Agenda item - Questions from Councillors - to a member of Executive Board, the Chair of a Committee and the Chair of any other City Council body

Agenda item

Questions from Councillors - to a member of Executive Board, the Chair of a Committee and the Chair of any other City Council body

Minutes:

Clifton Bridge

 

Councillor Maria Watson asked the following question of the Portfolio Holder for Adult Care and Local Transport:

 

I am sure it is no surprise that we begin our Councillor questions with the ongoing issue of the damage and subsequent lane closures of Clifton Bridge. While the situation is far from resolved, and the estimated timeframe of the end of the year is troubling for all Nottingham residents, may I start by thanking those who are working night and day, especially considering the recent winds and rain, to get the roads open as quickly as possible.

 

The issues with the A52 have exposed the very real shortcomings of Nottingham’s road networks, with TomTom’s Traffic Index Scale at one point identifying Nottingham as the world’s most congested city. During rush hour, a 30 minute journey can take up to three hours, schools have been forced to cancel after-school activities and the economic effect on businesses and the City has been significant.  It is evident that in the event of closure or major disruption to any of the City’s three traffic bridges, the remaining two cannot cope with the growing level of traffic that Nottingham generates. It is especially concerning considering the upcoming housing development of 3,000 homes, currently to be built just south of Clifton, in the Fairham Pastures Development, which will no doubt greatly increase the amount of traffic flowing over Clifton Bridge.

 

The level of traffic that this City deals with is only going to increase over time so being proactive and making necessary changes now will benefit the whole City going forward. While we recognise that it is too late for it to have an impact on the current situation, does the Portfolio Holder not agree with us that a fourth bridge across the Trent is, at the very least, a sensible approach to preventing this situation happening again in the future?

 

Councillor Adele Williams replied as follows:

 

Thank you Councillor Watson for your question.  As I’ve mentioned already, and I will try not to repeat myself, the closure has caused a lot of disruption and we’ve all experienced that ourselves, certainly those that live in the City, and it did contribute to TomTom reporting Nottingham as the most congested city.  We also, in those early days, experienced high winds and snow that added to that disruption and there were also a number of accidents on the M1 that added to our woes.

 

On the issue of a fourth Trent road crossing, as I mentioned earlier, a number of studies have been carried out by the County Council and the conclusion of these was that any road crossing should sit outside the city boundary, over towards Radcliffe-on-Trent. That would help to avoid an increase in additional general traffic in the city centre.  Our favoured approach though has been towards encouraging use of sustainable forms of transport, like public transport, walking and cycling, instead of providing additional road capacity for cars. This has been given an added emphasis since we have declared a climate emergency, and we all know we must look for ways to reduce our carbon emissions from transport.  We are looking at the feasibility as well of a river crossing to complement our mass transit corridors.

 

I think it is important to reflect on the fact that we haven’t chosen to stick our heads in the sand and pretend that there isn’t a climate emergency.  We’ve chosen instead to be able to look our kids in the eye and say we’ve been proactive, and we can be grateful to our predecessors in the Council who have been proactive in doing things like making sure we still have a city bus company, making sure that we have protected bus lanes, and prioritising public transport.  There is a national air-quality emergency as well that we have to be mindful of, costing years of healthy lifespan to people in Britain.

 

We’ve made great strides in Nottingham, with measures like our biogas buses, our electric buses and our cleaner taxis. We’ve been able to offer our citizens, again through the foresight of our predecessors, really good alternatives to the car in our comprehensive bus and tram network.  We have protected that, we have sustained it and we’ve put another commitment in our Council Plan to protect, for the next 4 years, everyone’s access to a regular local bus service.  That’s been really key to holding down congestion in the City.  So, I’m glad that we’ve been bold on issues like the Workplace Parking Levy, and been able to invest in our public transport, expand it and make it a good and attractive choice.  Sometimes it’s a bit difficult to nudge people out of their cars, but our predecessors have enabled us to do that by being bold on public transport.

