Agenda item - Oral questions from Councillors

41.1         The Mayor noted that 15 oral questions had been received.  The Mayor stated that 30 minutes were set aside for the duration of the item.

 

41.2         Councillor Mac Cafferty asked the following question, A few weeks ago councillors might recall that the Government announced a rise in the PWLB loan rate of 1%.  That may sound innocuous the reality is that it means for us like councils around the country that there is another huge cut coming. It came also in the same week that council houses won the Stirling prize and the councils announced that they are going to building 80 thousand new homes before 2025. The LGA calculates this could cost all of us another £70 million a year. I have a few questions and I am wondering if the Leader of the Council agrees with me that this move is damaging to the local government especially at this particular time? Also, what analysis and assessment has been done to understand what this might actually mean to us and indeed what contingencies do we have to deal with the change regardless of the damaging move, so we aren’t hurt significantly?

 

41.3         Councillor Platts replied, Firstly, I want to reassure the councillors that the PWLB interest rate rise does not affect the i360 financing arrangement. The loans for the i360 were taken out between 2014 and 2016 at fixed interest rates.

 

It is not helpful to have interest rates raised and there are other market lenders that we can look at for more competitive rates. If you require more information I can provide a written response.

 

41.4         Councillor Mac Cafferty asked the following Supplementary question, Given that the government has announced this without consultation would the Leader of the Council join with me in writing to the Secretary of State for Communities to condemn the move?

 

41.5         Councillor Platts replied, Yes, I would be happy to do that.

 

41.6         Councillor Bell asked the following question, Is the Administration pleased with the £14 billion that has been provided as extra money for school funding?

 

41.7         Councillor Allcock replied, Yes of course we welcome any money having been starved of funds for years. I had not been told it was £14 million, I have 5.2million for schools and 2.8 million for the special needs sector, but I will check up on your figure. School funding is complex School funding is complex and needs to take account of various grants, costs being met directly by schools, directly by local authorities and on occasion jointly.

 

Over the last four years the budget for schools in the city have risen due to an increase in the pupil population, but this rise has not kept pace with costs which have risen much more including a 13% increase in teacher pension costs without an increase in funding to cover this.  In addition:

·           Local Government pension costs for other school staff have also increased equating to a 4% increase for schools.

·           National Insurance rates have also increased by 4%.

·           Finally, general inflationary costs equate to a further 5% increase in school costs.

 

So overall, pay and other costs have risen by around 24% for schools between 2010 and 2019.  This is compared to overall funding increases for schools of around 14%, obviously leaving schools with a significant shortfall in funding over the period.

 

The 3.9% increases in the schools funding block that we anticipate receiving in the financial year 2020/21 is appreciated and will begin to address the huge funding gap that has been the legacy of Conservative Government cuts to our Children and Young People’s Education.

 

Conservative cuts are starving our schools of the funding they need to deliver a first-class education. Crippling underfunding is driving up class sizes and forcing schools to cut corners. A narrow curriculum and a culture of assessment is driving away teachers, creating a recruitment and retention crisis.

 

I am sure that bit of money will help as we have a lot to replace of what has been taken away.

 

41.8         Councillor Bell asked the following Supplementary question, I agree that cuts are a bad thing, can the Administration explain why they are cutting £1.9 million out of all our schools funding by refusing to pay out the term funding which they have been struggling with. We have been approached by the Schools Forum who have explained they are struggling, and this Administration has said ‘you must fund this yourself’.

 

41.9         Councillor Allcock replied, I assume you are referring to term time only backpay. New national guidance following a court case relating to term-time only staff has made it clear that these staff are owed some back pay. The previous system had been used for many years and was established practice across the country. This ruling has had a major impact nationally and affects many staff locally.  

 

There is no national formula for working out exactly how much people are owed. Following formal negotiations with our trade unions, with whom we work very closely, we have reached a local agreement on how much our term-time only staff are owed. We are doing everything we can to make sure all school staff affected are paid what is owed to them before the end of the year.

