Agenda item - Notices of Motion.

The following Notices of Motion have been submitted by Members for consideration (copies attached):

 

(a)         Community Covenant - Proposed by Councillor G Theobald.

(b)        Committee System – Proposed by Councillor Peltzer Dunn.

(c)         Return to the Committee System – Proposed by Councillor Mitchell.

(d)        Legal Aid Cuts – Proposed by Councillor Morgan.

(e)         Legal Aid – Proposed by Councillor MacCafferty.

(f)           Responsibilities Towards Travelling Communities – Proposed by Councillor West.

 

 

 

(a)               Armed Forces Covenant for Brighton & Hove

 

15.1         The Notice of Motion as detailed in the agenda was proposed by Councillor G. Theobald and seconded by Councillor A. Norman.

 

15.2         Councillor Farrow moved an amendment on behalf of the Labour & C0-Operative Group which was seconded by Councillor Turton.

 

15.3         The Mayor congratulated Councillor Farrow on his maiden speech.

 

15.4         The Mayor noted that the amendment moved by Councillor Farrow had not been accepted by Councillor Theobald and therefore put the proposed amendment to the vote which was lost.

 

15.5         The Mayor then put the following motion to the vote:

 

“This Council recognises the huge contribution made by the UK’s armed forces in protecting the basic and fundamental freedoms which we all take for granted. As a result of their duties they sacrifice civilian freedoms, face constant danger and sometimes suffer serious injury or even death. At the very least, they deserve our respect and support and should face no disadvantage compared to other citizens in the provision of services.

 

This Council warmly welcomes recent initiatives in Brighton & Hove which have sought to recognise the unique contribution of the armed forces such as the ‘Heroes Welcome’ campaign, Armed Forces Day celebrations, the Freedom Parade and the awarding of Freedom of the City to Henry Allingham and Flight Lieutenant Marc Heal.

 

However, this Council recognises that both nationally and locally, the Armed Forces community (including veterans, reservists and their families) face many unique social and economic problems and distinct challenges in accessing services provided by public authorities.

 

Therefore, this Council welcomes the recent commitment by the Government to enshrine the national Armed Forces Covenant into law. This will bring about tangible benefits to the Armed Forces Community including increasing council tax relief to 50%, a pupil premium for service children, a new veterans’ information service, a Veterans’ Card and a Troops to Teachers scheme.

 

This Council wishes to further show its moral and practical support to the local armed forces, veterans, reservists and their families by committing to sign a Community Covenant. The aims of the Community Covenant include:

 

·         Encouraging local communities to support the Armed Forces in their areas and vice versa;

 

·         Promoting understanding and awareness amongst the public of issues affecting the Armed Forces community;

 

·         Recognising and remembering the sacrifices made by the Armed Forces community; and

 

·         Encouraging activities which help to integrate the Armed Forces Community into local life.

 

Therefore, this Council requests that the Cabinet considers signing a Brighton & Hove Community Covenant and asks for a report to be brought to a future meeting on how such a Covenant could be implemented, with a view to launching the Covenant on Remembrance Day 2011; and such report should be drawn up in close consultation with the Armed Forces Community and their representative organisations in Brighton and Hove.”

 

15.6         The motion was carried.

 

 

(b)       Returning to a Committee System in Brighton & Hove

(c)       Return to the Committee System

 

15.7         The Mayor noted that the notices of motion listed as Items 15(b) and 15(c) on the agenda related to the same subject matter and she would therefore take both items and have one debate on the issue, before putting each to the vote separately.

 

15.8         The Notice of Motion as detailed in the agenda was proposed by Councillor Peltzer Dunn and seconded by Councillor Wealls.

 

15.9         The Mayor congratulated Councillor Wealls on his maiden speech.

 

15.10    Councillor J. Kitcat moved an amendment to Item 15(b) on behalf of the Green Group which was seconded by Councillor Follett.

 

15.11    Councillor Hawtree stated that he believed in the committee system but recognised that there was a need to improve and therefore time was required to review how it could work for the city council.

 

15.12    The Mayor congratulated Councillor Hawtree on his maiden speech.

 

15.13    The Mayor noted that the amendment moved by Councillor Kitcat had not been accepted by Councillor Peltzer Dunn and therefore put the proposed amendment to the vote which was lost.

 

15.14    The Mayor then put the following motion 15(b) to the vote:

 

            “This Council notes that Schedule 2 of the Localism Bill currently going through Parliament gives provision for local authorities to return to operating a committee system of governance should they wish to do so.