 

In terms of the air quality emergency: when I was a kid, there was one kid in my class with asthma, things are very different now, and we have an increasing knowledge of the effects of air pollution on kids, on the wider population, even on developing babies in the womb.  So I would not put my backing behind any measures that would increase traffic into the city centre, but would instead want for us to continue the tradition of expanding our public transport and park and ride networks so that more people can make sustainable transport choices that work for them, work for their family, get them to work cheaply and conveniently, and in a way that doesn’t add additional damage to the climate.

 

So, thank you for your question and I think there may be 1 or 2 more on the A52.

 

 

Clifton Bridge

 

Councillor Kevin Clarke asked the following question of the Portfolio Holder for Adult Care and Local Transport:

 

The Clifton Bridge lane closures have hit at possibly the worst time for the City. While of course it could not have been predicted, the fact that the problems have occurred during all the current work and development happening across the City has no doubt exacerbated the traffic problems we’re currently experiencing. We recognise that there is no ‘one size fits all’ policy about solving the problems caused by the Clifton Bridge lane closures, and while we are sure Highways England are currently examining any and all solutions to the City’s current levels of congestion, will the Portfolio Holder consider the option of opening bus lanes to all traffic, either permanently or at least during peak hours?  Following successful trials in both Liverpool and Coventry, both cities have greatly reduced the number of bus lanes within the City, with both councils citing their efforts to reduce both congestion and emissions. Nottingham needs to make every effort to ease the current problems facing the workers and residents of the City, and we believe that this is worth examining.

 

Councillor Adele Williams replied as follows:

 

Thank you for your question.

 

As I mentioned earlier, I’m really proud of our bus lane network and the way in which our predecessors were bold in freeing-up the lanes for public transport and cycling.  We’ve historically invested in public transport here, both in terms of the quality and number of buses and bus services, but also in terms of bus infrastructure - bus lanes and real-time information that keeps Nottingham moving and makes bus travel a convenient choice.  This has played a major part in the fact that we are able to sustain bus travel numbers in Nottingham, in ways that other cities struggle to, despite that fact that we also have tram patronage going up at the same time.

 

Taking out bus lanes, at peak or for the whole time however you do it, will slow bus journey times.  So what you will then do is get all of those people that are on the bus thinking ‘this is really inconvenient, I’m going to get in my car instead’. We know that every bus can take up to 75 cars off the road, every tram can take 200 cars off the road.  You mentioned Liverpool.  The example from Liverpool was actually that bus journey times increased by 15-20%. Obviously it goes without saying that that makes bus travel a lot less attractive.  An unreliable bus service is not good competition for the car. More cars, more congestion.  So what Liverpool did was they reflected on that and actually put their bus lanes back in, and are adding some more. So I think it’s an interesting example, but I absolutely would not support taking out bus lanes in our City.  Lots of our citizens travel into the city centre by car a lot less than other cities, and I’ve stated some of the reasons for that in the investments and choices we’ve made, and I would want to sustain that. 

 

In the question you mention congestion and emissions and, actually, both of those would rise as a result of taking out bus lanes, so it’s absolutely not something that we would support.  We are committed to maintaining our bus lane infrastructure and keeping our public transport moving because we know that is better for the people on the bus, better for the people on the tram, but also better for those people who really do have to make a journey by car, because people who can make a transport choice to get onto the bus or tram will be doing that, taking more cars off the road. So, I’m absolutely convinced that, whichever way you look at it, removing bus lanes would be a very bad idea.

 

 

Emergency Services

 

Councillor Kirsty Jones asked the following question of the Leader of the Council:

 

Following the discovery and controlled detonation of a suspicious package in Manvers Street on the 24th February, will the Leader of the Council join me in a message of thanks to our Police, to the Army’s Bomb Disposal Unit, and to all our emergency services?  The rapid response of these brave men and women, who rarely consider the danger to themselves before putting their lives on the line to protect us all, should be a source of pride and of reassurance to the people of Nottingham, and I for one certainly feel safer knowing that we have them to rely on.