We are writing to staff due a back payment on an individual basis to make sure we can sit down with them to agree the payment and do the paperwork needed to make this possible. In strict legal terms, the cost of these back-pay liabilities falls to individual schools, not the council, but we are very aware that school budgets as I have referred to earlier are under a lot of pressure and we recognise that the back-pay liability is a big one-off financial burden for our schools.  But the same is true of the council, we’ve had massive reductions in government funding over the last ten years £100 million and we are currently waiting to hear exactly how much funding the government is going to give the council for next year.

 

So, despite the continuing funding reductions the council is facing, we are committed to sharing the financial burden of this payment with our schools. We have offered to meet 50% of the back-pay liability. We are also offering to pay our schools’ 50% share of the bill upfront and allow them to pay us back over 10-years. We have done this by making available reserves being held for future projects that aren’t needed in the short term. However, we listen to people because we want to know what is going on we listen carefully to what our schools are telling us, we have offered to suspend those repayments during this financial year and the next one, while the individual settlements with staff and future government funding allocations are being worked out.  During this period, we are determined to consider all options.

 

We recognise that some schools will be more affected by this issue than others and have undertaken to look at each school’s needs on a case-by-case basis. We will be discussing this issue further with our headteachers at our next Schools Forum meeting and that feels like the most appropriate way to go.”

 

41.10      Councillor Hugh-Jones asked the following question, Following on from my written question in July and subsequent correspondence between Councillor Pissaridou, myself and one of my residents who has been voluntarily monitoring the performance cleaning contract in relation to the Blakers Park facilities specifically. Has the Administration considered the health and safety and qualities impact of the contractor’s poor performance?  I say this because quite often public toilets are quite often located close to children’s play areas and are relied on by those children but also, they are frequently used by older people, those with disabilities and men with prostrate issues. Given the contractor’s poor performance why does it get a green rating in the Procurement Advisory Table? Is the contract being properly monitored?

 

41.11      Councillor Pissaridou replied, City Clean continue to work with Healthmatic, who are contracted to carry services at public conveniences across the city. There have been some ongoing issues with the delivery of the contract and we are working together to resolve these. The standard of service and staffing issues has been escalated to senior management of the company and we are asking them to address this with urgency. We are liaising with the council’s legal team to identify options to help manage and resolve the concerns we have with the service received from the contractor.

 

41.12      Councillor Hugh-Jones asked the following supplementary question, My resident submitted a freedom of information request in relation to this contract she then challenged a number of the original answers she received as either not answering her questions or being incomplete. Of her 24 original questions she had further questions on 18 of them. Her complaint was subsequently upheld, so my question is how come unreliable and incomplete information was provided in relation to the FOI in the first place?

 

41.13      Councillor Pissaridou replied, I understand that the Assistant Director of City Clean met with your resident this week, so I think that has gone a little further than what you have set out. I have nothing further to add to this because it is a very sensitive are other than to say, as you know, we are taking these concerns very seriously indeed and will do whatever necessary to resolve the situation.

 

41.14      Councillor Barnett asked the following question, Everywhere you look the city is full of graffiti it is filthy this look is completed by rubbish on the pavements. What impression does this give to visitors on which we rely on for revenue. It is not doing our credibility any good. We are known as a protest city not as a nice place to spend a week away. The state of this city is not due to the cost cut of spending, other towns and cities also have experienced the same cuts as the south but wherever you go in the south coast everywhere else is brighter and cleaner, Brighton & Hove has deteriorated a lot in the recent years and is now far from the place that attracted tourists and holiday makers, bringing their money with them, now the city does not hold any attraction other than for protesting. Why are we just sitting back and letting this happen? Why do people feel they can deface the city with graffiti and rubbish and are allowed to carry on doing this, where has our pride gone? we seem to be sinking under a wave of dirt, graffiti and rubbish, nothing seems to be being done this is not down to funding cuts it is down to people turning a blind eye to not wanting to do anything about the state of the city and not caring. In the paper today and again last week there were photographs of people defacing the walls. Why are we not fining and making them clear their mess up?

