Agenda item - Issues Raised by Members

To consider the following matters raised by Members:

 

(a)           Written Questions:

To consider any written questions

180.1   A copy of the questions received was circulated ahead of the meeting. Responses provided both at the meeting and in writing are as follows:

 

1)             Councillor Meadows - City Plan - formal commencement of plan making

 

Has there been any consultation with ward councillors concerning the City Plan, especially if changes are proposed for their wards?

 

Response: Cllr Taylor

 

All ward members were invited to comment during the Key Issues consultation which ran from November 2024 – January 2025.  Ward members will also be invited to comment on the consultation that will run in the summer of this year.  There are no specific policies or site allocations at this stage as this is the initial step to decide to proceed with plan preparation.

 

2)             Councillor Meadows - City Plan - formal commencement of plan making

 

How can ward councillors input into the City Plan?

 

Response: Cllr Taylor

 

All ward members were invited to comment during the Key Issues consultation which ran from November 2024 – January 2025.  Ward members will also be invited to comment on the consultation stages as the plan progresses as set out in the timetable that is due to be agreed today.

 

3)             Councillor Meadows - City Plan - formal commencement of plan making

 

Which scrutiny committee did any consultation possibly go through?  When?

 

Response: Cllr Taylor

 

Updates on city plan have been to the Place Overview and Scrutiny committee on October 2024 and July 2025.  An update is due to be discussed at a committee meeting in July 2026.

 

4)             Councillor McNair - City Plan - formal commencement of plan making

 

What areas in Patcham & Hollingbury and Westdene & Hove Park are earmarked for change and development, for example for housing and Park & Ride?

 

Response: Cllr Taylor

 

At this stage of the plan making process there are no potential development sites allocated or detailed policy proposals.  The previous key issues consultation stage included a call for sites and later consultations will also include a call for sites which will be reviewed as the plan progresses.

 

5)             Councillor Meadows- Improving Electric Charging Infrastructure

 

Will ward councillors and residents be given ample opportunity to see where proposed charging points are going to be located to help prevent mistakes/other issues arising?

 

Response: Cllr Muten

 

Thank you, Cllr Meadows, for your question.

All proposed sites that require a dedicated EV bay which are typically Fast and Rapid chargepoints are subject to the Traffic Regulation Order (TRO) consultation process.  

Lower-powered lamp column chargepoints, which make up the majority of the 7,000 being delivered, do not require dedicated bays and are installed alongside existing parking provision.  

Ward Members receive monthly programme updates and are encouraged to raise any questions or concerns with the project team. While sites are identified using data and officer assessment, we recognise the importance of local insight and are continuing to strengthen how this informs delivery. 

 

6)             Councillor Meadows- Improving Electric Charging Infrastructure

 

Why aren't consultations routinely emailed to ward councillors so we can advertise them to residents?

 

Response: Cllr Muten

 

Thank you, Cllr Meadows, for your question.

Ward Councillors are currently emailed details of any proposed Traffic Regulation Orders in their wards that will change parking restrictions, which they can share with residents. These proposals are then advertised in local papers. 

The council is investing in new software which will also allow residents to see all proposed Traffic Regulation Order changes and comment directly online. This will be available in the summer and we will ensure the process includes advanced notification to Ward Councillors. This is in addition to monthly updates to all councillors on the rollout of lamp post chargers where parking restrictions are unchanged. 

 

7)             Councillor Meadows - Working towards cleaner air for Brighton & Hove through improved smoke control areas

 

How will the proposed smoke free zone be enforced?

 

Response: Cllr Rowkins

 

There will be a six-month lead-in period before the new Smoke Control Area comes into effect. During this time, a programme of communications will be delivered to ensure residents are aware of the new requirements and understand how to comply.

As per our enforcement pilot in 2024-25, enforcement will follow a proportionate, three-stage approach. Our aim is to educate, inform and engage in the first instance, progressing to more formal action where problems persist. That will include the option of a Fixed Penalty Notice where problems persist.

 

8)             Councillor Meadows - Working towards cleaner air for Brighton & Hove through improved smoke control areas

 

Will this larger smoke free zone lead to more neighbour disputes?  How will the council help resolve them?

