Agenda item - Oral questions from Councillors

(a)             Prevent Agenda

 

21.1         The Mayor noted that notification of 10 oral questions had been received and that 30 minutes was set aside for the duration of the item.  She then invited Councillor G. Theobald to put his question to Councillor Morgan.

 

21.2         Councillor G. Theobald asked, “On the 1^st July Section 26 of the Counter Terrorism and Security Act 2015 came into force imposing a statutory duty on local authorities to have and I quote ‘due regard to the need to prevent people from being drawn into terrorism’  this so called prevent duty.  Given the ever increasing threat from home grown terrorism will the Leader of the Council please tell residents how this council is working to comply with the new duty?”

 

21.3         Councillor Daniel replied; “Thank you for your question and it is completely relevant to everyone’s lives at the moment.  We have employed a Prevent Co-Ordinator in the last week and the Prevent Agenda and the duty is likely to be overseen by the Safe in the City Partnership but there is further guidance expected from Home Office on that.  We have received some funding from central government to deliver this project which is around doing everything we can as a council to prevent people from being, for the want of a better word “groomed into terrorism”.  As you know we are a priority area with some sad incidents where children in the city have been pulled into terrorism so we have dedicated support staff and been given £63,000.  We have three projects which have been identified by the Home Office as best practice and we were given £45,000 in late June 2015.

 

So as I say the Prevent Co-Ordinator is in place we have got a very strong relationship across the statutory sector partners in the city.  It has been taken very seriously and I would say that probably if you want a more detailed report your colleagues on the Neighbourhoods, Communities & Equalities Committee can obviously ask me to put this on the agenda and I would be more than happy to do so.”

 

21.4         Councillor G. Theobald asked the following supplementary question; “Thank you very much for that response.  Looking at the Terms of Reference of your Committee it does not actually cover one particular aspect because my supplementary question is this.  At a recent School Governors meeting, and I didn’t thinks schools came within the Neighbourhood brief, that I attended the Head Teacher actually flagged this up as a particular issue for schools and colleges.  Will Councillor Morgan ensure that local schools and colleges have all the support and assistance they need in order to help them meet the Prevent Duty?”

 

21.5         Councillor Daniel replied; “We have a programme with schools and Ofsted are also are going to oversee how schools manage the Prevent Agenda alongside a normal safeguarding programme.  I would like to tell you that the school that I work in in the city they have already incorporated this into their safeguarding procedures and training has been undertaken and hope this will reassure you.  Also a teacher in my Ward has also recently flagged issues where due to the good training they have received where they overheard a conversation; that is now being dealt with by the Prevent Workers.  So thank you for that and I would like to reassure you that this is in hand.”

 

(b)             Council Budget Development

 

21.6         Councillor Mac Cafferty asked; “The Labour manifesto had little to say about how they would deal with expected major cuts and grant supporting our council beyond mention of a Fairness Commission.  Can the Finance Lead tell this council what efforts this administration plans in terms of advocacy and political work such as approaches to Ministers and working with other council’s in order to protect decent and adequately resourced public services in Brighton and Hove?”

 

21.7         Councillor Hamilton replied; “We have set up this Fairness Commission and we will be consulting with them.  We are hoping to get some quite useful information from our Neighbourhoods, Communities & Equalities Cttee as well.  We are actively at the moment consulting other councils throughout the country seeing what methods they are using to try to reduce the effect of the cuts we all have to face.  Obviously it is very early days yet and you must appreciate that as we get through the budget review programme I am sure we will actually have more ideas and if Councillor Mac Cafferty has any more ideas he would like us to look at we would be most pleased to do so.  We want this to be an open operation and obviously every time we have a budget review group we are looking to see what progress is being made with regard to facing the issues that have been raised.  We are going to have problems and it is sensible, it seems to us to find out exactly what is happening in other areas of the country where people are managing in various ways to try and come in within budget.  At Policy & Resources last week we viewed a document which showed various ways in which we are hoping to actually offer services at a better and cheaper rate.  These are the avenues that we are considering at the moment to see how we can try to provide the best possible services for our residents within the confines of the money that is available to us.  I think all I can say is we are at a very early stage of the process.”

 

21.8         Councillor Mac Cafferty asked the following supplementary question; “I am glad that you referred to the Policy & Resources paper because it appeared to pave the way for major service cuts, privatisation, and increases in council tax for the working pair and also at the same time it seems just to reach budget consultation.  Our Group is against cuts in public services, is against privatisation and in favour of robust comprehensive conversation with the residents of this city about financing quality public services.  Can the Finance Lead from the Labour Administration tell us why our Group should support the Administration’s budget approach please?”