 

41.15      Councillor Pissaridou replied, What I do have to say is to contradict what you say, by 2020, local councils will have faced a reduction to core funding of nearly £16 billion over the preceding decade. That is the reality of nearly 10 years of Tory Government and residents are seeing the consequences of those cuts.

 

Despite this, we are taking steps to modernise our services and we are consulting the local community on how we can work together to keep the city clean, including the best way to eliminate graffiti and tagging. We’ve already introduced fines for littering, including spitting chewing gum and for fly tipping. We would welcome any representation by Cllr Barnett, if she would like to, to make her friends in government, on the need for increased funding in local services which would support these efforts. Despite this, we are taking steps to modernise our services and we are consulting the local community on how we can work together to keep the city clean, including the best way to eliminate graffiti and tagging. 

 

We have introduced a consultation on graffiti we have already had 711 responses in one week and they are all positive that they want the council to take some action on persuading businesses and the private sector to do something about their graffiti and we are helping them to do that. So, we have got so many initiatives with graffiti being one of the main ones.

 

41.16      Councillor Barnett asked the following supplementary question,  Everyone has had cut backs and everywhere else they do the basics without wasting money.

 

41.17      Councillor Pissaridou replied, I did not get another question, but I have found my note on tourism. The latest figures on tourism show a positive response across the board, day trips up by 1%, direct business turnover increased by 4% to 335 million, overnight stays domestic visitors up by 7%, overseas visitors decreased by 4%. But across the SE as whole the increase was 23% down so we are ‘bucking the trend’. On graffiti the figures on the consultation 716. We can’t enforce other businesses to remove graffiti on their premises, but public pressure will do so. Of 70% of those that responded said that statutory undertakers should remove their own graffiti and over 70% said large businesses should remove their own, so we are on track.

 

41.18      Councillor Fishleigh asked the following question, Anyone who listens to Radio Sussex or Drive Time on Radio 2 knows that the A259 between Brighton Marina and Newhaven is in trouble, despite falling traffic volume congestion is increasing and seriously affecting the bus services. A detailed survey of traffic flow on the A259 between Eastbourne and the Aquarium is currently being conducted, it is funded to tune of £100,000 by Lewes District Council. Consultants and officials working on this survey have repeatedly asked Brighton & Hove Council to share information about traffic flows in its part of the A259. Will Brighton & Hove City Council please commit to researching and sharing all the information that the A259 traffic consultants need by Christmas so that their report isn’t delayed.

 

41.19      Councillor Pissaridou replied, I believe that you are referring to a planned study of the A259 which is carried out by East Sussex County Council.  Once the city council has a clearer understanding of the nature and extent of that study, it will be able to fully consider what information may be available to help to inform it. ESCC and LDC arranged a meeting in March 2018 to ‘share the current evidence base and explore short, medium- and long-term strategies in relation to congestion of the A259.’  The then Chair of the ETS Committee attended that meeting. Other invitees included local MPs, Leaders and Lead Councillors of Lewes District, East Sussex and Brighton & Hove, plus council, Local Enterprise Partnership, National Park Chief Execs and/or Senior Officers.  An independent consultant was commissioned to make a presentation about the A259.

 

Later in 2018, ESCC announced that it intended to fund a study of the A259 in 2019/20.  LDC subsequently agreed to allocate £50,000 to the study.  BHCC has not been approached for, or made, any similar financial commitment as part of its revenue budget.

 

41.20      Councillor Fishleigh asked the following supplementary question,  These consultants have asked the council for information and it is not forthcoming so can somebody at the Council get on the case as it is delaying the report?

 

41.21      Councillor Pissaridou replied, There is no further information currently available to enable officers to fully consider the implications and opportunities to the city council and its partners, stakeholders and local communities to actively engage with the study.

 

41.22      Councillor Ebel asked the following question, To my surprise the Conservative Group did not attend the extraordinary Council meeting to debate the effect of Brexit on our city. Does the Leader of the Council condemn the practice of signing the attendance register only to then boycott the meeting?

 

41.23      Councillor Platts replied, I think it is unacceptable for people to sign in as if they are attending the meeting and then not actually attend.