 

            Prior to its implementation in 2008, all political groups on Brighton & Hove City Council were opposed to the Executive Leader and Cabinet system, and reaffirmed unanimously their desire to return to a committee system at Full Council on 15^th July 2010.

 

            This Council further notes that although, as it currently stands, new governance arrangements could only come into force immediately after the next election of the local authority – May 2015 in the case of Brighton & Hove – there is flexibility written into the Localism Bill. Clause 13 permits the Secretary of State to make an order setting out transitional arrangements and, in addition, s105 of the Local Government Act 2000 allows for secondary legislation specific to individual or groups of local authorities.

 

            Therefore, this Council:

 

·         Reaffirms its desire to return to a committee system of governance at the earliest possible opportunity;

 

·         Asks the Chief Executive to write to:

 

(a)    The Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government requesting the necessary amendments to the Bill and/or other measures, are so ordered to enable Brighton & Hove City Council to return to a committee system without delay and;

 

(b)    The City’s 3 MPs advising them of the Council’s wishes and requesting that they add their support through appropriate lobbying of the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government.”

 

15.15    The motion was carried.

 

15.16    The Mayor then put the following motion 15(c) to the vote:

 

            “On Thursday 15^th July 2010 the previous Council agreed:

 

(a)         that it desired to return to the committee system of governance, provided there is significant local support from residents to do so following proper consultation;

 

(b)         for the Chief Executive of the Council to write to the Minister with responsibility for Communities and Local Government asking when the required legislation will be forthcoming and seeking clarification of the process to be followed.

 

            Further to this agreement, the Localism Bill is due to become enacted later this year and according to advice from the Department of Communities & Local Government, it would be for councils opting to operate the committee system to decide how to discharge their functions, subject obviously to the requirement to have certain statutory committees and also subject to any regulations made by the Secretary of State specifying that certain functions (e.g. decisions on the council’s budget) should be for full council.

 

            This council therefore:

 

a)     reaffirms its desire to return to the committee system, as a model for running a more effective, inclusive and responsive City Council and;

 

b)     wishes to put in place all necessary arrangements as soon as possible and apply to the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government, as soon as the Localism Bill is enacted, to return to the committee system.”

 

15.17    The motion was carried.

 

Motion to terminate the meeting:

 

15.18    In accordance with Procedural rule 17, Councillor Fitch moved a closure motion to effectively terminate the meeting in view of the length and time of the meeting.

 

15.19    Councillor G. Theobald formally seconded the motion.

 

15.20    The Mayor therefore put the motion to the vote which was carried and noted that each of the remaining items would need to be taken and voted on or withdrawn by the mover before the meeting was concluded.

 

 

(d)       Legal Aid Cuts

 

15.21    Councillor Mitchell confirmed that she wished the Notice of Motion as detailed in the agenda to be taken.

 

15.22    The Mayor then put the following motion to the vote:

 

            “This Government proposes to cut £350 million to legal aid, as part of the Legal Aid, Sentencing and Punishment of Offenders Bill.

 

            As a result, over half a million fewer people a year will receive support from the legal aid system.

 

            This Council believes that these cuts to legal aid are short-sighted and counter-productive because many of the issues covered by legal aid will simply escalate, resulting in greater cost to the taxpayer further own the line. For example, according to cost-benefit analysis from the Citizens Advice Bureaux, for every one pound of legal aid expenditure on:

 

·         Housing advice, the state potentially saves £2.34

·         Debt advice, the state potentially saves £2.98

·         Benefits advice, the state potentially saves £8.80

·         Employment advice, the state potentially save £7.13

 

            Furthermore, Law Centres help 120,000 people annually. Independent research has revealed that for every £1 spent by a Law Centre in the provision of legal service, at least £10 was generated in savings and social benefits.

 

            Of these 120,000 people, with problems such as eviction, unfair dismissal, exclusion from school and domestic violence, it is estimated that 60,000 will no longer be helped, if these proposals are brought into force. There is no alternative source of advice available or that is suitable.

 

            This council believes that this Government’s proposals remove vital support when people need it the most and that it is an irresponsible time to be leaving the most vulnerable in society without advice or legal support, when demands on advice services as a result of Government cuts are higher than ever.

 

            This Council acknowledges that advice centre funding has been hit by cuts from all angles, from local authorities and central government grants from BIS, DCLG and now the Ministry of Justice. This has put at risk, on average, nearly 45% of the funding that advice centres receive.