 

Councillor David Mellen replied as follows:

 

Thank you Lord Mayor, and can I thank Councillor Jones for her question.  The incident referred to in the question took place outside one of the Council’s, well Nottingham City Homes’ high-rise properties at Manvers Court, which is managed by Nottingham City Homes as I’ve said.  I will, of course, join Councillor Jones in thanking all of our emergency services who continue to serve the people of Nottingham with great distinction and dedication.  Nottingham City Council CCTV monitored the situation as it occurred and was in regular communication with Nottingham City Homes staff, keeping residents informed and as safe as possible. Thankfully the situation was dealt with efficiently, with CCTV operators supporting vital services to its conclusion.

 

 

Broadmarsh Shopping Centre Development

 

Councillor Kevin Clarke asked the following question of the Leader of the Council:

 

As I’m sure like most Councillors here today, we at the Independents feel a great deal of excitement and anticipation about all of the development currently happening within the City Centre, with specific mention of those currently happening at the Broadmarsh Shopping Centre. However, amid this excitement, it is of great concern to us to see the much publicised financial woes that are affecting Broadmarsh’s owners Intu. Last week’s ‘Emergency Cash Call’, the reported debts and the plummeting share prices are, at the very least, a worry about the company’s long-term financial future. Can the Leader of the Council give us the necessary assurances that the Broadmarsh development, and indeed the Victoria Centre, will continue to operate and have a secure role in this City’s future?

 

Councillor David Mellen replied as follows:

 

Thank you Lord Mayor, and can I thank Councillor Clarke for his question.  I’m glad that the Independent Councillors are as excited as Councillors on this side of the Chamber about the developments happening in the city centre over the next couple of years.

 

The New College Hub, the renovated Castle, the Broadmarsh development, including a new car park, bus station and library, as well as the shopping and leisure space spanning a new green, pedestrian area on Collin Street are going to make a tremendous difference to the city centre.  The Council will get the benefit of the foresight of Labour Councillors in the past, who made the preparations for these developments.

 

The Council remains in regular dialogue with senior representatives from Intu in relation to its well documented wider corporate issues, which reflect the turbulent retail market in the UK.  The message from Intu representatives is ‘it is business as usual’ for the Broadmarsh project. Intu have advised the Council that they continue to investigate other options to resolve their corporate issues and are working to resolve these in the coming months.  The Council is, and will, continue to consider any implications in relation to Intu’s current position and prepare appropriate Council responses, including action plans for a variety of possible future scenarios.  Intu have given the Council reassurances that they remain committed to continue to deliver their contractual commitment to delivering exciting regeneration work at Intu Broadmarsh.

 

 

Broadmarsh Shopping Centre Development

 

Councillor Andrew Rule asked the following question of the Leader of the Council:

 

The Leader of the Council may be aware that since the local elections last year the INTU share price has collapsed by nearly 90% (as of 5 March 2020) and they have recently cancelled an attempt to raise an additional £1 billion from shareholders.  Can the Leader of the Council reassure the Chamber that this won’t have an adverse bearing on the redevelopment of Broadmarsh Centre being completed on time?

 

Councillor David Mellen replied as follows:

 

Thank you Councillor Rule and I’ll refer you to the answer I’ve just given to Councillor Clarke, which was a very similar question. It’s about being vigilant, it’s about regular communication and making plans for future scenarios, whatever they may be.

 

 

Highways Flooding

 

Councillor Andrew Rule asked the following question of the Portfolio Holder for Adult Care and Local Transport:

 

The recent storms have highlighted flooding issues that resulted in a build-up of deep standing water that covered both the highway and the tram tracks in Clifton, most notably in Clifton, opposite the former St Francis Church at the junction of Farnborough Road and Brooksby Lane. A significant contributory factor to this was a build of sand, discharged by the tram to assist with traction, which blocked drainage holes in between the tracks, which resulted in standing water accumulating.  Colleagues advise that the operator should clear inbetween the tracks regularly but that it fails to do this. Could the Portfolio Holder apply pressure to ensure the operator undertakes this activity regularly not only in Clifton, but across the entirety of the tram network to prevent this happening again?

