Agenda and minutes

Councillor I Aziz – leave

Councillor Graham Chapman – leave

Councillor Nicola Heaton – leave

Councillor Sue Johnson – unwell

Councillor Nick Raine – work

Councillor Mohammed Saghir – leave

Councillor Marcia Watson – unwell

Councillor Malcolm Wood declared an interest in agenda item 10 (minute 26), Review of Statement of Gambling Policy, as a Councillor appointed Director of Nottingham Racecourse Limited, which did not preclude him from speaking or voting.

Temporary homelessness accommodation

BW asked the following question of the Portfolio Holder for Housing and Planning:

On 5 March 2018, Councillor Jane Urquhart told the Nottingham Post that the Council has "set aside £32,000,000 over the next nine years to tackle homelessness, including reducing the use of bed and breakfast accommodation." This is, in fact, a reduction of around £430,000 a year from current spending.

What is Councillor Urquhart's position on the use of private landlords to provide temporary accommodation to often vulnerable families and individuals? Would it be true to say that the City Council is relying increasingly on the private sector to discharge its S188 duties with regard to the 1996 Housing Act? Has there been a reduction in temporary accommodation owned by Nottingham City Council in the last five years?

Lastly, we hear Nottingham City Council has loaned around £10,700,000 to Nottingham City Homes to reduce the use of bed and breakfast accommodation. This is welcome news. We would like to clarify whether this £10,700,000 loan is part of the £32,000,000 to tackle homelessness, or is it in addition?

Councillor Jane Urquhart replied as follows:

Thank you, thank you to the Lord Mayor and to the people who raised this important question, although I would start by pointing out that I think the real direction for questions currently about homelessness ought to be the government, rather than the City Council, and I’ll expand on that further in my answer.

The question raises a number of points, so firstly funding for Homelessness. The crisis in homelessness and rough sleeping is indeed a national one, it has been triggered by a broken housing market and by this government’s welfare reform agenda. The increasing rough sleeping and homelessness is something of which this government should be ashamed. If we look back at rough sleeping figures, it is clear that in the years of a Labour government, there were the right combinations of benefits and housing related support which enabled people to maintain their tenancies. In our city, rough sleeping was in low single figures. Since both the coalition government and at an accelerated pace during the present Tory government, those numbers have increased year on year. At the same time, the money available to Nottingham City Council to deal with our local challenges has fallen massively. People will recall there used to be funding called the Supporting People budget, which government allocated to Councils. This is no longer available to us and has left a multi-million pound hole in our budget, quite apart from the other huge reductions in our general budget which have caused us so many financial difficulties in this city. Despite this however, this City Council continues to tackle homelessness and rough sleeping within our City, working across the public and voluntary sectors. We have commissioned our own Housing Related Support services worth £35,500,000 over a nine year period.In addition to this, we pay for and deliver a Housing Aid service to prevent and relieve  ...  view the full minutes text for item 19.

Councillor Sarah Piper presented a petition on behalf of 14 signatories, asking the Council to create disabled-friendly rear gardens on Heath Close and Godfrey Lane.

Councillor Jim Armstrong raised an issue about the accuracy of some of the information that had been provided to the meeting, but did not dispute the accuracy of the minutes as a record of the meeting, so the minutes of the ordinary meeting held on 14 May 2018 were confirmed as a correct record and signed by the Chair.

The minutes of the extraordinary meeting held on 14 May 2018 were confirmed as a correct record and signed by the Chair.

None.

None.

Implementation of Universal Credit

Councillor Leslie Ayoola asked the following question of the Deputy Leader/ Portfolio Holder for Finance, Resources and Commercial Services:

Does the Deputy Leader agree with the conclusion of National Audit’s Office report that Universal Credit is not value for money and is pushing additional costs onto councils? Can the Deputy Leader also tell the Chamber what steps Nottingham City Council is taking to help mitigate the damage Universal Credit will cause to people in Nottingham?

