Brighton & Hove City Council
Policy & Resources Committee
4.00pm16 March 2023
Hove Town Hall - Council Chamber
Minutes
Present: Councillor Mac Cafferty (Chair) Druitt (Joint Deputy Chair), Gibson (Joint Deputy Chair), Allcock (Joint Opposition Spokesperson), Appich (Joint Opposition Spokesperson), Bell (Group Spokesperson), Allbrooke, Evans, McNair and Yates
Also present: Dr Anusree Biswas Sasidharan (Standing Attendee)
Part One
130 Procedural Business
(a) Declarations of Substitutes
130.1 There were no substitutes.
(b) Declarations of Interest
130.2 Cllr Appich declared that she was a member and shareholder of Wave Bank and had been given dispensation to speak and vote on Item 152, and declared that she was a member of the GMB Trade Union
Cllr Allcock declared that he was a lay member of the GMB Trade Union
Cllr Bell declared that he was a Trustee of the Royal Pavilion Museum Trust and would leave the Chamber during the discussion and vote on Item 148
Cllr Druitt declared that as Managing Director of the Big Lemon bus company he had been granted dispensation to speak but not vote on Item 139, and declared an interest in Item 154 as he had a Ukrainian refugee staying at his home.
Cllr Gibson declared that he was a member and shareholder of Wave Bank and had been given dispensation to speak and vote on Item 152,
Cllr MacCafferty declared that he was a member and shareholder of Wave Bank and had been given dispensation to speak and vote on Item 152
Cllr Yates declared that he was a member and shareholder of Wave Bank and had been given dispensation to speak and vote on Item 152, and declared that he was a lay member of the GMB Trade Union
(c) Exclusion of Press and Public
130.3 The Committee considered whether the press and public should be excluded from the meeting during the consideration of any of the items listed on the agenda.
130.4 RESOLVED: That the press and public be excluded from the meeting during consideration of the items contained in part two of the agenda.
131 Minutes
131.1 The Minutes of the meeting held on 9 February 2023 were agreed as a correct record.
132 Chair's Communications
132.1 The Chair gave the following communication:
Welcome to the last Policy and Resources Committee meeting in the municipal cycle.
All of us in this room are acutely aware of the economic crisis we find ourselves in. The cost-of-living crisis, inflation, the war in Ukraine, Brexit and 13 years of government cuts. These compounding factors have driven so many decisions in recent months.
We are watching an economic system in crisis. Yet what we saw yesterday in the Spring Budget was a government with no compelling plan to support people, no extraordinary measures for the most marginalised to afford their rent, bills and food. Instead, they want to drive the over-50s, like they have with the long-term sick and disabled, and benefits claimants into work. This is the same old story; push people into work whether they can afford to or not, profit off their labour and ignore any risks to wellbeing.
Little hope has been given to the country, and here in the council the same can be very much said. We are consistently left with inadequate resources to tackle the vast number of challenges in the city.
And yet despite that, Greens have consistently had the backs of residents, and have made significant steps in defending the city from the worst of the effects of the cost-of-living crisis. We have more than trebled our ‘Housing First’ placement which provide wrap-around support to people who have been homeless. We have built new, sustainable council homes including the council's first with a ground-source heat pump, thereby reducing the reliance on fossil fuels while making heating more affordable for residents. We have worked with neighbouring councils to make our council homes warmer and cheaper to heat while reducing our impact on the environment.
This was not even the first crisis we faced off these last two years. We led the city through the height of the Covid pandemic, as well as working with NHS Sussex to produce a plan for Brighton and Hove that will tackle health inequalities. In spite of horrendous context, we have managed to deliver a lot for this city. Today, we will see a range of that work on display, demonstrating our work in action across the board.
Fairness
One major example of what we’ve done in this council is action for a fairer Brighton & Hove.
