Agenda item - Oral questions from Councillors

A list of Councillors who have indicated their desire to ask an oral question at the meeting along with the subject matters has been listed in the agenda papers.

20.1         The Mayor noted that notification of 8 oral questions from Members had been received and that 30 minutes was set aside for the duration of the item.  She then invited Councillor C. Theobald to put her question to Councillor Littman.

 

(a)               Advertising & Sponsorship – Councillor C. Theobald

 

20.2         “Given the Policy & Resources Committee agreed a new advertising and sponsorship contract in November last year, will Councillor Littman please tell me why the Council are still turning down significant sums of money from local companies to sponsor sites such as the Patcham Welcome Sign and the Floral Clock in Palmeira Square. Sites which have both been sponsored in recent past?

 

Reply from Councillor Littman, Deputy Chair (Finance) of the Policy & Resources Committee

 

“It was agreed at November 2012 Policy and Resources Committee to delegate authority to award a corporate contract for management of existing and new potential large format advertising hoardings. The contract doesn’t cover smaller potential advertising and sponsorship areas such as roundabouts, seasonal displays, buildings wraps, toilets, dog bins, litter bins, it would be possible to look at these on their individual merits depending on value for money.  So any potential income would have to be off set against the resource and time required to manage the site including initial set up, installation, maintenance, sales and marketing and administration.”

 

20.3         Councillor Theobald asked the following supplementary question, “Councillor Littman mentioned roundabouts but what about flower beds? Does this corporate sponsorship cover flower beds?”

 

20.4         Councillor Littman replied, “No it doesn’t, those fall into the same category. As an example, we were approached by an organisation who wanted to sponsor one of the roundabouts, that was looked at but because it would have to be managed in house it was considered that the income wouldn’t be matched by the expenditure so it was turned down. I don’t know if this applies to the specific examples that you raised but we’ll look into it.”

 

(b)              Lewes Road Traffic Scheme – Councillor Marsh

 

20.5         “This question comes from my residents in Bevendean who have expressed grace concerns with the traffic management that now exists when you want to exit the avenue on to the Lewes Road whether it is southbound or northbound. They ask, “is there a way of looking more at the assistance of lanes and so on to make this safer?”

 

            They are concerned that in order to exit out of the avenue safely you have to, first of all, cross the bus and cycle lane in order to get any kind of view of what traffic is coming and that in itself is dangerous even thought the bus lane at the moment is not strictly operative and then once perceiving southbound across the Lewes road you are faced with an incredible mishmash of lines, there is  a very wide bus and a very wide cycle lane and a very narrow lane for other vehicles which veers of to the left and the lane markings become increasingly confusing and in view of my residents and my self, when I was testing this out, rather dangerous. Now that we’re moving to completion of this particular sector of the Lewes Road Traffic Scheme could these road marking and signage be looked at again please? Previously I have asked if there could be more robust traffic management at the exit from the avenue to the Lewes Road because we did predict there would be difficulties and there seem to be?”

 

Reply from Councillor Davey, Lead Member for Transport

 

20.6         Councillor Davey replied, “As you know, work is progressing well and we anticipate the scheme will be finished well ahead of schedule in a few weeks time and I think then we will be able to make a proper assessment because clearly it is still a bit of a construction site, a lot of markings still need to go in but any scheme, once it goes in, will be subject to a safety audit and that will take place. If you have specific concerns I’m sure you know the route to raise with Robin and Robin will look at them in detail and give you an expert informed technical response.”

 

20.7         Councillor Marsh asked the following supplementary question, “You are now looking at the Lewes Road Gyratory which was shelved at the earlier part of the scheme and I have seen that there is a possible proposal to remove the bus stop outside Sainsbury’s when the gyratory is reconfigured. I really would like to have reassurance from you that this bus stop will remain because it’s location immediately outside Sainsbury’s is very important for all residents in all parts of my ward where there is no other supermarket outlet. Please reassure me this bus stop will not be moved.”

 

20.8         Councillor Davey replied, “The Vogue Gyratory element of the Lewes Road Scheme was put to one side because it is clearly probably one of the most challenging junctions and I think people have come up with some blue sky ideas as to what could possibly be done and this suggestion didn’t come from the Council, it came from the Local Bus Users Forum and it was something that was looked at.  I couldn’t say absolutely categorically that that bus stop will never be removed but it’s certainly not our intention at this moment in time and should it ever come to that point I’m sure there will be a full and comprehensive consultation.”