In the absence of Councillor Graham Chapman, Councillor Jon Collins replied as follows:

Thank you Lord Mayor, and can I thank Councillor Ayoola for his question. The National Audit Office’s (NAO) recent report, ‘Rolling out Universal Credit’ has found a number of issues with the new welfare system. First, the report found that Universal Credit has current running costs of more than £699 per claim. DWP’s ambition is for this cost to be reduced to £173 per claim by 2024/25. Earlier this month it was announced that the migration of existing benefits claimants onto Universal Credit is not due to be completed until 2023. The report also found that the DWP cannot measure whether Universal Credit will lead to its economic aim of getting an additional 200,000 people into work. As a result, the NAO’s report stated that the issues outlined above lead them to conclude that, and I quote: “the project is not value for money now, and that its future value for money is unproven”.

Secondly, the NAO report found that Universal Credit is creating additional costs for local organisations that help administer Universal Credit and support claimants. This of course includes additional costs for local authorities. The DWP has said it will pay councils for additional costs incurred to administer Universal Credit, but the NAO report found that the DWP, and I quote: “places the burden of proof on the local authority”, so in this instance, councils have to spend additional time providing evidence of the support they have provided in order to get compensation.

When conducting its research the NAO spoke to local authorities in different areas of the country, and identified a number of issues they were facing. That includes an increase in rent arrears which can often take up to a year to be recovered, a greater demand for advisory and advocacy services, in increase in administrative requirements for Universal Credit claimants including processing Housing Benefit stop notices, and an increase in Council Tax arrears. The NAO also found a number of local authorities are using their Housing Revenue Account to top up funding lost through the introduction of Universal Credit. So for those who don’t know of course, the Housing Revenue Account is the account which holds the rents paid by all council tenants, and so just to reiterate, some councils were then choosing to use that rent payers money effectively to substitute for money lost through the introduction of Universal Credit.

Nottingham City Council has conducted its own research with its tenants ahead  ...  view the full minutes text for item 24.

Report of the Chair of the Licensing Committee

Councillor Brian Grocock, Chair of the Licensing Committee, submitted a report detailing the draft Statement of Licensing Policy and seeking approval for it to be released for public consultation for an 8 week period, as set out on pages 27-76 of the agenda.

RESOLVED to approve the release of the draft Statement of Licensing Policy for public consultation.

Report of the Chair of the Licensing Committee

Councillor Brian Grocock, Chair of the Licensing Committee, submitted a report detailing the draft Statement of Gambling Policy and seeking approval for it to be released for public consultation for an 8 week period, as set out on pages 77-120 of the agenda.

RESOLVED to approve the draft Statement of Gambling Policy 2019-2022 for release for public consultation.

Report of the Chair of the Overview and Scrutiny Committee

Councillor Brian Parbutt, Chair of the Overview and Scrutiny Committee, submitted a report detailing the work of the scrutiny committees during 2017/18, as set out on pages 121-134 of the agenda.

RESOLVED to accept the Overview and Scrutiny Annual Report for 2017/18.

Report of the Leader

The Leader submitted a report detailing decisions taken under procedures, which include exemption from Overview and Scrutiny call-in procedure rules, and special urgency Access to Information procedure rules, as set out on pages 135-138 of the agenda.

RESOLVED to note

(1)  the urgent decisions (exempt from call-in):

(2)  the key decision taken under special urgency procedures:

Motion in the name of Councillor Sally Longford:

This Council is committed to protecting and improving air quality for all our citizens, improving everyone's health and quality of life. We will introduce measures to bring down Nitrogen Dioxide to be in compliance with national and EU targets by 2020 and we will also take measures to reduce particulate matter. We will work to go beyond government requirements by continuing our commitment to clean public transport, take action to reduce engine idling, helping people to shift to Ultra Low Emissions Vehicles and reducing the Council's emissions of pollutants.

