Agenda for Culture, Recreation & Tourism Cabinet Member Meeting on Tuesday, 9th December, 2008, 4.00pm
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Agenda, decisions and minutes
PDF 212 KBVenue: Committee Room 1, Hove Town Hall. View directions
Contact: Caroline De Marco, Democratic Services Officer
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Procedural Business
(b) Exclusion of Press and Public - To consider whether, in view of the nature of the business to be transacted, or the nature of the proceedings, the press and public should be excluded from the meeting when any of the following items are under consideration.
NOTE: Any item appearing in Part 2 of the Agenda states in its heading either that it is confidential or the category under which the information disclosed in the report is exempt from disclosure and therefore not available to the public.
A list and description of the categories of exempt information is available for public inspection at Brighton and Hove Town Halls.
Minutes: 44a Declarations of Interests
44.1 There were none
44b Exclusion of Press and Public
44.2 In accordance with section 100A of the Local Government Act 1972 (the Act), the Cabinet Member for Culture, Recreation and Tourism considered whether the press and public should be excluded from the meeting during an item of business on the grounds that it was likely, in view of the nature of the business to be transacted or the nature of the proceedings, that if members of the press or public were present during that item, there would be disclosure to them of confidential information (as defined in section 100A(3) of the Act) or exempt information (as defined in section 100(I) of the Act).
44.3 RESOLVED - That the press and public be not excluded from the meeting.
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Minutes of the previous meeting Minutes of the Meeting held on 28 October 2008 (copy attached). Minutes: 45.1 RESOLVED - That the minutes of the Culture, Recreation and Tourism Cabinet Member Meeting held on 28 October 2008 be agreed and signed by the Cabinet Member subject to the following amendments.
“43.3 Councillor Davis expressed some concern about the chronology and consultation process. The consultation period was not long enough if the report was to go was to go to Cabinet in December. The Head of Libraries stressed that a great deal of consultation had already taken place. She explained that the plan would not be written in stone. The intention was to continually reflect the views of the local community and interest groups.
43.4 Councillor Davis stated that if the consultation period could be extended she would like to request that the report be presented to the Council meeting on 29 January 2009, rather than the meeting on 4th December 2008. She would like to see a review of increasing library hours and more information about the provision of new books. Councillor Randall agreed that the plan was a good piece of work but shared concerns about the consultation period, book stocks and opening hours.
43.5 The Head of Libraries and Information Services agreed to include comments from groups who were being consulted.”
43.6 Resolution (2) to read “That the Libraries Plan 2009-2011 be forwarded to the January 2009 Council meeting rather than the meeting to be held on 4 December 2008. |
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Cabinet Member's Communications Minutes: Royal Pavilion & Museums Work Sharing with Sierra Leone
46.1 The Cabinet Member reported that the Royal Pavilion and Museums was a key partner in an exciting new three-year initiative which had attracted nearly £500,000 of funding from the Arts & Humanities Research Council. Led by Dr Paul Basu, Reader in Material Culture and Museum Studies at University College London, and involving staff and collections from the Royal Pavilion & Museums, the British Museum and Glasgow Museums, the project aimed to seek new ways of sharing collections-based knowledge with partners and communities in Sierra Leone.
GMB Conference – Brighton Centre 46.2 The Cabinet Member was pleased to welcome the GMB back to the Brighton Centre, on a two year basis, in 2011 and 2012. This would bring an economic benefit to the city of £5 million. The conference last came to the city in 2007 and the GMB were very pleased to be returning after a 4 year absence. A large number of delegates attended the conference and they made use of the many varying Hotels, B&B's and Guesthouses the city has available. 46.3 GMB was a campaigning trade union focused on protecting GMB members in their workplaces and growing the number of GMB members in order to strength the Union's power Future Conferences
46.4 The Cabinet Member reported that although there was an economic downturn, the City was still attracting a fair share of conferences. This included the National Housing Federation Conference 2009. The Cabinet Member praised the good work of the Conference Team. On a recent visit to the House of Lords the Cabinet Member had met 50 prospective conference organisers who had all said their delegated loved coming to Brighton & Hove.
Eurocities
46.5 The Cabinet Member reported that he had attended the Annual General Meeting of Eurocities at The Hague. The opening speech had been made by the Prime Minister of Holland and there were representatives from large cities such as Berlin and Barcelona. They had been pleased to welcome the Cabinet Member and the Head of Arts, International & Voluntary Sector Teams. All the delegated were familiar with Brighton & Hove and were pleased to be involved in joint ventures. Involvement with Eurocities was a great opportunity for the City to obtain more funding and new partners for joint ventures. |
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Items reserved for discussion (a) Items reserved by the Cabinet Member
(b) Items reserved by the Opposition Spokesperson
(c) Items reserved by Members, with the agreement of the Cabinet Member.
NOTE: Public Questions, Written Questions form Councillors, Petitions, Deputations, Letters from Councillors and Notices of Motion will be reserved automatically. Minutes: 47.1 RESOLVED – All items were reserved for discussion.
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Petitions No petitions have been received by the date of publication.
Minutes: 48.1 There were none.
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Public Questions (The closing date for receipt of public questions is 12 noon on 2 December 2008)
No public questions have been received by the date of publication. Minutes: 49.1 There were none.
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Deputations (The closing date for receipt of deputations is 12 noon on 2 December 2008)
No deputations have been received by the date of publication. Minutes: 50.1 There were none.
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Letters from Councillors No letters have been received.
Minutes: 51.1 There were none.
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Written Questions from Councillors No written questions have been received. Minutes: 52.1 There were none.
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Notices of Motions No Notices of Motion have been received by the date of publication.
