Agenda item - Notices of Motion.

The following Notices of Motion have been submitted by Members for consideration (copies attached).

 

(a)               Hospital.  Proposed by Councillor Randall (copy attached).

(b)              Brighton & Hove: A City Fit for Cycling.  Proposed by Councillor Davey (copy attached).

(c)               Condemnation of Proposed Smash EDO Disruption.  Proposed by Councillor Janio (copy attached).

(d)              Tenants with Disabilities and the Brighton & Hove Standard.  Proposed by Councillor Farrow (copy attached).

(e)               End the Big Six Energy Fix. Proposed by Councillor Sykes (copy attached).

(a)               Support for the 3Ts Development, Royal Sussex County Hospital

 

91.1         The Notice of Motion as detailed in the agenda was proposed by Councillor Randall on behalf of all three Groups represented on the Council and jointly seconded by Councillor G. Theobald and Councillor Mitchell.

 

91.2         The Mayor then put the following motion to the vote:

 

            “This council notes that the Royal Sussex County Hospital has stood within this city for almost 200 years, serving the residents of and visitors to Brighton & Hove alike, as well as patients from across East Sussex and West Sussex and beyond.

 

            The majority of the buildings are widely recognised to be desperately outdated, some in fact predating Florence Nightingale herself, and in need of urgent modernisation.

 

            This council therefore welcomes the proposed investment in and redevelopment of the Royal Sussex County Hospital, which  will provide not only state of the art facilities befitting of 21^st century healthcare, but also greatly improve the quality of experience for patients and their visitors, which is so important to their treatment and recovery.

 

            Such a major redevelopment of the hospital will also bring investment into the local area and create much needed jobs, through both the construction of the scheme and through new medical services provided on the site.

 

            Council also notes also the unanimous Planning Committee decision to grant consent to the planning application on 27 January 2012.

 

            Council therefore requests the Chief Executive to write to the Secretary of State for Health to confirm the Council’s unequivocal support for this vital regeneration of the hospital, and asks that the Secretary of State confirm his wholehearted support for the scheme and early confirmation of the availability of the funding required thereby securing its timely delivery.”

 

91.3         The motion was carried.

 

 

(b)              Brighton & Hove: A City Fit for Cycling

 

91.4         The Notice of Motion as detailed in the agenda was proposed by Councillor Davey on behalf of the Green Group and seconded by Councillor Follett.

 

91.5         The Mayor then put the following motion to the vote:

 

            “This council warmly welcomes the cycling campaign initiated by The Times newspaper following the collision in which their young reporter Mary Bowers was very seriously injured. The ‘Cities Fit For Cycling’ campaign has made a significant contribution to the national cycling debate both inside and outside government.

 

            We would like to thank Parliamentary Under Secretaries of State Norman Baker MP and Mike Penning MP for their letter to The Chief Executive and Council Leader of February 28^th which:

 

·         Outlined coalition government actions to promote cycling

·         Encouraged the city council to consider taking forward the points raised by The Times campaign

·         Asked the city council to report back on its efforts so that they may be disseminated to others

·         Invited the city council to the national conference hosted by the Department for Transport entitled ‘Creating a National Cycling Revolution’.

            We note that Brighton & Hove already has a good record in cycling following investment in both cycle infrastructure, such as cycle lanes and cycle parking, and smarter choices activities such as Personal, Employer and School travel planning. These initiatives, started under previous administrations and continued by the current administration, have enabled a steady increase in the number of people cycling.

 

            We also note that cycling offers people the benefits of low cost, healthy and efficient transport. Furthermore, the city benefits from an increase in cycling through reductions in congestion and air pollution, which contribute to a safer, healthier and cleaner city.

 

            However, this council recognises it must do everything possible to make the city’s streets safer for cycling to avoid unnecessary and tragic loss of life such as that of Jo Walters on the Lewes Road in 2010.

 

            This council therefore resolves to:

 

·         Ask the Chief Executive to write to The Times pledging our support for the ‘Cities Fit For Cycling’ campaign

·         Ask the Chief Executive to reply to the Under Secretaries of State thanking them for their commitment to cycling, and informing them of the measures this council is taking to promote cycling and increase safety, including the provision of high quality cycle infrastructure, reducing speed limits to 20mph in residential areas and improving road safety education ­– all of which are supported by the Times campaign and the Department for Transport.

·         Invite the Under Secretaries of State to visit the city to see first hand the steps that we are taking to make Brighton & Hove a City Fit for Cycling and if they are able to attend the opening of the Old Shoreham Road cycle lane at the start of Bike Week 2012 on June 18^th.”

           

91.6         The motion was carried.

 

 

91.7         Councillor Randall stated that he felt the following motion placed him in a difficult position as he was likely to be the Mayor at the time of the Jubilee celebrations and therefore could be involved in various official events as part of those celebrations.  He therefore felt that it would be appropriate for him to not take part in the debate or the voting on the motion.

 

91.8         The Mayor noted Councillor Randall’s decision.

 

(c)               Condemnation of Proposed Smash EDO Disruption

 

91.9         The Notice of Motion as detailed in the agenda was proposed by Councillor Janio on behalf of the Conservative Group and seconded by Councillor Cox.

 

91.10    Councillor Duncan moved an amendment on behalf of the Green Group which was seconded by Councillor J. Kitcat.

 

91.11    The Mayor noted that the amendment moved by Councillor Duncan had not been accepted by Councillor Janio and therefore put the proposed amendment to the vote, which was lost.

 

91.12    The Mayor then put the following Notice of Motion to the vote:

 

            “This Council condemns Smash EDO over their plans to disrupt the Queen’s Diamond Jubilee celebrations, as part of a wider ‘Summer of Resistance’ in Brighton & Hove.

