Agenda item - Written questions from members of the public.

A list of public questions received by the due date of 12noon on the 19 July 2019 will be circulated separately as part of an addendum at the meeting.

16.1    The Mayor reported that six written questions had been received from members of the public.

 

16.2    The Mayor invited Mr Hawtree to come forward and address the council.

 

16.3    Mr Hawtree asked the following question; As we know that a Budget Amendment this year brought £121,000 back into the Libraries service, would Councillor Knight please tell us how this money is being allocated?

 

16.4    Councillor Knight, replied: The £121,000 put back in to the library’s budget, to help safeguard the future of library services, is being used in various ways. £62,210 has been put in to the staffing budget and has allowed 60 extra hours a week for frontline staffing across the library service. The remaining £58,790 has yet to be allocated but proposals for its use include the following:

 

·            Helping to finance a thorough and detailed consultation process to inform the libraries plan 2020/2024 because we want to make sure that the needs of our communities are reflected and embedded in that plan.

·            Investing in the development of our library service offer to communities based on the outcomes of the consultation process and the final libraries plan.

·            Developing our new Business and Intellectual Property Centre which I understand will provide the space, access to research and reference materials as well as the expertise of our own Economic Development team. This will enable us to support local people who want to set up their own business and need extra help. This centre will build on the work already being undertaken by the British Library.

·            Improving the library’s digital offer. Our library portal already gives people access to e-books, audio books and online newspapers as well as a wealth of digital information, reference material, archives and academic journals. All of which are freely available to all citizens, in many cases, in their own homes and we hope to build on the success of this vital service.

·            The library service maintains its commitment to the purchasing of books and although there is already a separate budget for this, some of the additional funding could be used to supplement this if the need arose.

 

16.5    Mr Hawtree asked the following supplementary question, This £121,000, which we owe to former Councillor Sykes for bringing this back into the budget, over 4 years; £484,000. Can you ensure that this matter is brought to the Policy and Resources Committee to judge the best use of that money, as should also have been the case of the Carnegie Library works, which never came to P&R and is now overscheduled by 1 year.

 

16.6    Councillor Knight, Deputy Chair of the Children, Young People & Skills Committee replied, Yes, I will take on board your comments and make sure what you said goes to the relevant committee.

 

16.7    The Mayor invited Mr Furness to come forward and address the council.

 

16.8    Mr. Furness asked the following question, Councillor Childs, you recently tweeted about the Department for Education's "fetish for privatisation." Could you please elaborate on this terminology by informing us of this Administration's position on the privatisation of our schools?

 

16.9    Councillor Childs, Chair of Children, Young People and Skills Committee replied, The view of the administration is that academisation entails a transfer of state school from democratic oversight of the local education authority to a private company. In most cases, such privatisation is undertaken without the consent of local voters or parents of children attending the school. The premise behind the academisation of schools is given to be school improvement through a change of status despite the privatisation has a negligible impact on school improvement and performance, the Department of Education and the current and previous administrations have persisted with their project for reasons of ideological obsession and dogma.

 

The academisation of schools is damaging to school improvement. Recent research shows that local authorities improve schools twice as fast. The diversion of public funds for children’s education to be diverted to a CEO pay and we have the disgusting sight across the border in East Sussex where the local authority supports the academisation of schools. And the Academy Trust who pay two of their executives £200,000 a year for running 12 schools, driving in to Peacehaven community school in BMW’s paid for by money meant for children.

 

They undermine the ability of the local authority to strategically plan and provide services to schools and the most vulnerable and they undermine local democracy by taking away oversight of parents and local people. Moulsecoomb Primary School is a case in point where this school is already rapidly responding to improvements being made and the data this year will demonstrate that. We have the local authority which is one of the best for school’s improvement in the country. Yet despite this, the regulations continue to push for the school to be taken in to the private sector.

 

In Brighton & Hove we will not stand by and allow our schools in the public sector to be removed and be handed to private companies. We will give our parents a voice and continue to work with all of our schools and family of schools to ensure that those state schools remain Brighton and Hove Schools.