 

(c)               Protest Marches in Brighton and Hove – Councillor Summers

 

20.9         “At the last Full Council in May an amended notice of motion regarding protests in the City was passed asking the Chief Executive to write to both the Police and Crime Commissioner for Sussex and the City’s Chief Superintendant requesting that a wide ranging review be carried out with the Council and other key partners in to how negative impact on the City could be minimised including for example re routing marches away from the centre and sea front areas.

 

            In light of the detailed responses received buy all Councillors I’d like to ask Councillor Wakefield as the spokesperson of Community Safety, if she intends to represent the Council on all future planning meetings for protests and marches to ensure that the City isn’t again subjected to the kind of impact suffered during and after the EDL march this last April?”

 

Reply from Councillor Wakefield, Lead Member for Community Safety

 

20.10    Councillor Wakefield replied, “There’s a fundamental right for people to hold legitimate peaceful protests that they not make others particularly minority groups and vulnerable communities feel threatened or intimidated. The Councillors Community and Safety Partnership recognised the importance of sustaining action to reassure local people and communities of their safety at all times and particularly all those times when there are protests which take place in the City.

 

            As far as my own time commitment goes at being at Planning Committees if this is being discussed, I think a case where it’s more likely to be discussed will be the Community Safety Forum which I’m on and if time permits I’m very happy to be at Council meetings where protests will be discussed.”

 

20.11    Councillor Summers asked the following supplementary question, “At the meeting with the Police and other key agencies of the City looking at the planning for EDL this last year, under the name of Operation Wheeler I know that the then Deputy Leader of the Council attended all those meetings and presumable agreed the arrangements for that including the routing along the seafront. My concern is that if Councillor Wakefield would be our representative on that and she hasn’t actually said that she would do which is a real shame, that we would have the reassurance that first of all that she would sit on that planning environment and make sure that the details will be agreed by the Council but also that if she does that she then doesn’t, as the previous Deputy Leader did, go again and undermine all of that organisation by going to counter protests against it and even signing a notice of motion to review the planning process which she was very much part of.

 

            Can we have reassurance that Councillor Wakefield will do a better job than was done previously especially for the EDL march?”

 

20.12    Councillor Wakefield replied, “I don’t like to speak ill of people who have been in a position that I’m in, before so I think that my fellow colleagues have done amazing work considering the position they were put in.  As far as going to counter demonstrations, if fascists come to our City I shall be on counter demonstrations.”

 

(d)              King’s Church of England Free School – Councillor Wealls

 

20.13    “Following revelations from Lord Nash that the administration were considering not just 1 but 2 schools on the BHASVIC field site, please can Councillor Shanks update Council where we are now with respect to negotiations for an alternative for King’s School in the City?”

 

Reply from Councillor Shanks, Chair of the Children & Young People Committee

 

20.14    “The King’s School will not be going on the BHASVIC fields, what we’ve done so far since then, we’ve had a meeting with the Educational Funding Agency and they are meeting with the King’s School. They’re looking at sites as soon as I know that they’ve got an agreement you will be one of the first people to know. It was a very positive meeting, we suggested various things, they suggested various things but at the end of the day it’s up to King’s School to decide where they would prefer to go.

 

            At the moment as you know they are opening at Portslade on the PACA Sixth Form site this September and they’ve got about 100 children going to that school, we wish them well and we hope we’ll be able to find a more permanent site as soon as possible.”

 

20.15    Councillor Wealls asked the following supplementary question, “Will Councillor Shanks join on welcoming this new school to the City and also recognising the fact that we are forecast to run out of secondary school places in 2017-2018. That’s only 3 years from now. Can you update us on what the administration’s plans are to encourage and locate another new secondary school in the City within this time frame?”

 

20.16    Councillor Shanks replied, “We welcome the King’s School; they’ve been approved by the DFE. We do, as you say, have issues about secondary school places but also at the moment we also have a lot of capacity, both in some of our maintained schools but in 2 Academies so there is not a crisis about school places either in primary or in secondary now.

 

            We have suggested that the Toad Hole Valley will provide a site for a secondary school. As you know sites for secondary schools in the City, as in common with many Cities across the country, it’s very difficult to find a site for a secondary school.