 

41.24      Councillor Ebel asked the following supplementary question, On the day of the extraordinary Council meeting Cllr Steve Bell was reported by the Argus saying that this meeting was a waste of tax payers’ money. I was born in the GDR and have lived my first few years in a place that was not a democracy I therefore value democracy very highly. What we saw on 3 October was a conservative party that shied away from a debate on a mess that they have created. Does the Leader of the Council agree that democracy is never a waste of money and that residents have a right to be informed about the consequences of the Brexit mess that the Conservative party has left this country with?

 

41.25      Councillor Platts replied, I agree with you that as long as it is within the rules we have a perfect right for a want to call a debate and it is very important for democracy to be done.

 

41.26      Councillor Mears asked the following question, Can the Deputy Chair of Housing inform us what extra work is taking place in the city along with the 18 services including St Mungo’s that help the Housing Department are already working with and also with the police. We know that alcohol and drugs are an addiction and are killing rough sleepers and homeless on the streets and she is aware of the organised gangs now working in the city from London Road to Portslade. Although it is applaudable to be providing extra accommodation for homeless shelters prevention is paramount because it saves lives and without that going forward we can build and spend as much money on extra shelters but unless we bring prevention in very firmly more and more people will die on our streets.

 

41.27      Councillor Brennan replied, Lack of prevention is due to the cuts that have been made to substance misuse and mental health primarily. The only way we will prevent people from going on to our streets and taking the drugs and alcohol that they have to take to get through their day will be when we stop this austerity, when we stop Universal Credit, when we stop these awful ideologies that we have. When we take away people’s nets they fall through them and what we are seeing is that we are having to sweep up the mess. I firmly believe in treatment and consulting rooms for people that are taking drugs on the street, but all this is going to take money. I believe that people should have shelter and it is not a privilege. If that means setting up night shelters, then albeit and if it means taking them off the streets when it is pouring with rain for 5 days then let’s do it.

 

The council are doing a lot and I, like you, would like to make sure that the money is going to the people on the streets and not into middle management and into big charities etc. I am here really for this purpose, I want to stop the chaos on the streets I see people who have been out there for 2 years it is so entrenched that it is all they know, and I would like to help those people feel better about themselves so that they don’t want to keep going out and begging.

 

The gangs, I was straight on to them if they are exploiting people, they move around, and I am very aware of them and they are very aware of me and I am in contact with the community safety team within the council. We also have women on the streets, women should not be sleeping on the street ever. It is like going back to the 1800s and they are plying their goods for a sip of gin, that is reality out there being accosted by men for sexual tricks and all the sexual disease that people have, and it is something that this Administration is compassionate about we want to solve this. That will mean asking for more money in the next budget.

 

41.28      Councillor Mears asked the following supplementary question, Thank you for your response, I think it is important to point out that alcohol and drug addiction is not necessarily afflicted on people on lower incomes it can be anybody from any walks of life, it isn’t necessarily around austerity but we are seeing on our streets more and more rough sleepers and homeless and if you look at them you can tell that there is a serious addiction in this city and we also know and are aware of the gangs coming into the city to put people on the streets begging and that needs to be addressed because it deters from actually dealing with those that absolutely need the council’s and other organisations help but it is growing out of all proportion.

 

Going forward is there going to be a new homeless and Rough Sleepers’ Strategy? Over the years, it wasn’t that long from the previous Labour administration’s strategy and we have some many strategies and policies within the council, I don’t know where they end up, but I would request and hope on the new strategy that they check through the old strategy so things that work, that make a difference are put into the new strategy.

 

41.29      Councillor Brennan replied, My priority, and I am very aware of the drug and alcohol problem in the city, from teenagers and you are right it doesn’t just affect people of low incomes, is the people on the streets and how can we do that? It is by having more treatment centres, more detox beds and this is all the stuff that I want to bring into the strategy I agree with this.

 

41.30      The Mayor noted that the 30 minutes set aside for oral questions from Members had been reached and therefore the remaining eight questions would be carried over to the next meeting.