Agenda item - Petitions for Council Debate

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

(1)      To Halt the Rollout of 5G Technology – Lead petitioner Irina Blosse.

(2)      Give Kids the Right to Walk Safely to School in Brighton and Hove – Lead petitioner Councillor Niled.

38.1         The Mayor stated 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 noted that there was an amendment to the cover report’s recommendation for the first petition from the Green Group. The Mayor also noted that there was a Notice of Motion listed as Item 45 (6) Safe School Walking Zones on the agenda and stated that she was minded to take the motion along with the second petition and to have one debate on the matter.

38.2         The Mayor then invited Ms. Gillian Foote to present the petition on 5G technology.

38.3         Ms. Foote thanked the Mayor and stated that the petition which had been signed by 2,240 people called on the Council to halt the rollout of 5G technology in Brighton & Hove and invoke the Precautionary Principal adopted by the EU in 2005 which stated:

“When human activities may lead to morally unacceptable harm that is scientifically plausible but uncertain, actions shall be taken to avoid or diminish that harm.”

She stated that the residents of Brighton & Hove, insisted that the City Council should invoke the Precautionary Principal regarding 5G technology and all associated infrastructure before deploying it in our city. We (the residents) now call for independent research and for the City Council to prove to its constituents that 5G is SAFE and poses NO risk to human health, animals, wildlife, insects, birds and the ecosystem as a whole. Once 5G is deployed fully, it will expose people 24/7 to mandatory radiation without their informed consent, which constitutes a blatant breach of their Human Rights.

38.4         Councillor Moonan thanked Ms. Foote for presenting the petition and stated that she hoped she could give her and the petitioners some reassurance.  Public Health England (PHE) took the lead nationally and provided expert advice on public health matters associated with mobile phone technology. We have liaised with PHE to get the latest information and guidance and to seek their advice on whether there are any health risks for the public. PHE have told us that the current exposure of the general public to radio waves is well within the international health-related guideline levels that are used in the UK. They said that when 5G is added to an existing network or in a new area the overall exposure to radio waves is expected to remain low relative to these guidelines. As such there should be no consequences for public health.

5G is now being rolled out across the country and UK network operators implementing 5G are committed to complying with the current guidelines. The ability of councils to influence the roll-out of mobile technology is limited by central government regulations and we are unable to adopt a policy to halt the roll out of 5G. But the planning system does require that any new installations are consistent with the international guidelines PHE adheres to.

The council has a vital role to play in encouraging economic development in the city, and digital connectivity is a key part of this. It’s particularly important as our local economy has such a strong specialism in the creative, digital and IT sectors. We’re keen to promote the most up-to-date and effective mobile and wireless technology for work premises in the city. Our residents also expect this in their homes and on their phones.

Councillor Moonan also stated that she was happy to accept the amendment from the Green Group.

38.5         Councillor Osborne moved the amendment on behalf of the Green Group and stated that it was felt that more information was required so that councillors understood the situation and hoped that it could be supported.

38.6         Councillor Powell formally seconded the amendment and reserved her right to speak in the debate.

38.7         Councillor Bagaeen stated that the matter was an interesting topic and raised important concerns which he had raised with the Director of Public Health England and had been assured that there was no evidence of a danger to health.  They maintained precautionary advice on the limited information they had and he suggested that more should be done to get the involvement of mobile operators.

38.8         The Mayor noted that was Councillor Bagaeen’s maiden speech and congratulated him on behalf of the council.

38.9         Councillor Powell noted the comments and sated she had nothing to add.

38.10      Councillor Moonan thanked everyone for their comments and sated that she would be happy to explore the matter further at the meeting of the Health & Wellbeing Board.

38.11      The Mayor thanked Ms. Foote for attending the meeting and presenting the petition and noted that the amendment had been accepted.  She therefore put the recommendation as amended to the vote which was carried unanimously.

38.12      RESOLVED: That the petition be noted and a report on the issue provided for consideration at the next available meeting of Health & Wellbeing Board.

38.13      The Mayor then invited Councillor Nield to present the petition relating to the ability for children to walk safely to schools in the city. The Mayor also noted that there was a Notice of Motion listed as item No. 45 (6) on the agenda which related to the same matter and stated that she therefore intended to take that item at the same time and to have one debate on the issue.

38.14      Councillor Nield thanked the Mayor and stated that she also had a notice of motion on the subject and therefore simply wished to point out that the petition had secured over 1,300 signatures in only a few weeks.  It highlighted the concerns that parents/carers had in regard to their children being able to walk safely to school and called for action to be taken to address their concerns.

38.15      Councillor Allcock thanked Councillor Nield for bringing the petition to the council and congratulated her on the campaign. He stated that the council was fully committed to enabling and encouraging children to walk to and from school safely.  He noted that a significant number of initiatives and improvements were underway to assist in achieving this aim with a number of schools having already benefitted.  The Safer Routes to School programme had been successful and would continue to create an environment in which children felt safe to walk to school.

