Agenda item - Notices of Motion.

(a)         National Health Service – Brighton.  Proposed by Councillor Kevin Allen.

 

(b)        Vodafone and Brighton & Hove City Council.  Proposed by Councillor Warren Morgan.

 

(c)         Extend the Consultation on Bright start Nursery and Effect Its Future Viability.  Proposed by Councillor Lizzie Deane.

 

(d)        Private Rented Sector Rents.  Proposed by Councillor Bill Randall.

 

57.1         Prior to the consideration of the Notices of Motion, the Mayor noted that the meeting had been in session for four hours and in accordance with Procedure Rule 17, he was required to move a closure motion to effectively terminate the meeting.

 

57.2         The Mayor therefore moved the closure motion and put the matter to the vote which was carried and therefore resulted in the remaining items being put to the vote unless the mover chose to withdraw the item.

 

(a)       National Health Service Brighton and Hove

 

57.3         The Mayor put the amendment proposed by Councillor Ken Norman on behalf of the Conservative Group, and seconded by Councillor Peltzer Dunn to the vote, which was lost.

 

57.4         The Mayor then put the following Notice of Motion as detailed in the agenda proposed by Councillor Allen on behalf of the Labour Group and seconded by Councillor Turton to the vote:

 

            “This council places on record its appreciation of the role of NHS Brighton and Hove (the Primary Care Trust) as commissioner of health services in the city and as a strategic partner of the council.

 

            In anticipation of the planned abolition of the PCT the council requests that the Cabinet seeks to encourage and support any initiatives aimed at preserving as much as possible of the experience and expertise of the PCT and its staff, thereby reducing the risk that the new GP consortium or consortia will hire in private companies to carry out their commissioning functions.”

 

57.5         The motion was carried.

 

 

(b)       Vodafone and Brighton and Hove City Council

 

57.6         The Mayor then put the following Notice of Motion as detailed in the agenda proposed by Councillor Morgan on behalf of the Labour Group and seconded by Councillor Mitchell to the vote:

 

            “This Council notes that Vodafone have allegedly been allowed to avoid an estimated £6 billion in tax through basing their financial operations in Luxembourg, despite being a UK based company.

 

            This Council also notes that Brighton and Hove City Council has a substantial contract for mobile phone telecommunications with Vodafone, worth over £125,000 a year.

 

            This Council notes the statement on Vodafone’s own website that: “The maximisation of shareholder value will generally involve the minimisation of taxation. It will also involve choices as to the jurisdiction in which to locate capital and/or business activity. Such choices will take account of all the business consequences, including the taxation consequences, of operating in that location.”

 

            This Council notes that the effective tax rate for the largest companies like Vodafone will fall over the next four years from 21% to 17% under measures introduced by the Conservative/Liberal Democrat Coalition Government.

 

            This Council also notes statements by the Chancellor that “we are all in this together”, and believes that this should apply to businesses as well as individuals.

 

            This Council further believes that taxpayers’ money paid by this council to private companies should not then leave the UK via tax avoidance, and should instead remain within the UK as part of the taxation system, aiding the financial recovery, protecting public services and paying down the deficit.

 

            This Council asks the Cabinet, within the terms of the relevant contract and the council’s own legal duties (including best value and Contract Standing Orders) to:

 

·         review the Council’s contract with Vodafone with immediate effect;

 

·         investigate if other not-for-profit telecommunications suppliers such as the Phone Co-op could offer a similar service at a similar price that would ensure taxpayers money does not go into private shareholder profits and out of the UK in terms of unpaid tax.”

 

57.7         The motion was carried.

 

 

(c)       Extend the Consultation on Bright Start Nursery and Effect Its Future Viability

 

57.8         The Mayor noted that the Labour Group amendment to the Green Group’s Notice of Motion had been accepted and therefore put the following substantive motion as amended to the vote:

 

“This council notes Bright Start is a vibrant city nursery, located in the heart of Brighton.  It caters for the children of council employees and those living in the surrounding area. As such, it is a valuable local resource that benefits the wider community.

 

The nursery is staffed by excellent and loyal professionals who have worked there for many years, offering a steadfast and continuous service that the children enjoy, and their parents and carers implicitly trust.

 

Bright Start has never been allocated a marketing or advertising budget. As a result many local parents are either not aware of the nursery’s existence or believe that it is for council staff only, and thereby not available to them.

 

It has suffered from cutbacks in the past, and currently receives just £87,000 per year from the Council, as opposed to £200,000+ per year in the past.

