Agenda item

Adult day services

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

 

As I’m sure is the same for everyone here, we watched with great interest when the results of the public consultation to the Interim Budget were published.  May I draw the Portfolio Holder’s attention to the fact that of the 232 responses received (at the time of writing), 160 respondents mentioned this Council’s plans to reduce funding for Adult Day Services, and to close one Adult Day Centre.  By our calculation, over 97% of these respondents expressed overwhelmingly negative opinions of this proposal, and like us, believe that it would be unnecessarily harmful to those at most risk during this already difficult time.  Can the Portfolio Holder confirm to me that the feedback that she has received has been treated with the respect it warrants and has been considered carefully in the decision making process? Can she justify why the closure is still planning to go ahead despite the obvious public opposition to it?

 

Councillor Adele Williams replied as follows:

 

Thank you Lord Mayor and thank you to Councillor Watson for the question.  As Portfolio Holder, I have previously spoken with citizens who attend the Council’s day services and I have also met with some of the staff who work in day care and I really recognise the work that they do and the value of that to citizens and their families.  In lockdown many of these staff worked in new ways to support citizens innovatively and helped to make sure people had the support that they needed.  Your Conservative colleague has previously commended the Pathways Project which connects people with learning disabilities, for example, to community activities, volunteering etc and, as our Better Lives Better Outcomes Plan sets out, the Council is committed to working with citizens and families in a personalised way to support people’s independence and choice in their local communities.  Our plans for day support recognise that building-based services will be part of the solution but not the whole picture, and we have significant under-use of our existing day centres as younger people have chosen other options for their support.  It’s our ambition for all of our citizens to get them to play an active part in our communities and clearly many young people and their families share this and are choosing to get into further training, community activity, volunteering and so on, and on to pathways to employment. 

 

I can confirm that the feedback that has been received has been carefully considered as part of the comprehensive consultation with the citizens that attend day services and their families and carers.  When any significant proposals for change are proposed it is important that a comprehensive consultation is completed before any final decisions are made.  Understanding the views of citizens, families and carers is really important to making sure that adult social services are able to meet the needs of citizens in a landscape that of course has been significantly impacted upon by Covid-19 and I really take that seriously.  The consultation with families, carers and citizens is continuing and will go on after this meeting and will include a review for each person who uses day services.  We will also be involving citizens, carers and their families in a piece of coproduction work that will look at day services and look to develop best practice models of day care that will match what we need for Nottingham in the future.  There will be no final decisions made on this matter until this further consultation process with citizens and their families has concluded and the views of all stakeholders have been carefully considered by our outstanding officer team and by me as Portfolio Holder.  I will want to be assured, as I am sure all of us will be, that we are building the best possible services for our citizens that meet their needs and aspirations as we emerge out of Covid.  Thank you Lord Mayor.

 

Robin Hood Energy

Councillor Kevin Clarke asked the following question of the Portfolio Holder for Finance, Growth and the City Centre:

 

On 11 November 2019, I stood in the Council Chamber and asked a question to the Portfolio Holder for Finance, Growth and the City Centre, concerning whether or not he still believed Robin Hood Energy provided good value for money to the City.  Can he tell us today if he still believes it was?

 

Councillor Sam Webster replied as follows:

 

Thank you Councillor Clarke for the question.  I did of course look back at the question that was asked on the day that he says, last November, and the response that I made before I composed my response for today.  I noticed that in his question in November 2019 that Councillor Clarke said that we strongly believe that any attempt to battle fuel poverty should be applauded.  I should say that the scrutiny and challenge to decisions made in recent years relating to Robin Hood Energy is totally understandable and proper.  Indeed Councillor Clarke is doing his job.  I hope therefore that he will understand that in answering his question in the way that I did last year, I was in fact doing my job.  He wouldn’t expect me to cast doubt on a commercial venture of the Council in a public meeting.  I have looked back, as I say, to my response which was very brief.  I hope that he will also look at the actions that we have instigated since he asked his question of me.  Chiefly, but not restricted to, bringing in a new management team at Robin Hood Energy, completing a strategic review of Robin Hood Energy and completing the sale of the customer book of Robin Hood Energy.  Thank you.

