Agenda item - Written questions from members of the public.

A list of public questions received by the due date of 12noon on the 18 October 2019 will be circulated separately as part of an addendum at the meeting.

36.1         The Mayor reported that 5 written questions had been received from members of the public and invited Mr. Nigel Furness to come forward and address the council.

36.2         Mr. Furness asked the following question;Councillor Platts, our current Mayor, Councillor Alex Phillips, also holds office as a Member of the European Parliament and is now proposing to stand as a Prospective Parliamentary Candidate for Brighton Kemp Town. As these latter two categories involve publicly participating in politics, is this a conflict of interest?

36.3         Councillor Platts replied; Thank you, Mr. Furness, for your question.  Your question relates to the Mayoralty rather than the policies or actions of the Administration. As such, I do not feel it would be appropriate for me to comment. I would, however, like, with your permission Madam Mayor, to ask the Monitoring Officer if he would be able to explain the legal and constitutional position.

36.4         The Monitoring Officer stated that the Local Government Act 1972 did not prohibit the Mayor from standing as an MP; although they would need to be mindful of the office in regard to their canvassing.  The only restriction was that it was not possible to hold both the office of an MEP and MP.  Should there be a General Election and the Mayor was elected, she would have to stand-down as an MEP.

36.5         Mr. Furness asked the following supplementary question; would Councillor Platts take on board the legal position and ask the Mayor to relinquish the chains of office as they would be unable to campaign otherwise.

36.6         The Mayor noted the question and asked the Monitoring Officer to respond.

36.7         The Monitoring Officer confirmed that the only restriction was that the office of MEP and MP could not be held at the same time.  The role of the Mayor was not affected by a decision to stand for election to Parliament.

36.8         The Mayor thanked Mr. Furness for his questions and invited Mr. Christopher Hawtree to come forward and address the council.

36.9         Mr. Hawtree asked the following question; Would Councillor Robins please tell us when the use of the £121,000 per year (which was brought back to Libraries at February’s Budget) will be discussed at a Committee, as promised by Councillor Knight in her reply to my supplementary question several months ago?

36.10      Councillor Robins replied; £63,000 of the £121,000 put back into the Libraries’ budget to help safeguard the future of library services has been permanently added to the staffing budget, enabling 60 extra hours a week for frontline staffing across the library service.  The remaining £58,000 is being used this year to cover temporary staffing pressures, and to support the setting up of the new Business and IP service, and the development of a new four-year Libraries Service plan.  The longer-term use of the remaining £58,000 will be discussed as part of the ongoing budget proposals, due to come to Policy & Resources Committee on 5^th December.

36.11      Mr. Hawtree asked the following supplementary question; Could Councillor Robins confirm what the position is regarding the Library Plan and when it was likely to come to committee?

36.12      Councillor Robins replied; The Library Service Plan had been drawn up and was due to be outlined at a workshop on the 19^th November which was open to all councillors and he hoped that many would attend to provide feedback.

36.13      The Mayor thanked Mr. Hawtree for his questions and invited Mr. Ollie Sykes to come forward and address the council.

36.14      Mr. Sykes asked the following question; February Budget Council allocated £190k in recurrent funding to the rebuilding of the council’s Sustainability Team to help the council better address climate and wildlife emergencies as these concern our city, as well as other matters such as fuel poverty in our city. Can the Chair of ETS please provide an update on the implementation of that agreed allocation?

36.15      Councillor Pissaridou replied; Budget Council on 28 February agreed £190k in new funding to the council’s Sustainability Team to provide staff and other resources required to expand activity in climate change mitigation and biodiversity protection and enhancement, following Council’s unanimous declaration of climate and biodiversity emergencies in December 2018. This work may include development of citywide initiatives such as food waste collection, district heat installations, renewable energy development, biodiversity enhancement in the urban and rural estate and green infrastructure work.

In 19/20 a smaller amount of the additional will be spent on staffing, and the majority is allocated to sustainability initiatives. Current plans include a minimum £75k allocation to the emerging Carbon Neutral 2030 programme which will help to develop our city response to the Climate Emergency, including supporting the development and delivery of a Citizens Assembly on climate change. In addition, approximately £25k of the funding is being used to develop the Circular Economy route map, which will present opportunities to understand how better use of materials, resources and space can help to significantly reduce our carbon footprint. The route map will focus on two sectors initially: the built environment and construction, and the visitor economy, and it is anticipated that the route map could be approved in spring 2020. 

From 20/21 most of the funding will allocated to new sustainability posts and a restructure of the Sustainability team will take place in the coming months. Roles are likely to include an additional Sustainability project manager and a Biodiversity officer. Work is underway to determine the exact structure and role descriptions required in line with HR policies and procedures, as part of a wider service redesign of teams within City Development & Regeneration. In addition, discussions are underway with other council teams to part fund roles around Energy and green infrastructure – it is envisaged that these roles could be recruited in early 2020.