 

16.10  Mr Furness asked the following supplementary; Seeing Councillor Childs as you seem to exhibit a fetish for private education yourself by other tweets regarding Roedean School and I gather you are now off to pastures new very shortly, I am informed by your erstwhile colleagues that you are avidly producing pamphlets, one while we are actively conducting this question which is very rude, that pamphlet on radical education; can you confirm that the name of that pamphlet will rejoice in the name of hymns for hypocrites?

 

16.11  Councillor Childs replied, I have no idea of the pamphlet to which you refer, and I challenge your assertion of hypocrisy. I’ve already issued a public statement regarding my daughter’s attendance to Roedean School. Privatisation of an existing state asset which belongs to the public realm and handing it over to a private company is, in my view, a distinct and separate matter.

 

16.11  The Mayor invited Ms Paynter to come forward and address the council.

 

16.12   Ms Paynter asked the following question; Our newly elected Labour Administration has 10, almost all new, Councillors representing Hove & Portslade wards - not one of which sits on Planning.  It is the first time no Hove or Portslade representative has been put on it that I recall.  Can you confirm that not one of them sought a place on the 10-Member Planning Committee?

16.13  Councillor Platts, Leader of the Council replied; The Labour Party has 3 places on Planning Committee and I’m delighted to say that 3 Councillors were very keen to fill those roles. The nominees were agreed at the Labour Group Annual General Meeting and those discussions are confidential. This is a regulatory committee and we make decisions based on national and local planning policy. These decisions are made regardless of political party membership because members have to be politically neutral.

 

In terms of ensuring that the views of Hove residents are represented at Planning Committee, Ward Councillors can call any planning application to be determined at committee and are able to speak and make representation to the Planning Committee in support of their residents.

         

16.14  Ms Paynter asked the following supplementary question; Local knowledge is not properly accounted for or valued by Councillors and I think when all of you are considering what Planning Committee or any other Committee you are going to be on, you should really think about how well local knowledge is being represented on any one committee especially on planning and I’m wondering if any of the Labour Councillors representing Hove or Portslade Wards even live in Hove or Portslade. Do they?

 

16.15  Councillor Platts replied; I’m very pleased to say that one of the Councillors on the planning committee did previously live in Hove and Portslade and yes we have got members representing Hove and Portslade who actually live there.

 

16.16   The Mayor invited Ms. G Foote to come forward and address the council.

 

16.17  Ms. G Foote asked the following question; Will Brighton & Hove City Council follow the lead of Glastonbury & Frome Council & adopt the Precautionary Principle regarding 5G masts & associated infrastructure due to the detrimental effect EMF is having on not only human life, but bees, insects & plants as I’m sure they want to protect the public & environment from exposure to harm?

 

16.18  Councillor Moonan, Chair of Health and Wellbeing Board replied; In the interests of time I do have another question that is similar from Ms Levene. I’m just going to give one answer that is going to cover both questions. Glastonbury Town Council has approved a motion that opposes the roll out of 5G in the Parish until further information is produced by a local 5G advisory Committee. It is not proposed that Brighton & Hove adopt this approach.

 

Glastonbury Town Council does not determine such planning applications, so their position is not comparable to ours as a decision maker when it comes to planning proposals. Given the legislative and policy background we have to adhere to we are unable to adopt a similar approach to Glastonbury and our decisions would be open to challenge if we took such matters into account.

 

Nationally, Public Health England provides the expert advice on public health matters associated with radiofrequency electromagnetic fields, or radio waves, used in telecommunications. Public Health England advise that the current exposure of the general public to radio waves is well within the international health-related guideline levels that are used in the UK. These guidelines are from the International Commission on Non-Ionizing Radiation Protection (ICNIRP) and underpin health protection policies at UK and European levels.

 

When 5G is added to an existing network or in a new area the overall exposure to radio waves is expected to remain low relative to guidelines and as such there should be no consequences for public health. Public Health England state that they are committed to monitoring the evidence applicable to this and other radio technologies, and to revising its advice, should that be necessary.  UK network operators implementing 5G are committed to complying with the current guidelines.

 

Whilst local planning authorities do have some limited ability to influence the roll out of mobile technology those powers are limited by central government regulations. But the planning system does require that any new installations accord with the ICNIRP guidelines.

