POLICY & RESOURCES COMMITTEE

Agenda Item 156 (b) Brighton & Hove City Council

WRITTEN QUESTIONS

A period of not more than fifteen minutes shall be allowed at each ordinary meeting for questions submitted by a member of the public.

The question will be answered without discussion. The person who asked the question may ask one relevant supplementary question, which shall be put and answered without discussion. The person to whom a question, or supplementary question, has been put may decline to answer it. 

The following written questions have been received from members of the public:

1. QUESTION From: Susan Goodwin

Setting procurement conditions has been a key way of the Council engaging their contractors fully in equalities laws. Carbon Neutral by 2030 conditions should and could be added to these:

Will BHCC only issue contracts with businesses that have a carbon neutral plan and that can show that they are using renewable materials and carbon neutral transport to deliver these?

This would make a significant transformation to the carbon footprint in Brighton and Hove.

2. QUESTION From: Sarah Gorton

The council declared a Climate and Biodiversity Emergency in December 2018. Bio-diversity is just as crucial.Biodiversity provides functioning ecosystems that supply oxygen, clean air and water, pollination of plants, pest control, wastewater treatment and many ecosystem services.  This programme is all about carbon neutral- Brighton and Hove is unique and fortunate in owning much of the farmland around the city. Can we expect another programme on bio- diversity? If so when will this be available? If not can bio-diversity targets be incorporated into this programme?

3. QUESTION From: Tash Fairbanks

Could the Council please clarify how they will:

a)   Communicate the urgent need for rapid progress on carbon reduction to the people of Brighton and Hove? There needs to be a comprehensive communication strategy, involving, for instance, social media, bus stop and bus side advertising, billboard and poster campaigns, inclusion of the issues in all local government communications, leaflets etc. There could be competitions in schools, colleges and in the general community for the best words and images that sum up the issue. Our house is burning, so we have to let people know!

b)   Engage citizens and incentivise residents to play their part in reducing their own carbon footprint, e.g. through using green energy companies.

4. QUESTION From: Ian Newman

As a majority of the carbon footprint in the Brighton area is from the private sector; can the Chair confirm that the council will contact all local businesses in the city to find out what their carbon neutral plan is for 2030 and how it will support the Council’s own plan?

5. QUESTION From: Penny Bay

BHCC does not collect food waste which lots of other councils are managing to do very successfully.  Food waste can be turned into high quality compost for local use.  It is far better to use food waste for compost than to send it to the Newhaven incinerator.

When can we expect a food waste collection scheme to be implemented in Brighton and Hove?