 

Response: Cllr Rowkins

 

We anticipate an increase in complaints during the first year following implementation, reflecting the extension of the Smoke Control Area across the wider urban area and the awareness thereof. A graduated three-stage enforcement approach will be applied, starting with informal engagement and escalating where necessary.

It is not expected that the introduction of the Smoke Control Area will lead to an increase in neighbour disputes, as there is an established mechanism in place to investigate and resolve complaints where sufficient evidence is provided.

 

9)             Councillor Meadows - Council Housing Asset Management Plan

 

Considering the costs, does the Council have any plans for bringing Seaside Homes in-house?  Why/why not? 

 

Response: Cllr Williams

 

As agreed at the joint Housing and Policy & Resources Committee meeting, concerning ‘Future Options for the Management of Temporary Accommodation’ in February 2023, the Council continues to seek to end the current Local Delivery Vehicle arrangement in order to bring the temporary accommodation currently leased to Seaside Homes back into Council control.

In line with the delegated authority, the Council is undertaking engagement and due diligence work required to make a final decision. 

Given the complexity related to the contractual relationship with the organisation, we have brought in dedicated resources to complete the council due diligence by summer 2026 and intend to report back to Cabinet in the autumn.

 

10)          Councillor McLeay - Housing Safety and Quality: Our Improvement Journey

 

While I can see that fire risk assessment (FRA) remediation work is taking place, my understanding is that FRA findings are still not being shared with residents. Article 21A of the Regulatory Reform (Fire Safety) Order 2005 requires that the risks identified in FRAs, and the measures to address them, are communicated to residents and updated when assessments change. Can you confirm BHCC are now sharing FRA information with residents, and if not, why not?

 

Response: Cllr Williams

 

Thank you very much for your question. Yes, I can confirm that. In line with our duties under Article 21A of the regulatory form Fire Safety Order 2005, the council provides residents with fire safety information through annual letters to high rise residents, fire action notices, building specific communications, evacuation information and updates when fire safety works are planned or underway. Further information is available on the council's website including high-rise building safety resident engagement strategy and fire safety in council flats.

 

11)          Councillor Lademacher - Housing Safety and Quality: Our Improvement Journey

 

Given that the regulator of social housing issued BHCC with a C3 rating on August 2024 for 'serious failings' in delivering the safety and quality standard, and considering the additional duties arising from Awaab's Law, can you outline what assurances can be given to council tenants that reports of damp and mould and other emergency and urgent hazards will be resolved within the required timescales and what support can be provided to council tenants who have been living in unsafe conditions for extended periods of time?

 

Response: Cllr Williams

 

Thank you for that question. So, I would like to begin with, as this Chamber is aware, and I'll just remind the Chamber that has been asked the question, this Administration inherited the conditions leading to the rating. And this is due to historic lack of investment and I have to say, in action by the previous Administration.

Nevertheless, we've taken the task of rectifying and improving conditions for our residents because it really is important to emphasise that they are the important ones and they are at the heart of what we do and I'm proud of what we've achieved so far. As part of our work to become a great landlord, we are committed to improving the safety for and responsiveness to and satisfaction of our residents. And I'll set out in our housing safety and quality report our improvement journey

and progress update for the Cabinet today is very positive and it shows continuous and measurable progress across the compliance areas highlighted in the regulators C3 rating.

Now, in preparation for AWAB's law, which I think is what you wanted me to talk about, ahead of the enactment of that, way ahead, we were in time and we were ready to go, we strengthened our response. So, we stood up, a dedicated team, headed by, I have to say, our incredible Mikila, and I really want to say she has been utterly incredible with her and her team in preparation. And we've strengthened our responses immeasurably with that special team to address damp mould and other urgent hazards. And quite right too, and that's exactly what we should be doing. And this is through proactive outreach. We've actually asked people to come and report to us being proactive in encouraging people to come and report to us so that we can help them with damp and mould. Nobody should live with that. That's absolutely right. We've got specialist case management software, and we've got regular performance monitoring, which is really, really important. And we are further increasing because we have such a lot of incidents and issues reported to us, we are increasing in-house and contracted damp and mould remediation capacity. This is so important and I'm so pleased that we're going in this direction in our journey. We are shifting towards more planned preventative maintenance models to alleviate pressures on the service and this is really the key and this is really the service that we want to be providing and are going towards providing. It's what our residents deserve and thank you so much for your question.

