Agenda item - The following Notices of Motion have been submitted by Members for consideration:

(a)          St. Mungo’s Charter for Homeless Health.  Proposed by Councillor Yates (copy attached).

 

(b)          Reinstate the Independent Living Fund.  Proposed by Councillor Mac Cafferty (copy attached).

                                                          

(c)          Personal, Social, Health and Economic Education.  Proposed by Councillor Knight (copy attached).

(a)             St Mungo’s Charter for Homeless Health

 

29.1         The Notice of Motion as listed in the agenda was proposed by Councillor Yates and seconded by Councillor Moonan.

 

29.2         Councillor Page moved an amendment on behalf of the Green Group which was seconded by Councillor Phillips.

 

29.3         Councillor Yates welcomed the amendment and stated that health inequality was a matter for the council and the Health & Wellbeing Board.  He believed that working in partnership with the Board and other agencies was crucial and that it would lead to more opportunities to address health inequality in the city.

 

29.4         The Mayor congratulated Councillor Yates on his maiden speech on behalf of the council.

 

29.5         Councillor Moonan stated that in signing up to the Charter it provided an opportunity to recognise the vulnerability of rough sleepers in the city.  She noted that the new Neighbourhoods, Communities & Equalities Committee had made a commitment to review the needs of the rough sleepers and to develop a new strategy with partners to address the issues.  She therefore hoped that the motion would be supported.

 

29.6         The Mayor congratulated Councillor Moonan on her maiden speech on behalf of the council.

 

29.7         Councillor Page stated that in bringing the amendment he had hoped to be helpful and to show the Green Group’s support for the Charter and the intentions to address health inequality.  He hoped that the Health & Wellbeing Board would give full consideration to the Charter and get behind it.

 

29.8         The Mayor congratulated Councillor Page on his maiden speech on behalf of the council.

 

29.9         Councillor K. Norman stated that a great deal of work had already been undertaken to tackle health inequality and drew councillors’ attention to the JSNA and previous Homeless reports.  He agreed that there was a need to remain vigilant and to continue to look at how matters could be dealt with.  However, he also noted that the Health & Wellbeing Board was already referred to on St Mungo’s website as a signatory to the Charter and queried how this had been achieved, as he had no recollection of the matter at meetings of the Health & Wellbeing Board.

 

29.10      Councillor Mears stated that there was a need to recognise a lot of the good work that had already taken place to help those faced with being made homeless and those who were.  She also noted that the Housing & New Homes Committee had responsibilities for this area and therefore hoped that it would continue to have a role and receive reports.  She was happy to support the motion but felt that the important point was to look at and achieve real outcomes for those in need.

 

29.11      Councillor Yates noted the comments and stated that he felt a broader approach was needed and that all agencies involved could do more.  He hoped that by raising the matter with the Health & Wellbeing Board it could make its position clear, as it was not certain how it had been associated with the Charter previously.

 

29.12      The Mayor noted that the Green Group’s amendment had been accepted and therefore put the following motion as amended to the vote:

 

“This Council resolves to:

-           Support the Health & Wellbeing Board’s work to tackle health inequality and inclusion in relation to homelessness as exemplified in the recent report on health inequalities by the Director of Public Health.

-           Request that the Health & Wellbeing Board fully appraise itself of The St Mungo’s Charter for homeless health, and considers signing up to the charter as confirmation of the council’s commitment.”

 

29.13      The Mayor confirmed that the motion had been carried unanimously. 

 

(b)             Reinstate the Independent Living Fund

 

29.14      The Notice of Motion as listed in the agenda was proposed by Councillor Mac Cafferty and seconded by Councillor Page.  Councillor Mac Cafferty also moved an amendment to the motion having found that since the publication of the agenda, that the Government had altered part of the financial aspects associated with the Independent Living Fund.

 

29.15      Councillor Hamilton moved an amendment on behalf of the Labour & Co-operative Group which was seconded by Councillor Barford.

 

29.16      Councillor Mac Cafferty stated that he hoped Members had been able to read the email from the FED on this issue.  He believed that there was a need to express the council’s concern over the Government’s decision to cut the Independent Living Fund and to consider how this would affect people after 2015.  He believed that funding should be ring-fenced so that residents felt that there was some support and noted that other authorities had chosen to take this action.

