Agenda item

Central Library

 

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

 

Could the Leader of the Council confirm the total anticipated cost for relocating the stock from the Central Library on Angel Row whilst the new Central Library is completed?

 

Councillor David Mellen replied as follows:

 

Thank you Lord Mayor and can I thank Councillor Rule for this question.  Firstly, I want to recognise the important roles that libraries play in our communities.  Access to quality local library provision makes a massive difference to many peoples’ lives and their future life chances.  I am proud of the continued commitment that we have been able to make over the last decade to improve library provision in Nottingham.  This has included new library provision as part of the Joint Service Centres in Bulwell, St Anns and Hyson Green and, more recently, we have opened replacement facilities in Strelley Road and in the Dales. As well as this, we have refurbished many libraries across the City including those in Clifton and Bilborough and soon the work will commence to build a replacement library in Sherwood.  In terms of re-locating stock, a range of cost allowances have been built into the overall new Central Library project scheme to deal with the suitable relocation, storage and retention of stock from Angel Row prior to completion of the new Central Library on Collin Street.  The cost of this exercise is estimated currently at £205,000.  This figure includes undertaking necessary repairs and adaptations for the stock to be housed in a presently vacant City Council-owned industrial warehouse; improving the necessary security and fire systems at the industrial unit to meet insurance compliance; purchasing all necessary packing and storage materials to keep the stock safe and conserved; transportation costs of the stock from Angel Row to the main storage site and other locations where redistribution can place and an allowance for returning all stocks when required to the new Central Library; the safe disposal of equipment from Angel Row not now required to be retained for the new Central Library; necessary specialist staff and contractor costs for relocation of IT and specialist library systems required; facilities maintenance costs for additional staff support and the removal for bulky items; purchase of any necessary equipment to enable the suitable moving and storing of equipment on racking proposed to be used; and decommissioning of IT and other services at Angel Row.  In addition to the above costs, £138,000 has been estimated for 19 months occupation of the industrial unit.  These are operational costs which include payment of business rates; utility costs for heating, lighting and water; related cleaning and security costs; installation of IT connections and data lines; necessary annual safety checks; and maintenance repairs on the site whilst in occupation.  All these costs have been factored into the overall project budget for the scheme, which are not additional or new.  The delivery of a new Central Library remains a key priority for the Council and I can’t wait to see the new Central Library open.  I know that it will be a valuable addition for the City as a whole and for many future generations of children in particular.

 

 

E-scooters

 

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

 

Could the Portfolio Holder confirm what action the Council is taking to prevent the illegal use of e-scooters on the City’s pavements and highways?

 

Councillor Adele Williams replied as follows:

 

Thank you for your question Councillor Rule.  As you will know, our approach to transport in the City of Nottingham is about getting our citizens to work, to learn, to leisure in ways that are affordable, accessible and sustainable.  It is about getting us to where we want to be, in both senses of that phrase.  We have been very successful over the years in our pioneering work, getting people out of their cars onto buses and trams.  Development of the tram network was particularly pivotal in getting lots of people to leave their cars behind and travel on public transport.  We have been through terrible times.  For lots of our citizens this didn’t start with Covid, but Covid turned up the dial on inequality.  We live in a city of low car ownership.  For lots of our citizens running a car is prohibitively expensive, and our great work around public transport and active travel means that you can get around the City for what you need to do without a car.  People in our City need us to plan for a green recovery and there are really obvious benefits to the e-scooter trial that are reflected in the tremendous popularity of the scheme.  I don’t want any employment opportunities for people in our City to be off-limits because of getting there and the e-scooter scheme has given a socially distanced, green, affordable option for people whom a car is not the answer.  It is part of a Government-backed scheme.  The Council, in partnership with Derby City Council, is participating in the rental e-scooter trial.  Special orders permit the use of Windmobility, the Council’s procured e-scooter operator, scooters where cycles are permitted.  This allows for legal use of only the rental scheme e-scooters on the City’s highway network in places where cycles are permitted.  Privately-owned e-scooters remain illegal.  Before the trial commenced, the Council worked with Windmobility to introduce a series of ‘no go’ and ‘go slow’ areas where the e-scooter speed is limited to 5mph.  These areas include the City Centre and some district centres, for example, and the Council’s parks.  Windmobility continues to produce a range of communications and information to educate riders, including in-app information, flyers on each e-scooter providing information on their safe use, additional push notifications through the app to remind users to stay off pavements and park correctly.  There has been a recent introduction of number-plates to allow for better identification.  There has also been an introduction of marked parking bays to help regular parking and let non-users see where e-scooters can be parked within the terms of their hire.  In March 2021, Windmobility introduced two full-time street-patrollers to go around the City, move badly-parked scooters and act in relation to pavement riding.  Since the start, there have been 127 reports of pavement riding and they are all on a stage one written warning.  Windmobility introduced a three stage process: first of all a warning; then a one week suspension; then a one week suspension plus mandatory training; and in severe cases, a full ban.  This has already happened.  A further two street-patrollers are being introduced to expand the team in May and will include regular patrols around key locations.  In addition, there is also information on our website about safe use and parking etc and we are working with both universities and other key stakeholders.  We are working with Community Protection teams to enable them to act as professional witnesses so that pavement riding can be reported immediately and action taken swiftly. 