 

            This Council acknowledges the role of the local advice centres and is grateful of the hard work which helps so many vulnerable people in Brighton & Hove. These include Age Concern, Brighton Housing Trust, Citizens Advice Bureau, Community & Voluntary Sector Forum, Fitzhugh Gates Solicitors, MACS (Money Advice and Community Support), Mind, Rise Women’s Refuge, The Bridge Community Education Centre and the Whitehawk Inn.

 

            Approximately 20,000 residents receive one-to-one advice from voluntary sector agencies in this city, with the Brighton Housing Trust providing specialist casework support and representation to 3,000 people per year. Legal Aid accounts for around 90% of BHT funding for advice and around 25% of the Citizen’s Advice Bureau. 

 

            This Council therefore deeply regrets that due to proposed cuts, the admirable work of our local advice centres may be unable to continue and therefore resolves to:

 

(a)   Express its support to Brighton & Hove’s Justice for All campaign in asking Government to rethink their cuts to legal aid, and;

 

(b)   Requests the Chief Executive to write to the Secretary of State for Justice, Ken Clarke to express concern over these proposals.”

 

15.23    The motion was carried.

 

 

(e)       Legal Aid

 

15.24    Councillor MacCafferty confirmed that he wished the Notice of Motion as detailed in the agenda to be taken.

 

15.25    The Mayor then put the following motion to the vote:

 

            “This council notes with deep concern the Coalition Government’s plans to cut the national legal aid budget by £350 million depriving many Brighton & Hove residents from free legal advice. [1]

 

            It is concerned that claimants – including vulnerable residents needing help in cases of medical negligence, divorce, employment and welfare – will no longer be entitled to legal aid.  These people will be denied justice, as their cases will go unheard without the support of a legal aid lawyer.

Furthermore, the council is concerned the cuts will devastate the inspiring work of the local Citizen’s Advice Bureau and Brighton Housing Trust, among others. If Legal Aid Funding is withdrawn, Brighton and Hove Citizens Advice Bureau estimates it will no longer be able to help 220 local residents needing specialist welfare benefits advice and 381 needing specialist debt advice each year.

The work of the Brighton Housing Trust helps clients in more than 1,400 housing cases each year. The proposed legal aid cuts will mean 900 of those cases will go unsolved. Long-term problem solving will also be lost. The Legal Action Group estimates legal aid in East Sussex will be cut by 64% with a total loss of funding to legal aid providers of £407,266.40. [2]

This Council believes legal aid cuts in addition to the Coalition Government cuts to public services are a further blow to those communities in Brighton & Hove already enduring poverty and discrimination. Many older people, unemployed, families and the infirm will be left with little or no access to justice. The erosion of legal aid is likely to exclude even more people from enforcing their rights to fair treatment at work, decent housing and quality education and health.

This Council further believes cutting legal aid is a false economy and will bring additional costs to Brighton & Hove City Council as more hardship problems are relinquished by central Government. Indeed, in the opinion of the Law Society “The suggested cuts will cost the government and the tax payer more than they will save and will have a severe impact on society.”[3]

 

            Furthermore, in a period of economic depression, these cuts are likely to reduce social cohesion, increase criminality and silence the vulnerable.

This Council believes that fundamentally the legal aid cuts abandon the principle established by the Magna Carta of 1215 that everyone is equal in the eyes of the law.

 

            This Council resolves to:

 

1.      Express its support for the Sound off for Justice Campaign that has brought together the Law Society and non-government organisations as varied as the Women’s Institute, Netmums and Shelter to campaign against the changes;

 

2.      Ask the Cabinet to work with solicitors and barristers in the city with clients receiving legal aid to lobby the Government to reverse the cuts;

 

3.      Ask the Cabinet to work with Citizens Advice Bureau, Brighton Housing Trust and other NGOs and to lobby Government to axe the cuts;

 

4.      Ask the Cabinet to meet with the bodies affected by the cut in legal aid funding to examine what proposals can be drawn out to help them navigate the changes; and

 

5.      Request the Chief Executive to write to the city’s three MPs urging them to lobby for the withdrawal of the government proposals.”

15.26    The motion was carried.

 

 

(f)        Responsibilities Towards Travelling Communities

 

15.31    The motion as amended was carried.

 

Note:   The item was taken together with Item 7(b) on the agenda and the decision relating to this is therefore listed in the minutes under Item 7(b).