 

29.17      Councillor Hamilton stated that care packages had been re-assessed and checks made with the providers and the majority of packages remained at their current levels.  He accepted that there were some people who would benefit and some who would be worse off, however they could ask for a review.

 

29.18      Councillor K. Norman stated that the grant funding was received directly by clients and the previously referred to 5% cut was not being implemented.  He did not believe there was a need to ring fence the funding as it would be used to meet people’s needs.  There was an excellent team of officers who supported this service and worked to ensure everyone who needed support was able to access it.

 

29.19      Councillor G. Theobald stated that he believed the motion and the amendments were not worth considering given that they did not reflect the actual situation and suggested that because the original motion had been incorrect it would have been better to withdraw it.  He also drew attention to the apparent difference of views amongst the Labour Party and whether the ILF should be retained as a stand-alone fund or an opportunity taken to develop a sustainable model of provision.

 

29.20      The Mayor noted that Councillor Theobald had exceeded his time allowed to speak and that having had a request for an extension moved it had been lost.  She therefore called on Councillor Horan to speak.

 

29.21      Councillor Horan expressed her concern over how she felt this important issue was being trivialised by various comments and that there was a need to give proper consideration to an issue that directly affected people’s lives.

 

29.22      The Mayor congratulated Councillor Horan on her maiden speech on behalf of the council.

 

29.23      Councillor Barford stated that 40 people in the city were affected and had different assessment criteria to others.  The council had been aware of the proposed closure of the ILF and had put in place a robust approach to review those needs which would change over time and therefore she did not agree that it would be beneficial to ring-fence the funding.

 

29.24      The Mayor congratulated Councillor Barford on her maiden speech on behalf of the council.

 

29.25      Councillor Page stated that the issue was about people’s lives and the motion had been put forward because of the Government’s intention to reduce funding levels.  Whilst this reduction had not materialised as of yet, he knew of one case where the re-assessment had led to a reduction in provision which had directly reduced their quality of life.  It meant that they would become more dependent and as such a greater cost to the authority.

 

29.26      Councillor Mac Cafferty stated that he did not accept the Labour & Co-operative Group’s amendment and suggested that councillors should speak to those in the community who were directly affected.

 

29.27      The Mayor noted that the Labour & Co-operative amendment had not been accepted by Councillor Mac Cafferty and put the amendment to the vote which was lost by 23 votes to 27.

 

29.28      The Mayor then put the following motion with Councillor Mac Cafferty’s amendment to the vote:

 

Council notes:

-        With grave concern the cutting of the Independent Living Fund (ILF) from central government on 30th June. Disability charity, Scope, described the closure of the fund as "likely to lead to fewer disabled people being able to live independently"

-      Funding has been devolved to councils to fund care for people with the most complex – and expensive– needs. However Councils throughout the country can’t meet demand as it is.

Council deplores:

-        On top of £4.6 bn cuts to social care funding nationwide in the last 4 years, there are at least £1.1bn "savings" expected in 15/16, as well as further cuts from the Chancellor's Welfare Budget;

-        The net effect of these decisions given how cuts are already affecting councils will be to strike at the autonomy of disabled people who should be entitled to live independently.

Council resolves to:

-        If government fails to reinstate ILF, to ask Policy and Resources Committee to ring-fence funding to individual ILF users in Brighton and Hove up until the end of financial year 2019;

 

-        To ask the Chief Executive to write to the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions appealing for the reinstatement of ILF at its full value, funded by central government which will give back genuine independence for disabled people in our city.

 

29.29      The Mayor confirmed that the motion had been lost by 9 votes to 24 with 17 abstentions.

 

(c)             Personal, Social, Health & Economic Education

 

29.30      The Notice of Motion as listed in the agenda was proposed by Councillor Knight on behalf of the Green Group and seconded by Councillor Phillips.

 

29.31      Councillor Moonan moved an amendment on behalf of the Labour & Co-operative Group which was seconded by Councillor Bewick.