Any underspend of this £190k allocation in 2019/20, will be spent on alternative sustainability initiatives. This could include revenue elements relating to capital projects funded through the £500k Sustainability and Carbon Reduction Investment Fund (SCRIF).

36.16      Mr. Sykes asked the following supplementary question; whilst we are a Silver Food Standard City, I wondered if the Chair of ETS would considers using some of the funding referred to, to enable the city to achieve the Gold Standard?

36.17      Councillor Pissaridou replied; In 2021 the intention is to allocate the funding to new sustainability posts, but I am more than happy to take on board the request and look at what can be done to enable the council to work towards the Gold Standard.

36.18      The Mayor thanked Mr. Sykes for his questions and invited Mr. Daniel Harris to come forward and address the council.

36.19      Mr. Harris asked the following question; The Valley Social Club has been a staple of the Whitehawk community for generations, starting as a shack and with the help of the local community who helped to fundraise we have the large community building which is standing today. In 2015 over 10 trustees resigned, leaving two and Conservative Councillor Mary Mears left. The building has been inaccessible to the local community. I support the council buying this asset. Can the council confirm the completion date and price paid for the Valley Social Club?

36.20      Councillor Platts replied; The council’s Policy & Resources Committee authorised the purchase of the Valley Social Centre at their October meeting in order to secure the site for community facilities and social housing that would benefit the wider Whitehawk community.  Negotiations are currently underway with Trustees, but the sale and final price are yet to be agreed.  The council is not at liberty to say anymore at this stage.

36.21      Mr. Harris asked the following supplementary question; Would the council halt its Neighbourhood Plan until there have been consultations with the community about the need for a community facility in the area.?

36.22      Councillor Platts replied; There is provision for the community to be consulted in due course, however the objective at present is to secure the site so that its future can then be determined for the benefit of the community.

36.23      The Mayor thanked Mr. Harris for his questions and invited Ms. Irina Blosse to come forward and address the council.

36.24      Ms. Blosse asked the following question; EMF safety limit guidelines were set by The International Commission on Non-Ionizing Radiation Protection (ICNIRP) in 1998. However, because many health effects from radiation below the guidelines’ levels were confirmed by scientists and doctors, many countries including France, Cyprus and Russia chose to significantly reduce these limits, especially in places where children were present: schools, playgrounds etc. Children and pregnant women are the most vulnerable. Shouldn't we be taking extreme care when proposing to increase the radiation levels even further with 5G and adopt a Precautionary Principle instead? 

36.25      Councillor Moonan replied; Nationally, Public Health England provides the expert advice on public health matters associated with radiofrequency electromagnetic fields, or radio waves, used in telecommunications. The implementation and regulation of 5G technology is a national responsibility and local authorities do not have a direct role other than considering the installation of new transmitters within the planning process.

Public Health England has provided the following information on the safety of 5G technology.The UK uses international health-related guideline levels that are based on the International Commission on Non-Ionizing Radiation Protection (ICNIRP). Current technical standards that draw on the ICNIRP guidelines will apply to the 5G products that are developed. UK network operators are already committed to complying with the ICNIRP guidelines.

The highest frequencies being discussed for future use by 5G are around 10 times higher than those used by current network technologies, up to a few tens of gigahertz (GHz).

Their use is not new, and they have been used for point-to-point microwave links and some other types of transmitters that have been present in the environment for many years. ICNIRP guidelines apply well beyond the maximum frequencies proposed for 5G.

PHE advise that it is possible that there may be a small increase in overall exposure to radio waves when 5G is added to an existing network or in a new area. However, the overall exposure is expected to remain low relative to guidelines and, as such, there should be no consequences for public health.PHE has stated it is committed to monitoring the evidence applicable to this and other radio technologies, and to revising its advice, should that be necessary.

36.26      Ms. Blosse asked the following supplementary question; The ICNIRP guidelines were set up as a result of research into the heating effects from EMF on an adult brain. It does not take into consideration however that a child's brain, bones and biology are different to that of an adult.  The ICNIRP have a disclaimer that they are not responsible for any third-party damage and their guidelines are only for information.

Will Brighton and Hove Council be responsible then for any damage to our children from exposure to EMF from 5G, if they allow this technology to be rolled-out in Brighton and Hove?

36.27      Councillor Moonan replied; I do understand your concerns and anxiety and to reiterate our powers as a local authority are limited and we do not have the scientific expertise and have to rely on Public Health England to give advice.  We are following that advice and if it changes out response would change as a result.

36.28      The Mayor thanked Ms. Blosse for her questions and noted that concluded the item.