Agenda item - Written questions from Councillors.

Note:  Councillors written questions as listed will be taken as read along with the written answer at the meeting.  The Councillor asking the question may ask one relevant supplementary question which shall be put and answered without discussion.  One other supplementary question may be asked by any other Member of the Council which shall also be put and answered without discussion (a separate addendum with the written answers will be circulated at the meeting).

 

49.1            The Mayor reminded the council that councillors’ questions and the replies from the appropriate councillor were now taken as read by reference to the list included in the addendum, which had been circulated as detailed below:

 

49.2            (a) Councillor Wrighton asked:

 

“With increasing moves towards an online planning applications system could the Planning Committee Chairman confirm that the current service, which makes publicly available a hard copy of each planning application in the Town Hall reception, will continue in parallel?”

 

49.3            Councillor Hyde replied:

 

“The council is aware that whilst an increasing number of applications are made online and all applications are electronically scanned and available to view on the website, there is still significant demand from customers to view applications in hard copy.  In these circumstances, the current service, which makes available a paper copy of each planning application for public inspection at the City Direct office at Hove Town Hall, will continue for the foreseeable future.”

 

49.4            Councillor Wrighton asked a supplementary question, “Would the Planning Committee Chairman commit to keeping all Members informed of any proposed changes to the availability of plans?”

 

49.5            Councillor Hyde replied, “Yes, I am prepared to inform all Members regarding changes.”

 

49.6            (b) Councillor McCaffery asked:

 

             “This Authority has an excellent Children's Service and apparently better than many others. However in the wake of the tragic case of Baby P in Haringey, would the Leader of the Council please inform this Council that the safety afforded to our vulnerable children will not be compromised by pressure on the budgets for those services?”

 

49.7            Councillor Mrs Brown replied:

 

“In securing its savings targets for 2009/10 the general approach has been to minimise any significant impact on front-line delivery of services to children and young people. There has also been a focus on the importance of targeting resources on vulnerable children and young people.

 

The overall approach to 2009/10 represents the first stage of a three year budget strategy. The CYPT is two years old and the budget strategy will align with the development of the Trust at the next stage and be reflected in the new Children and Young People’s Plan.

 

The main elements of the strategy include:

·            An overall reduction in management costs

·            Review of the area model for delivery

·            Review and rationalisation of accommodation

·            Reduction in Independent Fostering Agency placements

·            Ensuring value for money

 

In addition consideration has been given to the identification of expenditure which is not linked to meeting the needs of vulnerable children.

 

The CYPT has implemented a stock take of the effectiveness of its safeguarding practice. Outline findings and proposals for future action have been shared with the CYPT Board and regular updates are planned.

Although there is much to be proud of in relation to Children’s Services in Brighton and Hove the CYPT is not complacent and following events in Haringey and elsewhere there is a recognition of the need to ensure effective provision for vulnerable children and families.

 

Increase in activity and referrals arising from the Baby P case are being monitored and a new recruitment and retention strategy for social workers is in hand.”

 

49.8            Councillor McCaffery asked a supplementary question, “I am, as you will know, very pleased to note the focus on resources for vulnerable children.  However, I have some concerns over a number of elements in the strategy but in relation to safeguarding there is evidence locally, as well as nationally, that our mental health services are insufficient to meet the demand from young people, children and their families.

 

What measures are in place to remedy this situation?”

 

49.9            Councillor Mrs Brown replied, “Our care services are rated highly in this city and we do believe our systems are robust but, of course, we are not complacent.  We do have a very good record for child protection work.  In 2006 we were only judged to be adequate but in the last two years, 2007 and 2008, we were judged to be good.”

 

49.10         (c) Councillor McCaffery asked:

 

“The new constitution has established an Inclusion Partnership for the City, primarily composed of the statutory bodies. This I fully support. However in what Forum can representatives of minority groups place their concerns over employment or service delivery before the Council, and how are elected councillors informed as to whether our Council's equalities policies are being carried out efficiently and effectively?”

 

49.11         Councillor Simson replied:

 

“The council has a number of ways members of the public and members can express their concerns over matters including employment or service delivery. This can be done via individual members, letters or questions to a committee or Cabinet meeting.  The Overview and Scrutiny Commission specifically has within its remit the overview of the Council’s Equalities and Inclusion activities.  Additionally, where there are areas of significant community interest the council has forums to ensure consultation across major policy and service considerations – for example Community Safety, Housing Strategy and tenant engagement. Specific arrangements also exist for equalities within the Racial Harassment Forum and the disabilities and gender equalities scheme groups.”

 

49.12         Councillor McCaffery asked a supplementary question, “Unfortunately, I don’t think letters or questions to committees are sufficient for minority communities to voice their concerns.  As everybody knows it is actually quite nerve-racking to do that.

 

I note the Overview & Scrutiny Commission has within its remit the overview of the council’s equalities and inclusion policies.  Would the Councillor inform me how many equality impact assessments have been or will be reported to OSC this financial year?”

 

49.13         Councillor Simson replied, “Unfortunately I cannot give you that level of detail here at this meeting today but I will certainly ensure that you get it.”

 

49.14         (d) Councillor Hamilton asked:

 

"In the constitution, part 3, I refer to Rule 7: Order of Business at Meetings of the Council.  This states under item (n): To receive and consider the reports and recommendations of the Cabinet and/or Cabinet Members.  Why is this not happening?"

 

49.15         Councillor Ann Norman replied:

 

“Councillor Hamilton is right in saying that Council Procedure Rule 7.1.(n) refers to receiving and considering reports and recommendations of the Cabinet and/or Cabinet members. However, this does not require ALL reports or recommendations going to the Cabinet and Cabinet Member Meetings to be referred to Council. This rule anticipates cases where Cabinet reports and recommendations need to come to Council. By way of example, such cases include:

 

·       Decisions that are reserved to Full Council because they involve approving the budget or the policy framework, or the proposed decision is otherwise outside the budget and policy framework. An example of this is the item on today’s agenda regarding equal pay.

 

·        Cases were a Notice of Motion is referred to the Cabinet or CMM and the decision needs to be reported to Council for information. An example of this is item 54(a) on today’s agenda which reports to Council for information the decision of the Environment CMM on Green Spaces and Inequality.

 

The practice of the Council so far has therefore been entirely consistent with the requirements of the Constitution.”

 

49.16         Councillor Hamilton asked a supplementary question, “Do you agree that Councillors should be better informed about decisions taken at Cabinet and Cabinet Member Meetings?”

 

49.17         Councillor Ann Norman replied, “Item 50 on today’s agenda reads: Reports of the Cabinet, Cabinet Member Meetings and Committees and items may be referred in the same way as under the previous committee system.  It is up to Members to ask for items to be referred.”

 

49.18         (e) Councillor Kitcat asked:

 

“Could Cllr Theobald provide details on any consultation held with emergency services over the type and location of communal bins being introduced to Regency Ward? In particular were individual bin locations discussed, particularly with regard to ensuring safe access and preventing fire hazards?”

 

49.19         Councillor Theobald replied:

 

“The City Council would not usually consult the emergency services for placing objects, or indeed determining the locations for cars to park, on the public highway, unless they form part of a safety scheme or traffic calming proposal.

 

The specific locations of the communal bins to which you refer have been determined with Highways and Traffic engineers who fully consider road safety issues as well as access for emergency services and delivery vehicles, on this basis we have not asked the ambulance service, the fire or police authorities also to view the location of each bin. 

 

I am pleased to mention our strong and positive links with the East Sussex Fire Authority. Cllr Ted Kemble as the Vice Chairman of the Authority discussed the communal bin scheme with the Chief Fire Officer sometime ago and they are satisfied that they do not pose an additional fire risk.”

 

49.20         Councillor Kitcat asked a supplementary question, “I have to say I am quite concerned by Councillor Theobald’s response. 