 

Councillor Adele Williams replied as follows:

 

Thank you Councillor Rule, and thank you for your question.  First of all, just a reminder that I’m always happy to hear from you if you want to raise any of this directly by email. But, I will fill you in as I’m sure colleagues will be interested in the answer anyway.

 

There was an investigation carried out by the Highways Maintenance Team and they identified that some pipe way from a footway gulley was not properly connected to the surface water chamber, and it’s this that caused the flooding at this location.  These drains are the responsibility of the Highway Authority and a work order has been raised to undertake remedial works. The tram operator carries out regular 4-weekly inspections of all sections of track work and if any issues are identified, such as blocked track drains or the accumulation of sand, action is taken to unblock the drains or to sweep the tramway.

 

 

Companies Governance Executive Sub Committee

 

Councillor Andrew Rule asked the following question of the Leader of the Council:

 

Given that the Council’s external auditor has placed considerable emphasis on improving governance of council owned companies which has now led to the creation of the Companies Governance Committee; would the Leader agree, that in order to maximise the Committee’s chances of both seriously improving the governance of council owned companies and the transparency of the Committee its self, the Council’s auditor should be asked to attend the Committee to offer their expertise and guidance in helping the Committee achieve its objective?

 

Councillor David Mellen replied as follows:

 

Thank you Lord Mayor and can I thank Councillor Rule for his question.  I want to reassure Councillor Rule that the Council is absolutely committed to the good governance of Council owned companies, which is why in December last year I established the Companies Governance Executive Sub-Committee. It is through this transparent body that the Council will oversee the strategic objectives across the Council’s group of companies, recognising that there is no one size fits all approach to good company governance and that our engagement with each of our companies will need to be tailored to fit the individual circumstances of that company, whilst encouraging our companies to learn from each other and support each other as Nottingham companies.  Notwithstanding that, it is appropriate that the Council’s external auditor is in a close contact with us as we oversee our strategic objectives and he can come to whichever public meetings he wishes to, but his role is not to advise or to guide, but to hold us to account, which is very different.  Thank you.

 

Council Owned Companies

 

Councillor Andrew Rule asked the following question of the Leader of the Council:

 

Could the Leader of the Council detail the professional skills held by those councillors in the respective fields of those council owned companies, on whose boards they sit?

 

Councillor David Mellen replied as follows:

 

Thank you Lord Mayor and can I thank Councillor Rule for his question.  Councillors sit on Council owned companies to provide democratic accountability on behalf of the residents we serve. We believe in the importance of municipal ownership, not just because we believe it is more efficient, providing better services at lower costs, but because we believe in democracy and giving a voice to the residents who send us here every four years.

In May 2019, we set out a clear and ambitious vision for the people of Nottingham, with a clear mandate that members will ensure that our Council owned companies are focused on delivering on those local priorities, whether that is Nottingham City Transport delivering a cheap peak travel offer for people who have concessionary bus passes or Increasing the frequency of weekend night bus services from hourly to half hourly at peak times; Nottingham City Homes helping to build or buy 1,000 council or social homes for rent; Blueprint helping to continue to transform the land around the River Trent into a neighbourhood of choice with sustainable new homes; or our pledge to support local businesses by providing a 364 day per year commercial waste company; and I could go on.  Within those Council owned companies, as with the Council itself, elected members rightly rely on the guidance and expertise of staff who not only support the good governance of boards but also support decision making along the way.

Lord Mayor, I am proud of the diverse range of backgrounds and skills councillors bring in performing their duties.  We have councillors here who have set up their own businesses or charities, some that have worked in the public sector, councillors that work in the private sector and councillors that work for trade unions. We have councillors who have accessed learning at different points in their life, using their life experience to supplement their learning along the way. We have councillors who have professional qualifications in a number of fields.  Lord Mayor, as a group we have never reflected the City better than we do today, both in terms of gender and ethnicity, with all our councillors living in the City, using Council services alongside our residents.  I’m confident that we serve and safeguard the interests of our communities and our companies.