However, we cannot do this in isolation and we need national action to support our work. We call upon the Government to improve Air Quality across the country by taking the following actions:

·  Adopt an ambitious national plan for clean air that prioritises action to reduce road transport emissions, provides new powers to tackle other sources of pollution and creates a framework to support partnerships between local, regional and national Government and business. This plan must ensure that local action is adequately supported by activity across Government to tackle air pollution.

·  Bring forward a modern Clean Air Act that establishes strong air quality standards linked to World Health Organisation recommended guidelines, and a new independent statutory body to enforce them. The Act should also grant local and regional authorities the powers and resources they need to tackle all sources of air pollution, including from construction, buildings, wood-burning and maritime sources.

·  A targeted national vehicle renewal scheme to replace older polluting vehicles that supports drivers and businesses to change to low emission vehicles and other sustainable forms of transport, taking special care that those on low-incomes and also small businesses are helped to make the shift.

·  Provide an enhanced Clean Air Fund open to all towns and cities in England funded by UK Government and motor-vehicle manufacturers, sufficient to support the delivery of Clean Air Zones and provide investment for cleaner buses, taxis and alternatives to car travel.

·  Support for businesses to innovate clean transport technology and enable the UK to be a global leader in manufacturing low-emission vehicles post-Brexit as part of the Road to Zero Transport, Clean Growth and Industrial Strategies. This should include a commitment to phase out sales of pure diesel and petrol cars and vans by 2030. To ensure the role out of the vital electric vehicle infrastructure needed to support this, cities should have the power to install charge points at petrol stations and private car parks. 

·  Commit to the electrification of Midland Mainline in order to reduce the number of polluting diesel trains entering the City of Nottingham.

Moved by Councillor Sally Longford, and seconded by Councillor Anne Peach:

This Council is committed to protecting and improving air quality for all our citizens, improving everyone's health and quality of life. We will introduce measures to bring down Nitrogen Dioxide to be in compliance with national and EU targets by 2020 and we will also take measures to reduce particulate matter. We will work to go beyond government requirements by continuing our commitment to clean public transport, take action to reduce engine idling, helping people to shift to Ultra Low Emissions Vehicles and reducing the Council's emissions of pollutants.

However, we cannot do this in isolation and we need national action to support our work. We call upon the Government to improve Air Quality across the country by taking the following actions:

·  Adopt an ambitious national plan for clean air that prioritises action to reduce road transport emissions, provides new powers to tackle other sources of pollution and creates a framework to support partnerships between local, regional and national Government and business. This plan must ensure that local action is adequately supported by activity across Government to tackle air pollution.

·  Bring forward a modern Clean Air Act that establishes strong air quality standards linked to World Health Organisation recommended guidelines, and a new independent statutory body to enforce them. The Act should also grant local and regional authorities the powers and resources they need to tackle all sources of air pollution, including from construction, buildings, wood-burning and maritime sources.

·  A targeted national vehicle renewal scheme to replace older polluting vehicles that supports drivers and businesses to change to low emission vehicles and other sustainable forms of transport, taking special care that those on low-incomes and also small businesses are helped to make the shift.

·  Provide an enhanced Clean Air Fund open to all towns and cities in England funded by UK Government and motor-vehicle manufacturers, sufficient to support the delivery of Clean Air Zones and provide investment for cleaner buses, taxis and alternatives to car travel.

·  Support for businesses to innovate clean transport technology and enable the UK to be a global leader in manufacturing low-emission vehicles post-Brexit as part of the Road to Zero Transport, Clean Growth and Industrial Strategies. This should include a commitment to phase out sales of pure diesel and petrol cars and vans by 2030. To ensure the role out of the vital electric vehicle infrastructure needed to support this, cities should have the power to install charge points at petrol stations and private car parks. 

·  Commit to the electrification of Midland Mainline in order to reduce the number of polluting diesel trains entering the City of Nottingham.

RESOLVED to carry the motion.