This week we heard about Ann and Enji, students at Cardinal Newman and Brighton University who are facing deportation from this country. This is Suella Braverman’s revolting ‘hostile environment’ alive and kicking in our city. These young people have recently been moved to Tower Hamlets by the Home Office which means they have to check in every day, in spite of this, Ann hasn't missed a day of school as she studies for her GCSEs. We stand in solidarity with Ann and Enji and I salute the work of students at Cardinal Newman who are admirably campaigning for them to be allowed to stay in this country. Please sign the petition which has so far received over 5,000 signatures.
We have the council’s anti-racism strategy being put to us today; I am exceptionally proud of the work the city council is doing to make anti-racism not just a slogan, but a reality. This has come as a result of the dedication of many of our community organisations over many years working with the council to articulate a plan for action.
In it we see the long-term vision and aims in combatting racism, and details steps needed to begin to make that vision a reality alongside community accountability. Across its five directorates, actions include developing better pathways to settled accommodation, embedding anti-racism, intersectionality, and accessibility into policies and plans across departments and engagement with Black and Racially Minoritised communities, tenants, artists, businesses, families, children, carers and staff
Eliminating racism won’t happen overnight and it won’t be easy but fight we must and fight we will. In order that we can fight racism effectively we must acknowledge that racism in Britain is historic, it’s systemic and nation-wide. Sadly it is increasingly when the Tories cut council funding, or when the climate crisis goes unaddressed, it is Black & Racially Minoritised people who so often feel the harshest effects.
Across the country, in our own city and council, the reality is that we still have a lot of work to do. But we do so standing in the proud tradition of anti-racism. We will continue to fight racism and make our city a better, fairer and more just place for communities of colour.
One other key way that we have made the council fairer is Brighton and Hove City Council has abolished the lowest pay grades.
And another fantastic project that will be presented to us today is the Brighton Youth Centre. Young people are so often neglected and disregarded. Brighton Youth Centre (BYC) has been in a state of disrepair for too long. Discussions regarding the establishment of a Central Youth Hub on the site have been ongoing for over three years now, and various options regarding funding this project have come and gone. But, we have found a plan to finance this project and build a central Youth centre for the city, as a focal-point for young people in Brighton & Hove while also pushing for schemes around the city- Hangleton Knoll Project, Moulsecoomb as the hub, Portslade youth building being redeveloped though new homes for neighbourhoods.
Environment
Our successes are not contained to just defending the city’s residents from the economic crisis and bringing in fairness. As Greens, we have always championed the environment and lead the fight against climate change and air pollution. We launched our School Streets programme, using local traffic orders to restrict traffic movements around schools to make the walk to school not only safer but also healthier. We’ve rolled out a huge increase in the number of electric vehicle charging points, with Brighton & Hove becoming one of the top five councils in the country for our charging network. And we’ve developed a City Downland Estate Plan to manage the council-owned land around the city in line with our climate change commitments.
Thank you to officers
Finally, I want to take the opportunity to thank officers for their work.
Geoff, Abraham, Donna, Deb, Rob, Rachel, Nigel, Ali and all of their teams who have put so much work into helping the committee understand reports. We also would be nowhere without Lisa, Anthony and democratic officers. We have to thank Liz Culbert for stepping up to help the committee when Abraham was off unwell.
A key commitment that we made a few years ago was to make our committee more open to the scrutiny of our BAMER communities and Anusree has brought so much passion, tenacity and scrutiny to that role. Thank you, Dr Sasidharan.
I also want to acknowledge a number of councillors who are not re-standing. My two deputy chairs, Cllrs Druitt and Gibson and from Labour Cllrs Allcock, Appich and Yates.