 

 

Clifton Bridge

 

Councillor Michael Edwards asked the following question of the Portfolio Holder for Adult Care and Local Transport:

 

Does the Portfolio Holder for Adults and Local Transport think Highways England should be providing funding to the Council for short-term measures that will mitigate traffic disruption as a result of their maintenance work on Clifton Bridge?

 

Councillor Adele Williams replied as follows:

 

Thank you Councillor Edwards for your question.  I think some of you are hoping for a one-word answer.

 

Yes I do, but I’m hoping for short-term measures but also with long-term gain. The City Council is currently working with Highways England, as I’ve said, to agree a package of measures and, hopefully, for them to fund those. The package, as I mentioned earlier, includes things like seven-day staffing of our Traffic Control Centre, the yellow-box markings, installation of variable message signing, and also support for police work to keep our junctions moving.  We’re also seeking to fund a tailored communications plan that builds on the work we are already doing to up that so we can provide further information on diversionary routes and so on to a broader range of citizens.  The City Council is also looking for funding for measures to support public transport and encourage people onto public transport, such as the offered cycle support package, Robin Hood ‘taster offers’, and so on.  It’s hoped that by offering those high-quality alternatives to the car, as we already do but by building on that, we’ll encourage a modal shift on a longer-term basis, not just during the closure of Clifton Bridge but ongoing, so that the sustainable choice embeds in people’s behaviour.

 

I’ll just finish, as this is my last question on Clifton Bridge you’ll be delighted to hear, by reflecting on why it is that we’ve got public transport so high in our Manifesto and in our Council Plan. We’ve got a number of pledges around local transport, pledges around campaigning to get young people the same discount as students in the city, concessionary travel offers, increased night buses, and also a pledge to protect from cuts access to our comprehensive and regular bus and tram service.  It’s so high in profile in our Manifesto and our Council Plan because we recognise the absolute importance of it to the lives and futures of our citizens: for people’s ability to access work and leisure opportunities in their City; just really being part of the City, getting involved in things such as volunteering which we know is really good for people; it’s good for their well-being; and it’s good for their economic prospects.  So, I just want to take a moment to reflect on how important public transport is to the fortunes of those that need it, and also to the fortunes of, as I’ve said, people that need to use their cars, so they find that they are able to get to where they need to get to much faster if lots of us are able to make the choice to get on to public transport.

 

So, thank you for the question and I hope that everyone will join with me in support for the package and get behind our request to Highways England and to the Minister that they fully fund the package in recognition of the disruption that the A52 Highways England work has caused to the City, and the recognition that the way to resolve that is to get the Bridge fixed as quickly as possible, but also to facilitate the things that keep Nottingham moving, and that is measures like the bus lanes, like the yellow boxes, and like our fantastic public transport system.

 

Thank you.

 

 

Rough Sleeping

 

Councillor Jay Hayes asked the following question of the Portfolio Holder for Housing, Planning and Heritage:

 

Now we are in the coldest part of the year, could the Portfolio Holder for Housing, Planning and Heritage give an update on the rough sleeping figures for Nottingham?

 

Councillor Linda Woodings replied as follows:

 

Thank you Lord Mayor and thank you Councillor Hayes for your question.  Each year, Nottingham City Council, along with all other local authorities, must submit a figure to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government (MHCLG) of how many rough-sleepers there are on a particular night in November - last year it was the night of 7 November. So, our November 2019 figure was 30, and that was a decrease of 12% on the 2018 figure.  That’s in contrast to a national decrease of 9%, so an improvement on the national situation.

 

Nottingham also does a count of rough-sleepers on a monthly basis, and the last count was conducted on 14 February 2020 by the Street Outreach Team, Housing Aid and staff from Emmanuel House.  In February, they identified just 24 people sleeping rough, 16 fewer than in January 2020, and 13 fewer that the same period of time in 2019.  Encouragingly, there were no young rough-sleepers discovered in the February count, that’s people under the age of 25. However, 15% of those found were female, and that is still a matter of concern for us.

