Brighton & Hove City Council
Council
4.30pm15 December 2022
Hove Town Hall - Council Chamber
DRAFT MINUTES
Present: Councillors Deane (Chair), O'Quinn (Deputy Chair), Allcock, Appich, Bagaeen, Barnett, Bell, Brown, Childs, Allbrooke, Davis, Druitt, Ebel, Evans, Fishleigh, Fowler, Gibson, Grimshaw, Hills, Hugh-Jones, Janio, Knight, Lewry, Littman, Meadows, Mac Cafferty, McNair, Moonan, Nemeth, Osborne, Pissaridou, Powell, Robins, Shanks, Simson, C Theobald, West, Williams and Yates
PART ONE
53 Deputations from members of the public.
53.1 The Mayor reported that two deputations had been received from members of the public and invited Annika to come forward for the second deputation and address the council on behalf of the spokesperson Ms Jany.
53.2 Annika thanked the Mayor and outlined the reasons for the deputation which was seeking to stop the closure of Bright Start Nursery, as it would be devastating to the community. She stated that it was an essential service for over 50 children and families with there not being any similar service provision anywhere in the area. The Nursery caters for the most vulnerable children in the city and that staff had specialist knowledge and training, dealing with vulnerable children, complex disability and medical educational needs. It was an affordable nursery open all year round from 8:00 AM till 6:00 PM. She shared personal stories of Parents who used Bright Start Nursery and highlighted their reasons for choosing the nursery. She asked the Council to recognise the beautiful asset that it had and to reconsider its decision.
53.3 Councillor Allbrooke thanked Annika for presenting the deputation and for also sharing her experiences. She noted that there was a petition for debate on Bright Start Nursery later, on the agenda, which also included a Labour group amendment. She stated that much of the content of the deputation asked some quite detailed questions that would be better addressed in a report to Children, Young People and Skills Committee. She suggested responding to the deputation in more detail as part of the response to the petition, and that also those detailed questions are addressed in the report.
53.4 The Mayor thanked Annika for attending the meeting and speaking on behalf of the deputation. She explained that the points had been noted and the deputation would be referred to the Children Young People & Skills Committee for consideration. The persons forming the deputation would be invited to attend the meeting and would be informed subsequently of any action to be taken or proposed in relation to the matter set out in the deputation.