 

12)          Councillor Pickett - Working towards cleaner air for Brighton & Hove through improved smoke control areas

 

Given that, as your report states, there is a risk that solid fuel appliances installed from 2026/27 may remain in use well beyond 2040, how will the council encourage or help those residents who feel financially unable to move on from heating using wood burning stoves and will there be financial aid for those struggling to do so?

 

Response: Cllr Rowkins

 

Thanks, Councillor Pickett, for the question. So just to preface the answer, obviously, if this is approved today, any stoves installed from this point onwards would necessarily be smoke control area and Defra approved. So they would still be able to continue using those stoves. But to come to the substantive answer, burning solid fuels, including in wood burning stoves, is in most cases a secondary source of heating and not the primary method through which people heat their homes. Of course, there are variables such as the property size and type of property, but heating by burning solid fuels is generally not cheaper than using other types of heating. And that's because maintaining a consistent supply of suitable fuels. For anything beyond occasional use, can be very expensive.

Under a new, enlarged smoke control area, any new appliances installed in homes in the city would need to be Defra approved, and residents who have older, non-compliant stoves would still have the option of burning approved fuels.

Support is also available via the council website for anybody who's struggling with the cost of heating their homes. Thanks for the question.

 

13)          Councillor West - Improving Electric Charging Infrastructure

 

The report sets an ambition of supporting transition to EV by 2040. It states 8,000 charge points will be needed. However the Cabinet is only planning to provide 6,000 by 2040, 75% of what is said to be required. Does the Cabinet member accept that the inadequacy of his plan seems set to hamper the city fully achieving this important element of net zero?

 

Response: Cllr Muten

 

Thank you, Cllr West, for your question and for highlighting our administration’s ambition to fully achieve net zero for our city.

Unlike the Green Party in administration, who had no plan, only vacuous words, this Labour administration has taken a clear, data-led approach to deliver. In 2023, we commissioned the Decarbonisation Pathways Study, which identified that thousands more chargepoints are needed for the city’s transport system to reach net zero.

The figures in our EV Charging Plan are deliberately presented as forecasts, reflecting inherent uncertainty in demand through to 2040. The upper estimate of 8,000 chargepoints reflects a high-demand scenario. Under lower-demand scenarios there is greater utilisation of faster chargers and continued improvements in vehicle range and charging efficiency. With a greater use of rapid charging, the minimum requirement is currently estimated at approximately 1,650 chargepoints. With improved vehicle efficiency and a mix of slower residential provision and higher-powered rapid and ultra-rapid infrastructure, we expect to be ahead of our target. 

In practice, we are already delivering at scale. With our partner char.gy, we are proposing up to 6,000 lamp column chargepoints, building on the 500+ installed with Blink. We also aim to deliver up to 1,000 fast chargepoints; and in partnership with Believ, around 200 rapid chargepoints launching this summer, and at least two ultra-rapid hubs.

Our delivery programme of up to 6,000 chargepoints by 2040 should not therefore be seen as a fixed ceiling, but as a scalable and responsive delivery plan. It has been designed to align with observed uptake, technological advancements, and funding opportunities over time, rather than overcommitting public resources based on a single high-end projection.

This work is complemented by wider investment across the city, including the NHS, universities, businesses, filling stations and residents installing home chargers.

Unlike the Greens who say and do not do, this data-led Labour administration plans to deliver.

We are confident not only of meeting our targets but exceeding them - positioning our city as a national leader in EV infrastructure through a credible, delivery-focused approach.

 

14)          Councillor Sykes - Investing in subsidised bus travel

 

The negotiated fixed deal with bus operators is estimated at £11.3m (s3.5), yet the resulting budget pressure over the £11m approved budget for concessionary fares is £1.5m (s6.1), implying an overall cost of £12.5m. The financial implications are significant as they require an additional £1.5m of in-year savings, but the calculation of the origin of this £1.5m pressure is not clear. Please clarify and if necessary confirm that the total projected cost of covering concessionary fares in 2026-27 is indeed £12.5m.

 

Response: Cllr Muten

 

The total projected cost of covering concessionary fares by all bus operators is £12.5m as explained in Financial Implications section of the report, paragraph 6.1 Information about how the Council has identified savings to meet this investment is contained in paragraph 6.2 of this report. The budgeted amount to come from parking income as agreed as part of the 26/27 annual budget process is £11m. 

