Date of meeting: 28^th March 2024

Proposer: Councillor Alistair McNair

Seconder: Councillor Anne Meadows

Ward(s) affected: All

Notice of Motion

Conservative Group

This Council:

1. Notes that the Administration has chosen to close schools and reduce admission numbers at others due to the falling numbers of children and families in Brighton and Hove.

2. Notes that there has been a 22% drop in children aged 0-4 living in the city between the 2011 and 2021 censuses.

3. Further notes that Brighton & Hove’s population profile had fewer children & young people aged 0 to 19 (20.5%) compared to the South East (23.1%) and England (23.1%).

4. Believes that there are many ways to attract families to Brighton and Hove including, but not limited to:

· Development of affordable family sized houses rather than flats

· Improving infrastructure, including NHS services and GPs, that is needed alongside new developments for both new and existing residents

· Improving leisure facilities and parks

This counciltherefore resolves to:

1. Request officers to bring a report to the next Childrens, Families & Schools Committee (or the relevant Overview and Scrutiny Committee should the new governance system be approved) outlining options for:-

(a) a holistic approach to city wide policies to make Brighton and Hove an attractive place for families and young people to live in;

(b) adding families with children under the age of 18 as a separate and specific category to the list of different population groups in Equality Impact Assessments to ensure that the impact of future policies on families are given serious consideration