 

This is a trial and we are now about six months in.  In terms of take-up it has been really successful, key workers are taking advantage of the offers including long term hire and many people are riding and parking responsibly.  For those who are not using them safely, there is education, persuasion and ultimately sanction.  A trial is expected to reveal issues and, just like in other trial areas, there have been difficulties emerging and we have worked to address them by adapting the scheme, working with key partners, the operator and listening to citizens.  In Nottingham we will continue to work to provide innovative and sustainable solutions to get Nottingham to where it wants to be.  Thanks in no small part to our Transport Team, who have worked tremendously hard and imaginatively through very difficult times to keep Nottingham moving.  Thank you to them.  Thank you for your question Councillor Rule.

 

 

Nottingham City Centre

 

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

 

Given that the economic fortunes of the City Centre rely significantly upon the support of residents living in the Greater Nottingham area and indeed the wider region to thrive, can the Leader of the Council outline the Council’s vision for maintaining the City’s appeal to those who live outside the City boundary?

 

Councillor David Mellen replied as follows:

 

Thank you Lord Mayor and can I thank Councillor Rule for his question.  Nottingham City Centre is key for the local economy and its success relies upon a number of different factors: people who live directly in the City, office and other workers who have normally commuted into the City and those who visit for a wide range of leisure and shopping options.  Our vision has always been to make the City Centre a great place to live, work and enjoy.  We are the economic centre of a travel-to-work area that includes almost 1 million people and have the best public transport system in the country.  Although this is essential to maintaining our regional appeal, it is also a vital way for Nottingham people to get to where they need to be and go in an affordable and timely way.  We have two strong universities with a large student population, many based in the City Centre bringing a strong boost to the City economy.  Although the original plans for the Broadmarsh Shopping Centre did not go ahead as planned, Nottingham City Centre shopping remains the largest shopping area in the East Midlands with key retailers such as John Lewis, who recently reconfirmed their commitment to the City which was a welcome show of faith in our City Centre.  Whatever plans emerge for the footprint left by the Shopping Centre, the vision is for it to be at the centre of attracting people to Nottingham to work, to live, to shop or to spend leisure time.  We are moving towards more traffic-free, pedestrianised areas, helped recently by our successful bid to the Transforming Cities Fund and the Future High Streets Fund.  These pedestrianised areas are attractive to residents and visitors alike.  We also continue to support a wide-range of cultural offers for visitors.  Yes, the Castle opening on 21 June this year will be a massive attraction and boost to the City Centre’s economy, but also the Nottingham Playhouse, the Theatre Royal, the Motorpoint Arena, the National Justice Museum, the Nottingham Contemporary Art Gallery, the Cineworld Cinema in the Cornerhouse as well as the smaller, much-loved Broadway Cinema.  All of these are first class cultural attractions recently supported by over £5m of Culture Recovery Fund monies from the Department for Culture, Media and Sport, and are hugely attractive to those living outside the City who may not have those facilities in the neighbourhood in which they live.  Knowing that they can have a good night out in Nottingham and get home safely on great public transport.  The City Centre has a wide range of places to eat and drink which, if they have outdoor areas, are already busy with others due to join them as indoor eating spaces open in a few weeks time.  Most recently, we have supported as a Council, the important food and drink night-time economy in the City Centre with business grants, with some of the best operators in the country all now competing to put out chairs and tables in the busiest bits of our City: in Hockley, in Sneinton Market, on Angel Row, on Canal Side and many more; all of which are very busy having endured the past 12 months of Covid restrictions.  Our Events Team and other events providers in the City mean that there is always something going on in the Old Market Square, but also the Hockley Hustle, Sneinton Market events, music events at Rock City and other venues.  Many people come to these from a distance.  A lot of events reflect the diverse nature of our City, with the Caribbean Carnival, Pride, Chinese New Year and international food markets.  Our Square is used for markets, but also for celebrations, for solemn events, for protests or for just sitting in the sun: it is a wonderful asset at the heart of our City Centre and a great attraction to those living near and further afield. 