 

My colleague, Councillor Rufus, yesterday met with the Borough Fire Commander who categorically stated that he had not been consulted on the communal bin scheme.  I wonder if Councillor Theobald will commit to providing all new types of communal bins to East Sussex Fire Authority for testing, because it has not yet been done, and whether he will work with the Fire Service on the implications of these bins being so close to cars which could result in a major fire and is of concern to the Borough Commander?”

 

49.21         Councillor Theobald replied. “The answer quite simply is no, Mr Mayor.  To actually send to East Sussex Fire Brigade and ask them to look at every single bin and the location in every single road, I think makes an absolute nonsense.  The answer is explained very carefully here in these three paragraphs and I invite you to re-read them Councillor Kitcat.”

 

49.22         (f) Councillor Harmer-Strange asked:

 

“Can the Cabinet Member for Enterprise, Employment & Major Projects explain what change was there in the footfall figures in city centre over the Christmas period, and what does he believe is responsible for the change?”

 

49.23         Councillor Kemble replied:

 

“During the Christmas period footfall measures in the City as produced by Experian and published by the Business Forum showed a significant increase.  In the week of Christmas, city centre footfall was up almost 10% on last year. And across the four week period we had almost 70,000 more visitors in the city centre compared to the same time last year.

 

Feedback from traders and business associations generally confirmed positive volumes of visitors and shoppers.  There will be a number of reasons why this footfall has increased. I am convinced that the suspension of major road works made a very positive contribution to this increase.  In the same period, we launched a ‘Buy-Local’ campaign promoting the benefits of spending locally.

 

Much credit should also go to the retailers themselves. The quality of window displays, support for the Business Improvement District and the Christmas Lights and festive events including Santa’s grotto were all of a very high quality. These joint efforts among the business community and the Council are, I believe, a major reason why footfall in 2008 grew.”

 

49.24         Councillor Mitchell asked a supplementary question, “Would Councillor Kemble, as a previous Member of the old Environment Committee that set yearly roadworks plans in conjunction with the utility companies, agree with me that the yearly programmes specifically organised roadworks in the city to avoid Bank Holidays, special events and the Christmas shopping period as set out in this committee report from 2005 and his claims that this happened for the first time under a Conservative Administration have been at best erroneous and at worst misleading to the public?”

 

49.25         Councillor Kemble replied, “Yes, I am fully aware that as a Member of the Environment Committee I was party to the agreements around the roadworks.  However, as far as I understand, having spoken to officers, last Christmas was the first time that roadworks were specifically suspended at the request of the Administration.”

 

49.26         (g) Councillor Barnett asked:

 

“Can the Cabinet Member for Housing tell me what services or advice is available from the council to residents who are struggling with mortgage repayments?”

 

49.27         Councillor Caulfield replied:

 

A number of measures are proposed locally to address the housing situation brought on by the economic downturn:

 

1.     Mortgage Rescue

2.     Awareness Raising

3.     Repossession prevention through Housing Options work

 

1.  Mortgage Rescue scheme (MRS). This will involve joint working between the Council, Moat Housing Association and Brighton Housing Trust debt advice services to provide a buy and rent back scheme and a shared equity scheme involving significant amounts of capital.

 

     Objectives

·       To prevent homelessness by avoiding mortgage repossessions wherever possible

·       To help people remain in home ownership where it is sustainable and affordable for them to do so

·       To make mortgage repossession an option of last resort

·       To promote community sustainability during a period of economic difficulty

 

We are not seeking to:

·       Support bad lending and borrowing practices

·       Reduce people’s financial outgoings on accommodation, allowing them to spend elsewhere

·       Expose applicants or the local authority to risk

·       Assist households who can make their mortgage repayments

·       Rescue second homes

·       Stop repossessions completely at any cost

 

     Estimated Benefits over two years

·       Preventing homelessness, and its attendant disruption and dislocation, for around 30 priority need households

·       A saving to the council on the costs of responding to homelessness and the provision of temporary accommodation

·       A saving on the wider social costs of repossession: Loss of employment, physical and mental health deterioration, stigma of court (and costs), dependency (for formerly working households), loss of local family/kin networks (exclusion), impacts on education (school attendance and achievement.

 

2.  Raising Awareness of homeowners. It is vitally important to raise homeowners’ awareness of all of the options open to them if they think they are at risk of repossession. 50% of those facing repossession do not attend court. Therefore increasing the number of households that attend repossession hearings could make a significant impact on the number of repossessions.

 

     It is proposed to do this via a communications campaign devised and led by the Corporate Communications Team. It is envisaged that this could include:

 

·       Holding local promotional events

·       An advertising campaign including information leaflets and posters in key locations

·       An information pack for homeowners in mortgage difficulties, containing advice, a copy of FAQs and useful telephone numbers

3.  Repossession prevention through Housing Options Work. A MRS will not provide a solution for every homeowner at risk of mortgage repossession. In all cases, Housing Options will need to consider carefully the full range of options available to homeowners faced with repossession; MR is just one option of many. It is therefore important that the council continue to focus on its successful homeless prevention approach seeking all options to prevent repossession rather than solely relying on MRS. Some of the other options to explore with homeowners in mortgage difficulty are listed below:

 

     Local Authority Options

·       Use of Homeless Prevention fund

·       Part VI offer of accommodation

·       Part VII homeless application

 

     Homeowner Own Options

·       Rent a Room

·       Downsize

 

     Government Options

·       Income Support for Mortgage Interest

 

     Lender Options

·       Reduce monthly payments for a period

·       Capitalise payments

·       Cut the charges made

·       Extend the length of loan

·       Spread the payment of the total amount owed

·       Offer a better loan rate

·       Allow time to sell home (if that is preferred by homeowner)

 

         Other options

·       Private Sale and Rent Back

·       RSL rescue from capital receipts.”

 

49.28         Councillor Barnett asked a supplementary question,

 

“Does the Cabinet Member agree that her answer demonstrates that the council is doing a huge amount of really good, unseen work that doesn’t get much publicity to help people through the recession, in addition to the extra measures it has announced in the last six months?”

 

49.29         Councillor Caulfield replied,

 

49.30         “Yes I do agree: we are doing a huge amount of work to help residents in Brighton and Hove in these difficult financial times and I do agree that we need to make more publicity of what we are doing.  I know the staff in the Housing Strategy Team will be meeting with the Communications Team in the next few weeks to raise our profile of what we are doing, because it is vitally important that we keep people in their homes and not have to look for further accommodation for them because prevention is the best method. 

 

If you look at the court desk at Brighton Court, we are able to help 85% of people who come to that court desk prevent repossession, so I think that’s an amazing figure and we do need to publicise that more.  What we also need to do is lobby government though, because the Mortgage Rescue Scheme that they are currently proposing does exclude many of our residents in Brighton and Hove because there is a cap on property values over £225,000 which will affect a lot of our residents and also single people and couples that don’t have children are also excluded.  We need to make it clear who is eligible and how we can help them.”

 

49.31         Councillor Meadows asked a further supplementary question, “Would the Cabinet Member support the help offered by the Labour Government in order to prevent repossession of homes for those that are able to be prevented, in the form of free legal advice and help with mortgage interest payments?”

 

49.32         Councillor Caulfield replied, “The Government are doing a lot of work, I will give them that but they are not actually helping some of the residents in this city which is my main concern. 

 

As I said if you look at the criteria they are very strict and it does apply to families, it does apply to older people, many of whom have paid off their mortgages.  The key people that are at risk are those in houses which the Government say are expensive but actually £225,000 isn’t an expensive house in Brighton and Hove.  It’s probably the average house price for many families and to exclude those from the Mortgage Rescue Scheme I think is not very helpful and it’s very particular about which residents in this country it wants to help.

 

I do agree that they are doing some work but it’s not enough for the residents of Brighton and Hove.”

 

49.33         (h) Councillor Pidgeon asked:

 

“Will the Cabinet Member for Housing give an update on how the council’s new adapted property list has helped the council improve services for people with physical disabilities?”