 

So colleagues, although this is the lowest number of people found sleeping outside for 3 years, the figure is even more extraordinary considering the number of different individuals found sleeping outside over the previous year, which is higher than ever before.  Last year, between 1 January and 31 December, 751 different people were found rough-sleeping and this was an increase from the number of individuals we encountered during 2018, which was 635 people. 

 

So, this achievement is because of the extra range of different services we’ve been able to provide, because now we have more options and more flexibility to address the many barriers that can stop people from coming in from the cold. 

 

Of course, this reduction in numbers has to be set against the background of the number of people that were found rough-sleeping in Nottingham in 2010, which was just 3, because back then we had the ‘Supporting People’ fund, and we and all other councils used to receive substantial sums of money every year.  In Nottingham it was £27million every year to help vulnerable citizens stay in their homes, and that was cut because of the Tory Government’s savage austerity programme, meaning that we, and the rest of the country are now seeing higher numbers of people sleeping rough every year.

 

Colleagues, I’d also say that the snapshot is a fairly crude measure of the scale of rough-sleeping across the country. There are a number of factors that affect the count on any particular night, the weather is one of the major factors, and we’ve had quite a mild winter.  So, despite the Government reporting the 9% reduction in numbers in the spot-check, quite rightly homeless charities have highlighted that Freedom of Information Act requests to local authorities show numbers almost 5 times higher than the November 2019 count. So, the November count was just under 5,000 across the country. In fact, local authorities cite 25,000+ people sleeping outside last year.

 

The Government has recently pledged a further £236million to tackle rough-sleeping, but this is money we have to bid for i.e. compete with other local authorities for. Luckily in Nottingham that is something we are particularly good at because I’m pleased to announce that we’ve been successful once again in renewing our Rough-Sleeping Initiative Fund.  On 28 January 2020 we were told that we had been awarded the full amount of Rough-Sleeping Initiative Funding for the financial year 2020/21.  That is nearly £1.4million which will enable us to continue all of our current interventions for another year, including all of the new measures introduced as part of the Cold Weather Fund.  Finally, I’m pleased to announce that on Tuesday 24 March 2020 we are hosting the MHCLG at a rough-sleeping event here in Nottingham, which will look at further ways we can work together with our partners to end rough-sleeping.

 

We’ve achieved a great deal this year, with all the challenges of unprecedented numbers of people found sleeping outside in our City and, in spite of this, we’ve worked with partners to bring the numbers down to just 24 people found in February, but we still say that’s 24 too many.  Colleagues, this Labour Council will never be complacent, or accepting of people sleeping outside. There is still no need for anyone to do this in Nottingham, we have sufficient provision, and I check this is the case on a regular basis. However, we know that behind every person rough-sleeping is a sad history, a trauma, an addiction, a mental health issue.  So although 24 is a good figure, I’m in no way complacent. I, along with this Labour Council, believe that one person sleeping outside in Nottingham is one too many and we urge the Government, if it’s really serious about ending rough-sleeping, to adequately fund the building of social and supported housing and to restore the ‘Supporting People Fund’ to sufficient, pre-austerity, measures.  Thank you.

 

 

Local Government Pay

 

Councillor Nick Raine asked the following question of the Leader of the Council:

 

Does the Leader agree that local government has suffered funding cuts of nearly 50% since 2010 which have decimated our services and eroded the pay of the workers who deliver them? Does he also agree that central government should now fully fund a decent pay rise and establish a minimum wage of at least £10 per hour for local government workers in 2020/21? 

 

Councillor David Mellen replied as follows:

 

Thank you Lord Mayor and can I thank Councillor Raine for his question.  Lord Mayor, later this afternoon, Councillor Webster will propose a budget of necessity for our City and its services, a budget in the backdrop of yet more Government austerity and yet more disproportionate funding to affluent counties in the south of England, at the expense of midland and northern cities.  Since 2010, Government austerity has meant cuts to funding for services that we all rely on, including the police, NHS, schools and benefits. We face uncertain economic times and ordinary people in our City are struggling to meet increasing living costs, and local authorities like Nottingham, are struggling in the face of a national funding crisis as the Tory Government continues to pass on huge funding cuts, further squeezing vital local services.  Lord Mayor, later this afternoon Councillors will hear more detail about our diminishing Government grant. Since 2010, this Council has made cumulative savings of more than £271m to deal not just with the cuts but also inflation and the effects of a changing demography.  Since 2013/14, Nottingham’s Revenue Support Grant has fallen from £126m to just £25m next year, that’s a cut of 80%.