133 Call Over
133.1 The following items were reserved for discussion:
Item 137 - EDUCATION CAPITAL RESOURCES AND CAPITAL INVESTMENT PROGRAMME 2023/24
Item 140 - CARBON NEUTRAL 2030 PROGRAMME - CARBON NEUTRAL FUND UPDATE
Item 143 - DIGITAL DATA AND TECHNOLOGY INVESTMENT
Item 146 - FUTURE WAYS OF WORKING
Item 147 - PERFORMANCE UPDATE REPORT ON REQUESTED KPIS
Item 148 – PRINCES PLACE PUBLIC TOILETS
Item 153 – ANTI-RACISM STRATEGY 2023-2028
Item 155 – BRIGHTON YOUTH CENTRE
Item 157 - EQUAL PAY SETTLEMENT PROPOSAL - BANK HOLIDAY
PAY
The following items were agreed without discussion:
Item 138 – ANNUAL PLANNED MAINTENANCE BUDGET AND ASSET MANAGEMENT FUND ALLOCATIONS 2023-24 FOR THE COUNCIL’S
OPERATIONAL BUILDINGS
Item 139 - LOCAL TRANSPORT PLAN 2023/24 CAPITAL
PROGRAMME
Item 141 - PROCUREMENT OF THE COUNCIL'S CORPORATE CATERING EQUIPMENT CONTRACT
Item 142 - END USER DEVICES
Item 144 – COST OF LIVING UPDATE
Item 145 - PAY POLICY STATEMENT 2023/24
Item 149 – HOLLINGDEAN DEPOT OFFICE ACCOMMODATION PROJECT
Item 150 – HOMES FOR BRIGHTON & HOVE – EXTERNAL COMMUNAL AREA MANAGEMENT AT COLDEAN LANE, BRIGHTON.
Item 151 – REVENUES AND BENEFITS ELECTRONIC DOCUMENT
MANAGEMENT SYSTEM REPLACEMENT
Item 152 - WAVE BANK (FORMERLY EAST SUSSEX CREDIT UNION) LOAN EXTENSION
Item 154 - UKRAINIAN REFUGEE PROGRAMME GRANTS SCHEME
2023-2024
134 Public Involvement
134.1 There were no Petitions, Written Questions or Deputations
135 Items Referred from Council
135.1 No items were referred from the last meeting of Council
136 Member Involvement
136.1 Cllr Bell presented a petition on ‘Stop the Council Selling Portslade Town Hall’ which had 64 signatures.
The wording of the petition was:
The City Council has recently put the future of Portslade Town Hall on notice, having not ruled out moving services away - or even selling it.
Portslade Town Hall is looking in a sorry state, with a boarded up window and shredded national flag. It looks as though there has been little care from the Council for some time. We see this as placing Portslade as second best to the rest of the city.
We are taking a petition to the Council to put this issue on the agenda.
136.2 The Chair gave the following response:
Portslade Town Hall’s flag has been replaced and the boarded up window repair has been repaired. The Operational Accommodation Strategy which is being presented as an Appendix to the Future Ways of Working Report, which is Item 146 on today’s agenda focuses on the council’s main administrative office accommodation. It continues the successful office consolidation and rationalisation achieved so far and sets out the short, medium and longer term direction of travel for the council’s office accommodation. As part of the medium / longer term strategy and best practice, future asset management options are to be explored for the council’s three Town Halls at Brighton, Hove and Portslade.
Cllr Bell can be assured that, in other words, there are no present plans to sell Portslade Town Hall.
136.3 RESOLVED: That the Committee agreed to note the petition.
137 Education Capital Resources and Capital Investment Programme 2023/24
137.1 The Committee considered the report of the Executive Director Families Children & Learning which informed them of the level of available capital resources allocated to support education buildings and to recommend a capital programme for 2023/24 in respect of School Condition Allocation (SCA) and Basic Need funding.
137.2 In response to a question on when school condition surveys were undertaken officers advised that there was a rolling programme of surveys over a five year period.
137.3 Members asked if schools and pupils were encouraged to look at ways to reduce their carbon output. Officers advised that they were, and schools would have discussions with their pupils on what steps could be taken and technical advice was given where appropriate.
137.4 RESOLVED: The Committee granted delegated authority to the Assistant Director of Property & Design to procure the capital maintenance and basic need works and enter into contracts within these budgets, as required, in accordance with Contract Standing Orders in respect of the entire Education Capital Programme.