Minutes: 53.1 There were none.
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Review of Fees and Charges 2009/10 - Venues
Report of Director of Cultural Services (copy attached). Additional documents: Decision: (1) That the Fees & Charges as shown in Appendices A and B be approved in order that they can be incorporated into the 2009/10 Revenue Budget and Venues Business Plan. Minutes: 54.1 The Cabinet Member considered a report of the Director of Cultural Services which set out the proposed Fees and Charges for 2009/2010 for the Brighton Centre and Hove Town Hall (for copy see minute book).
54.2 Councillor Davis questioned the wisdom of increasing fees by 4% at this time in order to raise £10,000. The Assistant Director, Major Projects and Venues replied to explain that Hove Town Hall had a strong market. Fees and charges were only a small percentage of the income package of the Brighton Centre. He thought the increase was sustainable.
54.3 The Cabinet Member raised the issue of the Skyline Restaurant being opened to the public. As this was an integral part of the building, it was not feasible for it to be a separate public restaurant. The Assistant Director, Major Projects and Venues accepted that the Skyline Restaurant would be popular but if it was opened to the public it would impact on the main hall. The Council had stopped marketing the restaurant about 18 years ago as it had never had a passing trade.
54.4 RESOLVED - (1) That the Fees & Charges as shown in Appendices A and B be approved in order that they can be incorporated into the 2009/10 Revenue Budget and Venues Business Plan. |
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Fees and Charges (Royal Pavilion & Museums) Report of Director of Cultural Services (copy attached). Additional documents: Decision: (1) That the increases for charges for commercial hire of the Royal Pavilion & Museum venues be approved as set out in Appendix A.
(2) That minor changes to pricing structure for group rates be approved as set out in Appendix B, version 2.
(3) That the introduction of a recommended level of voluntary donations in the Museums be approved. Minutes: 55.1 The Cabinet Member considered a report of the Director of Cultural Services which set out the proposed changes to fees and charges for commercial hire and admission charges to assist with business planning. Under the Corporate Fees and Charges Policy, officers were required to carry out an annual review in line with policy (for copy see minute book). The report suggested introducing a recommended donations policy for the non-charging venues within the Royal Pavilion & Museums.
55.2 An amended appendix B had been circulated which showed VAT alterations. Proposals included a 10% discount to groups and the reduction of group size for discounts from 10 to 15. A new child group rate was also proposed.
55.3 Councillor Davis asked for an explanation of paragraph 3.1.1 which referred to Value for Money monitoring of the commercial hire income target. The Head of Museums and Royal Pavilion explained that there had not been proactive marketing of the commercial hire income in the past. As a result a Sales Manager had been recently appointed to ensure a proactive approach was taken.
55.4 Councillor Davis asked for further explanation of paragraph 3.2.4 concerning the introduction of a child group rate. She asked if this discount included language school groups. She was informed that most of the language school groups would fall into the child category.
55.5 The Cabinet Member drew attention to the equalities paragraph at 5.3 of the report and emphasised that 60% of funding for the service came from income generation.
55.6 (1) That the increases for charges for commercial hire of the Royal Pavilion & Museum venues be approved as set out in Appendix A.
(2) That minor changes to pricing structure for group rates be approved as set out in Appendix B, version 2.
(3) That the introduction of a recommended level of voluntary donations in the Museums be approved. |
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Libraries Fees and Charges
Report of Director of Cultural Services (copy attached). Additional documents: Decision: (1) That the Libraries Fees and Charges proposals for 2009-10 be agreed. Minutes: 56.1 The Cabinet Member considered a report of the Director of Cultural Services which reviewed the impact of the Libraries fees and charges introduced last year, and recommended the fees and charges for 2009-10 (for copy see minute book). Under the Corporate Fees and Charges Policy, officers were required to carry out an annual review in line with the policy.
56.2 There were only two changes to the Libraries fees and charges proposed for 2009-2110. (1) to introduce a new category of membership for people with learning disabilities that would enable them to access most services free of charge, and (2) to confirm that charges for Baby Boogie have been withdrawn, subject to a full review of the service to take place next year.
56.3 The Head of Libraries and Information Services drew attention to an Addendum circulated before the meeting, concerning the reduction in the rate of VAT. This had had a minimum effect on the library service.
56.4 Councillor Davis asked for confirmation that Baby Boogie was not in jeopardy. The Head of Libraries & Information Services confirmed that it was not in jeopardy but was a very successful service. The Department were seeking to achieve additional funding for Baby Boogie.
56.5 RESOLVED - (1) That the Libraries Fees and Charges proposals for 2009-10 be agreed. |
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Application for Membership of Eurocities Report of Director of Cultural Services (copy attached). Decision: (1) That the proposal to join EUROCITIES be approved. Minutes: 57.1 The Cabinet Member considered a report of the Director of Cultural Services which asked for approval to apply to join the EUROCITIES network as a full member from 2009 (for copy see minute book). Within the European & International Strategy for Brighton & Hove City Council 2007-2013, one of the four strategic priorities was “networking and forging European & International partnerships. EUROCITIES was the main network in Europe aimed at cities of 250,000 populations and above.
57.2 The Head of Arts, International & Voluntary Sector Teams explained that Brighton & Hove had been a member of Eurotowns but it was now more relevant and useful for the city to network with EUROCITIES. Other members of EUROCITIES were listed at paragraph 3.5. She had recently attended the AGM of EUROCITIES with the Cabinet Member and had met with other EUROCITY members.
57.3 The Cabinet Member considered the membership of EUROCITIES to be a marvellous move for the city which would enable links to be made with major cities.
57.4 RESOLVED - (1) That the proposal to join EUROCITIES be approved. |