38.16      The Mayor then invited Councillor Nield to move the Notice of Motion listed as Item No. 45 (6) Safe School Walking Zones.

38.17      Councillor Nield thanked the Mayor and stated that October was the international walk to school month, which promoted the best travel option for children to get to school.  She was aware that schools across the city and the country promoted walk to school week and the motion sought to extend that common aim to ensure that children could walk safely to school throughout their school life.  At present parents and carers faced the daily struggle of tackling rush-hour traffic and a lack of safe crossing zones to get their children to school. It meant children were also being denied the opportunity to develop an independence and get to and from school by themselves. There was a need to listen to the concerns of parents and to find solutions to the problems faced on a daily basis and to empower them to take advantage of being able to walk safely to school.

38.18      The Mayor noted that it was Councillor Nield’s maiden speech and congratulated her on behalf of the council.

38.19   Councillor Shanks formally seconded the motion and stated that there was a clear need to tackle the issue highlighted by the motion and the petition.  She acknowledged that there was a need to change behaviour of parents who opted to drive their children to school as well as other drivers and to reduce traffic levels and hoped that a positive outcome could be found.

38.20      Councillor Moonan welcomed the petition and notice of motion and noted that Public Health England had recently published figures for the health profile of Year 6 and noted that Brighton & Hove compared well with the national figure.  However, there was a need to do more and to get young people walking to school and to set habits that would benefit them in later life.

38.21      Councillor Brown welcomed the petition and stated that it highlighted the problem that needed to be addressed.  Whilst most schools had travel plans there were still significant hazards that had to be faced and she hoped that the council would work closely with schools and parents to find solutions and then enable them to be implemented. There was a need to be proactive rather than reactive and not to rely on statistics before addressing calls for crossings to be installed.  She also noted that funding had been identified at the last Budget Council to help to tackle the issue but had not been approved.

38.22      Councillor O’Quinn noted that 20mph zones had been established in the city and suggested that more signage and consideration of 10mph zones around schools should be considered; as well as action to improve sight lines and to prevent illegal parking around schools.  She also suggested that another aspect that should be reviewed was that children were not necessarily local to their school, which meant that parents were choosing to drop them off by car.  It was a complex issue and would need to be given full consideration if it was to be addressed.

38.23      Councillor Hill stated that there were issues with major junctions being near to or in between schools which caused difficulties for parents and children.  It meant there was a need to prioritise when putting solutions into place and she questioned whether it was possible to re-look at the use of school crossing patrol officers and to encourage people to volunteer.

38.24      Councillor West stated that it was an important matter that needed to be considered and different solutions found for different areas but with the aim of providing safer to school routes.  He was aware of school crossing patrol officers being threatened by drivers for stopping the traffic and that had to be addressed.  The use of the car to take children to school should be the exception rather than the norm and children should be given the confidence to be able to walk to school.

38.25      Councillor Bagaeen stated that more action was needed to enforce double yellow lines and to get the bus company to improve the quality of buses being used for the school services.  Having experienced travelling by bus himself, he could not allow his children to use the current vehicles that were operating as they were over-crowded, and windows could not be opened.  He hoped that discussions could be held with the bus companies to improve their fleet and the number of buses operating on school routes.

38.26      Councillor Nield thanked everyone for their contributions to the debate and stated she was aware of existing schemes to help children to walk to school.  However, they tended to concentrate on how to deal with traffic etc. rather than creating safe walking zones and initiatives such as ‘School Streets’ created in other cities should be considered; as well as establishing a network of zones across the city.  She also questioned the reliance on accident data to determine whether a crossing could be provided and the struggle to obtain Section 106 funding and hoped that this could be reviewed.

38.27      The Mayor thanked Councillor Nield for presenting the petition and put the recommendation listed in the covering report to the vote which was carried unanimously.

38.28      RESOLVED: That the petition be noted and referred to the Children, Young People & Skills Committee meeting on the 11 November 2019.

38.29      The Mayor then put the following Notice of Motion to the vote;

This council resolves to ask Environment, Transport and Sustainability committee to commission a report, exploring:

-            How existing 10-minute walking zones around our schools can be optimised, adding the crossings and road calming measures necessary to create genuinely safe walking routes to school.

-            How visual elements could be used throughout a zone to give drivers a clear message that they are near a school, walking families have priority, and drivers are guests in that zone.

-            Funding options available to create these zones (such as grants, planning contributions, parking surplus, bids for funding)

And further, that such a report:

-      sets out the ways in which the council will work in close consultation with schools and local communities about the creation of these zones.

38.30      The Mayor confirmed that the motion had been agreed unanimously and would be referred to the Environment, Transport & Sustainability Committee for consideration.