 

The city’s birth rate is currently rising. It has been doing so for some years and the 2011 figure for 0-4 year olds is projected to be almost double that of 2001.¹

 

The Deputy Prime Minister has pledged to provide nursery places for all vulnerable 2-year-olds.

 

The council further notes the Conservative administration intends to withdraw funding and close the nursery in April 2011. At a Cabinet meeting on 11 October, and in the presence of a large number of parents and supporters who all called for the nursery to stay open, the Cabinet Member for Children and Young People effected a consultation process which is perceived to be the first step towards closure.

 

This council believes previous efforts to maximise take-up of Bright Start places have been ineffectual and the consultation proposed is totally inadequate. It therefore calls on the Cabinet to recognise that:

 

·               Bright Start nursery is a highly valued local resource available to all pre-school children in the vicinity.

 

·               With effective marketing, Bright Start could attract many more users and be a viable concern.

 

·               Projected figures will place more and more demand on nursery places in future years.

 

·               Failure to consult the wider community on the loss of Bright Start renders the consultation process fundamentally flawed.

 

·               The council regrets that the proposal to withdraw the total amount of subsidy from the Bright Start Nursery was published in advance of the formal ending of the consultation process and the proper consideration of its outcome.

 

Furthermore council calls on the Cabinet, as part of its consultation process, to consider:

 

·               Identifying all parents of pre-school children within a 500m radius of Bright Start and including them in the consultation.

 

·               Ensuring, before any decision is taken on the nursery’s future, that all those who are eligible to use the nursery are aware a) of its existence and b) their eligibility to use it.

 

·               Ensuring that consultation on the future of Bright Start and the possible withdrawal of a staff benefit is extended to all Brighton and Hove City Council employees, not just those who use the nursery.

 

·               Undertaking to take the results of the consultation into account and especially, if a majority of those consulted express a desire for Bright Start to remain open.

 

·               Bringing a detailed report to the Children and Young People Cabinet Member Meeting on the 17^th January 2011 setting out how the proposals in this Notice of Motion will be taken forward along with options for the future running of Bright Start as a viable city centre children’s nursery.”

           

57.9         The motion was carried.

 

 

(d)       Private Rented Sector Rents       

 

57.10    The Mayor put the amendment proposed by Councillor Simpson on behalf of the Labour Group, and seconded by Councillor Meadows to the vote, which was carried.

 

57.11    The Mayor then put the following Notice of Motion as amended, proposed by Councillor Randall on behalf of the Green Group and seconded by Councillor Fryer to the vote:

 

            “This council notes many employees in the public and private sectors in Brighton and Hove are facing very low wage increases, pay freezes or, in some cases, wage cuts as an alternative to unemployment.

It also notes that, according to the council’s latest Housing Costs Update (November 2011),  private sector rents in the city for homes in the greatest demand – two-bedroom flats and houses – have risen by 22 per cent and 10.9 per cent between September 2009 and June 2010; the rents of studio flats rose by 12.4 per cent during the same period.

It also notesthat, with the exception of rooms and studio flats, the local housing allowance is now less than lower quartile rents which could reduce the chances of those on benefits finding an affordable home (Housing Costs Update, November 2011).

It also notes that these rent rises have a widespread impact in Brighton and Hove where 22 per cent of all households live in the private rented sector (twice the national average) and where home ownership is beyond the pocket of many of those renting in the city where the average 1 bedroom flat costs more than 5½ times the median household annual income, 3-bedroom houses cost more than 10 times median annual income and deposits of 25 per cent are required (Housing Costs Update, November 2011).

Therefore,in circumstances where the combination of Housing Benefit cuts and rent increases will lead to increased hardship and homelessness in the city, this council:

 

            Calls on the Leader of the Council and the Chief Executive to write to the Chancellor of the Exchequer and the Minister for Housing, urging them to set up a commissionto examine private rented sector rentcapping, regulation, and other measures to reduce the cost of rented homes and to reconsider their Housing Benefit proposals, and

 

            As a matter of urgency requests that officers report back to the Cabinet on:

 

(i)           ways that relevant council departments can work together with other partners, including private sector landlords, to develop plans to understand who will be most affected by the LHA changes and to mitigate the impact of those changes on claimants; and

 

(ii)         possible protocols to prioritise the use of Discretionary Housing Payments to prevent homelessness.”
           

57.12    The motion was carried.