138 Annual Planned Maintenance Budget and Asset Management Fund Allocations 2023-24 for the Council’s Operational Buildings
138.1 This item was agreed without discussion.
138.2 RESOLVED: That the Committee agreed –
(i) That an additional £1.5m of capital borrowing to be added to the annual allocation to help meet some of the top priority capital planned maintenance works that cannot be met by the existing budget.
(ii) That the annual programme of planned maintenance works for the Planned Maintenance Budget as detailed in Appendices 1 and 2, at a total estimated cost of £4,930,690 be approved.
(iii) That the Asset Management Fund allocation for 2023-24 totalling £1,000,000, as detailed in Appendix 3 of this report be approved.
(iv) That delegated authority be granted to the Executive Director Economy, Environment & Culture and Assistant Director Property & Design to procure the Planned Maintenance Budget and Asset Management Fund improvement works and award contracts within these budgets.
139 Local Transport Plan 2023/24 Capital Programme
139.1 This item was agreed without discussion
139.2 RESOLVED: That the Committee agreed the 2023/24 Local Transport Plan capital programme budget allocation of £6.357 million, as set out in Appendix 1 of the report.
140 Carbon Neutral 2030 Programme - Carbon Neutral Fund update
140.1 The Committee considered the report of the Executive Director Economy, Environment & Culture which provided an update on the Carbon Neutral Fund (CNF).
140.2 Members referred to the appendix and suggested it would be useful to have an additional column setting out the estimated tonnes saving per pound spent, and as the CNF had two goals of reducing carbon emissions and enhancing biodiversity, that information would help compare the value of each project. Officers advised that assessing the value of the projects and the cost per tonne would be difficult to do and it would not be possible to compare the projects as they were so varied.
140.3 The Chair noted that two amendments had been received, one from the Green Group and one from the Labour Group. As the Green Group amendment was submitted first they would be asked to present their amendment first.
140.4 Cllr Gibson proposed the following amendment to the recommendations (changes in bold and italics):
(i) That Committee notes the three priorities of the Carbon Neutral Fund as set out in the high level 22-23 and 23-24 work programme included in the July 2022 P&R Committee report, namely carbon reduction, biodiversity enhancement and climate change adaptation.
(ii) That Committee notes the 9836.5 tonnes carbon dioxide equivalent (CO2e) forecast GHG savings reported in Appendix 1 for the 23 carbon-reduction projects, plus one climate change adaptation project, in receipt of funding from the 2022-24 Carbon Neutral Fund.
(iii) That the committee notes the amendment agreed at Budget Council regarding the Carbon Neutral Funding regarding Liveable neighbourhoods, including funding for the Tarner and Hanover LTN and agrees in principle to £1m being used for the Hanover and Tarner Liveable Neighbourhood Scheme subject to an Officer report to a future Policy & Resources Committee to comply with Financial Procedures.
140.5 Cllr Druitt formally seconded the proposed amendment.
140.6 The Chair asked the Labour Group to present their amendment.
140.7 Cllr Appich proposed the following amendment to the recommendations (changes in bold and italics):
(i) That Committee notes the three priorities of the Carbon Neutral Fund as set out in the high level 22-23 and 23-24 work programme included in the July 2022 P&R Committee report, namely carbon reduction, biodiversity enhancement and climate change adaptation.
(ii) That Committee notes the 9836.5 tonnes carbon dioxide equivalent (CO2e) forecast GHG savings reported in Appendix 1 for the 23 carbon-reduction projects, plus one climate change adaptation project, in receipt of funding from the 2022-24 Carbon Neutral Fund.
(iii) That Committee agrees £1 million is allocated from the LTN capital borrowing allocation into a redesigned Hanover & Tarner scheme that has buy-in from residents, with a clear emphasis on planned road safety improvement measures on Elm Grove, Queens Park Road and Egremont Place, subject to a detailed report back to ETS and P&R committees in the summer to comply with council’s financial procedures.