 

Members’ Allowances

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

 

We have had disagreements about the nature of councillor reimbursement before and, while we disagree with it, we accept that Council voted to accept the recommendations of the Independent Remuneration Panel to index members’ allowances to changes in staff pay.  However, we live in extraordinary times and frankly we find the current increase recommendation to be wholly distasteful. This Council is facing once-in-a-lifetime budget pressures, we are offering hundreds of redundancies to our hard working staff and we are closing front line services. At the same time, this Labour Group has come under deserved, and may I add accepted by yourselves, criticism for the tens of millions of pounds of public money it has misspent and written off in the Intu Broadmarsh and Robin Hood Energy fiascos. Honestly, it is completely beyond me how anyone, including ourselves, could be even contemplating a pay rise.  Will the Leader of the Council, join us in rejecting this councillor allowance increase, and promise to reinvest this money into our people and front line services so we can deliver a Council that this city deserves?

 

Councillor Mellen replied as follows:

 

Thank you Lord Mayor and can I thank Councillor Jones for her question.  Firstly, can I say that much has been said in the Council Chamber and elsewhere about the governance failings and industry challenges surrounding Robin Hood Energy.  However, the collapse and insolvency of Intu is not something that can be laid at the door of the City Council and the company-owned shopping centres across the country.  The money we invested in the Broadmarsh works has been used for ground works and to remove asbestos from the site and this work would have had to be done whatever the future of the site.  We have also secured £8million of Government money through the Local Enterprise Partnership to enable us to complete some demolition and other works to enable us to move forward on this site, with a public consultation about its future beginning soon. 

 

It was in fact the Chancellor who announced an above inflation pay rise for public sector workers in July this year, reflecting the vital contribution our workers make to our City, and public sector workers such as police officers, teachers, doctors and health workers make across the country.  These past few months have underlined what we always knew: that our public sector workers make a vital contribution to our country and that we can rely on them when we need them the most.  It was right, therefore, that we follow the recommendations of the pay bodies for this real terms pay increase for our staff.  In the same way that the public sector pay awards are recommended by independent pay review bodies, the level of remuneration made to elected members is set independently by the Independent Remuneration Panel.  We don’t set them in the Council Chamber.  The level of allowances is set by a group of people who rightly consider the time and responsibility that our roles bring with them to decide what level of remuneration councillors should receive to reflect their different roles.  Being a councillor is not just a pastime or a hobby, but a privilege and a responsibility.  In this Labour Group we are serious about delivering on the promises we have made and serving the people we represent.  Allowances release councillors to spend time away from employment or caring or parenting responsibilities and these allowances, over the years, have enabled this Council to be much more of a cross-section of the population of Nottingham with, for the first time, more than 50% of the Council being female.  We believe that committing ourselves to our ambitious targets is worth doing.  It is right that members of this Council who work hard to deliver the ambitious targets for our City and give considerable time and effort in doing so, receive an allowance that is reflective of the cost of living and judged at an appropriate level by people who are not councillors who can make an independent decision.  A decision whether or not to take that increase is a personal decision for every councillor, not decided or recommended by me or, in fact, by you Councillor Jones.  This is for individual councillors to decide. 

 

It is not the remuneration of councillors that has led to the financial challenges currently facing the Council.  We have had years of a Conservative-led Government committed to austerity and reducing local spending, whilst hitting poorer communities and big northern and midland cities the hardest.  I do not believe that people are choosing to become councillors to serve themselves, as the question implies, but to serve the people they represent and work for the success of our city.  So if our opposition councillors are truly genuine in their concern for the wellbeing of local people then they should join me in campaigning for a fairer share of Government funding so that we can continue to provide the vital services we need.  Lord Mayor, as Leader of the Council, I have made a personal decision this year not to take the increase in allowance.

 

Appointment of Committee Chair

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

 

Following the deserved and accepted criticism of this Council’s abject inability to hold Robin Hood Energy to account, it was promised that there would be improvements in how Nottingham City Council conducts itself.  At a time when the public are calling for those responsible for Robin Hood Energy’s failures to be held accountable, promises of a cultural change were most welcome.  However, we have concerns that these promises are already not being kept.  I’m sure every Councillor wishes to avoid a repeat of Robin Hood Energy, so it must be demonstrated that lessons have been learned. This Council cannot afford to take actions which leads to further criticism of a lack of accountability and transparency within this virtual senate chamber.  Could the Portfolio Holder publically explain the process and criteria for appointing the Chair of the Audit Committee to enable that Committee to carry out its role and ensure that the failures of Robin Hood Energy’s Board will not be repeated.