 

The Southern Gateway has various projects which are complete or on their way to being complete: the Broadmarsh Car Park, Nottingham College, the Castle, Carrington Street heritage improvements together with a number of new office accommodation schemes leaving the southern part of the City unrecognisable from what it looked like a few years ago.  The Island Quarter development has started in the last few months.  Together with this, and other schemes at early stages of development we have some impressive live projects which will make the City an even more positive to visit.  This includes work starting now on the Island Quarter on events space and a hotel, bringing areas long vacant back into productive use. 

 

We can’t predict the effect that Covid will leave on our City Centre altogether, but we do know that people are already starting to return and I am confident that this will bring a much needed boost to the local economy.  I believe that those who live in our suburbs and a little further away benefit by living so close to a City with all that Nottingham has to offer.  With their support and an approach which is both creative and flexible I believe that our City Centre can thrive again.  Thank you. 

 

 

Fire safety

 

Councillor Angharad Roberts asked the following question of the Portfolio Holder for Housing, Planning and Heritage:

 

The fire at Grenfell Tower in 2017 led to the deaths of 72 people and exposed the scandal of poor development and fire safety standards in apartment blocks.  In light of recent progress of the Fire Safety Bill in Parliament, can the Portfolio Holder advise about what the Council is doing to support the campaign to end the cladding scandal and to offer practical support to those affected?

 

Councillor Linda Woodings replied as follows:

 

Thank you Lord Mayor.  What started as a cladding scandal exposed by the tragedy and loss of life at Grenfell Tower has now developed into a massive building safety scandal, spanning the UK.  Immediately after Grenfell, in Nottingham we straightaway launched an audit of all tall buildings in the City and the City Council commenced the installation of sprinkler systems in all of our own high rise buildings.  We have also since established the Joint Audit and Inspection Team (JAIT) along with the Nottinghamshire Fire and Rescue Authority to inspect all blocks, no matter what height they are, of over 11 apartments or more.  At this point we still haven’t received a penny towards the £8.5m we spent on the sprinkler system.  We spent that money based on false promises made by the Tory Government at the time, that they would cover the costs of essential fire safety work.  That bill is still outstanding.  However, I am pleased to report to you that those sprinkler installations works were completed six weeks ago.  So Nottingham has done the right thing by its tenants, in spite of the Government rather than because of it. 

Private leaseholders are now facing unpayable and unfair costs to ensure their homes are safe.  This is not just in tall buildings of over 18m but buildings of all heights that have a range of fire safety defects.  The announcement in February by Robert Jenrick, Secretary of State, of a £3.5bn fund is simply insufficient to help leaseholders or to make all buildings safe at the pace required.  Even a Conservative MP at the time said he listened to the announcement with his head in his hands, saying the loan scheme was unworkable and asking why the Government only covered cladding and not other remedial work.  In fact, the fund only covers tall buildings of over 18m or 6 storeys and yet there are an estimated 77,500 buildings across the UK over 11m high, many were built to 17.5m high to avoid additional fire safety measures.  No funding has been made available for those buildings and it is just not good enough.  Only last week the House of Lords reinserted a clause for the third time into the Fire Safety Bill to stop freeholders from passing on the costs of cladding removal or any other fire safety work on to leaseholders.  The Tory Government keeps deleting this at the Commons readings despite making promises in their 2019 manifesto that they would support high rise residential residents with the removal of unsafe cladding and also ‘provide mechanisms for all tenants in a reform of leasehold’.  They have also said in Parliament on several occasions that they don’t want to see leaseholders forced to pay for remediation and that buildings should be made safe as quickly as possible.  This is more empty words and rhetoric for the hundreds of Nottingham leaseholders facing large bills, increased service charges and facing insurance premiums beyond their means. 