140.8 Cllr Allcock formally seconded the proposed amendment.
140.9 The Chair stated that where there are two amendments the one presented last would be voted on first. The Committee voted on the Labour Group amendment and it was agreed. The Committee then voted on the Green Group amendment and it was agreed.
140.10 The lawyer advised that where two amendments are proposed and voted on, the last one agreed would override the first one. However, as the two amendments were complimentary it was suggested that the meeting be adjourned with a view to agreeing a composite amendment. The meeting was therefore adjourned for 10 minutes.
140.11 Cllrs Appich and Gibson proposed the following composite amendment (changes in bold and italics:
(i) That Committee notes the three priorities of the Carbon Neutral Fund as set out in the high level 22-23 and 23-24 work programme included in the July 2022 P&R Committee report, namely carbon reduction, biodiversity enhancement and climate change adaptation.
(ii) That Committee notes the 9836.5 tonnes carbon dioxide equivalent (CO2e) forecast GHG savings reported in Appendix 1 for the 23 carbon-reduction projects, plus one climate change adaptation project, in receipt of funding from the 2022-24 Carbon Neutral Fund.
(iii) That the committee notes the amendment agreed at Budget Council regarding the Carbon Neutral Funding regarding Liveable neighbourhoods, including funding for the Tarner and Hanover LTN.
(iv) That the committee agrees in principle to £1m being used for the Hanover and Tarner Liveable Neighbourhood Scheme that has buy-in from residents, with a clear emphasis on planned road safety improvement measures on Elm Grove, Queens Park Road and Egremont Place, subject to a detailed report back to ETS and P&R committees in the summer to comply with council’s financial procedures.
140.12 Cllrs Allcock and Druitt formally seconded the amendment.
140.13 The lawyer advised that the previous two amendments were now withdrawn, and the Committee should vote on the new composite amendment.
140.14 The Committee voted on the composite amendment and it was agreed.
140.15 RESOLVED: That the Committee –
(i) Noted the three priorities of the Carbon Neutral Fund as set out in the high level 22-23 and 23-24 work programme included in the July 2022 P&R Committee report, namely carbon reduction, biodiversity enhancement and climate change adaptation.
(ii) Noted the 9836.5 tonnes carbon dioxide equivalent (CO2e) forecast GHG savings reported in Appendix 1 for the 23 carbon-reduction projects, plus one climate change adaptation project, in receipt of funding from the 2022-24 Carbon Neutral Fund.
(iii) Noted the amendment agreed at Budget Council regarding the Carbon Neutral Funding regarding Liveable neighbourhoods, including funding for the Tarner and Hanover LTN.
(iv) Agreed in principle to £1m being used for the Hanover and Tarner Liveable Neighbourhood Scheme that has buy-in from residents, with a clear emphasis on planned road safety improvement measures on Elm Grove, Queens Park Road and Egremont Place, subject to a detailed report back to ETS and P&R committees in the summer to comply with council’s financial procedures.
141 Procurement of the council's corporate catering equipment contract
141.1 This item was agreed without discussion.
141.2 RESOLVED: That the Committee –
(i) Granted delegated authority to the Executive Director of
Economy, Environment & Culture to procure and award a new contract for Planned Preventative Maintenance (PPM) and Reactive Maintenance for catering equipment with a term of 4 years and an option to extend the term up to a further 2 years.
(ii) Agreed to authorise the Executive Director of Economy, Environment & Culture to grant a 2-year extension to the contract referred to in 2.1 above subject to the performance of the contractor.
142 End User Devices
143 Digital Data and Technology Investment
143.1 The Committee considered the report of the Executive Director Governance People & Resources regarding the investment in Digital Data and Technology.
143.2 In response to a question, members were advised that all devices and parts were re-used where possible.
143.3 RESOLVED: That the Committee –
(i) Noted the proposed essential investment of £16.640m identified in Appendix 2 over the period 2023/24 to 2026/27.
(ii) Approved the investment of £6.170m for 2023/24 including increased capital resources of £2.670m.
(iii) Noted reports will be presented to this committee in March each year to revise future year allocation requirements in line with other annual (rolling) capital programmes.