 

21.9         Councillor Hamilton replied; “As it was said at the last budget approval, we are looking at every possibility.  We have a blank sheet of paper and we are looking at every considerable way in which we could in fact provide services maybe more cheaply as other local authorities and so on.  We all know that in the future we will be asked to put up the council tax up by x y z maybe, but the only experiment that has been tried so far proved to be unsuccessful and so therefore, we don’t think that is going to be the answer.  So we have got to work within the limits that we know are available and at the moment there is a possibility of a maximum of 2% increase but who knows that might even go down we don’t know.  At the last Policy & Resources meeting it was quite interesting to see quite a few people supporting the way we hope to go about carrying out this work. 

 

There are other organisations that we can work with; we talked about the possibility of working with East Sussex and Surrey with regard to some services.  That’s not privatisation, that’s working with other local authorities and these are the sort of things that we intend to do.  I think we need to wait until we are further down the round, although no doubt we will probably get a question at every council.  If we have any further information that we can convey at Budget Review Group, we will do so and we will need to see what is the best way to undertake a consultation in order that we get the widest possible input from people in the city so that we can hopefully work as well as we can to try to meet their aspirations.”

 

(c)             Legal Highs

 

21.10      Councillor Simson asked; “The use of legal Highs in the UK are growing rapidly with campaign groups and  Angelus  estimating  that 13.6 percent of 14 – 18 year olds school students and 19% of university fresher’s had tried one.  Whilst no specific research has been carried out in Brighton and Hove on their youth anecdotal evidence suggests that it is becoming increasing prevalent in our city.  I attended a recent meeting of the Sussex Partnership NHS Trust where legal highs were up for discussion and it is clear that the NHS is really struggling to get to grips with mental health effects of these on users, not to mention the increased costs of treatment and it is especially prevalent in Brighton and Hove.

 

Do you agree with me Councillor Yates that this is an issue that the Health & Wellbeing Board should be looking into as a matter of priority?”

 

21.11      Councillor Yates replied; “Yes I do agree that this is an important issue.  This is one of the broadest issues we can see.  Coming back to Councillor Theobald’s earlier issue that he had with who does the question go to this is a question that could go to a number of the Committee Chairs because it crosses boundaries within this council that is why it is important that committees and ourselves as leads actually work together. 

 

I had Councillor Penn looking at this as our Lead on Mental Health, so yes, from that perspective I do agree.  I think it is important that we understand that we have a number of issues around legal highs and how legal highs are dealt with across the city.  This is a matter that has already been dealt with and addressed by the Safe in the City Partnership Board.  They have had information going to them, they have been raising awareness, looking for soundings trying to pick up some of that anecdotal data because as you say we don’t have a clear set of data, we don’t know what is going on, but I can give perhaps some feedback about where we think we are. 

 

We know there are there are specific vulnerable groups that are more likely to make use of legal highs and when I say legal highs we can talk legal highs or we can talk novel psychoactive substances which can include legal highs and some other novel drugs that can be covered under the 1971 Misuse of the Drugs Act.  The issue really is actually identifying what groups are making use of these, students; children are large groups where there has been a significant amount of public concern.  There is also concern about people who are making use of hostels, people who are in temporary housing may have higher levels of use of these drugs as well, but if we don’t have the data we really can’t  do much else.  What we can do is take action on these so the council is working in partnership with other organisations especially the police, but using trading standards because many of these substances aren’t technically illegal and are not covered by the Misuse of Drugs Act.  As the Misuse of Drugs Act cannot keep up with the creation and with their classification then frequently we are relying on other forms or legislation and actually trading standards can have a better influence over this matter.  We need to be identifying how we address the health needs of this but we cannot do in this isolation, the Health and Wellbeing Board has to address treatment but we also have to make sure that we are addressing proper health education within schools, and that we have a proper substance misuse programme.  We are putting funding into these areas and we are making sure that we are addressing the needs and the influence that this can have on people’s pre-existing medical conditions as well.  All of those things are absolutely crucial to everyone that lives in the city, whether you are intending making use of novel psychoactive substances today or in the future or whether you are not. 

 

Whether you are worried about your families and your children making use of them or being influenced by them or being influenced by somebody who is under the influence of them.  The fact is that we are limited in the way that we can address this issue as we don’t have one single lead agency.”

 

21.12      Councillor Simson asked the following supplementary question; “A recent Guardian article about the Government’s new Psychoactive Substances Bill which seeks to ban the trade in legal highs featured a so-called high street head shop on Brighton’s, Queens Road, openly selling these drugs.  Will Councillor Yates join with me in welcoming the Government’s new Bill and   does he agree with me that such shops has no place in this city?”

 

21.13      Councillor Yates replied; “Yes.”

 

(d)             Use of Social Media

 

21.14      Councillor Sykes asked; “Can the Leader of the Council, Councillor Morgan, set out briefing what he considers to be acceptable for parameters of use of social media by councillors of any party?”