 

Councillor Sally Longford replied as follows:

 

Thank you Lord Mayor and can I thank Councillor Clarke for his question.  The Chair of Audit Committee is appointed at the Annual Meeting of the City Council.  However, in the event of a vacancy in-year, it is for the Audit Committee to elect an appropriate member to Chair for the remainder of the Municipal Year.  Thank you.

 

Tram network

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

 

The Portfolio Holder will doubtless have welcomed the funding received from the Department of Transport to support the tram network during the Covid pandemic.  Could she confirm how much of this support has been received to date?

 

Councillor Adele Williams replied as follows:

 

Thank you Lord Mayor and thank you to Councillor Rule for your question.  The tram is obviously a key component of our integrated and outstanding public transport network so we of course welcome the funding that has been announced today by Central Government to support the tram operation.  So far we have received £8.9million.  This funding is provided to the operator so that they can continue to run services at full capacity while patronage remains much lower than previous levels.  This ensures that those who need to travel by public transport, including key workers and children going to school, are able to do so, so that is welcome.  However, we are still seeking assurances from Government that funding will continue into the future while passengers numbers are down and we remain frustrated, as in many areas, by the piecemeal approach to funding.  A good half of our citizens don’t have access to a car so we need an integrated, accessible transport system.  We also know that about 30% of tram users used to drive so it is very effective in taking cars off the road.  The tram is a key component of our wider plans to keep the city moving and there really needs to be a commitment to continue to provide support while social distancing remains in place. 

 

While we are on the subject of public transport I think we would all want to reiterate our thanks to those workers who have kept us moving around the city as safely as possible.  Thank you to them.  Thank you Lord Mayor.

 

Commercial property investments

Councillor Andrew Rule asked the following question of the Portfolio Holder for Regeneration, Schools and Communications:

 

The Portfolio Holder may have seen the recent reports around the Council debt levels.  Whilst some of its £1.2billion debt is secured against commercial property investments, can he confirm the current cumulative value of the Council’s commercial property investments compared with this time last year and can he also confirm how much rent has been received from the properties this year as opposed to last year?

 

Councillor David Mellen replied as follows:

 

Thank you Lord Mayor and can I thank Councillor Rule for his question.  The value of Nottingham City Council’s commercial property investments as of 31 March 2020 was £256.2million.  On the 31 March 2019 the value of these property investments was £284.6million.  The rental received for the last financial year was just over £24million.  The predicted rental income for the current financial year is £18.3million.

 

Broadmarsh Car Park

Councillor Andrew Rule asked the following question of the Portfolio Holder for Regeneration, Schools and Communications:

 

Could the Portfolio Holder comment on how the hiatus with the redevelopment of the Broadmarsh Shopping Centre will impact anticipated car parking and rental revenue from the Broadmarsh Car Park?

 

Councillor David Mellen replied as follows:

 

Thank you Lord Mayor and can I thank Councillor Rule for his question.  The development of the former Intu Broadmarsh site following the acquisition is still at an early stage and the final design and aspirations for the site and supporting construction timescales are yet to be confirmed.  With the Covid-19 global pandemic, there has been significant impact on economies across the world and like all other cities we are now working on a recovery phase while taking the necessary actions to mitigate the effects of a second wave. 

 

The new Broadmarsh Car Park development is on course to open in the spring or summer next year.  The Council already operates a well-established and extensive car parking portfolio both on and off street and has a proven track record of effectively managing these operations in a competitive and commercial environment.  When the car park opens we are expecting significant demand, even though the retail offer has had to change in the short term.  The business model has been adjusted to focus on maximising occupancy through a mix of long stay customers including commuter, contracts, leisure and retail customers as well as those who will stay for a shorter time.  This ensures we maximise the performance of the car park in the short term.  As the surrounding sites develop further opportunities will become available.  We also expect that some of the visitors to the reopened Nottingham Castle could park here before walking to the bottom of Castle Road to catch the land train up to the Castle, the opening of which we are very much looking forward to.  In the longer term visitors could park here to visit the new City Centre library. 