(iv) Delegated authority to the Executive Director Governance, People & Resources to commence procurement activities, in consultation with PAB as appropriate, and award contracts for the supply of services in support of the DDaT Strategy and take other steps necessary to support the delivery of DDaT investments up to £16.640m including any future variation to the programme approved by the committee.
(v) Approved the DDaT Strategy.
144 Cost of Living Update
144.1 This item was agreed without discussion.
144.2 RESOLVED: That the Committee -
(i) Noted the update on key areas of work across the city in response to the rising cost of living set out in Appendix 1.
(ii) Noted the outcome of the council’s lobbying of central government for increased measures to prevent homelessness caused by the cost of living crisis and an increase to the National Living Wage (Appendix 2).
(iii) Noted the report in Appendix 3 from the Institute for Employment Studies, analysing the impact of areas and groups most at risk from the rising cost of living in the Brighton Greater Area.
(iv) Noted the outcomes of the Cost of Living Summit, a summary of which can be found in Appendix 4.
(v) Noted the information leaflet sent to all households in the city in November, detailing the additional support available this winter through the government’s Household Support Fund, plus b information on how to access help and support with energy, money advice, food and health and wellbeing support, which can be found in Appendix 5.
(vi) Approved the proposed indicative allocation of the Household Support Fund for 2023/24 as set out at 4.13 noting the associated Equality Impact Assessment at Appendix 6.
(vii) Delegated adjustments to allocations to the Chief Finance Officer, within the bounds of the council’s rules for virement, where there is evidence of changing need throughout the 12-month period, to ensure that all of the fund is utilised.
(viii) Approved the proposed distribution of any excess funding emanating from the government’s new Council Tax Support scheme, after the £25 discount to each household eligible for Council Tax Reduction has been administered, as set out in paragraph 4.20 of the report.
145 Pay Policy Statement 2023/24
145.1 This item was agreed without discussion.
145.2 RESOLVED: That the Committee recommends to Council the adoption of the pay policy statement for 2023/24 attached at Appendix 1.
146 Future Ways of Working
146.1 The Committee considered the report of the Executive Director Governance People & Resources regarding the Future Ways of Working Programme.
146.2 Members asked how customer feedback was obtained and were advised it was through customer surveys (32,000 completed last year), and monitoring of complaints and enquiries through the Councillor case management system. The customer surveys could be completed on paper or online.
146.3 Members asked for more information on the flex operators who will lease and manage floors 3 and 4 in Bartholomew House. Officers advised the managing agents for the Council’s urban portfolio were marketing this and had arranged two open days. There had been a lot of interest, including locally. It was confirmed that flex operators would be working alongside third sector organisations and the social value they could provide would be part of the process. As this was commercially sensitive it wasn’t possible to give more information at this stage.
146.4 The Chair noted that there was an amendment from the Labour Group.
146.5 Cllr Appich proposed the following amendment (changes in bold and italics):
That the Policy & Resources Committee:
(i) Note the progress that has been made by the Future Ways of Working Programme.
(ii) Note the continued work to optimise the use of the council’s office space and the ‘Operational Accommodation Strategy’ (see Appendix 2).
(iii) Requests additional work be undertaken before this committee Approves the refreshed Customer Experience Strategy, including resident focus groups, an improved customer promise with measurable metrics, and learnings from other local authorities (see Appendix 3).
146.6 Cllr Allcock formally seconded the amendment.
146.7 The Committee voted on the amendment, and it was agreed.
146.8 RESOLVED: That the Committee
(i) Noted the progress that has been made by the Future Ways of Working Programme.
(ii) Noted the continued work to optimise the use of the council’s office space and the ‘Operational Accommodation Strategy’ (see Appendix 2).
(iii) Requested additional work be undertaken before this committee Approves the refreshed Customer Experience Strategy, including resident focus groups, an improved customer promise with measurable metrics, and learnings from other local authorities (see Appendix 3).