 

21.15      Councillor Morgan replied; “Thank you Councillor Sykes.  We do have a protocol for all councillors regarding the use of social media and that has been shared as part of the induction process.  If further training is needed then it will be undertaken.”

 

21.16      Councillor Sykes asked the following supplementary question; “On social media I think lots of us here use it, we can be provocative, we can be opinionated, we can be fierce we can banter and that is all fine, but we should always be truthful Madam Mayor, in fact as Councillor Morgan referred to it is one 7 principles of public life set out in the code of conduct that Members should be truthful.  So my question is what advice does Councillor Morgan have for any Members of any group here whose tweets, Facebook posts have content that is without evidence and demonstrably false.”

 

21.17      Councillor Morgan replied; “Well without knowing the specific examples that Councillor Sykes is referring to it is very hard for me to comment.”

 

(e)             Housing Services Accessibility

 

21.18      Councillor Mears asked; “I appreciate that Councillor Meadows is the new Chair of Housing and much was decided before her chairmanship and I recognise that but I was greatly concerned to hear that is now proposals to move housing officer from Bartholomew House to the Moulsecoomb Housing Centre making access very difficult  for residents, tenants and staff across the city.  Barts House is more accessible and very local while Moulsecoomb Housing Centre is actually not accessible unless you have a car and we are supposed to be a car free friendly city.

 

I fail to understand why through re-organisation proposals for backroom services like HR and Finance are to move into Barts House when in fact these services could be placed anywhere not in prime accessible office space.  Will the Chair of Housing use her position to ensure that such moves are looked at again allowing proper access for those needing housing services?”

 

21.19         Councillor Meadows replied; “Thank you Councillor Mears for your question.  Essentially I believe it is about how to access service in Housing and I would like to say that the Housing Customer Services Team deals with all general queries from council tenants and leaseholders and can be contacted in the following ways:

 

1.     By phone.

2.     By Email.

3.     In person at 3 Housing Offices, Victoria Road, Portslade, Whitehawk Hub and Lavender Street in Kemp Town.

4.     In person at Bartholomew House and I had forgotten the use of the free phones and computers in various offices around city and libraries so that it enables residents to contact council services.

 

I am a little disturbed and I do not really want to discuss staff in this medium so I would prefer to discuss how residents can actually contact the council to get their queries dealt with promptly.”

 

21.20      Councillor Mears asked the following supplementary question; “I would like to really see an impact assessment for these moves as tenants and staff with disabilities will be prevented from accessing the Housing Centre.  When the Housing Management Contract was let to Mears financial arrangements were made by the Housing Revenue Account regarding set up costs.  I would like to see a full report on the costs subsidies that are happening from the HRA to the General Fund.

 

Can the Chair of Housing confirm that all these changes have been presented to Area Panels for tenants’ agreement as it will be tenants subsidising the cost from their rents and that there will be a report to the next Housing Committee.”

 

21.21      Councillor Meadows replied; “Thank you for reminding me, you are quite right those who are disabled, those who are housebound and not able to get out can actually have home visits arranged for them, but the other matter that you require is more an HR matter and not under my remit.”

 

(f)              Brighton University Free School

 

21.22      Councillor Phillips asked; “When is there going to be an independent assessment of what is needed with regards to a new Secondary School in the city.”

 

21.23      Councillor Bewick replied; “As this is my first intervention in this chamber can I just say that it is a privilege to represent the residents of Westbourne and it is an honour to lead on Children, Young People and Skills in the city.

 

Coming on to Councillor Phillips question she talks about the evidence for the newly proposed Free School.  Can I just say that in taking up office Madam Mayor I was made aware of some local concerns about the way the authority has made the case of additional secondary school places in the city?  Madam Mayor I would like to inform Members that I recently asked officers to commission and independent review of our school places for casting methodology and for the findings of the review to be reported to the Children, Young Peoples & Skills Cttee which I Chair on the 12 October when the report will be made public.”

 

21.24      Councillor Phillips asked the following supplementary question; “Are there plans to consult with the city before a decision is made?”

 

21.25      Councillor Bewick replied; “I think it is important that we understand that some of the decisions about the Free School.  This is not a decision for this council it is a decision for the Secretary of State for Education.  It is no secret that my party has very deep concerns about the Free School policy, and the way it is being implemented by a Conservative Government, but let’s also be clear that from these benches we will put children and their families first in this city.  We have a secondary places issue which we need to address and we will therefore be engaging, positively and constructively with the Brighton University’s Trust in how we look at providing those school places to our young people as we go forward.”