 

16.19  Ms Foote asked the following supplementary; Can our Council assure us that 5G technology and its infrastructure is safe and are they aware that the EU Council recommendations made back in 2011? These are very different from the outdated guidelines being quoted from Public Health England (PHE), ICNIRP and the World Health Organisation which incidentally all have disclaimers in their terms and conditions. Can the Council check the validity of such organisations? If Councillors follow the Nolan principles and stop the precautionary principle, which you have stated is not possible, this then protects Council from being accountable for the potential disaster this technology will bring about both biologically and environmentally to our City.

 

16.20 Councillor Moonan, Chair of Health and Wellbeing Board replied; Currently we are obliged to follow PHE advice, if you have any other evidence I would be very happy for you to send that to them and I will forward to our Public Health Department for consideration.

 

16.21  The Mayor invited Ms Levene to come forward and address the council.

16.22  Ms Levene asked the following question; Can Brighton & Hove Council assure its citizens that they will be safe & insured once the roll out/deployment of 5G takes place?

              In the event of harm to wildlife, insects, bees, trees, children, adults & elderly. Will the council be accountable for any harm that results and be responsible for any health & housing needs that follow, should 5G bring harm to humans or damage to any other organic life or property in our City?

 

16.23  Councillor Moonan, Chair of Health and Wellbeing Board asked Ms Levene to refer to the response she gave to Ms Foote’s question which covered the same issues.

 

16.24  Ms Levene asked the following supplementary; In 2011 the European Parliament Council linked an increase in illness and death to electromagnetic frequency. Since then and with 4G we have seen a mass increase in cancers, brain tumours, heart disease and stroke as well as certain infants and elderly death. Many of us have seen friends and family die well before their time, in the event that the untested and uninsured 5G is rolled out and enforced by way of smart meters, lampposts, masts and other street furniture, will Councillors accept liability whilst waiting for high levels of scientific and clinical proof before taking action to prevent the well-known risk which could lead to very high health and economic cost?

 

16.25  Councillor Moonan replied; This is an incredibly technical area, we follow Public Health England advice, I would be happy to look at any other evidence you’ve sent but you must appreciate this is extremely technical so cannot provide any further response at this stage.

 

16.26  The Mayor invited Mr Jenkins to come forward and address the council.

 

16.27  Mr Jenkins asked the following question; The Council, the Landlord, owe the duty of knowledge and the duty of care, for the Landlord's own property, Stanmer Heights.  Stanmer Heights has been falling into chronic disrepairs, for more than twenty months with holes in the roofs, cables dangling from the walls, derelict satellite dishes, an aerial down on the roof, a derelict bin in a bin area, the gathering place's gas meters' cabinet doors falling off, and much more.

 

Please will the Chair of the Housing & New Homes Committee, formally create, an All-Encompassing Care Plan for Stanmer Heights, please?

 

16.28 Councillor Allcock, Chair of Housing and New Homes Committee, replied; We take the maintenance of all our homes across the city very seriously and recognise the importance of looking up the inside and outside of homes and estates. In light of resident feedback around improving the look and feel of estates, we have recently set up a new Environmental Improvements budget of £500,000 per year to address concerns residents have about the outside of homes, blocks and estates. This is in addition to our investment repairs, planned and made to works in our estate development budget. I would encourage you to continue to work with us through this project and put forward your ideas at Stanmer Heights. We confirm in the details and meetings across the city to consider ideas residents have with officers and Councillors and will provide details of the meeting for Hollingdean and Stanmer shortly.

 

This would be a good way to engage with the wider community around improving the area, it is important to note that you don’t have to wait untill the meeting to submit your ideas, you can do that now and our team will begin working on anything that they can start with as soon as possible. At the same time, I appreciate that some of your concerns around repair areas that we can pick up now and I encourage you to report repairs to us either through phoning the repairs help desk or by emailing if that’s easier. I’ve also asked officers to follow up on the repairs that you’ve highlighted in the question today as well as the guttering and overflow problems you emailed me with yesterday and have asked them to make sure they are addressed.

 

16.29  Mr Jenkins asked the following supplementary; Can I ask the chair of the Housing Committee, for an appointment for a walk about in Stanmer Heights within the next 7 days so that he may see all the repairs required.

 

16.30  Councillor Allcock replied; I will certainly try to do it within the month of August.