147 Performance Update Report on Requested KPIs
147.1 The Committee considered the report of the Executive Director Governance People & Resources which provided an updated report in
relation to Corporate Key Performance Indicators (KPIs) that this committee requested at December 2022.
147.2 Members noted that the Missed Refuse Collection was showing as red, and asked how that could be improved. Officers said that there was still work to do, but one innovation was new technology which allowed live information to be sent to crews about refuse which needed to be collected. A report on service improvement would be coming to a future meeting of the Environment Transport and Sustainability Committee.
147.3 RESOLVED: That the Committee noted the progress made in relation to the requested Corporate KPIs, particularly the corrective measures included in Appendix 1.
148 Princes Place Public Toilets
148.1 The Committee considered the report of the Executive Director Economy Environment & Culture regarding the Princes Place public toilets.
148.2 Cllr Evans proposed the following amendment from the Labour Group, with the changes shown in bold:
2.1 That Committee agrees that the land is leased to the Royal Pavilion and Museums Trust.
2.2 That Committee delegates authority to the Executive Director for Economy Environment and Culture to agree the terms of the lease including any financial contribution to rebuilding the toilet block, following consultation with group leaders.
148.3 The Committee voted on the amendment, and it was agreed.
148.4 RESOLVED: That the Committee
(i) Agreed that the land is leased to the Royal Pavilion and Museums Trust.
(ii) Delegated authority to the Executive Director for Economy Environment and Culture to agree the terms of the lease including any financial contribution to rebuilding the toilet block, following consultation with group leaders.
149 Hollingdean Depot Office Accommodation Project
149.1 This item was agreed without discussion.
149.2 RESOLVED: That the Committee –
(i) Agreed to the removal of the old operations building and associated structures and replace with a new two-story office block to accommodate the teams at the Hollingdean Depot, currently in portacabins.
(ii) Agreed to transfer the £1.000m capital budget previously allocated for the Hollingdean Depot Site Surface works to fund the additional costs for the works in recommendation 2.1 and for this sum be incorporated into the Council’s Capital Investment Programme for 2023/24.
(iii) Granted delegated authority to the Executive Director Economy, Environment & Culture to take all steps necessary to progress with the Hollingdean Depot Accommodation Project.
150 Homes for Brighton & Hove – external communal area management at Coldean Lane, Brighton.
150.1 This item was agreed without discussion.
150.2 RESOLVED: That the Committee delegated authority to the Executive Director of Housing, Neighbourhoods and Communities to enter into a 250 year head lease of the HBH site at Denman Place, Coldean Lane, Brighton.
151 Revenues and Benefits Electronic Document Management System Replacement
151.1 This item was agreed without discussion.
151.2 RESOLVED: That the Committee –
(i) Noted that the extension of the current contract for the existing EDM and Workflow contract runs for a maximum of 2 years ending October 2024.
(ii) Approved a capital scheme of £0.800m funded from unsupported borrowing for the design and implementation of a replacement EDM and workflow system.
(iii) Grants delegated authority to the Executive Director Governance, People & Resources to take all steps necessary to procure and award a contract for a new revenues and benefits Electronic Document Management / Workflow IT system for the Welfare, Revenues & Business Support Service for an initial term of 4 Years.
(iv) Grants delegated authority to the Executive Director Governance, People & Resources to extend the contract referred to in paragraph 2.3 for the replacement system for a period of up to 2 years, subject to satisfactory performance.
152 Wave Bank (formerly East Sussex Credit Union) loan extension
152.1 This item was agreed without discussion.
152.2 RESOLVED: That the Committee agreed to extend the loan agreement to Wave Community Bank for a period of a further 10 years to March 2036.
153 Anti-Racism Strategy 2023-2028
153.1 The Committee considered the report of the Executive Director Housing Neighbourhoods & Communities regarding the Anti- Racism Strategy for 2023-2028.
153.2 Dr Sasidharan welcomed the strategy and thanked officers, particularly the Director Human Resources ＆ Organisational Development, for their work on this area.