 

Now, as Leader of the Council, I’m extremely proud of our workers, our street cleaners, our social workers, youth centre staff, teaching staff, community protection staff, and right across the frontline, to the back office support at Loxley House, day after day, keeping Nottingham moving and serving the people of our City. Lord Mayor, they too live in Nottingham, they travel on our streets, use and rely on our essential public services. So, while council tax payers up and down the country are this year again being asked to pay more, it is our social workers, our community protection staff and our teaching staff who are too being asked to pay more.  Like many other councils, the reduction of Government funding has meant that we have only been able to offer very little in terms of a pay rise. Since 2013/14, we have only been able to offer 1-2% annual uplifts in salaries and are still negotiating a pay award with our unions for 2020/21. I acknowledge that this is far from what our staff deserve, so I would whole-heartedly agree that our Government should not only adequately fund local government across the country so that we can increase public sector pay across the board, but fully fund a decent pay rise, establishing a minimum wage of at least £10 per hour.  I would dearly like to pay all our staff the minimum of £10 per hour, no one that works at this Council should be classed as ‘poor’, but as we have discussed many times in this Chamber over the last ten years, austerity has hit this Council hard.  We don’t have enough money to deliver services in the way we think we should and we don’t have enough money to award our staff the pay rise they deserve. 

 

Lord Mayor, I absolutely agree that this much needed pay rise for our staff, many of whom deliver vital front line services, should come from Central Government.  It absolutely cannot come from existing budgets: if it could we would have done this already.  When the Prime Minister talks about levelling up, we all need him to bear in mind that levelling up is not just about investing in infrastructure and connectivity in the Midlands and the North, but also about ensuring that the country’s workforce has the opportunity to get a job with decent pay whether or not they work in private or public sector.  Whilst the Government makes a lot of noise about not raising income tax, VAT or national insurance, they neglect to inform us that in their mind the growing gap in public finance should be met at a local level. It’s at a local level where many of our essential services that keep us safe and well are delivered from. We cannot simply decide not to deliver social care, not to collect the rubbish, not to house our homeless and look after our most vulnerable citizens and children. All the Government has achieved is just to move the point of taxation to a local level rather than central, once again hitting the more deprived regions hardest.  Lord Mayor, the dedicated and committed local authority workforce need and deserve more pay and this absolutely needs to come from Central Government. As Labour politicians, we will hold the Government to account for not doing so.

 

Covid-19 Virus

 

Councillor Jane Lakey asked the following question of the Portfolio Holder for Energy, Environment and Democratic Services:

 

Could the Portfolio Holder for Energy, Environment and Democratic Services explain Nottingham City’s plan for handling the Covid-19 virus?

 

Councillor Sally Longford replied as follows:

 

Thank you Lord Mayor and thank you Councillor Lakey for your question.  As I explained in my response to the earlier public question, there are an increasing number of cases of Covid-19. In the UK, 273 cases have been reported, and communities across Europe and the world are becoming increasingly seriously affected. Although in the UK the situation is not so serious yet, in the next few months large numbers of the population will probably be affected.

 

On Friday (6 March) it was announced that the first Nottingham resident had tested positive for Covid-19 infection, having recently returned from South Korea. A second case has since been confirmed of a family member. Other close contacts have been given health advice about symptoms and emergency contact details. No further details of these cases will be given due to the need to protect patient confidentiality. We wish these citizens a speedy recovery.  Nottinghamshire County Council has also confirmed 3 cases of residents that have recently returned from Italy.  These small number of cases are being carefully managed by the health services in order to slow the spread of the infection and ensure the best possible care for the citizens affected. It is very likely that we will see a large increase in infection in the next few weeks, and it is our duty as a Council to do all we can to protect our citizens from the worst impact of the virus.