 

It is clear that Broadmarsh will enhance the Council’s parking offer and will clearly be a high quality asset to the southern gateway to the City and will also be at the heart of the redevelopment of the area.  It should also be noted that a substantial number of the units in the Carrington Street area have been let which is a key part of the development project.  As all the City services strive to move forward during the difficult recovery from Covid it will be imperative to adapt and reshape our services to ensure they continue to be fit for purpose.  The car park is a major development and will benefit all those who live, work or visit by providing a high quality parking service, while securing much needed income supporting the wider economic recovery for the City as a whole supporting all citizens and visitors who may wish to drive to our City.  The photo-voltaic cells on the roof of the car park will contribute to our carbon neutral targets.

 

Public Interest Report

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

 

Following the external auditor’s public interest report against the Council, the Leader of the Council will be aware of the very generous offer from MP for Nottingham East, and former Parliamentary Secretary to the Shadow Secretary of State for Health, who has offered to have regular meetings with the Council’s leadership to ensure the lessons from the public interest report are learnt.  Could the Leader tell the Chamber if any such meetings with the MP have taken place yet and if not when they are planned?

 

Councillor David Mellen replied as follows:

 

Thank you Lord Mayor and can I thank Councillor Rule for his question.  As the Leader of the Council I meet regularly with the Members of Parliament for Nottingham East, Nottingham North and Nottingham South.  I met with the MPs most recently in September this year following the adoption of the Council’s Action Plan to the Public Interest Report.  I plan to meet with them again in October.

 

Planning White Paper

Councillor Mike Edwards asked the following question of the Portfolio Holder for Housing, Planning and Heritage:

 

What are the implications for Nottingham of Government changes to the planning system made in August and proposed changes published in the White Paper?

 

Councillor Linda Woodings replied as follows:

 

Thank you Lord Mayor and thank you Councillor Edwards for your question.  It’s a huge question to answer and one that I will struggle to do justice to within the time that I have available, especially in relation to the scale of the changes proposed in the Planning White Paper, which in the words of Boris Johnson in the Foreword are “to tear it down and start again”.  So I will stick to the main issues as I see them affecting Nottingham and the risk to our successful place making and planning roles. 

 

Firstly, the most recent changes this autumn continue the regulation of the planning system primarily through expanding the permitted development regime and that means the Government gives in-principle planning permission to certain developments without the need to submit any planning application and therefore without the opportunity for full democratic local scrutiny.  Sadly, yet more centralisation of planning decisions, and they now include the wholesale demolition of vacant business premises for replacement with new housing developments, with a limited range of matters that will be considered under prior approval but without Planning Committee or citizens being able to consider it fully.  For instance, it could be in the middle of an industrial estate, a long way from shops and schools, it could mean we lose precious employment places and it won’t contribute to affordable housing need.  Secondly, much wider changes of use for buildings within our city and town centres, the breadth of which feels quite unnecessary and could undermine our Town Centre First policy because it will allow offices and light industrial buildings in out of centre locations to change to shops and leisure uses and compete directly with city and town centres.  It may also limit some of the essential controls we have in place on things like opening hours and noisy uses.  A further alarming amendment now allows home owners to add up to two additional storeys to their homes and also allows new flats to be built on top of existing buildings.  There are limitations on height through the prior approval process but it is very hard to see what problem that fixes and what was wrong with the existing planning application process which enables your immediate neighbours, in particular, to have their say.  The range and type of planning consent processes that are now in place are quite bewildering and it must appear very confusing to our businesses and citizens which can’t be helpful.  In fact, it’s the opposite of a simpler planning system. 