 

            If we did find new secondary school provision, there’s also a studio school that the City College are promoting. There certainly won’t be another Dorothy Stringer on that sort of scale and size because we just don’t have the land in the City.  So I think we would be looking for smaller provision maybe on several different sites apart from Toad Hole Valley where we have already indicated that we would plan to build a school.”

 

(e)               Wild Park – Councillor Meadows

 

20.17    “Now that there is a large wide and a safe cycle lane along the Lewes Road, will the Council stop the cyclists from using the path that fronts Wild Park between Homefarm Road through to Coldean Lane?”

 

Reply from Councillor West, Chair of the Environment, Transport & Sustainability Committee

 

20.18    “I must say I was expecting to get a question from Councillor Meadows about the Travel encampment currently on Wild Park as that’s been a very popular interest.  All I can say on this particular issue which is a matter of considerable detail is that I will get back to her in writing.”

 

20.19    Councillor Meadows asked the following supplementary question, “Many of my residents have been complaining about this issue of cyclists using the path for some years now especially those in electric wheel chairs so will you take away the signage that allows cyclists to use this pedestrian walkway or are my residents correct in believing that this Green Administration believe that cyclist consideration rate higher than pedestrian consideration?”

 

20.20    Councillor West replied, “I will consider the matter properly and will respond to the Councillor in writing.”

 

(f)                 Staff-Led Mutuals – Councillor Cox

 

20.21    “On the 9^th May at the last Full Council meeting, the whole Council formally welcomed staff led mutuals and other forms of co-operative service delivery in the public sector. What progress has been made on the evaluation of staff led mutual’s and when are we likely to see one operating within this Council?”

 

Reply from Councillor J. Kitcat, Leader of the Council

 

20.22    “The Overview and Scrutiny Committee has accepted 2 requests to look at this matter. Firstly a specific request which I believe will be considered in September on the matter of staff led mutual or some other alternative format for part of Adult Social Care and then using the learning from that, it is asked that there is a wider Scrutiny Panel looking across the Council and how those models could be used.  Furthermore there has been, in the Budget report that was agreed at Policy and Resources Committee last week, an agreement that a wider lens and an open mind should be brought to all aspects of service redesign as we meet the challenge that your Government is raining down on us.”

 

20.23    Councillor Cox asked the following supplementary question “I repeat again our offer to Councillor Kitcat, the Green Administration and in view of the by-election and the changes to Committees, the Labour Group, please do talk to Council Staff and encourage and support to take forward to take this forward in whatever way works best for the staff and everyone who uses the services.  This is an open and genuine offer from the Conservative Group to work with you on staff led mutual’s, we will support you in discussions with staff, unions, management and customers to devise a model that works best in Brighton and Hove. There is nothing to lose.”

 

20.24    Councillor Kitcat replied, “As I said when we discussed this notice of motion, it’s rather a backwards approach; Councillor Cox is focused on the tool rather on the outcome. So I’d rather keep an open mind about the best way to provide the best public services for the residents and visitors to this City rather than getting overly focused on one thing that he may have read about on the Conservative home blog for example.”

 

(g)              Traveller Waste Contract – Councillor Barnett

 

20.25    “During the recent City Clean strike the only group of people who continued to get their rubbish collected were Travellers on unauthorised encampments. Given that they don’t pay Council Tax and make no financial contribution to the waste collection do you think that is fair?  My residents believe they’re getting preferential treatment.”

 

Reply from Councillor West, Chair of the Environment, Transport & Sustainability Committee

 

20.26    “The point about why do we provision unauthorised encampments with bins for people to use and whether that was giving preferential treatment; the simple matter is that if we provide them with bins it reduces the amount of mess in the area that they are in and it means that we end up spending less money clearing up afterwards.

 

So if the Councillor would prefer that we didn’t do that and in fact actually incur larger charges and costs therefore to her Council Tax payers then maybe that’s something we should consider but at the moment this is the approach we have taken, we have a very good contractor and we’ve recently re-procured that contract which had originally run since 2006 so there has been an uplift in cost but it is actually good value for money to operate in that way.

 

I would add at this point that refuse collection from the Transit Site is something where we have actually been able to reduce the cost by taking the matter in house but we found that the contract for unauthorised encampments with provision of bins on a seasonal basis; that contract works extremely well for us.”