 

We know that most cases will be mild, with an estimated 1% mortality rate, and some people feel this is not a serious situation, likening it to a normal flu outbreak. However, it is important to remember that there is no immunity to this virus and, whereas many vulnerable and elderly citizens have been vaccinated against flu, that is not the case with Covid-19. Evidence suggests that the most serious outcomes fall disproportionally on the elderly and citizens with existing health conditions. It is our duty to ensure we have the best possible plans in place to support those vulnerable citizens and to enable our front-line staff to continue to provide services as needed.

 

As I explained in my previous response, the Government’s Reasonable Worse Case Scenario suggests up to 80% of the population will contract the virus, with the peak of infection being 2-3 months after sustained human to human transmission.  This would have a serious impact on the City as a whole, resulting in high levels of staff absence in all businesses and services across the City and it is vital that organisations are preparing as best they can. I hope employers will act responsibly and enable their staff to take time off with pay if they fear they have been infected, in order to reduce the threat of infection to our vulnerable citizens.  We know, for example, that up to 20% of staff may be absent from work in the peak weeks of the epidemic. The City Council’s response to the Covid-19 virus is guided by a number of relevant national, regional and local emergency plans. We already have our own thorough emergency plans in place for a variety of possible events, one of which is a flu pandemic, and this has helped the Council to immediately understand the actions needed and swing into action.

 

Our Public Health Team, led by the Director for Public Health, is working with the NHS, Public Health England and the Local Resilience Forum. Since the virus first emerged in Wuhan they have been liaising with both universities, Nottingham College and members of the community in Nottingham to monitor the situation in the City.  The Emergency Planning Team is engaging with the Local Resilience Forum and, if needed, they will play their part in whatever county-wide response is needed.  Internally, each Department has nominated a senior lead to attend regular meetings, co-chaired by the Corporate Director for Strategy and Resources and the Director of Public Health.  Guidance from the Government has been circulated to all customer-facing staff to help them assist with enquiries from the public. Colleagues have been made aware of specific guidance for educational settings, employers and businesses, social or community care and residential settings, staff in the transport sector, and of the decontamination in non-health care settings. We await updates from Government and Public Health England on a range of other measures.

 

In line with pandemic planning, a series of HR policies will be activated as necessary. These include the management of sickness absence, working from home, and redeployment of colleagues. Managers have also been directed to health and safety advice to ensure risk assessments are carried out appropriately to protect colleagues and service users. As I said, Facilities Management have increased cleansing of hand tactile surfaces.  If the virus causes significant staff absences, Business Continuity Plans will be implemented in order to maintain the smooth running of essential services, and I have recently asked Portfolio Holders to discuss with their officers how these plans will work, and to ensure their plans are reviewed and exercised. The Council will seek to prioritise the most critical services, but this may result in reduced services elsewhere in the Council. I will inform colleagues and citizens of any changes to services as soon as they are known.  Work is ongoing to ensure health and social care services work effectively together.

 

I am afraid there will inevitably be unplanned pressure on the City Council’s budgets as a result of increased costs, and potential loss of income arising from our response to this health emergency. We hope Central Government will reimburse the Council for this additional cost in a timely fashion.  Let’s face it, we are already struggling after 10 years of austerity and we can well do without this.

 

I would like to reassure Members that the Council is as well prepared as it is possible to be in the circumstances. Behind the scenes, officers are working hard to ensure we will have resources available to continue to provide our essential services to our citizens.

 

We Councillors, if approached by citizens, should encourage good hygiene, washing hands regularly and thoroughly, avoiding touching your face with unwashed hands, and using a tissue and throwing it away after use. If in doubt about their symptoms, citizens should call 111 or visit the NHS website to find out more, they should not visit a GP or the hospital if they believe they may be infected.

 

I am sure the next few months could be very challenging, but the message must be that the Council is prepared and will not let its citizens down.

 

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