 

29.32      Councillor Knight stated that personal, social, health and economic education (PSHE) was an important element to the education of young children and one that she felt should be on an equal footing with maths and English.  It should be part of the general curriculum and not an add on as it was in some schools.  It provided a key part of learning and an opportunity to develop social and environmental skills.  She therefore hoped that the motion would be supported and the Secretary of State persuaded to consider meeting the request.

 

29.33      The Mayor congratulated Councillor Knight on her maiden speech on behalf of the council.

 

29.34      Councillor Moonan welcomed the motion and stated that the amendment from the Labour & Co-operative Group sought to strengthen the aims of the motion.  She was fully aware of how important PSHE was in schools but also that not everyone practitioner was trained to deliver it effectively.  The schools and staff needed training and support to work in partnership with other providers to ensure their experiences and expertise could be utilised as part of the delivery of PSHE.

 

29.35      Councillor A. Norman stated that she had attended meetings on this matter in her capacity as a school governor and recognised the important role it had in school.  At Westdene Primary they had a named Governor who had responsibility for PSHE.

 

29.36      Councillor Brown stated that she could not support the Labour & Co-operative amendment and believed that PSHE was already being successfully delivered in schools in the city.

 

29.37      Councillor Taylor stated that PSHE was recognised by the schools as having an important part to play in the development of the children.  He noted that the Government had provided funding to establish a PSHE Association to support work in schools and to share best practice.  However, he felt that careful consideration needed to be given to seeking to establish another compulsory subject within the curriculum, as there was a need to take into consideration cultural and religious factors.  He was therefore happy to support the original motion.

 

29.38      The Mayor congratulated Councillor Taylor on his maiden speech on behalf of the council.

 

29.39      Councillor Littman stated that he could not support the amendment and suggested that schools and teachers would utilise experts from other fields as part of their PSHE lessons.

 

29.40      Councillor Barradell noted that in finalising their amendment, the Labour & Co-operative Group had had to be mindful of the limitation on the number of words that could be used to form a motion, which was the reason why it may not appear to be as clear as it could have been.

 

29.41      The Mayor thanked Councillor Barradell for her clarification and noted that in addressing the council it would be regarded as her maiden speech.  She therefore congratulated Councillor Barradell on her maiden speech on behalf of the council.

 

29.42      Councillor Bewick stated that the Labour & Co-operative Group would support the motion regardless of whether or not their amendment was accepted.  The issue went to the heart of educational provision and one that had to compete with other issues in the education system.  He agreed that schools should draw on good practice elsewhere but there was a need to provide the means to deliver it effectively.

 

29.43      The Mayor congratulated Councillor Bewick on his maiden speech on behalf of the council.

 

29.44      Councillor Phillips thanked everyone for their contributions during the debate and hoped that PSHE would not remain as an optional bolt-on in the education system.  She noted that parents were fully supportive of PSHE and recognised the crucial role it had in supporting and developing children and she hoped that this would be taken forward at a national level.

 

29.45      Councillor Knight noted the comments and confirmed that she would not accept the Labour & Co-operative amendment.

 

29.46      The Mayor noted that the Labour & Co-operative Group’s amendment had not been accepted by Councillor Knight and put the amendment to the vote which was lost by 23 votes to 27.

 

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

 

This Council congratulates educators, young people and children, parents, governors and council officers for their ongoing hard work on Personal, Social, Health & Economic (PSHE) education across Brighton & Hove.

The Council notes the important role of PSHE education in helping our children and young people to develop the skills and knowledge needed to navigate the world they are growing into, including around relationships, respect and responsibilities along with sex, nutrition and drugs & alcohol use. PSHE offers whole person education - tools which can be used throughout life.

The Council expresses its concern that currently PSHE is an optional subject, without statutory status, and consequently some children and young people miss out on it and training for teachers is not prioritised.  Allowing PSHE Statutory status is key to unlocking the training that teachers need to support them in this complex and essential task.

The Council therefore requests that:

(1)          The Chief Executive writes to the Secretary of State for Education, expressing the view that PSHE education should be made statutory and funded in all primary and secondary schools in Brighton and Hove and across the country;

(2)          That a copy of the letter is sent to local MPs and local trade unions in education seeking their support and asking that they also write to the Secretary of State for Education.

 

29.48      The Mayor confirmed that the motion had been carried unanimously.