 

            This Council welcomes the fact that the right to protest is a basic human right in the UK but also agrees that with that right comes a concurrent responsibility to the wider community. Smash EDO has demonstrated, over a number of years of activity in Brighton & Hove, that they have little regard to upholding these responsibilities.

 

            Furthermore, this Council deeply regrets that Smash EDO consistently refuse to work with Sussex Police, and other agencies in the city, to ensure that the danger to the general public, the impact on city businesses and the cost of policing the protests themselves is minimised. This Council also believes that the current Administration’s policy of designating Brighton & Hove a ‘protest city’ will inevitably encourage Smash EDO to cause further disruption and endangers the city’s reputation as a top national and international tourist destination.

 

            Therefore, this Council:

 

1)     Calls on Smash EDO to abandon their plans to disrupt the Diamond Jubilee celebrations in the city;

 

2)     Calls on Smash EDO to work with Sussex Police at the earliest opportunity in order to minimise the cost and disruption of any future demonstrations;

 

3)     Calls on the City’s 3 MPs to write to Smash EDO, urging them to abandon their plans to disrupt the Diamond Jubilee and calls on the Leader of Brighton & Hove City Council to consider doing likewise.”

 

91.13    The motion was carried.

 

 

(d)              Tenants with Disabilities and the Brighton & Hove Standard

 

91.14    The Notice of Motion as detailed in the agenda was proposed by Councillor Farrow on behalf of the Labour & Co-operative Group and seconded by Councillor Morgn.

 

91.15    The Mayor then put the following Notice of Motion to the vote:

 

            “This council notes the Brighton and Hove Standard relating to the replacement of kitchens and bathrooms in council owned homes.

 

            According to the policy the standard has a test to ensure the home is in a reasonable state of repair. A kitchen will fail this test if it is 30 years or older and in poor condition. A bathroom will fail this test if it is 40 years or older and in poor condition.  Kitchens and bathrooms are considered as ‘other’ building components and one is allowed to fail and still meet the Decent Homes Standard. This means that two need to fail to have one replaced.

 

            This council notes that the test is not made based on individual circumstance but only on the condition of the property. Whether the property has been adapted or not, if the bathroom passes decency then so does the property.

 

            This council notes that the effect of this policy is to disqualify any tenant with disabilities or mobility issues who has had adaptations carried out to their bathroom by the council’s social care team from having their kitchen replaced, regardless of condition.

 

            This council believes that this policy could therefore be judged to discriminate against tenants with disabilities or mobility issues, and requests that the Cabinet Member for Housing to consider asking officers to bring a report on this issue to the first meeting of the Housing Committee in the next municipal year.”

 

91.16    The motion was carried.

 

 

(e)               End the Big Six Energy Fix

 

91.17    The Notice of Motion as detailed in the agenda was proposed by Councillor Sykes on behalf of the Green Group and seconded by Councillor Randall.

 

91.18    Councillor Pissaridou moved an amendment on behalf of the Labour & Co-operative Group which was seconded by Councillor Mitchell.

 

91.19    Councillor G. Theobald moved an amendment on behalf of the Conservative Group which was seconded by Councillor Peltzer Dunn.

 

91.20    The Mayor noted that the amendment moved by Councillor Pissaridou had been accepted by Councillor Sykes and that the amendment moved by Councillor Theobald had not been accepted.  She therefore put the proposed Conservative amendment to the vote, which was lost.

 

91.21    The Mayor then put the following motion as amended  to the vote:

 

            “This council notes with concern the oligopoly in the energy market, which sees excessive profiteering by the Big Six energy suppliers who control more than 99% of the market. *(i)

 

            It also notes an OFGEM report that the Big Six are increasing the margins on their bills above the increase in fossil fuel price rises, and that a recent think-tank report found the Big Six overcharge as many as 5.6 million customers through their pricing policies. Furthermore, complex pricing systems mean many people, often the most vulnerable, are stuck on tariffs that don’t offer them the best deal. As a result, the poor pay more.

 

            This is a particular concern for Brighton & Hove, where many homes are not energy efficient and the number of households living in fuel poverty has increased during the last three years - mainly as a result of the price of domestic energy almost doubling during this period.

 

            This council therefore resolves to:

 

-          Join Friends of the Earth, Oxfam, the NUT, War on Want, and Church Action on Poverty among others, in supporting the ‘End the Big Six Energy Fix’ campaign.

 

-          Ask the City Council's Chief Executive to write to the Chancellor of the Exchequer and Secretary of State for the Department of Energy and Climate Change urging them to consider the following actions, supported by a majority of voters in a recent poll: *(ii)

 

·         Impose a levy on the Big Six and ring-fence the proceeds for investment in home insulation and energy efficiency programmes, lifting the poorest out of fuel poverty and creating thousands of jobs.

·         Give OFGEM the power to cap and control energy. Any price cap could be linked to the wholesale price of energy to make energy costs fairer.

·         Launch an independent public inquiry into the Big Six energy companies in order to identify other market reforms that could help make energy prices fairer, reduce fuel poverty and increase trust between consumers and companies.

            Furthermore,

 

            This council calls on the coalition government:

 

·         To ensure that those aged 75 and over are automatically on the cheapest tariff.

 

·         To target the energy company obligation on families in fuel poverty.

 

·         To improve energy efficiency by setting tough new standards for the private rented sector.”

 

Notes

(i)       Department for Energy and Climate Change figures on market share.

 

(ii)     A YouGov poll commissioned by Compass and Friends of the Earth found that:

- 71% of voters support a levy on the profits on the Big Six.

- 77% of voters support the money raised from a levy being spent on home insulation and energy efficiency measures to remove people from fuel poverty.

- And an overwhelming 86% of voters support an independent public inquiry.

 

91.22    The motion was carried.