 

In terms of the Planning White Paper, I must admit that this is still within a consultation period by the Government and I will be submitting strong comments on behalf of the City Council about the implications for Nottingham.  The scope of the White Paper is massive and I can only cover it briefly today.  For a start I would say the contents of Planning for the Future could best be described as a sketch, with much of the evidence about the problems facing the planning system totally absent, and at the same time many of the most profound questions we face, such as the role of strategic planning or how we get substantial reductions in carbon dioxide secured are left completely unanswered.  As the Planning Portfolio Holder, I believe in democratic planning to help shape a fair and sustainable future for everyone.  The planning system must operate in the public interest and it should be both democratically accountable and genuinely participative.  It must also reflect the complex social, environmental and economic geography in different parts of the country and be fit to deal with not just the current pandemic but also with the impacts of climate change and social inequality.  This Planning White Paper, however, continues the decade-long trend of what’s called the ‘streamlining’ of the planning system, but actually that just risks side-lining and minimising the voice of local communities and the City Council.  There is actually no shortage of evidence on the real problems facing the planning system, nor on the merits or otherwise of the White Paper’s proposed new zonal planning, which is untried anywhere else in the world.  The White Paper criticises planning for problems it doesn’t have, such as producing housing consents.  We have delivered thousands of new homes in Nottingham in recent years.  Nationally in 2019 371,000 homes were given planning approval but developers still only built 241,000 homes.  The Paper fails to identify those problems that the planning system does actually have, primarily insufficient powers to de-risk development and drive delivery and that’s really important in Nottingham, where our land values and viability are very challenging.  There is no recognition of the contribution of ten years’ worth of Government planning reform measures that has effectively created the current problems and particularly how the lack of strategic planning has made our Local Plan really problematic.  In this regard it undermines our sub-regional strategic partnership and the really successful local cross-council Joint Planning Advisory Board.  If there is one headline to take from the White Paper it is that the proposed new system will not deliver on its claimed democratised planning neither will it necessarily deliver better outcomes.  It is primarily focused on housing delivery which in Nottingham we have been consistently successful in achieving and it risks undermining our reputation for working together with partners to achieve high quality planning and place making to help meet the needs of our citizens. 

 

So these moves should be of concern to the citizens of Nottingham and are of concern to us in the City Council.  All the evidence shows that giving landlords permitted development rights leads directly to poor quality housing.  The ability to build two further storeys on top of your home means your neighbours have fewer means to challenge development.  The White Paper announced by the Prime Minister Boris Johnson under the headline ‘Build, Build, Build’ will mean most types of commercial premises having total flexibility to be repurposed; more commercial buildings being changed to residential use with no planning application and no oversight of standards; and any high street revival planning potentially thrown into disarray.  So the White Paper concentrates most citizen involvement into the development of a Local Plan but removes the citizen’s right to be heard in the public hearing of that and we lose any say in growth zonal areas.  This White Paper is ill-judged, completely ignores the huge issues of land banking and a lack of viability on brown field sites, has no solutions for dealing with flood risk and ignores all former research, even in 2018 by Oliver Letwin, into the real reasons for a lack of planning.  So colleagues this is a dog’s dinner of a White Paper, which ignores the major issues stopping house building and rather than this being not a matter of courage – Boris Johnson says his Government has the courage to tear down the planning process and rebuild it again – in fact most previous governments have lacked the blind recklessness at a time of global pandemic to impose wholesale changes on a planning system that simply isn’t broken.  Thank you.

 

Pedestrian and cycling facilities

Councillor Lauren O’Grady asked the following question of the Portfolio Holder for Adult Care and Local Transport:

 

Can the Portfolio Holder for Adult Care and Local Transport say what work is taking place to improve pedestrian and cycling facilities across Nottingham?

 

Councillor Adele Williams replied as follows:

 

Thank you Lord Mayor and thank you Councillor O’Grady for your question.  As councillors will be aware the City Council has a long-standing policy of promoting sustainable travel, including walking and travel.  We have got a history of success, thanks to our Transport Teams, in securing funding to deliver these priorities.  Our emerging local Walking and Cycling Infrastructure Plan, which we will be consulting on soon, sets out our ambitions for the next few years and complements our existing plans such as the Local Transport Plan, the Rights of Way Improvement Plan, the Local Air Quality Plan and the Carbon Reduction Plan.  Following the onset of the Covid-19 pandemic active transport has become much more important as people’s travel habits change.  We have seen people making lots of short trips rather than longer commutes and a real desire to get out in the open air including having walks and cycle rides in the park.  The Council has been working at this for some time and we have already developed an extensive cycle network.  We have got 80 miles of traffic free routes and three high quality segregated routes into the City Centre. 