 

49.34         Councillor Caulfield replied:

 

As a direct result of consultation with the Allocations Review Group, an Accessible Housing Officer (AHO) was recruited in January of last year.  Her remit is to improve the way in which Accessible and Adapted properties are advertised and let in the city.  This is being achieved in three ways; by improving our understanding of the access needs of everybody on the Joint Housing Register; by undertaking an audit of all Council-owned housing stock in terms of their accessibility and feasibility for adaptation; and by providing a more equal service for Disabled applicants within Homemove through more informative advertising and prioritised allocation for mobility properties.  

 

Assessment:

Since January, all new applicants as well as existing applicants in Bands A and B have been assessed for their mobility level and given one of four categories relating to their access requirements. 

 

Advertising and Allocation:

The Accessible Housing Officer has spent a great deal of time working with Housing and Lettings Officers within the Council and the partner Housing Associations to ensure that relevant information and appropriate mobility categories are identified in the advert. 

 

Training:

Accessible Housing training was undertaken for representatives of our Homemove partners and the feedback was excellent.  We have now rolled out this training to all Housing Management staff within the Council

 

Adaptations:

With the success of the work that we’re doing in the identification and allocation of properties that are either pre-adapted or would lend themselves to further adaptation, BHCC can look to utilising this knowledge to make better use of its limited adaptations budget. 

 

49.35         Councillor Randall asked a supplementary question, “Has the council followed the example of other authorities who include private sector adapted premises in their lists?”

 

49.36         Councillor Caulfield replied, “As you know when we came into Administration we took on an adaptations waiting list where some of our residents are waiting for over four years, which is clearly not acceptable.  We have made some quick improvements with our list of council housing properties and our registered social landlord properties, so we know which properties are adapted.  We have also assessed those people who are on housing registers so we have an accurate assessment of their mobility needs and their adaptations needs. 

 

I do take your point Councillor Randall that it is a good idea.  We are looking more fully at our adaptations process as well because we want to tackle that four year waiting list.  At the moment when you are assessed you are just put on a time waiting list, there is no reassessment in case your medical need changes, so we will be doing a lot of work and also looking at our contract with installations to improve and speed up that process.

 

I will take your points on board and will bring them back to a further HMCC meeting.”

 

49.37         (i) Councillor Oxley asked:

 

“Would the Leader of the Council make a statement on partnership working in the city?”

 

49.38         Councillor Mears replied:

 

“Effective and focussed joint working with our key strategic partners in the City such as the Police, the PCT and the voluntary sector is vital if we are to deliver on our commitments to residents that are laid out in the Corporate Plan. This will become increasingly important in the coming years as we move towards Comprehensive Area Assessment, greater personalisation of public services and greater financial constraints on councils and other public bodies.”

 

49.39         Councillor Oxley asked a supplementary question, “I am grateful to the Leader of the Council for her reply to me.  Could she say in the light of that how she sees the council and its partners meeting the future challenges which she actually outlined in her first answer?”

 

49.40         Councillor Mears replied, “I believe there are three principles which should guide our work with partners.  All partnership working should be able to demonstrate added value and cost effectiveness to residents.  Partnership working is most effective when focused on voluntary associations between organisations who share specific and defined goals and should be seen as a means to an end, rather than an end in itself.

 

Since partnerships are institutions exercising public powers, using public resources and providing public services they need to be transparently accountable to all of those on whose behalf they act.  On this point I am very keen to make sure that the balance of all our partnerships that the council is involved with is in the best interests of our residents.

 

As a democratically accountable body with a legally entwined community leadership role we have a duty to ensure we are responding effectively to their needs.  A review of partnership activity in Brighton and Hove was undertaken back in 2004 and this work was the basis for the current structure with the Local Strategic Partnership, Public Service Board and their various sub-groups.  However, this was nearly five years ago now in which time the administration of the council has changed.  In addition, as I said in my answer to the initial question, the environment of delivering public services is rapidly evolving.  Therefore I believe the time is right for us to re-examine the effectiveness of the current arrangements.

 

The current process of review of sustainable community strategy gives us an excellent opportunity to take stock of the partnership arrangements in this city to make sure they are delivering value for money for the residents of Brighton and Hove.  I know the Chair of the Local Strategic Partnership shares this view and I will therefore be talking to him in the coming weeks about how we can best take this work forward.”

 

49.41         (j) Councillor Alford asked:

 

“Can the Cabinet Member for Finance explain how business rates are set, and where the money collected from local businesses goes?”

 

49.42         Councillor Young replied:

 

“Business rates are a national tax set by Government. Businesses pay an amount equal to the rateable value of the property they occupy multiplied by the national rate poundage. The rate poundage is set every year by the government, usually in late November / early December. The law prevents the government from increasing it by more than the increase in the rate of inflation in the 12 months to September that year. The rate of inflation used is the Retail Price Index (RPI) and the government has applied the full increase in the September RPI of 5% to the rate poundage for 2009/10. For most businesses the rate poundage will be 48.5p next year and they will pay 5% more in business rates from 1 April 2009.

 

Local councils collect business rates and pay them to the Government. Councils then receive payments from the Government as part of their annual formula grant settlement. There is no relationship between the amount any council pays into the pool and the amount it receives from the pool.”

 

49.43         Councillor Hamilton asked a supplementary question, “Every year since 1997 this council has received a larger share of the redistributed business rates pool than city businesses have contributed to the pool, the figure this year being nearly £3¾M.

 

Do you accept that the current system of business rates works to the benefit of this council?”

 

49.44         Councillor Young replied, “The answer actually is ‘no’, as the business rate forms part of a grant, it is not the whole.  I will give you an answer in response to the rest of the question.”

 

49.45         (k) Councillor Kitcat asked:

 

"Can Cllr Theobald provide any details on any plans for communal collection of recycling in the city centre? If so when does he expect these plans to be implemented?"

 

49.46         Councillor Theobald replied:

 

“There are no plans to implement communal recycling in the city centre.  We are looking at a range of options to improve recycling rates and these will be set out in the waste strategy. The first draft of this will be brought to Cabinet in April this year with the intention that residents are consulted on its proposals.”

 

49.47         Councillor Kitcat asked a supplementary question, “I am very disappointed by Councillor Theobald’s response in many ways, firstly the lack of ambition with regards to recycling.  With regards to my supplementary, why given that the waste strategy was first promised in 2007 has it been delayed so much that we now have to wait until April 2009 to see sight of it?  Councillor Theobald why has it taken so long and can Members be consulted before it is brought to Cabinet in April?”

 

49.48         Councillor Theobald replied, “The reason quite frankly, Councillor Kitcat, is that I have been very, very busy, you know extremely busy.  We have had a complete change, and you might not have known this but saving the council taxpayers a million pounds a year by changing our rounds and changing our communal bins that took precedence. 

 

If you read my answer, and you don’t seem to read my answers, I can tell you now this will be set out in the waste strategy; the first draft will be brought to the Cabinet in April.  I am telling you that, Councillor Kitcat, so why you can’t seem to read I don’t understand.  I also say that residents will be consulted on the proposals, as you will be.”

 

49.49         Councillor Fryer asked a further supplementary question, “I am glad to see there are plans to improve recycling rates but I don’t quite see how that correlates with plans to implement communal recycling.

 

My question is particularly on the St James’s Street area.  I don’t know if Councillor Theobald is aware, but many residents of St James’s Street don’t live somewhere where they can have doorstep recycling collections and there is a woeful lack of recycling bins in that area, so basically it’s not possible for residents of St James’s Street to recycle unless they walk about half a mile, which I think most of us realistically know people will not do.  My question is will he be able to investigate that as a possibility to bring forward?”

 

49.50         Councillor Theobald replied, “We are quite prepared to take on board all suggestions that are made.  I would ask Members at times instead of asking me questions at Council meetings here to actually contact officers, to put your feelings across, you will then get your answers, rather than keep coming to me at Council meetings to get answers here.”

