Council

Agenda Item 36   

Subject:                    Family Based Policies

Date of meeting:    28 March 2024

Proposer:                 Councillor Nann

Seconder:                Councillor Miller

Ward(s) affected:   All

Notice of Motion

Labour Group Amendment

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. taken the necessary action to protect school numbers through reducing admissions numbers and closing two schools.

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 Englan d (23.1%).

4. Believes Calls on the Government to assist the council that there are many ways to attract families to Brighton and Hove including through increasing funding, but not limited to enabling the council to facilitate:

· 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

· An end to making councils compete for small pots of money

This council therefore 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 keeping families with children under the age of 18 as part of a holistic strategy 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

Proposed by: Cllr Nann      Seconded by: Cllr Miller

Recommendations to read if carried:

This Council:

1. Notes that the Administration has taken the necessary action to protect school numbers through reducing admissions numbers and closing two schools.

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 Englan d (23.1%).

4. Calls on the Government to assist the council through increasing funding, enabling the council to facilitate:

· 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

· An end to making councils compete for small pots of money

This council therefore 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) keeping families with children under the age of 18 as part of a holistic strategy to ensure that the impact of future policies on families are given serious consideration