Agenda item - Public Involvement

To consider the following matters raised by members of the public:

(a)           Petitions: To receive any petitions presented by members of the public notified by the due date of 19 November 2021;

(i)             Tony Howard – Brighton Speed Trials

23 Signatures – closing date 10.11.21

(b)           Written Questions: To receive any questions submitted by the due date of 12 noon on the 19 November 2021;

(c)           Deputations: To receive any deputations submitted by the due date of 12 noon on the 19 November 2021.

(a)  Petitions

38.1 The Chair summarised the petition on page 31 of the Agenda and gave the following response:

38.2 The decision not to run the motorcycles at this year’s Speed Trials was not taken by Brighton and Hove City Council.   The Auto Cycle Union (ACU) refused to issue a track licence to the event organisers, citing operational concerns around the surface of the newly installed cycle lane and extended kerb lines.

The event organisers have thanked the Council for being proactive in working with Motorsport UK, the sport’s governing body, to gain the necessary track licence for the cars to run at the event.  The ACU have stated that they will work with the council and the event organisers to make the course safe for the motorcycles to return in 2022.

38.3 The Committee agreed to note the petition.

(b)  Written Questions)

38.4 The Chair invited Christopher Hawtree to present the following question:

Would the Chair please tell us when the stock at Hove's Carnegie Library will return to its previous level?

The Chair gave the following response:

Libraries are currently working with restricted stock levels due to the ongoing Health and Safety measures relating to infection control. These measures have necessitated moving furniture to allow for greater distancing between customers and this has meant the temporary lessening of some of the stock on display. When these measures can be dropped completely, stock levels will return to normal pre-pandemic levels.

The Chair invited Christopher Hawtree to ask the following supplementary question:

It was good to go along and see the situation, and it always makes me recall that terrible time just before the jubilee library opened when there proved not to be enough space for the stock, and a load of books were thrown in a skip and caused national outrage. With that in mind please tell us where the space has been found for the huge number of books and CDs currently absent from the Carnegie Library, and can you assure us that the 50% recent drop in book acquisitions will be made good with the unspent budget carried forward into the next years?

The Chair confirmed that a written response would be sent outside of the meeting.

38.5 The Chair invited Bryony Goulden to present the following question:

We are child ambassadors for the Mary Clarke Statue Appeal. Mary was brave and gentle and died for women’s rights. Suffragettes at Mary’s funeral were told they should not be sad but take up her torch and light the darkness. We are taking up Mary’s lamp to try to make things better. We know you are discussing violence against women later on. We want you to stop girls being bullied or treated disrespectfully, especially at school. Will you make sure that by the time we are grown up, this city will be a safe place for women to live?

The Chair gave the following response:

Councillors and officers are working hard to ensure that the city is safe for everybody to enjoy, especially women and girls. A report setting out what work the council and partners, such as the police, are undertaking with regard to violence against women and girls came to this committee in September and can be viewed on the council website.  The report sets out what work is  being undertaken in schools following the ‘Everyone Invited’ campaign. Since that committee report, the city council along with colleagues in neighbouring Sussex authorities and Sussex Police have been awarded central government funds to address VAWG. Included in that award are funds to improve street lighting in certain areas of the City and to undertake work to develop a ‘safe space’ app. There is also funding for work to take place in the city’s schools to address behaviours that are inappropriate. We will also be developing a Violence against women and girls strategy and will be undertaking a survey to inform the development of such. We are hoping that the survey will go live early in the new year and would welcome your thoughts and feedback on that.

The Chair invited Bryony Goulden to ask the following supplementary question:

We are pleased you stand up for women’s rights and support the statue for Mary. When you meet the police will you tell them what we have said - and ask them to also support Mary’s statue.

The Chair gave the following response:

Thank you for your supplementary question. Councillors and officers regularly meet with police colleagues and was discussed at a meeting last week with the divisional commander for Brighton and Hove and senior councillors and officers. A senior police colleague is here at committee tonight and will also ensure that his colleagues are made aware.

38.6 The Chair invited Ali Ceesay to ask the following question:

I've read the Domestic Abuse Report before this Committee, and the spending proposals.  My understanding is that £241,000 has been used from the £606k MHCLG money to fund Brighton & Hove Refuge, thus freeing up £241,000 from the money allocated to the Domestic Abuse Service contract. 

If this is correct, will this money be ringfenced for domestic abuse services in Brighton & Hove, and how and when will this £241,000 be spent

The Chair gave the following response:

We are currently consulting on the draft strategy and we hope that this will inform future spend of the £241k. A further report will come to this committee early next year with recommendations for spend, as it has been previously agreed that committee would agree to the spending of this money. We hope that this money will be allocated before the end of the financial year.

The Chair invited Ali Ceesay to ask the following supplementary question:

There have been discussions about raising domestic violence to the same level as terrorism, specifically for females. How will the VAWG strategy ensure that women are given the same status?

The Chair confirmed that a written response would be given outside of the meeting.

(c)   Deputations

There were none.