Brighton & Hove City Council
special Policy & Resources Committee
1.00pm14 August 2020
Virtual Meeting - Skype
MINUTES
|
Present: Councillor Mac Cafferty (Chair) Druitt (Joint Deputy Chair), Gibson (Joint Deputy Chair), Platts (Opposition Spokesperson), Allcock, Clare, Mears, Miller, Moonan and Williams |
PART ONE
49 Procedural Business
(a) Declarations of Substitutes
49.1 Councillors Mears and Williams declared that they attending the meeting as substitutes for Councillors Bell and Yates respectively.
(b) Declarations of Interest
49.2 Councillor Allcock declared that he held an annual subscription for Freedom Leisure as he was an avid swimmer and had consulted the Monitoring Officer and could speak and vote on the items 54 and 56 on the agenda.
49.3 Councillor Platts declared that she was a member of St Luke’s swimming pool which was not a prejudicial interest and could speak and vote on Items 54 and 56 on the agenda.
(c) Exclusion of Press and Public
49.4 The Committee considered whether the press and public should be excluded from the meeting during the consideration of any of the items listed on the agenda.
49.5 RESOLVED: That the press and public be excluded from the meeting during consideration of the items contained in part two of the agenda.
50 Chair's Communications
50.1 The Chair welcomed everyone to the meeting and stated he had no other communications for the meeting.
51 Public Involvement
51.1 The Chair noted that there were no public items for today’s meeting.
52 Next steps - Rough Sleeping and Accommodation during Covid 19 Pandemic and recovery
52.1 The Interim Executive Director for Housing, Neighbourhoods & Communities introduced the report which had been accepted by the Chair as a late report due to need to develop a response to the pandemic in regard to the provision of accommodation for rough sleepers in the city. She explained that the report provided an overview of the work taken to accommodate rough sleepers and proposals for the recovery stage to move away from short-term accommodation to sustainable alternatives to meet individual needs.
52.2 The Committee welcomed the report and noted that not all rough sleepers accepted the offer of accommodation and that it was hoped in moving forward alternative forms of accommodation being offered would see the removal of rough sleeping in the city. A number of questions were raised in relation to the number of rough sleepers coming into the city and the role of the Homeless Reduction Board in relation to addressing the situation.
52.3 The Assistant Director of Housing confirmed that there were approximately ten new applications a week being processed and an equal number of people able to move on either into long-term accommodation or out of the city as part of the re-connection process. The Homeless Reduction Board was due to agree a timetable of meetings and to develop an action plan which would be monitored by the Housing Committee.
52.4 The Chair noted the comments and that the committee did not feel the need to consider the report listed in part two of the agenda and therefore put the recommendations to the vote.
52.5 RESOLVED:
(1) That the Executive Director of Housing Neighbourhoods & Communities and the Executive Director of Health & Adult Social Care be granted delegated authority to secure accommodation up to the end of December 2020, as set out in Option 2, by entering into contracts to extend existing arrangements (where possible) and by entering into alternative arrangements where necessary;
(2) That it be noted that the council is currently bidding for interim funding for rough sleepers up to 31 March 2021 as part of the Next Steps Accommodation Programme (NSAP) bid. The result of this bid will not be announced until September. Therefore, a further report to this committee will be required to consider the outcome of the bid, the on-going financial implications and options for future provision;
(3) That the Executive Director of Housing Neighbourhoods & Communities and the Executive Director of Health & Adult Social Care be granted delegated authority to enter into sub-lease arrangements with a third-party provider where appropriate; and
(4) That it be noted that both the upcoming Homelessness Reduction Board and Housing Committee will receive a standing item, updating Members in a way that enables them to monitor and record net progress needed towards safe re-connection and rehousing of rough sleepers (and those at risk of rough sleeping) currently housed in hotel/temporary accommodation to both reduce the future need for this accommodation and to achieve the council's goal of not returning rough sleepers to the street.
53 Future of Provision of Personal Protective Equipment
53.1 The Head of Performance, Improvement & Programmes introduced the report, concerning the future provision of Personal Protective Equipment. She noted that during the pandemic the council had been able to procure and supply PPE to other organisations. However, supplies were now available for those organisations to obtain directly and they should only need to approach the council for emergency provision. As such it was being recommended that option 4 in the report should be approved which would enable the council to charge those organisations on a cost basis for any supplies of PPE.
53.2 The Committee thanked the officers for the report and the continued work being undertaken to support the city in the midst of the pandemic. Members also expressed the need to keep matters under review and to ensure Members were kept updated on the situation in the city.
53.3 The Chair then put the recommendation to the vote.
53.4 RESOLVED: That option 4 as outlined in section 4 of the report, that the Council continues to support external organisations in emergency and on a short-term basis when they struggle to procure their own PPE to be charged on a cost recovery basis be agreed.
54 Sports Facilities Contract Extension
54.1 The Executive Director for Economy, Environment & Culture introduced the report which concerned the contract with Freedom Leisure for the management of the council’s sports facilities which was due to expire on the 31 March 2021. He noted that a phased re-opening of leisure centres was underway and that the closures due to the pandemic had significant financial pressures for Freedom Leisure. It was therefore proposed that the financial package outlined in the reports be agreed.
54.2 The Committee welcomed the report and noted that there were significant risks for Freedom Leisure and that it was important to re-open facilities across the city. Members agreed that it would be important to ensure that there were regular updates to the Tourism, Equalities, Communities & Culture Committee and that matters were monitored closely, and figures challenged were necessary by officers with their counter-parts at Freedom Leisure.
54.3 The Chair noted the comments and that the Committee did not see the need to consider the report listed in part two of the agenda and therefore put the recommendations to the vote.
54.4 RESOLVED:
(1) That the significant financial impact of the Covid-19 pandemic upon Freedom Leisure as the operator of the council’s Sports Facilities Contract and the financial support already provided to Freedom Leisure as outlined in the table in 3.11 of the Part 2 report be noted;
(2) That it be agreed to waive the management fee which Freedom Leisure is required to pay the council during the period 1 July 2020 to March 2021 and that the council may be able to claim some of this lost income from central government b noted;
(3) That it be agreed to vary the contract for the period 1 July 2020 to 31 March 2021 to allow a phased reopening of the sports facilities;
(4) That it be agreed to exercise the option to extend the Sports Facilities Contract with Freedom Leisure by three years until 31 March 2024 and the variation to the management fee as set out in 3.15 of the Part 2 report be agreed; and
(5) That delegated authority be granted to the Executive Director for Economy, Environment & Culture and Executive Lead Officer for Strategy, Governance & Law to settle the terms of the contract variations and take any steps necessary to implement the recommendations above.
55 Items Referred For Council
55.1 RESOLVED: That no items be referred to the full Council meeting on the 22 October 2020 for information.
PART TWO SUMMARY
56 Sports Facilities Contract Extension - Exempt Category 3
56.1 RESOLVED: That the report be noted.
56 (a) Next steps Homeless & Rough Sleeper Accommodation - Exempt Category 3
56.2 RESOLVED: That the report be noted.
57 Part Two Proceedings
57.1 RESOLVED: That the items contained in part 2 of the agenda and decisions thereon remain exempt from disclosure to the press and pubic.
The meeting concluded at 2.30pm
|
Signed
|
Chair |
|
|
Dated this |
day of |
|