 

We recently secured £570,000 from the Department for Transport’s Emergency Active Travel Fund.  That has allowed us to increase and improve facilities for pedestrians and cyclists with some trial measures.  So recently we have introduced trial lanes on Hucknall Road, St Anns Well Road and Carlton Road, as well as trial low traffic areas in the Arboretum and Derby Road.  We have closed Victoria Embankment to through traffic which enhances the park and gives a safer and more pleasant space for people to walk or ride their bikes.  We have seen lots of families visiting the park and doing that. These are all trial schemes and we are keeping all of these measures under active review and it gives us the opportunity to take note of citizen, and other stakeholder views on how these are working in practice.  Schemes from the Emergency Active Travel Fund Tranche 1 can be removed entirely after the trial, made permanent or tweaked to work better after residents and stakeholders have experienced the schemes working in practice.  As part of this tranche of funding we have also introduced the School Streets Programme which is introducing car free spaces outside eight schools in the City reducing traffic movements and air pollution in areas where parents and children congregate and so encourage people to walk, scoot or cycle to school.  It creates a little bit of space for social distancing around the school gates as well as children and families arrive at school.  Any parent in the City who has dropped off at school, whether on foot or however they have got there, will have seen the difficulties sometimes around schools with car reversing and not that much of a pleasant journey into school and sometimes feels it is quite alarming for children and families.  So I am really pleased that we are addressing this and we will all watch closely to see how these schemes are working in practice. 

 

We have also put in extra cycle parking facilities across the City Centre and improved security at our Cycle Hubs.  Our Bike Aid Scheme has been particularly successful and that has delivered more than 160 reconditioned bikes to key workers and people on low incomes.  We are also listening to the public and stakeholders to ask them to identify issues and hotspots to help shape future schemes.  We have a website - search for ‘keep Nottingham moving safely’ - where people can let us know of any issues and we have also been running a survey to identify what would encourage people to walk or cycle more. That’s the Emergency Funded Scheme in the recent tranche of funding. 

 

This all sits alongside the Transforming Cities Fund success that our Transport Team have already had, where we have secured £161million from the Fund alongside our partners in Derby.  £40million of that Grant is to be spent on permanently improving pedestrian and cycling facilities across the City.  Our proposals for this cover four key areas: improving the city centre connections and the public realm; linking Nottingham, Derby and the East Midlands Airport; improving cycling and pedestrian routes across the Trent with the addition of the new bridge that everyone is excited about; and the expansion of our on-street bike hire scheme which will also include e-bikes.  Works have already begun on significant improvements around Broadmarsh and the Station to enhance the walking links and to make the area more attractive.  It will also give us the opportunity to link up existing segregated cycle routes into the City to create high quality cross-city routes.  The proposed river Trent crossing will improve connections between the Waterside Regeneration Area and Sneinton with green space and riverside paths to the south of the river.  As well as allowing commuter trips it will take cars off the road and make for healthy air and healthy lives.  Our Air Quality Strategy recently came to the Health and Wellbeing Board and it really makes startling reading.  Lives cut short and curtailed by the effects of air pollution should make us all firm to do what we can, and we are, to address what is a real issue of inequality.  Put simply, the poor areas in Britain are most affected by air pollution and Nottingham Labour is already working really hard in that area and the City Council has had great success in addressing this issue.  We have got a pledge to improve air quality in Nottingham by cutting nitrogen dioxide and particulate pollution by 20%.  We will also be expanding our cycle network including the northern cycle corridor along Mansfield Road, upgrading riverside and canal side routes and continuing off-road cycle routes around the ring road, linking those radial routes in and out of the city.  We have got a great track record in providing innovative walking and cycling measures as well as well-developed partnerships in place which really puts us in a strong position to capture the benefits of what has been a real renaissance in active travel as people are working their way out of the Covid crisis.  This approach will help us on our journey to Zero Carbon 2028. 