Motion in the name of Councillor Georgia Power:

This Council notes:

• Mental health needs are common, 1 in 4 adults will experience a mental health needs in any given year, in Nottingham this equates to 65,000 people.
• 1 in 10 young people aged 5-16 will have a significant mental health needs, just over 4000 in Nottingham City.
• 50% of long term mental health needs begin before the age of 14, 75% by the age of 18. There are known inequalities associated with mental health needs, for example people living in the most deprived communities are disproportionately affected. 
• People with a severe mental health needs die up to 20 years younger than their peers in the UK.
• Prevention and early identification of mental health needs in both children and adults is key to promoting the health and wellbeing of our population
• As a major employer in the city, Nottingham City Council has an important role in promoting and protecting the mental health of its staff.
• Nottingham City Councils’ Child and Adolescent Mental Health Services (CAMHS) do lots of good work with children and young people around mental health, particularly through the Self Harm Awareness and Resource Project (SHARP).

This council believes:

• As a local authority we have a crucial role to play in improving the mental health of everyone in our community and tackling some of the widest and most entrenched inequalities in health.
• Mental health should be a priority across all the local authority’s areas of responsibility, including health improvement, housing, community safety and planning and education.
• Nottingham City Council, as an important part of the wider health and social care system, is in a good position to improve the mental health and wellbeing of the population.
  
  

This council resolves:

• To re-affirm our commitment to the Local Authorities’ Mental Health Challenge run by Centre for Mental Health, Mental Health Foundation, AMHP, Mind, Rethink Mental Illness, Royal College of Psychiatrists and YoungMinds.
• To commit to refreshing Nottingham City Council’s Time to Change pledge and to support the work of the Time to Change hub.
• To appoint an elected member as ‘mental health champion’ across the Council.
• Work with local partners to offer effective support for people with mental health needs.
• Tackle discrimination and stigma in relation to mental health in our community.

·  Support Councillors to develop their knowledge and understanding of mental health, including the support available for citizens.

Moved by Councillor Georgia Power, and seconded by Councillor Sam Webster:

This Council notes:

·  Mental health needs are common, 1 in 4 adults will experience a mental health needs in any given year, in Nottingham this equates to 65,000 people.

·  1 in 10 young people aged 5-16 will have a significant mental health needs, just over 4000 in Nottingham City.

·  50% of long term mental health needs begin before the age of 14, 75% by the age of 18. There are known inequalities associated with mental health needs, for example people living in the most deprived communities are disproportionately affected. 

·  People with a severe mental health needs die up to 20 years younger than their peers in the UK.

·  Prevention and early identification of mental health needs in both children and adults is key to promoting the health and wellbeing of our population

·  As a major employer in the city, Nottingham City Council has an important role in promoting and protecting the mental health of its staff.

·  Nottingham City Councils’ Child and Adolescent Mental Health Services (CAMHS) do lots of good work with children and young people around mental health, particularly through the Self Harm Awareness and Resource Project (SHARP).

This council believes:

·  As a local authority we have a crucial role to play in improving the mental health of everyone in our community and tackling some of the widest and most entrenched inequalities in health.

·  Mental health should be a priority across all the local authority’s areas of responsibility, including health improvement, housing, community safety and planning and education.

·  Nottingham City Council, as an important part of the wider health and social care system, is in a good position to improve the mental health and wellbeing of the population.

This council resolves:

·  To re-affirm our commitment to the Local Authorities’ Mental Health Challenge run by Centre for Mental Health, Mental Health Foundation, AMHP, Mind, Rethink Mental Illness, Royal College of Psychiatrists and YoungMinds.

·  To commit to refreshing Nottingham City Council’s Time to Change pledge and to support the work of the Time to Change hub.

·  To appoint an elected member as ‘mental health champion’ across the Council.

·  Work with local partners to offer effective support for people with mental health needs.

·  Tackle discrimination and stigma in relation to mental health in our community.

·  Support Councillors to develop their knowledge and understanding of mental health, including the support available for citizens.

RESOLVED to carry the motion.