Agenda item - Petitions for Council Debate

Petitions to be debated at Council.  Reports of the Monitoring Officer (copies attached).

(a)       Water Fountains.  Lead petitioner Charles Ross (copy attached).

(b)      Hertford Infant School.  Lead Petitioner Jo Wilding (copy attached).

32.1      The Mayor sated that where a petition secured 1,250 or more signatures it could be debated at the council meeting.  She had been made aware of two such petitions and would therefore take each in turn.

(a)         WATER FOUNTAINS TO STOP RUBBISH AND POLLUTION

32.1      The Mayor then invited Mr. Charles Cross as the lead petitioners to present the petition calling on the Council to look into the provision of drinking fountains capable of being used to fill bottles around the city, in order to reduce the excessive use of plastic in purchased water bottles:

            “We the undersigned petition Brighton & Hove Council to provide research into a full costing for setting up 6 simple drinking “fountains” (taps) capable of being used to fill bottles around the town in order to attempt to reduce the excessive use of plastic in purchased water bottles and the consequent pollution and cost of rubbish disposal. Such a costing should take into account any savings from reduced rubbish as well as the construction and running costs of each fountain and could exact a small levy on supermarket rent and rates to contribute to the running costs.”

            Additional Information

“In this way we can plan a future where no water is sold in bottles in Brighton and people carry a bottle knowing there are multiple water refill points throughout the city. The fountains could be made into more elaborate and ornamental structures through crowd funding which would add to the charm of the town and contribute to reduced litter in the streets, beaches and countryside.”

32.2      Mr. Cross thanked the Mayor and stated that over 2,600 people had signed the petition making it the 3^rd highest in the council’s history.  He stated that there was a need for the city council to take a progressive step and follow other leading cities such as San Francisco in banning the sale of bottled water on city owned land and in city buildings and to provide water filling stations across the city.  He suggested that other organisations such as super markets could be encouraged to locate the water fountains in their premises and noted that Borough Market in London had installed a water fountain.  He therefore urged the council to give this matter due consideration.

32.3      The Mayor thanked Mr. Cross and noted that there were three amendments to the recommendation listed in the report on the petition.  She therefore called on Councillor Morgan to respond to the petition and to move the amendment on behalf of the Labour & Co-operative Group.

32.4      Councillor Morgan thanked Mr. Cross for presenting the petition and stated that the amendment was to refer the matter to the Policy, Resources & Growth Committee rather than the Environment, Transport & Sustainability Committee.  He agreed that there were environmental issues with the use of plastic water bottles and noted that the council had stopped using them at council meetings.  He also noted that there were questions around the cost of provision and associated health matters in regard to the provision of water fountains but he was happy to request officers to bring a full report to committee in due course.

32.5      Councillor Moonan formerly seconded the amendment.

32.6      Councillor Wares moved an amendment on behalf of the Conservative Group and also welcomed the petition and stated that he would support both the Labour & Co-operative and Green Groups’ amendments.  He also noted that the issue had been raised previously at the Environment, Transport & Sustainability Committee in 2014 and hoped that some progress could be made this time.

32.7      Councillor Bell formerly seconded the amendment.

32.8      Councillor Mac Cafferty moved an amendment on behalf of the Green Group and stated that the use of the Community Infrastructure Levy should be considered as a means of financing the provision of fountains so that publicly accessible water could be provided.  He noted that people were aware of the corrosive impact of plastic on the environment and that the provision of water fountains was one way of reducing the use of plastic bottles.

32.9      Councillor Druitt formerly seconded the amendment.

32.10   Councillor Morgan noted the comments and stated that it appeared councillors were in agreement about the general approach to the matter which could therefore be taken forward.

32.11   The Mayor noted that three amendments had been moved and stated that she would therefore take in each in turn and put them to the vote.  The Mayor noted that the Labour and Conservative Groups’ amendments had been carried and that the Green Group’s amendment was carried by 30 votes to 16 with one abstention.

32.12   The Mayor then put the recommendations as amended to the vote which was carried unanimously.

32.13   RESOLVED:

(1)       That the petition be noted and referred to the Policy, Resources & Growth Committee for consideration at its meeting on the 30^th November, 2017;

(2)       That the Committee be requested to consider receiving a report on the costings requested in the petition as detailed in paragraph 3.1 and such report be extended to include advice on the public health risks associated with public drinking water fountains and taps and the measures to mitigate these risks that would also go to the costs; and

(3)       That a report be brought to the relevant committee exploring the proposals set out in the petition at paragraph 3.1; including the options for utilising the Community Infrastructure Levy as a possible means of funding and specifically,  that further to the decision of the Tourism, Development & Culture Committee on the 21^st September to consult on a preliminary charging schedule, that water fountains be considered for inclusion in the BHCC regulation 123 infrastructure list, as part of health care infrastructure provision.