153.3 RESOLVED: That the Committee approved the Anti-Racism Strategy as set out in appendix 1 to the report.
154 Ukrainian Refugee Programme Grants Scheme 2023-2024
154.1 This item was agreed without discussion.
154.2 RESOLVED: That the Committee
(i) Approved the Ukrainian Refugee Programme grant scheme proposed in section 4;
(ii) Approved delegated authority to the Executive Director of Housing, Neighbourhoods, Communities to authorise the grant awards.
155 Brighton Youth Centre
155.1 The Committee considered the report of the Executive Director Children Families & Learning regarding the Brighton Youth Centre (BYC).
155.2 Members asked what the terms of the grant of £4.3m from the Department for Culture, Media, and Sport’s (DCMS) were, and were advised that with the conditions they were strict about the provision of youth services, building conditions and sustainability. The DCMS had been working with BYC for a number of months and were happy with the financial plans.
155.3 In response to question from members it was confirmed that the Brighton Youth Centre would remain as the Central Youth Hub.
155.4 Members asked what the accommodation needs of other youth providers and if that had been assessed, and were advised that officers had met with all the commissioned youth providers and there was overwhelming support for the majority of funding to go to the BYC.
155.5 Members asked why the partnership with OnSide was no longer an option, and were advised that they had a particular blueprint and the Council were not able to be flexible with the proposals for BYC.
155.6 Members noted that the appendix listed on the report had not been included in the papers. It was agreed that it would be circulated after the meeting.
155.7 The Chair noted that there was an amendment from the Labour Group.
155.8 Cllr Appich proposed the following amendment (changes in bold and italics):
2.1 That the Committee agrees that the Council should provide a £2.3m grant to Brighton Youth Centre to allow them to refurbish the youth centre, providing the chartered surveyor valuation conducted by BHCC matches that of BYC, also known as red book valuation.
2.2 That, subject to the caveat outlined in 2.1, the committee grants delegated authority to the Executive Director Families, Children & Learning to negotiate the legal documents including assurances that safeguards the Council’s investment and notes that a further report outlining the agreed documents will be brought to a future committee for oversight.
2.3 That the Executive Director Families, Children & Learning explores viable contractual options between the Council and Brighton Youth Centre that assures delivery of the highest standard of service for Young People and youth organisations across the city and includes a proposal on an agreement that could be put in place as a condition of the grant, such as strengthening governance arrangements and quality monitoring of provision, as well as improving support to other youth organisations in the city.
155.9 Cllr Evans formally seconded the amendment.
155.10 The Committee voted on the amendment and it was agreed.
155.11 RESOLVED: That the Committee agreed -
(i) That the Council should provide a £2.3m grant to Brighton Youth Centre to allow them to refurbish the youth centre, providing the chartered surveyor valuation conducted by BHCC matches that of BYC, also known as red book valuation.
(ii) That, subject to the caveat outlined in 2.1, the committee grants delegated authority to the Executive Director Families, Children & Learning to negotiate the legal documents including assurances that safeguards the Council’s investment and notes that a further report outlining the agreed documents will be brought to a future committee for oversight.
(iii) That the Executive Director Families, Children & Learning explores viable contractual options between the Council and Brighton Youth Centre that assures delivery of the highest standard of service for Young People and youth organisations across the city and includes a proposal on an agreement that could be put in place as a condition of the grant, such as strengthening governance arrangements and quality monitoring of provision, as well as improving support to other youth organisations in the city.
156 Items Referred For Council
156.1 No items were referred to the 30 March 2023 Council meeting.
157 Equal Pay Settlement Proposal - Bank Holiday Pay
157.1 The Committee considered the report of the Executive Director Governance People & Resources.
157.2 RESOLVED: Recommendations agreed as set out in the report.
158 Part Two Proceedings
158.1 RESOLVED: The Committee agreed that the item listed in Part Two of the agenda and decisions thereon should remain exempt from disclosure to the press and public.
The meeting concluded at 8.45pm
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