 

As well as the safer cycling network, it is really essential to give people the skills and confidence to get on a bike or get back on a bike and we are continuing to work with our partners to deliver that work.  We have been working over the past three years on a cycle support package, for example to give job seekers access to job and training opportunities by supporting them to get on to bikes.  I have already mentioned the Bike Aid Scheme supporting key workers – receipients also get a helmet, journey planning and safe cycling advice and we are also working on Doctor Bike services along key commuter routes so that people will be able to keep their bikes in good order.  The jobseekers support work will be even more important as we come through Covid and we need to support people to get out of this crisis and recover economic wellbeing in the City.  We are also providing active travel support for organisations and businesses through the workplace travel service and cycling will be a key part of that restart and recovery phase as businesses and services are reopening and we will support people to get on their bikes to get to work in safe ways.  We are also continuing to work on the support for community cycling and that will go on in ways that are Covid-safe, and we provide support through our website with things like video routes to help people plan their journeys to get across the city in a safe way.

 

So we are creating the infrastructure in trial and permanent schemes and alongside that we are also doing the really important work of supporting people to get on their bikes, whether to get to school, work or just out and about in our lovely city, and we think that is a pragmatic approach in a City with low car ownership and a real response to getting our hardworking city back out to work, school and leisure in a safe way which is green, affordable, good for them and good for their City.  So I am really proud of the work that we are doing in this area and I would like to put on record massive to our Transport Teams and other teams that are supporting that.  It is fantastic work.  Thank you Lord Mayor and thank you Councillor O’Grady for your question.

 

Energy consumption and fuel poverty

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

 

The City Council’s Energy Services Team recently received a national award.  Could the Portfolio Holder for Energy, Environment and Democratic Services outline how the Council is supporting people in trying to reduce their energy consumption and bills, reducing fuel poverty?

 

Councillor Sally Longford replied as follows:

 

Thank you Lord Mayor and thank you Councillor Roberts for your question.  I am very proud of our Energy Services Team.  They won a prestigious award from the Association of Decentralised Energy for their business continuity processes in the face of Covid-19.  The Recognising Resilience Award was given to the Service in recognition of the quick mobilisation and continued hard work and high level of service delivered throughout the Covid-19 crisis to all customers.  As an example, where District Heat Network customers were identified as self-isolating a card with pre-loaded credit was sent to them to ensure that they didn’t get cut off; priority service customers received periodic welfare calls; and all customers facing financial hardship were provided with credit to last them for two months. 

 

This excellent Team is leading the City’s response to reducing fuel poverty and this work has already achieved a fuel poverty reduction from 18.4% in 2012 to 13.9% in 2018.  However, there is still much work to do with an estimated 18,666 households in the City still in fuel poverty.  Energy Services manages the City-wide Domestic Energy Efficiency and Fuel Poverty Group formed of Council officers, health partners, voluntary sector organisations, housing providers and other institutions in order to foster city-wide collaboration.  The Group launched the Fuel Poverty Strategy and Action Plan in 2018, which addresses fuel poverty in three ways: by reducing energy bills; by improving energy efficiency; and by maximising household income. They currently have a number of projects that are successfully working towards these goals including the Warm Homes Hub, which was launched last year and will bring £1million worth of support to the City, delivered alongside Age UK, Nottingham Energy Partnership and e.on.  The project will install first-time central heating systems to 100 properties as well as boiler replacements and will provide a package of support to 1000 vulnerable households including advice about energy efficiency, benefits checks, home visits and an emergency fund for vulnerable people who lack adequate heating.  We have already installed 40,000 retrofit energy efficiency measures to homes in the City including insulation and new windows and doors, and we now have a leading innovation programme which delivers deep retrofit to bring net zero carbon standards through a state of the art, low carbon technology and advanced off-site manufacture, which is being rolled out to 325 Nottingham City homes.  The result of this programme is low and fixed energy bills and guaranteed comfort and improved health for residents, as well as a reduction of 1000 tonnes of carbon which supports our ambition to be the first carbon neutral city in the country by 2028. 

 

Nottingham City Council Energy Services hosts the Midlands Energy Hub which provides technical support to local authorities and Local Enterprise Partnerships across the Midlands.  In July a raft of incentives to improve energy efficiency of homes, save residents money and importantly stimulate a green economic recovery with 100,000 jobs estimated to be created in the construction sector were announced.  The Hub will be delivering a proportion of this local authority delivery scheme and running a £6.9million training opportunity to ready the construction industry for the scale-up of low carbon installations.  This will enable our people to step into this area of work and become part of the future green economy. 

