72.12 Councillors Deane and Robins spoke on the motion and expressed their support for the provision of a statue for Mary Clarke.
72.13 Councillor Janio thanked colleagues for their comments and the support for the aims of the motion, which he hoped would be approved.
72.14 The Mayor then put the following motion to the vote:
This council is honoured to have granted £10,000 to the Mary Clarke Statue Appeal - to provide a bronze maquette (model) of the eventual statue - and recognises the historical importance of this memorial statue and its social and educational potential as a symbol of democracy, equality and women’s rights and should therefore continue to actively support and publicise this initiative.
This council requests the Chair of the TECC Committee ensures that
officers bring a report to the next meeting of the committee that
details ways in which the council, working across its departments
and in liaison with the Mary Clarke Statue Appeal, can promote
public awareness and help raise the remaining £60,000 required
to fund the statue.
72.15 The Mayor confirmed that the motion had been carried unanimously.
(5) fOOD POVERYTY
72.16 The Notice of Motion as listed in the agenda was moved by Councillor Hill on behalf of the Labour Group. Councillor stated that food poverty was an issue that needed to be addressed. She noted that 1 in 5 people were not in a position to meet their basic needs and that the number of food banks in the city were increasing which had to be a concern. She hoped that the city could also build on its silver status and achieve gold status as a Sustainable Food City.
72.17 Councillor Evans formally seconded the motion and stated that it was not a new phenomenon and as one of the richest economies in the world not something that should endure. It had to be tackled and she hoped that all Members would support the motion.
72.18 Councillors Peltzer Dunn, Janio (who noted he would abstain from voting), Shanks, O’Quinn, Childs, Knight, Appich, Williams, Bagaeen and Yates spoke on the issue.
72.19 Councillor Hill welcomed the comments and encouraged everyone to look at the Food Partnerships website and stated that she hoped the situation in the city could be addressed.
72.20 The Mayor then put the following motion to the vote:
This council asks the Chief Executive to write to the Chancellor of the Exchequer to make the following requests and points with regards to food poverty:
1) This Council notes with urgent concern Trussell Trust research that shows three million children are at risk of hunger during the school holidays, with the rate of foodbank use in the UK;
2) This Council notes that the government’s commitment to the UN Sustainable Development Goals, which apply international and domestic commitments to ending hunger by 2030;
3) This Council highlights the positive work done locally through the Food Partnership, the delivery of the Council’s Food Strategy, our Community Composting Scheme, and Brighton & Hove becoming the UK’s first silver Sustainable Food City, and endeavours to achieves gold status;
4) This Council welcomes the government’s commitment to delivering a white paper on food policy, and urges the establishment of a Green Paper that receives input from local authorities;
5) This Council reiterates its commitment to food justice and calls upon the government to establish a ‘right to food’ when developing the National Food Strategy.
72.21 The Mayor confirmed that the motion had been carried with one abstention.
(6) FUEL POVERTY
72.22 The Notice of Motion as listed in the agenda was proposed by Councillor Platts on behalf of the Labour and Green Groups. Councillor Platts stated that the current council policy needed to be reviewed and noted that the issue cut across several services. She also noted that a number of councils and organisations had signed up to the coalition and hoped that council would agree to Brighton & Hove City Council joining.
72.23 Councillor Mac Cafferty formally seconded the motion and stated that people should not have to choose between heating their homes and providing food for their families. The council and the city should be able to provide affordable heating and noted that Nottingham supplied 5,000 homes with low cost renewable energy.
72.24 Councillors Mears, Janio, O’Quinn, Brennan, Williams, Grimshaw, Shanks and Bagaeen spoke on the motion and supported the need for a review of the policy.
72.25 Councillor Platts welcomed the comments and stated that there was a need to highlight the issue of fuel poverty and to seek the government’s support to address the issue.
72.26 The Mayor put the following motion to the vote:
This council resolves to request the Policy & Resources Committee to call for a report to a future meeting of the committee detailing a strategy to alleviate fuel poverty in the City of Brighton & Hove by 2030 and that the report includes proposals on:
1) Improving energy efficiency of Council / housing association housing stock;
2) Better enforcement of existing regulations on energy efficiency and property standards;
3) Publishing a statement of intent to access Energy Company Obligation funding via LA Flex;
4) Continuing the ongoing work to switch council properties over to the Your Energy Sussex scheme that ensures new tenants have access to cheaper energy tariffs, and resolving to continue exchanging pre-payment meters with credited smart meters, and offering this option to tenants;
5) Improving tenants’ rights;
6) Providing information advice and guidance to those most in need;
7) Becoming a member of the End Fuel Poverty Coalition.
72.27 The Mayor confirmed that the motion had been carried unanimously.
73 Close of Meeting
73.1 The Mayor thanked everyone for attending the meeting and formally closed it.
The meeting concluded at 8.30pm
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Signed
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Chair |
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Dated this |
day of
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2020 |