 

(g)             Travellers – Response to Unauthorised Encampments

 

21.26      Councillor Bell asked; “I am very happy that Councillor Gill Mitchell will be answering this question for me.  We welcome the review of the traveller policy announced by the Leader of the Council and the Chair of the Environment Transport & Sustainability Committee in June.  As you may know all encampments occur after 5pm in the evening, especially on Fridays or during the weekends when the travellers know that our response as a council and from the police will be much slower.

 

As part of their review would the Administration agree to look at the issue of out of hours officer cover to ensure and protect the residents so that we don’t have to wait until Monday morning before we find any activity or action taken against these unauthorised encampments from the council?”

 

21.27      Councillor Mitchell replied; “Thank you very much Councillor Bell for your question.  The council’s policy for managing unauthorised encampments promotes a fair but firm approach within the national legal framework. The council does not tolerate unauthorised encampments in its parks and sensitive sites and will not tolerate the anti-social behaviour that is sometimes associated with such encampments.

 

The joint working operations between the council and the police are now much improved with new encampments being visited on the day of arrival or within 24 hours.  That is a commitment from both the council and from the police.  Out of working hours and at weekends the police are always able to contact relevant senior council officers if needed and so there is nodelay in agreeing the approach to any particular encampment.  At busy times when there have been several new encampments arriving it does make sense to wait to do a joint inspection of the encampments which then can speed up the decision making as to how that encampment is going to be tackled. 

 

As an Administration since May we have wasted no time in reviewing the current policy as you say and we have now introduced through Policy & Resources proposals for the use of public space protection orders and we are very grateful for the support from your colleagues for that.  Where possible and within financial constraints the council does seek to physically protect sites and in addition the council has and does use injunctions where appropriate, pursues cases by the civil route and the police continue to use the special powers which will be able to be increased when the new sites are fully open.”

 

21.28      Councillor Bell asked the following supplementary question; “Thank you very much for your answer Councillor Mitchell and I appreciate that you are trying to make some changes.  However, I do not feel that it is acceptable that we have to wait for a council officer to come back on a Monday morning.  We have had three recent encampments in Woodingdean where the police were in attendance when it was only two or three travellers.  The same it Rottingdean as well when they came down and also in a Ward which you are familiar with, by the Racecourse, where there were only a few travellers on the site.  The police were in attendance at all three sites but would not do anything or failed to do anything at all because there was no council officer representation nor was there one available.  So I cannot accept your answer on that and I would respectfully request that you do seek to look at this, because I think city and the settled community deserve 24 / 7 council officer assistance with police to make sure that the travelling community are dealt with swiftly.”

 

21.29      Councillor Mitchell replied; “Councillor Bell was asking for an extension to the Traveller Liaison Team.  This is only something that can be done as part of the Budget setting process and it is certainly something that we will look at.”

 

(h)             Trees

 

21.30      Councillor Druitt asked; “My wife sometimes complains that she is the third favourite in our relationship, after buses and trees.  Trees as we all appreciate have many benefits, the improve air quality, they improve bio-diversity, they reduce crime, the improve peoples’  wellbeing and I am aware Councillor Mitchell did a lot of work in 2006 on the Supplementary Planning Document, Number 6 which provides policy for trees in relation to Planning Policy.  I would like to thank her for that work.

 

That was eight years ago though and I would like to ask whether this SPD Number 6 is still fit for purpose with the adoption of the National Planning Policy Framework in the meantime and its presumption in favour of so-called sustainable development and also whether there is a case for broadening our policy on trees to guide all aspects of council decision making not just planning decisions?”

 

21.31      Councillor Mitchell replied; “Thank you very much Councillor Druitt.  I had actually forgotten about the SPD, but thank you for refreshing my memory.  As you know SPD’s are things are readily reviewed by our Planning Department in conjunction with all of the other work that they do carry out.  I will raise this with the Senior Planning Policy Officers to see as part and parcel of the work that is being done as we take the City Plan forward this can be refreshed.”

 

21.32      Councillor Druitt asked the following supplementary question; “Thank you.  That was a very promising answer, so thank you for that.  We do also have a Tree Trust in the city which enables members of the public to purchase trees for planting in the city and does Councillor Mitchell know how well used this is and how it can be further promoted.”

 

21.33      Councillor Mitchell replied; “In these days of constrained budgets we are still hopeful of being able to plant new trees in the city the benefits of which you have outlined and which I agree with.  I think that over the last year we have had 33 new trees donated.  This is something we would seek to increase through any means possible and so I will be very happy to talk to you further about the Trust that you have mentioned.”

 

21.34      The Mayor noted that the 30 minutes set aside for the item had been reached and therefore stated that she would conclude the item.  She noted that any remaining questions could be carried over to the next meeting.

 

Note:     The remaining questions from Councillor Littman regarding the Chief Executive and Councillor Page regarding Primary Care Services were not taken at the meeting.