 

Finally, on a slightly different note, I recommend that all home owners look into the Green Homes Grant which went live last week.  The Scheme offers up to £10,000 for energy efficiency improvement measures which are installed through a Trustmark accredited installer.  These can help to reduce energy costs by up to £600 a year.  We know that many people have already expressed an interest and although there may be difficulties in completing the deadline for installation on the current timescales I will be pressing Government to see the sense in extending timescales beyond March next year to enable many more people to benefit. 

 

We should all be very happy to be associated with the excellent work of the Energy Services Team, who provide an excellent service to the Council and citizens of the City, and who are the driving force behind the City’s response to the climate emergency.  Not only that, but they do not cost our Council taxpayers a penny.  They actually bring in income to the Council through their consultancy work as they spread their energy efficiency and renewable energy expertise far and wide across the Midlands from west to east.  Thank you very much.

 

Covid-19 advice and rules

Councillor Gul Khan asked the following question of the Deputy Leader of the Council:

 

Given the confusion the Prime Minister and other Government Ministers have had recently around their own rules, could the Deputy Leader outline what the latest Covid advice and rules is for people in Nottingham?

 

Councillor Sally Longford replied as follows:

 

Thank you Lord Mayor and thank you Councillor Khan for asking this very important question.  You are right, this Conservative Government is apparently confused by their own regulations and therefore confusing all citizens who listen to what they say.  This is not at all helpful in the middle of a global pandemic.  Yesterday the Prime Minister had a perfect opportunity to make things clear however he added to the confusion by saying we have to behave fearlessly but with common sense which, for the life of me, I can’t get my head around. 

 

As of today, only the current national restrictions apply in Nottingham.  However we are in a rapidly changing situation which I will return to later.  The main advice is to follow the guidance for everyone living in the City to keep washing your hands regularly, wear a face covering in enclosed spaces and stay at least two metres apart or at least one metre with a face covering or other precautionary measures.  Groups of up to six people who don’t live with each other can meet indoors and outdoors.  Households or support bubbles who are no larger than six can still gather.  Social distancing should be maintained with anyone you don’t live with and all those who are not exempt must wear a face covering on public transport.  You should self-isolate immediately if you have a high temperature, a new continuous cough or a loss or change to your sense of smell or taste.  If you have tested positive for the virus you must self-isolate.  If you live with someone or there is someone in your support bubble who has symptoms or has tested positive, if you are told by the NHS Test and Trace or the Covid-19 app you should self-isolate.  Or if you have arrived from a country with a high coronavirus risk you should self-isolate.  If you develop symptoms you should get a test as soon as possible and tell people you have been in close contact with that you have the symptoms. 

 

I said that the situation is changing quickly in the City and I am sorry to say we are seeing a major increase in the infection rate.  As a City we have done tremendously well in the last few months to keep the virus under control and I would like to thank everyone who has worked so hard to do the right thing.  But now I am very concerned that the restrictions currently in force are insufficient to stop the spread.  I do believe that, in the main, our citizens are still adhering to the restrictions.  However, the beginning of the school term and the arrival of students has coincided with an increase in infections, particularly among young adults.  Although it is well known that they do not generally suffer the worse symptoms, I am extremely concerned that the virus will now spread into the older and more vulnerable population.  Take my ward for example, in Lenton we have many students and it is often wrongly described as ‘a student area’ because there are many permanent residents living amongst them.  Many of them are elderly and more vulnerable to the virus.  They use the same community facilities, the same shops, the same buses and trams and the same leisure centres.  I am very concerned that they may be infected and that the consequence for them will be more severe.  I know that many young people are acting within the guidance but I am taking this opportunity to appeal to all younger adults in particular: to adhere to the regulations as much as their neighbours, to follow the guidance.  They must act responsibly and help to control the spread.  I know that our Public Health Team are working very hard with Public Health England and other organisations including the universities, local schools, the police and environmental health to try and control the situation.  However, we need every individual in the City to continue to play their part if we are to keep a grip on this pandemic.  Thank you.

 

The meeting was adjourned at 15:57pm and reconvened at 16:08pm.