 

49.51         (l) Councillor Carden asked:

 

“May the Chair of Planning, Cllr Linda Hyde please confirm whether the council will be hiring external consultants to handle the forthcoming appeal on the Marina Development?”

 

49.52         Councillor Hyde replied:

 

“No such appeal has been lodged with the council and therefore no consultants have been hired.”

 

49.53         Councillor Carden asked a supplementary question, “Could you tell me please, if an appeal goes ahead on the Marina application how the council would be prepared to defend the decision that their officers recommended approval for?”

 

49.54         Councillor Hyde replied, “As you are aware, Councillor Carden, we don’t always agree with the officers recommendation but, of course, we pay great heed to them.  It is part of the democratic process and we were, in fact, all elected to represent the public and that is what happened in this particular instance.  It is not a unique situation it has arisen here before in this authority, and they will appeal again no doubt, and it also happens in other authorities.  We are mindful that we have to represent the views, we turned down the application for good planning reasons.”

 

49.55         (m) Councillor Lepper asked:

 

“Could the Cabinet Member for Major Projects estimate the loss of potential investment for the council from underdeveloped spaces and empty buildings across Brighton and Hove?”

 

49.56         Councillor Kemble replied:

 

“It is unclear from the framing of the question as to what precisely is meant by underdeveloped spaces and empty buildings across Brighton & Hove.  Is this enquiry restricted to the council’s major and capital projects sites and its own commercial property portfolio, or is it completely open-ended?

 

Falling land values and the downturn of the housing market has significantly changed the climate for property development not just in Brighton & Hove but across the UK making it difficult to establish any meaningful valuations.  Property and land values are also dependent on planning and land use.  All of this has created an uncertain market coupled with an unwillingness of funders and financial institutions to commit investment at this time.

 

On the positive side, there remain investors wishing to expand their business interests in the city – for example, Standard Life Investments and American Express.  At the same time, the council are moving forward with other major regeneration schemes such as the Community Stadium at Falmer and the Open Market.”

 

49.57         Councillor Lepper asked a supplementary question, “Could the Cabinet Member for Major Projects explain why the most recent edition of the Forward Plan under key decisions says that during this time a most vital business retention and inward investment strategy is being delayed until the end of March, given its particular importance for the retention of small businesses in Brighton and why are we at this crucial time waiting for a suitable investment strategy from this council and why are we still waiting on delayed reports from external consultants after the initial consultation period ended back in September last year?”

 

49.58         Councillor Kemble replied, “The council at the moment is currently carrying out its retention and inward investment programme and there will be a report coming to Cabinet in April of this year.  The reason for the delay is the fact that we have been carrying out quite a lot of comprehensive consultations with stakeholders and partners and we are still waiting on some of their responses.”

 

49.59         Councillor Marsh asked a further supplementary question, “I would like to ask Councillor Kemble whether he could estimate how much has been spent to date on the external consultants carrying out the business retention inward investment study?”

 

49.60         Councillor Kemble replied, “I understand that the council has spent approximately £35,000 to date on this consultation process.”

 

49.61         (n) Councillor Turton asked:

 

“Could the leader of the council please confirm the outcomes from her three day trip to Switzerland, in terms of how far forward they are on the development of Black Rock?”

 

49.62         Councillor Mears replied:

 

“The main purpose of the two day visit to Geneva was for lead members and senior officers of the council to have joint discussions with the partners within Brighton Arena Limited, key personnel behind the investment fund for the arena, the lead investor in the fund and the preferred franchise operator of the ice hockey team.  Geneva was chosen as the location for the meeting because the lead investor had already committed to be in Geneva at this time and the investment fund is based there.  It was therefore considered most expedient and convenient for all those attending to have the meeting in Geneva.

The outcomes being sought in the main were to meet the lead investor to:

 

-    discuss their assurances on the overall funding package and obtain a clearer idea on likely timescales

-    agree next steps required to move towards achievement of financial close.    

 

In the current financial climate it is extremely important to bring investment into the city.  I want my administration to be proactive in making the best of the opportunities that arise.  These meetings did assist us in achieving a number of very positive outcomes and all the parties are now working towards a financial close in the near future.

 

I would also like to say that this project will deliver some excellent and much needed benefits for the city.  We want to do all we can to ensure that the work that the Brighton International Arena team are doing at this very difficult time to secure funding is seen to be fully supported by us as a council.”  

 

49.63         Councillor Turton asked a supplementary question, “Councillor Mears’ reply states that Geneva was chosen because the lead investor and investment fund is based there.  Given that I understand the duration of the actual business meeting was some sixty minutes, would it not have been cheaper for the taxpayer to have held the meeting via video conferencing and would this not have demonstrated support for individual businesses in the city during a time of recession by being local and buying local?”

 

49.64         Councillor Mears replied, “In response to your question, Councillor Turton, there were other meetings, quite extensive meetings and the reason why it was in Geneva was, in fact, that the funder was coming up from Johannesburg and I had no intention of travelling that far.  He insisted that the meeting was in Geneva, which took place and they were extensive meetings, so I think you have got that slightly wrong.

 

I did read the article in the Argus today, and do you know I was quite disappointed I didn’t have a picture, which was such a shame but never mind.  Councillor Turton in this current climate it is extremely important to bring investment to the city which I am sure you will agree.  I want my Administration to be proactive in making the best of the opportunities that arise and that sometimes means travelling overseas to secure backing for projects and partnerships.  I would have thought that Councillor Turton would want us to be doing this to bring investment into the city. 

 

I am surprised at Councillor Turton’s questioning of my Administration’s record on making foreign trips, considering the record of the previous Labour Administration in this regard.  He will no doubt be aware that Members of the previous Administration took numerous trips abroad, some of which were included as part of the Labour Council’s Membership of the International Association of Pease Messenger Cities, for which they allocated a budget of £2,000 a year, that helped then Councillor Brian Fitch to take various trips around the world including to Japan, Canada at the taxpayers’ expense. 

 

In 2004 several representatives of the council took a five day trip to Los Angeles to consider redevelopment of the King Alfred.  The trip cost the council almost £4,000.  Simon Burgess, then the Leader of the Council, visited Deauville, as I remember Councillor Kemble visiting and I am sure they both enjoyed it.  I am also aware of a host of trips between 2004 and 2007 by Members of the previous Administration on so-called European business.  Trips include multiple visits to Italy, Spain, France, Belgium, Greece and Sweden. 

 

I ask my Cabinet Members for a full report on their trips and what they achieve.  As part of openness and transparency, Councillor Turton, I will be asking officers to check if there were any other similar reports being costed by the Leaders of the previous Administration.”

 

49.65         Councillor Meadows asked a further supplementary question, “Could Councillor Mears explain why the taxpayers bill for the Conservative Councillors’ trips overseas and within the UK was over £12,000 in just the first seven months of her Leadership, compared to £9,000 for Labour’s twelve months in the last year of their office, and £8,000 for the year under Councillor Oxley’s Leadership? 

 

How does the Conservative Administration reconcile that amount of spending with their theme song of ‘value for money’ and with Councillor Mears’ written response that this project will deliver added value and much needed benefits to the city?”

 

49.66         Councillor Mears replied, “This Administration has worked really hard in the last eighteen months to, I would say, address the situations that we inherited.   I am surprised at Councillor Meadows referring to the actual cost of the funding.  I think the answer to the question was very clear, we have some major sites in this city that actually potential developers are very keen to talk to the City Council about and I would have thought in this day and age, particularly with an economic downturn, Councillors in this chamber would be very, very keen to ensure that we speak to developers and funders across the world if they are interested in coming to our city.

 

As I said earlier in my report to Councillor Turton, I mean obviously there are some disparages that Councillor Meadows seems quite concerned about, so I will be asking officers for a report on the Labour Administration’s trips because I would be very, very interested into actually the outcomes of those.”

 

49.67         (o) Councillor Hawkes asked:

 

“Could the Cabinet Member for Children's Services clarify whether there are any plans to close or re-home the Bright Start Nursery used by Council Staff?”