(b)          HERTFORD INFANT SCHOOL CONSULTATION

32.14   The Mayor sated that where a petition secured 1,250 or more signatures it could be debated at the council meeting.  She had been made aware of two such petitions and would therefore take each in turn.  

32.15   The Mayor then invited Jo Wilding as the lead petitioners to present the petition calling on the Council to abandon the proposal to halve the admission numbers for Hertford Infant School.

32.16   Ms. Wilding thanked that Mayor and confirmed that the petition had 1,570 signatures and stated that she and other parents had responded to the consultation but wanted the council to hear their concerns.  If the proposal to reduce the class intake at Hertford Infant School was accepted it would effectively force children out of their preferred school.  The school was successful and had high achievement levels when compared to others, with disadvantaged pupils achieving 12% higher than the city as a whole.  If the intake was reduced it would lead to the school having to make cuts and face redundancy costs and yet the school was successfully reducing the gap between levels of achievement for pupils which was the local authority’s aim.  She hoped that the council would take the petition into account and reconsider the proposal to reduce the proposed admission numbers.

32.17   The Mayor thanked Ms. Wilding and called on Councillor Chapman as Chair of the Children, Young People & Skills Committee to respond to the petition.

32.18   Councillor Chapman thanked Ms. Wilding for presenting the petition and welcomed the level of interest in the consultation process and assured the council that all views expressed would be taken into consideration by the cross-party Working Group.  He stated that no decisions had been made and noted that thirteen public meetings had been scheduled to take place across the city as part of the consultation process.  The Working Group would consider all the feedback before submitting a report to the committee in January with recommendations for a way forward.  He hoped that those parents who had not yet responded to the consultation would do so, in order to ensure all views could be taken into account.

32.19   The Mayor noted that there was an amendment to the recommendation to refer the petition to the Children, Young People & Skills Committee and called on Councillor Phillips to move the amendment on behalf of the Green Group.

32.20   Councillor Phillips moved the amendment on behalf of the Green Group and stated that the proposal to reduce the school’s intake by 50% was unviable and that there was a need to give full consideration to the equalities impact assessment for the planned changes.  She believed that options should be sought to prevent the closure of the school and to maintain the diversity that it had.  There was a real concern that children would be forced into larger schools where they would suffer and yet the school was successfully closing the gap between disadvantaged pupils and high achievers.

32.21   Councillor Knight formally seconded the amendment.

32.22   Councillor Hill stated that she was a Governor of Hertford Infant School and had been granted dispensation to speak and vote on the issue.  She was aware that the Working Group were looking at what was a complex matter and that there was a need to manage the situation that there would be too many places for too few children, which would put small schools at risk.  She had attended the consultation meeting and had noted the huge level of support for Hertford Infants School in the local community.

32.23   Councillor Brown noted that five schools had been recommended to reduce their intake by 1 form entry as part of the pan reduction and of these Hertford Infants and Benfield Infants had expressed concern over the impact of a reduction.  She had attended the consultation meeting at Benfield and it was clear how important it was to the community and how parents wished to support it and she acknowledged it was the sane for Hertford Infants.  She also noted that no decision had been made and that the committee would consider the recommendations of the Working Group in January.

32.24   Councillor Chapman noted the comments and stated that he understood the concerns of parents and pupils and noted that any changes to pupil numbers had to be considered in relation to all schools.  He was happy to support the amendment but noted that the actions requested would be undertaken as part of the consultation process anyway.  He also noted that the consultation concluded later in the month and again urged everybody to respond.

32.25   The Mayor noted that an amendment had been moved and put it to the vote which was carried.

32.26   The Mayor then put the recommendations as amended to the vote which were carried.

32.27   RESOLVED:

(1)    That the petition be noted and referred to the Children, Young People & Skills Committee for consideration at its meeting on the 13^th November, 2017; and

(2)    That the Children, Young People & Skills Committee be requested to:

(a)   receive a report outlining the options for maintaining the current entry intake for Hertford Infants, including consideration of the outcomes and feasibility of adjusting the numbers of other four-form schools; and

(b)   That as part of the above report, an Equalities Impact Assessment be carried out on the reduction of Hertford Infant School intake for consideration.

32.28   The Mayor noted that concluded the item.