 

20.27    Councillor Barnett asked the following supplementary question, “The large group of Travellers who are currently making their way around the City via various sensitive parks and open spaces have now been evicted 3 times to anti-social behaviour offences. My understanding is they all have permanent homes elsewhere in the UK or Ireland so could you please tell me Councillor West why they are allowed to stay in the City and continue to cause further disruptions to our local communities?”

 

20.28    Councillor West replied, “I’m sure as the Councillor is fully aware that Travellers are recognized in law as nomadic and they are legally entitled to travel. Obviously as a Council, where it is our land that unauthorised encampments form, we have to take a view on the community impact that that may be having and whether there is any anti social behaviour as do the Police.  In the last week there have been a number of encampments involving one particular large group that have been moved around the city, I think it’s a regrettable situation we find ourselves in. It’s no good for anyone but on the occasions that they formed in different places, there was anti social behaviour, there was community tension such that the police were prepared to use their powers under the Criminal Justice Act to evict.

 

            That particular group is now on Wild Park and the Police were of the view that it’s not at a threshold where they’re prepared to use their powers and we have taken the cause to the court and we have a hearing on Wednesday and if we are successful then an eviction will take place.  The real point here is the need for proper provision in the City, we have a transit site which is unfortunately been closed for some time due to the need for repairs and improvement but that will be open very soon and of course we are planning to develop a permanent site which I know that the Conservative Group oppose and until we have more provision; that we actually meet the need that we’re expected to meet in planning terms, to provide properly for the Travellers living both in the area and visiting as they have done for very many years. Until we do that then we will continue to have problems with unauthorised encampments, the costs and the problems they cause not only for the settled communities but also for the Travellers themselves.

 

            So I hope that the Conservative Group will actually act responsibly and stop opposing our development and welcome the site that they sought the funding for from the Government.”

 

(h)              Armed Forces Day – Councillor Mears

 

20.29    “I attended Armed Forces Day on the 29^th June at Jubilee Library Square, firstly I’d like to thank you for speaking at that event which I know was really appreciated. Unfortunately for residents and visitors alike passing by Jubilee Square, they could be forgiven in not realising the City was celebrating Armed Forces Day. I would like to thank the Royal British Legion and the Armed Forces present for all their effort on the day and to make it exactly what it was.  I would ask the Leader of the Council, what steps this administration for next year’s Centenary of the Great War (1914-1918)?”

 

Reply from Councillor J. Kitcat, Leader of the Council

 

20.30    “We did have Armed Forces Day this year and extensive efforts were made to invite a wide range of stakeholders unfortunately the timing of MOD training exercise meant that not as many as we would have hoped were able to attend but given the special significance of next year I’m hopeful that many more of those who will be invited to participate will be able to attend and there are a wide range of special events and commemorations scheduled for next year and there is, this weekend, an open invitation for people to come forward with their memories and memorabilia to help us prepare for those celebrations so I do encourage everyone to take part in that.”

 

20.31    Councillor Mears asked the following supplementary question, “The Local Royal British Legion Chairman has contact with 84 Local British Legion branches and I know she was at that Armed Forces Day and would have been delighted to have been able to include more local Royal British Legion to the event, unfortunately because of the way it was presented, we only had 2 flag bearers which was unfortunate for the City baring in mind in Towns and Cities around the Country the effort that people made that people made to celebrate Armed Forces Day. Armed Forces Day was not about people’s views on wars and their beliefs; this was about supporting our Armed Forces men and women and celebrating through the City to recognise the efforts that they put in.

 

            So I’m pleased to hear that the Leader of the Council will be looking at this and I would like to thank those that worked previously on this but baring in mind the Leader of the Council, nobody of the administration actually turned up for the event, I would like the Leader of the Council to again, perhaps next year, one of the administration could actually come to the Armed Forces Day and could the Leader of the Council confirm that?”

 

20.32    Councillor Kitcat replied, “For this year the Air Cadets were invited but unfortunately weren’t able to make it, Territorial Army were invited but unfortunately weren’t unable to make it, we did do the flag raising, we had an Indian soldier’s exhibition, no Military Bands were available unfortunately, and the WRVS were not available and so on and so forth.  So we made every effort and the British Legion are currently going through a major reorganisation I’m hopeful when that completes we will be able to improve our communications with them. We have a long lead in time for next year and I’m sure that members from all sides will, as the dates come forward, try and get them in their diaries. I’m sure Madam Mayor and all of us will be supporting as best we can.”