 

49.68         Councillor Mrs Brown replied:

 

“As part of its budget strategy for 2009/10 the CYPT has looked at a range of possibilities for securing savings.  The need to prioritise vulnerable children, particularly in light of events in Haringey, has led to the consideration of a range of options.  One of the options that has been considered is the reduction of the subsidy to Bright Start Nursery. However there are no firm proposals at this stage.”

 

49.69         Councillor Hawkes asked a supplementary question, “In your answer you said that one of the options that had been considered was the reduction in the subsidy to Bright Start Nursery and in the final sentence told me that: ‘However, there are no firm proposals at this stage.’

 

Does that mean please that it comes out of your budget list?  It’s not clear enough; I’d like to be quite clear, has it been dropped?”

 

49.70         Councillor Mrs Brown replied, “We have been looking at a number of things as you know because we have kept to the brief but you also know that we have to prioritise our work with vulnerable children and that’s why we have had to consider all our subsidies.  As I said in my first answer there are no firm proposals at this stage.”

 

49.71         (p) Councillor Kitcat asked:

 

"Can Cllr Theobald provide the costs incurred by the council in printing and sending notifications to residents for:

 

·       The changes in bin collection schedules.

·       The introduction of communal bins in some wards and discontinuation of bag collections,

·       And the changes in recycling collection schedules?"

 

49.72         Councillor Theobald replied:

 

“The cost for the communication including designing, printing and posting the materials is budgeted at £98,000.  This works out at approximately £0.47 per communication.  Given that all the changes result in annual savings just short of £1m I think this is money well spent.”

 

49.73         Councillor Kitcat asked a supplementary question, “Councillor Theobald may or may not know that in Regency Ward these three communications regarding changes to schedules and recycling and the introduction of communal bins were all received in the space of less than one month.

 

Would the money not have been better spent in just one single communication reducing the cost perhaps to some £30,000 and is it not the case that perhaps if the waste strategy had been ready you would have realised the need for these three communications and the aim to plan ahead and so save £60,000 of taxpayers’ money?”

 

49.74         Councillor Theobald replied, “I don’t think so.  I know you are very keen on communal bins and frankly I would have thought that you would have been congratulating us, you know for communicating, for telling people, for advising people and you know as well as I do that if you put three communications through then people are more likely to take notice of it than if you just put one. 

 

We do have a professional communications team at this council and these sorts of matters are put to them, we take their advice and they put them out.  £98,000 and I have already said to you, in one of your initial questions, or one of the others, we are saving something like £1m a year.   Now frankly, you would be right to criticise me if I wasn’t communicating with people and here I am you are now criticising me for spending money by trying to advise people.  I am just mystified, I really am, and so my answer really, I have given it in the wrong way, is no.”

 

49.75         Councillor Morgan asked a further supplementary question, “Can the Cabinet Member confirm that the new communal bins will not have foot pedals, unlike the one pictured in the current issue of City News to illustrate their introduction where a foot pedal is being used?”

 

49.76         Councillor Theobald replied, “I think people do understand how to use them.  They don’t necessarily have the pedals at the bottom but they have a flap at the top so that they can be used.”

 

49.77         (q) Councillor Kitcat asked:

 

“Can Cllr Theobald provide an estimate on the number of people who have taken up the assisted waste collection service since the introduction of communal bins and what number of users has been budgeted for at what cost?”

 

49.78         Councillor Theobald replied:

 

“Communal bins are generally easy to use as they avoid the need to carry a weekly supply of refuse in big black bags, and in many cases taking these down into basement bin stores. Instead small bags of rubbish can be deposited in the bins on a daily basis if need be.  However some people are unable to use communal bins and Cityclean will provide assisted collections for these residents.  17 people currently have an assisted collection for the existing communal bin collections that cover 6,600 households.  To date we have received 35 requests for the new communal bin roll out covering 24,000 households, which are currently being considered against criteria set with the FDA (Federation of Disabled People) to ensure a fair and consistent approach to agreeing assisted collections.

 

Given our past experience it is highly likely that these numbers will reduce as residents understand the system and those who have negative views of the bins get use to and accept the scheme.  Assisted collections are picked up by the driver of the communal bin truck and thus are provided within the budget for the communal bin service.”

 

49.79         Councillor Kitcat asked a supplementary question,“Councillor Theobald said communal bins are generally easy to use, yet I had numerous phone calls and emails from people finding them very difficult to use because they do not have the foot pedal, they are particularly high and there is no support for the metal lid when it is lifted and it doesn’t stay open, so people find it very difficult to use.  If you walk through Regency Ward you will find most of the flaps stuck open, people are unable to close them.

 

I recently had, in fact yesterday, two elderly ladies in my Ward claiming they had waited two and four weeks and have still not received the assisted collection promised and were very worried but grateful to the Director of Environment for following this up and something, I am told, will be done very shortly. 

 

Who did Councillor Theobald consult before agreeing the removal of foot pedals from this new model of bin which has been procured by his Department and has made these bins so much harder to use?  Is he also aware that in addition to being harder to use for so many people these metal lids slam shut making significant noise waking children and other sleeping people in the evening?”

 

49.80         Councillor Theobald replied, “What is interesting, Mr Mayor, is that Councillor Kitcat’s original question was about assisted waste collection service, and I have answered that question, so presumably those people having an assisted waste collection service wouldn’t be using these bins because they would be assisted, so really I am surprised that you didn’t rule that out of order. 

 

Having said all that my answer to your point is that we have trialled these various bins, we have actually consulted residents and residents in the main prefer the ones that we are now putting out.  We constantly consult residents, we like to get what their views are and how easy they find them to use.  We have trialled them and these are the ones that are preferred.”

 

49.81         (r) Councillor Marsh asked:

 

“Could the Cabinet member for Housing clarify what improvements are being made to tenants' homes under the Decent Homes Standard?”

 

49.82         Councillor Caulfield replied:

 

“Delivering decent homes is the key driver of our programme of investment in Council Housing.  We are giving priority to the key components of the decent homes standard, which includes ensuring windows, doors, heating and electrical systems meet the standard.

 

In addition, we are investing significantly in high quality replacement kitchens and bathrooms, with a budget of around £1.3 million this financial year and over £2 million during 2009-10.  These can substantially improve the quality of accommodation and living conditions for residents.  We are also including low cost features which help protect the environment and save residents money through water and energy reductions.

 

In addition to Kitchen and Bathrooms, our decent homes programme also involves the following:  

 

·       A two-year external decorations and repairs programme with an estimated value of £5 million. This will improve decency by tackling issues such repairs to brickwork, pointing or render.

 

·       A substantial programme of boiler and central heating repairs is underway, with spending in the region of £2.5 million annually delivering reductions in tenants’ fuel needs.

 

·       Entrance doors to properties are subject to a large scale replacement programme worth around £3.5 million between 2008 and 2010.

 

When we replace a kitchen or bathroom we are also ensuring that we use this opportunity to upgrade the electrics or fit a new boiler at the same time if required.  This represents a smarter approach both in cost and minimising disruption for residents.”

 

49.83         Councillor Marsh asked a supplementary question,“I am most grateful for the clarification that Councillor Caulfield has supplied to me and so I am sure will our constituents because they did get rather confused by what appeared in Homing In.  Could you confirm that you were actually forced to issue a retraction in that magazine after falsely implying that all tenants would receive new doors and kitchens and that it was highly irresponsible to raise the hopes of tenants about a scheme that was actually only on a needs only basis?”

 

49.84         Councillor Caulfield replied, “I am sorry if tenants took the article in a wrong manner.  It is not on a needs basis, we are introducing decent homes across the city.  We inherited the council’s stock of decent homes of less than 50%.  We are not doing a needs assessment where, you need a kitchen so we’ll give you a kitchen.  We want to improve the housing across the city so that all our houses not only meet the Decent Homes Standard but the Brighton & Hove standard, which is the tenants’ standard.  I am quite happy to do a new article both in City News and in Homing In to clarify that situation.  At the moment all tenants’ kitchens will be looked at and they will either be entitled to a kitchen or a bathroom if currently it is over 20 years old and that simply is because we are waiting to be able to borrow money to invest in our stock. 

