WRITTEN QUESTIONS FROM MEMBERS OF THE PUBLIC
A period of not more than fifteen minutes shall be allowed for questions submitted by a member of the public who either lives or works in the area of the authority at each ordinary meeting of the Council.
Every question shall be put and answered without discussion, but the person to whom a question has been put may decline to answer. The person who asked the question may ask one relevant supplementary question, which shall be put and answered without discussion.
The following written question has been received from members of the public.
1. QUESTION From: James Noble
The Mayor, Councillor Robins will reply.
2. QUESTION From: Andrea Holley
Councillor Heley, Chair of the Environment, Transport & Sustainability Committee will reply
3. QUESTION From: Richard Kimber
Last month Councillor Fishleigh asked if new signs could be erected at the access points onto the undercliff so that everyone knows that it is against the law to ride e-scooters down there.
A highly unsatisfactory answer was given by the chair of the transport committee that e-scooters are a police issue and additional signing would be counterproductive and increase clutter to what is a very scenic environment.
E-scooters are a serious safety issue on the undercliff. What measures will the council take to ensure that the undercliff is a secure place for everyone to use?
Councillor Heley, Chair of the Environment, Transport & Sustainability Committee will reply
4. QUESTION From: Daniel Harris
The appointment of an openly gay leader to the council seemed like a promise of hope to the LGBT community. However, when at last week's housing committee, I made the committee aware of the alarming statistics around LGBT Youth Homelessness, specifically 1 in 4 are affected. This is of grave concern, the answer neither described any existing commitment nor made a new commitment to address the problem. It seems therefore that the housing committee has no interest in developing solutions that address the specific needs of the LGBT+ community.
Can you tell me if this is the general policy of the Administration in other areas as well?
Councillor Gibson, Joint Chair of the Housing Committee will reply.
5. QUESTION From: Michael Hutley
I gather that the Council is about to eradicate all the Tamarisks growing along the Dukes Mound and replace them with grasses. Up until recently I lived in that area and I must say I appreciated them in the winter as a windbreak and during the summer providing much needed shade. They say it will improve visibility. Do we need more visibility along the seafront? Making the naturist beach more visible? If anything, Brighton and Hove need more trees along the seafront. Aren't we just creating more of a concrete jungle at a time when the world is crying out for more vegetation to counteract the effects of global warming?
Councillor Heley, Chair of the Environment, Transport & Sustainability Committee will reply
6. QUESTION From: Phillip Rees
Given the importance of the Hospitality Sector both to Brighton’s economy and intrinsic identity, can the Council please tell us what they are doing to prioritise the payment of the lump sums for (a) the current lockdown and (b) for wet led pubs whose food sales were less than 50% of turnover. Many of these businesses face going to the wall if they don’t get these funds soon, and this will have a potentially catastrophic impact on Brighton’s economy and its ability to sell itself as a tourist destination.
Councillor Druitt, Joint Deputy Chair (Finance) of the Policy & Resources Committee will reply