 

15)          Councillor Sykes - Investing in subsidised bus travel

 

Referencing the table in s3.7 please provide a separate figure, within the £200k funding to go beyond statutory provision, for the cost of providing subsidised fares to older persons travelling between 11pm and 3.59am on weekdays.

 

Response: Cllr Muten

 

Thank you Cllr Sykes for your question.

Over the last financial year the cost of providing subsidised fares to older persons travelling between 11pm and 3.59am was approximately £12,000. 

 

16)          Councillor Shanks - Update on Housing Management of Brickfields Development

 

In January Cabinet we were told that an independent valuation will be sought and this risk is considered unlikely but would have a significant impact. If the council’s costs cannot be covered then Alternative Option 1: council acts as landlord and procures an external managing agent will be explored instead.

Whilst the total development costs have not been met the received offer will achieve the best consideration that can reasonably be obtained when generating the capital receipt for the property.

Why has cabinet changed its mind? The proposed provider is the only one who is prepared to take this on so why not look again at the council running the provision. 125 years is a very long time.

 

Response: Cllr Alexander

 

So as in the Cabinet report recommendation, we have visited, revisited options and carried out detailed modelling that confirms that the least option continues to be the most financially viable option.

If the council was the landlord, then we'd have to pay all of the development costs, as well as the cost of the planned and major works and any voids. It is also not possible for us to reclaim 100% of the housing benefits subsidy, which we can do.

If a registered provider is the landlord and also if the council were to be the landlord, we would face future issues such as residents being able to legally continue staying at Brickfields, even if they no longer required the care and the support that they needed when they first moved in.

And this would, of course, take away valuable space for a person who needs it.

 

17)          Councillor McLeay - Housing Safety and Quality: Our Improvement Journey

 

In September 2024, Cabinet was told that additional contractors had been appointed to clear the routine repairs backlog by the end of that financial year, yet the target was later revised to December 2025 and the backlog still remains. Repairs and maintenance were specifically highlighted by the Regulator in August 2024 due to a significant backlog of overdue routine repairs, estimated at around 8,000 cases. Now in 2026, with further contractors in place and higher monthly completion rates, can you explain what is preventing the council from clearing the original backlog that concerned the regulator, how those cases are being prioritised, and when residents can realistically expect this backlog to be resolved?

 

Response: Cllr Williams

 

We initially engaged two contractors to support backlog reduction. As the volume of outstanding repairs decreased and contractor effectiveness diminished, we transitioned to a more targeted approach, utilising specialist contractors alongside directly employed resources.

The Council has improved monthly completion rates by appointing additional contractors and increasing service efficiency. However, the number of outstanding repairs remains high due to sustained and rising demand.

Since 2024, repairs have increased, driven by higher volumes of resident reporting, proactive inspections, and new statutory requirements, particularly Awaab’s Law, which has generated significant additional work, including extractor fan installations and follow-on repairs.

While the number of repairs exceeding 28 days has increased following the implementation of Awaab’s Law, the service has remained focused on reducing the oldest outstanding cases. This has delivered a significant improvement, with long-outstanding repairs reduced from 104 in October 2025 to 21 in April 2026.

It is important to recognise that, although the service aims to complete repairs within 28 days wherever possible, there are circumstances where this is not achievable. This includes complex or large-scale works, repairs requiring specialist materials, and cases subject to legal processes such as leaseholder consultation.

In October 2025, open repairs stood at 5,126 against 4,449 raised that month, representing a near-balanced work-in-progress (WIP) position. A stable WIP would broadly match or be slightly below monthly demand. Following the introduction of Awaab’s Law on 27 October 2025, demand increased further, widening this gap.

By April 2026, open repairs rose to 7,752 against 4,481 raised, equating to less than 1.5 months of WIP. Although completions have increased, new demand continues at a similar or higher rate, maintaining WIP rather than reducing a historic backlog.

Work is prioritised by risk, with urgent safety, damp and mould, and compliance issues addressed first. Plans focus on increasing capacity through both contractor procurement and expansion of the directly employed workforce, alongside preventative maintenance measures. The objective is to stabilise WIP levels in response to increased demand and keep performance under review.