 

Money that the Government won’t give us, that we are having to raise ourselves and we are having to do that by looking at our stock with the little money that we have got at the moment and to help as many people as possible.  Obviously if we get the money we will do kitchens and bathrooms.  We don’t have the money, the Government’s not going to give us the money, so we have to help the people who need it most first and then help as many people as possible.  When we get the money that this Administration has raised we will look at everyone to meet decent homes across the city not just on a needs basis.”

 

49.85         Councillor Simpson asked a further supplementary question,“Could the Cabinet Member explain what she and Councillor Mears gained in knowledge of how to achieve Decent Homes Standard or indeed any area of housing activity from attendance at the Chartered Institute of Housing Conference in Harrogate at a cost of £2,000 in June last year, or perhaps alternatively there is a written report we could be provided with?”

 

49.86         Councillor Caulfield replied, “I can give you a copy of a written report, a report was written within a couple of weeks of us returning so that will be available to you.  We did actually gain a lot of knowledge because as you know the tenants in this city after they voted loud and clear to a no stock transfer vote we were left in a mess with no money to meet the Decent Homes Standard across the city.

 

Both myself and Councillor Mears went to Harrogate because there are very few authorities throughout the country who are putting a scheme together such as ours, so it was vitally important we went to that.  We made some excellent contacts which we are working on now.  We talked to other authorities who have done similar things but not quite the same.  We picked up a lot of contacts for our ten year procurement contract and looked at how contractors are working in partnership with other authorities and that is paying dividends now. 

 

We have also got the South East Regional Conference coming next month and we are actually bringing tenants with us so they can have the benefit of making contacts and meeting other tenants, so that conference was extremely valuable and actually has paved the way for this Administration’s view of housing and I can get you the report.”

 

49.87         (s) Councillor Morgan asked:

 

             “Can the Cabinet member for Environment state how many complaints have been received by Cityclean regarding missed or delayed refuse collections in the months of October 2008, November 2008, December 2008 and January 2009, which areas these complaints are predominantly from and how they compare with the same period for the two previous years?”

 

49.88         Councillor Theobald replied:

 

“I am sure that Councillor Warren Morgan would agree with me that we have to be very careful in using comparisons of figures that are not on a true like for like basis.  Even the Government has now established its own independent statistical oversight agency, the UK Statistics Authority.

 

From the start of October 2008 until 19^th January 2009 there were 3236 reports of missed bin collections.  This covers a period of change which affected approximately 100,000 households.  The previous two years saw no such change, and so for the same period i.e. October 2006 to January 2007 and October 2007 to January 2008 the figure for reported missed bins was 1543, this averages at 0.04% of the total collection.  Perhaps you would now like to join me in congratulating City Clean for their excellent work in bringing in such a complex change for so many households.”

 

49.89         Councillor Morgan asked a supplementary question, “Whilst I do congratulate Cityclean on doing a difficult job under the changes imposed on them, would Councillor Theobald agree that when similar cuts are made to the recycling service next month any repeat of the more than 3,000 missed collections and complaints which have occurred since October will undoubtedly result in many people losing faith in this council’s recycling service and consequently recycling less?”

 

49.90         Councillor Theobald replied, “We are doing a full communications campaign.   We are doing everything that we possibly can and I have stood up in this council a lot of times to try and say to you that these are difficult things, changing people’s days, from the staff’s point of view, from the men and women’s point of view who collect and from the residents’ point of view who put it out, it’s all an enormous change.  Officers are working seven days a week trying to ensure that this is done as smoothly as possible.

 

Every one complaint is one too many as far as I am concerned but we will be doing our very best and I think you will see from my original answer the actual number of complaints given.  I would thank you for your kind remarks because it is a difficult job, and your previous Administration know that because you went through this before.  It is a difficult task but the number of complaints relatively has been small when one thinks of the overall city.  I can assure you that we will certainly be doing our very, very best.”

 

49.91         Councillor Fryer asked a further supplementary question, “It is very frustrating for people when they do make a complaint they don’t get a brisk response.  My question is how many phone calls and emails have not been replied to within the expected standard of ten days?”

 

49.92         Councillor Theobald replied, “I always try and answer questions but I think that one is an impossible one to answer off the cuff.”

 

49.93         (t) Councillor Kennedy asked:

 

“Since refuse rounds were re-scheduled last October, residents in Osborne Road have only had their rubbish collected on the correct day on two occasions.  Can Cllr Geoffrey Theobald tell me if, as Cabinet Member for the Environment and as a council tax-payer, he thinks this level of service is acceptable?”

 

49.94         Councillor Theobald replied:

 

“You are right Osborne Road has suffered in particular from the refuse round changes and of course the Christmas period did not help matters in this case. 

Although we expected it to take some months to settle in the new rounds I do not think it is acceptable that the residents of Osborne Road had to wait so long for the normal, reliable service to Return. 

 

Further changes have been made to this refuse round with the intention of getting a regular service returned to those residents.

 

I can assure residents that I am working with City Clean to get this right.”

 

49.95         Councillor Kennedy asked a supplementary question, “I thank Councillor Theobald for his frank and honest reply and for admitting that the level of service experienced by residents of Osborne Road with regard to refuse collections has not been acceptable since changes to the rounds were introduced.

 

I am also pleased that Councillor Theobald can assure residents that he is working with Cityclean to get this right but can he assure residents that Cityclean Managers are working with Cityclean workers and Union representatives to ensure that the new rounds are realistically achievable within the working day?”

 

49.96         Councillor Theobald replied, “Well, the answer to that is yes.”

 

49.97         (u) Councillor Davis asked:

 

“How many days in all has the Jubilee Library IT system not been working properly since it's installation?”

 

49.98         Councillor Smith replied:

 

"The public access computer facilities across all our public libraries suffered a major server failure on 23rd December and were returned to full working order on 20th January - a total of 28 calendar days (but only a maximum of 16 library open days) to get all systems fully up and running.  However, during that time different libraries were able to do a phased return:

 

-    All community libraries excluding Hangleton Library returned to allowing public use on 6th January, albeit without some desktop icons, and had normal use from 14th January.

 

-    Jubilee Library, Hove Library and Hangleton Library returned to allowing public use on 15th January, but had to process new members with temporary cards until the final fix on 20th January.

 

All systems are now running normally on the temporary server, and a new server is on order."

 

49.99         Councillor Davis asked a supplementary question, “I am sure Councillor Smith shares all our concerns with the server failure at the Jubilee Library and the extreme inconvenience it was to many users.  I wondered how the council was going to be compensated for this loss and indeed how users might be too?”

 

49.100     Councillor Smith replied, “I don’t know the answer offhand but I will get a written reply for you.”

 

49.101     Councillor Mrs Theobald asked a further supplementary question, “I just wondered whether in general users of the city library are happy with the services the council provides?”

 

49.102     Councillor Smith replied, “A recent survey indicated that users of our city libraries are highly satisfied with the service we provide.  The latest city view residents’ survey shows that more than four out of five, that’s 81%, of the responders were satisfied with our libraries, which is a 10% increase since 2006 and an impressive 27% increase on satisfaction levels in 2003.  This echoed our performance in the most recent national adult library users survey which showed 88% of users were satisfied with our libraries, an increase of 4% on the previous survey.

 

Children and families in the city have clearly indicated how much they appreciate our libraries as in the recent national children’s survey we achieved a 91% satisfaction rating, a 13% increase on previous levels and we are one of only four authorities in the whole country to achieve a 90% or higher score.  I think that’s a fantastic achievement for our city and for our libraries.  All these and other indicators show that local people are very happy with the improvements that we continue to make in our libraries.”

 

49.103     (v) Councillor Allen asked:

 

“It is clear that many drivers are confused as to who has right of way at the Highcroft Villas/Dyke Road Drive/Stanford Road/Port Hall Avenue crossroads.  Those coming from Port Hall Avenue frequently ignore - or simply do not notice - the fading STOP sign on the road and fail to give way to those turning right from Dyke Road Drive into Highcroft Villas (who in fact have right of way).  Would the Cabinet Member for Environment agree to take action as soon as possible?”

 

49.104     Councillor Theobald replied:

 

“In response to your question, I am pleased to report that this junction has a very good safety record so I won’t be instructing officers to consider alterations to the junction layout.  However, I have asked for the faded ‘Give Way’ junction markings on Porthall Avenue and Stanford Road to be renewed, and this will make the situation clearer.”

 

49.105     Councillor Allen asked a supplementary question, “I note the disappointing and if I may say so uncharacteristic and dismissive response.  Would Councillor Theobald not accept that I ask this question out of personal observation on an almost daily basis and perhaps it would not be hugely onerous on his staff resources to arrange a meeting with myself, maybe other Councillors, and the Transport Co-ordinator in the Prestonville Association to try and look at the problem?”

 

49.106     Councillor Theobald replied, “The point is, Councillor Allen, that this has an excellent safety record and I thank you for drawing attention to the fact that the sign in the road needs repainting.  I have given instructions for that to happen or I can ask an officer to meet you on the site so that you can have a chat but I am not sure how much further that is going to go. 

 

I am often standing up here and I know it can be frustrating for Councillors opposite in particular when you ask for things to happen and I turn round and say well there haven’t been any accidents but that is the case, it has an excellent safety record so changing things round I can’t see the advantage to it.”

 

49.107     Councillor Kitcat asked a further supplementary question, “Can Councillor Theobald then confirm that the policy of his Department is to wait until there is a serious accident before doing anything to improve the safety of our roads?”

 

49.108     Councillor Theobald replied, “Well I think that is a very silly thing to say.  Frankly, all things are dealt with as far as need and there is only a certain amount of resources and you obviously deal with those matters which are the most serious.  That is absolutely obvious I would have thought to anybody here.”

 

49.109     (w) Councillor Allen asked:

 

“The work carried out in Preston Park under the previous Labour administration's planned  programme of refurbishment of the city's parks brought credit to the council as a whole.  It is sad to see the current signs of neglect, in particular the deteriorating condition of some of the benches.  Two in the Rose Garden have missing slats, as do three in the main body of the park.  What plans does the Cabinet Member for Environment have to remedy this neglect?”

 

49.110     Councillor Theobald replied:

 

“I have instructed officers to have the benches repaired as soon as possible.  Preston Park is one of our flagship parks that continues to be awarded Green Flag status for many years running.  Significant improvements have been made to the park including the complete refurbishment of the multi-use games area.  We are also planning to renew signage in Preston Park and other parks across the city.  This administration has also set up a new parks ranger service to reduce anti-social behaviour in parks, organise events, forge links with local communities and get more people enjoying our parks.  However, I welcome your report and I have instructed officers to repair those benches.”

 

49.111     Councillor Allen asked a supplementary question, “Could Councillor Theobald tell me how many months or years will elapse between the issuing of the instruction and the implementation of it?”

 

49.112     Councillor Theobald replied, “This is something that will be dealt with as soon as possible and once again I would like to thank you very much indeed for drawing this to our attention.  I can assure you that when Councillors are out and about and they notice things, if only they referred them then they would be dealt with.  I have already explained in my answer here the various things we are doing and I am sure that you are going to be very delighted to hear and this is in response certainly to my wish over the years representing a Ward like Patcham, for instance, and that is we are going to put in an extra cut in the grass verges next year, so that will all add to the area’s enhancement and improvement.  I am sure you will be very pleased with that as I am sure the residents of Brighton and Hove will be.”

 

49.113     (x) Councillor Carden asked:

 

             “Could the Cabinet Member for Children and Young people’s services please confirm whether an extra £200,000 has been allocated to youth services for Brighton and Hove?”

 

49.114     Councillor Mrs Brown replied:

 

“The CYPT is planning to increase its core funding for youth support services in the City by £200,000 in 2009/10 but this is dependent on the overall budget setting process.

 

However the current funding for the transitionary youth work of £250, 000 will no longer be available in the Area Based Grant in 2009/10. This money has been funding both the voluntary and community sector as well as CYPT directly managed work.

 

When the £200,000 is secured it is planned to commission services in line with the Integrated Youth Support Services Commissioning Strategy which has been approved by the CYPT Board. This process will be managed through the Commissioning sub-group and the Youth and Connexions Board. Both committees have elected voluntary and community sector representatives as well as representation from the statutory sector.

 

The intention will be to commission some youth services from the VCS, most likely at a slightly reduced level from this new funding stream because of the overall reduction in funding.  But all the work funded LA or VCS work, will have contracts or Service Level Agreements and agreed outcomes that deliver the CYPT priorities as identified in the commissioning strategy.”

 

49.115     Councillor Carden asked a supplementary question, “If there is some spare money going, can you please ensure that some of it crosses Boundary Road?  You know to that little place called Portslade where we have been suffering with youth disorder problems this year, more than we have ever known.  It would be very much appreciated by the Youth Service if some cash could find its way into the Village Centre to help with their outreach work which they are doing at the weekends.”

 

49.116     Councillor Mrs Brown replied, “You know what budgetary constraints we are under and I would love to be able to pass it across the city and more into your area but along with the 67 Centre, PCC Village Centre does have the highest grant from the CYPT budget for youth centres and actually has had a small increase in its funding this year.

 

The historical position is that this is a school managed youth centre and the Manager has been paid at a higher rate than other full-time workers.  There are ways of increasing income at the Centre to mitigate the problem and these have been fully discussed with the Manager.  There is still an ongoing dialogue with the school and the CYPT and I am very sympathetic to your needs.”

 

49.117     (y) Councillor Duncan asked:

 

“Can Councillor Ayas Fallon-Khan confirm how many press briefings have been held by the Council taken place in the current municipal year?”

 

49.118     Councillor Fallon-Khan replied:

 

“Almost all interface between the council and the media could be described as a form of briefing as the purpose is, invariably, to impart information about council business to one or more journalists, or to brief them about a given topic. This can be for the purpose of providing quotes either in print or for broadcast – or the briefing could be for information to inform a news item or feature.

 

Work conducted by the press office include proactive press releases and reactive verbal or written responses to media enquiries; the organisation of face-to-face interviews; telephone conversations; letters (either for publication or not for publication) and press conferences.  However, the communications team has in the last six months improved its systems to capture as much of this activity as is possible and appropriate. The following figures can be given for that period as a measure of the volume of dialogue between the media and the council.

 

On the basis of previous activity it is estimated that there are slightly over 100 instances of contact with the media a month. It can therefore be assumed that in the 10 months of the municipal year the council has had dialogue with the media upwards of 1,000 times. However for the reasons stated above, this can only be estimation.”

 

49.119     Councillor Duncan asked a supplementary question, “I understand, of course, that every contact between journalists and council employees is a form of briefing but I am interested specifically in those briefings to which it would be appropriate to invite Opposition Spokespeople as laid out in this protocol, Working With No Overall Control, a guide to the workings of the Press Office under a Minority Administration which was agreed by the Leaders’ Group on 13 June 2003. 

 

That seems rather a long time ago but it has never been rescinded, it has never come before this council or before the Leaders’ Group or before the pre-existing P & R Committee or any other body to which we say that the order applies.  However, according to this it says that where appropriate Opposition Spokespeople will be invited to press briefings, etc.  I am not aware that that has ever happened in any of the thousands of instances that you set out here. 

 

I am wondering whether a decision has been taken somewhere not to apply or if we are no longer a council in no overall control or what other explanation there might be for the fact that this protocol is not being upheld?”

 

49.120     Councillor Fallon-Khan replied, “I have to say that’s a cracker and I will tell you why in a second.  Officers have, as far as I am aware, observed the existing protocols and there is a consultation going on which is Government induced and we will be reviewing everything to do with council publicity as part of the six month review of the Constitution.

 

I have to say to Councillor Duncan, I wasn’t going to expose him at this point, but I think I am just going to have to.  Last year I was called up by a couple of journalists who were interested in badger management in Brighton & Hove City Council and Councillor Duncan, as he recalls, asked very vociferously for an extremely extensive and very well researched report on badger management and I said that’s absolutely fine being open and transparent.  We said we would do exactly what we could and we would bring it back to a Cabinet Member Meeting where we would have a press briefing afterwards should the Councillor have wanted it. 

 

The officers went back and I think in up to three or four weeks produced one of the best documents I had ever seen in that time which had absolutely everything that you could possibly wish to know about badger management in Brighton & Hove City Council and answering every single question that Councillor Duncan had requested. 

 

We then turned up to the Cabinet Member’s Meeting and all of us were there, all the officers were there, the two journalists were waiting outside and the Councillor didn’t turn up for that particular meeting.  Next time we have a Cabinet Member’s Meeting with something that you request I will make sure that we have as much of the press outside as possible as long as you make sure that you turn up.”

 

49.121     Councillor Mitchell asked a further supplementary question, “Could Councillor Ayas Fallon-Khan say in his view, at the present time, whether the council’s press team work for the Administration or for the council?”

 

49.122     Councillor Fallon-Khan replied, “As far as I am aware they work for the council.”

 

49.123     (z) Councillor Duncan asked:

 

“In light of a report in The Times that “Tens of thousands of public sector jobs will be lost across Britain this year as councils struggle to cope with the impact of the recession… and unions fear that few of the 442 local authorities across England, Scotland and Wales will escape the cutbacks” and the fact that neighbourhood management staff serving the deprived Tarner and Eastern Road areas have been served redundancy notices, can Councillor Mary Mears confirm how many jobs look set to go at Brighton and Hove Council in the coming year?”

 

49.124     Councillor Mears replied:

 

“Currently no staff have been made redundant and we hope that there will be no need for any redundancies. There are 26 employees who have been identified as at risk of redundancy out of a workforce of over 7,000. The Council is working extremely hard to ensure there are no redundancies. These officers are also being supported by Human Resources to identify alternative roles for redeployment should this be necessary. The Council believes, based on its current information, that it will successfully retain a significant number of these staff in its employment.”

 

49.125     Councillor Duncan asked a supplementary question, “We heard today when the petitions were being presented that 1,000 people had directly called upon this council to guarantee the continued employment of the Neighbourhood Management Team serving the Tarner and Eastern Road Area Partnerships working out of a local office in the area as at present.  Councillor Dee Simson was good enough to attend the most recent meeting of the Eastern Road Area Partnership.  However, at that meeting she said she was unable to guarantee the security of the jobs of those working in the Neighbourhood Management office.

 

My supplementary question is this, can Mary Mears give us such a guarantee today that there will be no job losses?”

 

49.126     Councillor Mears replied, “Councillor Duncan should be aware from my first answer that no redundancy notices have been issued to the Tarner and Eastern Road staff.  The notices that have been issued are ‘at risk of redundancy notice’.  Our funding package should mean that if redundancies are necessary staff will be redeployed into similar community roles.  Details should be available next month.

 

As Councillor Duncan will know the present situation with Tarner and Eastern Road is the result of an abrupt Labour Government cut in grant funding, not Tory cuts.  He should also know that the last Labour Administration in Brighton and Hove cut the funding for the city’s community development and neighbourhood support teams.  They replaced it with temporary national funding which the Labour Government has now cut.

 

After Labour dumped the residents of Tarner and Eastern Road in this situation, I know my Cabinet Member for Community Affairs has been working extremely hard sorting out the mess.  She has also been talking to Councillor Duncan’s colleagues and his residents to let them know what is going on and how we plan to help.  I am delighted to say that my Conservative Administration has secured a £1.2m funding package for community work in the city.  This will secure the future of work in Tarner and Eastern Road.

 

Full details will be announced next month and Councillor Simson will be meeting with the community groups about it.”

 

49.127     Councillor Simson asked a further supplementary question, “Does the Leader of the Council agree that the work currently being done by this Administration to identify funding to cover the significant cuts made by the Labour Government to vital neighbourhood management and community development work through the neighbourhood renewal and area based grant is to be welcomed by our most vulnerable residents both in areas of high deprivation such as Tarner and Eastern Road and right across the city?”

 

49.128     Councillor Mears replied, “The simple answer is absolutely yes.

 

Fact 1 – the Labour Government has abruptly cut special funding targeted for helping the city’s most deprived and disadvantaged communities at a time when it is most needed.

 

Fact 2 – the last Brighton and Hove Labour Administration cut the city’s community development and neighbourhood support teams and replaced them with temporary funding from transitional national policies that the Labour Government has now cut.

 

Fact 3 – the last Brighton & Hove Labour Administration failed entirely to plan for this eventuality and as a result left some of the city’s most important communities and neighbourhood services without funding and therefore potentially a future.

 

As you can see this Administration has been left with a mess caused by Labour’s chaotic national policies and local mismanagement.  Against all these odds this Administration has worked tirelessly with their partners and local residents to secure a funding package that ensures community activities across the city can continue.  This two year package of support comes to well over £1.2m and includes support to continue work in Tarner and Eastern Road. 

 

The council is finalising the details and we will make a full announcement in mid-February.”

 

49.129     (aa) Councillor West asked:

 

"Is Cllr Theobald aware of recent reports of an unholy stench escaping from the Hollingdean Dump and invading the local area.

       

Local residents, parents, school staff and children have been repeatedly subjected to the stench of rotting waste.  On a recent occasion the smell in the playground at Downs Infants School was so awful it was described to be "as bad as at the back of a refuse lorry".  So terrible in fact people have taken to covering their faces.

 

Parents, teachers and residents are understandably very concerned not only about the unpleasantness of the smell but the possible health hazard it presents to them and their children.”

 

49.130     Councillor Theobald replied:

 

“I am aware that on the 8^th of January complaints were logged about odour from the Hollingdean Waste Transfer Station by one resident, the head teacher at the school and two parents walking to school.  Environmental Health Officers investigated immediately and did not identify a statutory odour nuisance.   The reported smell experienced that day resulted from a build up of waste over Christmas and New Year being moved. 

 

A waste management licence, which is regulated by the Environment Agency, ensures that waste cannot be stored on site for more than 72 hours.  To comply with this licence condition, large amounts of waste were being moved on the day in question.  This resulted in increased lorry journeys and the doors to the facility opening more frequently.

 

Following the investigation, Environmental Health have written to Veolia and handling practices have been reviewed and improved to address exceptional circumstances should they recur.  Environmental Health, Planning, Cityclean and Veolia will continue to work together closely to monitor the situation.  If residents experience problems, they should contact council officers first in preference to the media so that officers can respond promptly.”

 

49.131     Councillor West asked a supplementary question, “I would like to draw your attention to the omission of the last two paragraphs of my question as reproduced in the Addendum today.  I don’t know if this has any bearing on Councillor Theobald’s failure to address the specific questions I asked.  Would Councillor Theobald please personally answer my questions fully in writing?

 

My supplementary question: is Councillor Theobald aware that chemical deodorisers are used to mask the smell of waste at the dump?  Chemical deodorisers have been associated with health risks.  If smell is apt to escape from the site so will deodorisers.  Will Councillor Theobald assure the public that the chemicals used are entirely safe?”

 

49.132     Councillor Theobald replied, “The Environment Agency’s Waste Management Licence sets high standards concerning waste management, waste acceptance, odour, noise, records, pest control and emissions of substances.  As you probably know Environmental Health Officers are happy to investigate complaints and liaise with the Agency, so if there are any specific complaints then, as I have said in my answer to your initial question, please let officers know as quickly as possible and they will respond just as fast as they can.”