 

So the practical measures that Nottingham City Council can take won’t change until the law changes and all funds currently controlled and handed out at a national level are directed to a local level.  What we can do is help to expose the plight of leaseholders and lobby the Government to honour their promises.  Firstly, they need to pass legislation to prevent historic fire safety costs from being passed on to leaseholders.  Secondly, they need to prioritise remediation work by risk.  Height is just one arbitrary factor in assessing fire risk and what is needed is a holistic assessment of all internal and external fire safety issues, not just height and not just cladding; and advice needs to come from Government not the industry who have spectacularly failed to mark their own homework. In fact, a consultation on risk prioritisation closed a year ago and has still not been published.  Why?  Thirdly, they need to make funding available for all heights of buildings and all fire safety defects.  If urgent fire safety work is required to a building, funding is clearly required because the causative issues are identical.  If the work of our Council JAIT Team shows anything, it is that ongoing safety management of buildings is just as important as safety on occupation.  Fourthly, they need to make the industry pay, with a windfall tax.  Why should leaseholders, or the taxpayer, have to pay for the remediation of shoddy and unsafe work by building designers, constructors, manufacturers and owners: an industry that has cut corners and clamped down on costs to maximise profit, revenue and service charges leading to homes and buildings inherently unsafe, materials failings to meet basic fire safety standards or so badly installed as to make them unsafe.  The only fair and moral way to solve this crisis is to make those who have profited to the tune of billions of pounds pay to clean up the mess.  A YouGov Poll released today funded by the National Housing Federation says that three quarters of MPs, including two thirds of Tory MPs, actually believe that the Government should pay for building safety costs up front and claim that back from developers and manufacturers.  Fifthly, they need to provide that help for leaseholders now.  They are facing unmanageable financial demands.  Residents are being forced to pay hundreds of pounds each month for waking watch patrols and those costs are unsustainable and the £30m fund to transition to fire alarms is nowhere near enough.  The Government needs to step in and make sure insurance is affordable for impacted buildings and the announcement of the plan to design a state-backed indemnity insurance scheme is a welcome but, as usual, a late development.  Finally, there is a desperate need to overhaul the 30 year deregulation of buildings that has led to systemic failure, and along with this strong penalties for breach of building regulations.  Dame Judy Hackett in her Building a Safer Future review said that ‘the whole system of regulation is not fit for purpose leaving room for those who want to take shortcuts to do so’ and she identified the ignorance of regulations and guidance, and motivation to do things as quickly and cheaply as possible, a lack of clarity on roles and responsibilities and inadequate regulation as the key issue.  She warned that those factors have combined to create a cultural issue across the whole sector which she described as a ‘race to the bottom’.  So in Nottingham we pledge to work along with our MPs locally to support the End Our Cladding Scandal campaign’s 10 Step Plan, to help estimate the costs to leaseholders, to develop a Nottingham Ask, to identify the funding required to remediate affected buildings in our City and to continue to do what we can to help leaseholders by facilitating engagement between groups affected by this situation.  We will also write to the Secretary of State along those lines and reiterate our request for help for leaseholders and we will ask again for funding for the sprinkler safety work we have undertaken locally.  I don’t underestimate the effect that this is having on the mental health of leaseholders who are worried sick about fire safety in their home and their finances and so we pledge our solidarity with them today and promise to do what we can to hold the Government to account and give them justice.  Thank you.

 

 

Nottingham Castle

 

Councillor Steve Battlemuch asked the following question of the Leader of the Council:

 

Following a key pledge in the Council Plan to turn Nottingham Castle into a world class visitor and heritage attraction, the Castle is set to reopen on Monday 21 June, after three years of major restoration work.  Can the Leader explain what impact the Castle reopening will have in terms of new jobs, visitor numbers, international recognition and economic recovery?

 

Councillor David Mellen replied as follows:

 

Thank you Lord Mayor and can I thank Councillor Battlemuch for his question.  I am sure we were all hugely excited with last week’s announcement that the reopening of Nottingham Castle is to take place in just a few weeks time on 21 June.  Councillor Battlemuch is absolutely right to point out that the transforming of the Castle into a world class heritage attraction has been a Council priority for us.  In the three years since the Council secured the £31m funding package we have seen some extraordinary construction work and innovation led by the Council’s project team and I pay tribute to their work over this time. The work on-site has happened over the last three years but the plans to improve this site started over a decade ago.  It is important to recognise the help of funding partners like the National Lottery Heritage Fund, D2N2 Local Enterprise Partnership and the Nottingham Castle Trust who have contributed to funding alongside the Council.  Having had a couple of sneak previews of what visitors to the Castle will experience, I think it is going to be a great visit that people of all ages and backgrounds will enjoy. If I was still teaching and in a Nottingham primary school, I would be organising a trip for my pupils as soon as possible. 

 

It is going to be great for the people of Nottingham but the importance of the Castle transformation in attracting more visitors to Nottingham and boosting the local economy should not be under-estimated.  The renewed Castle experience is expected to increase regional, national and international visitor numbers from 222,000 to 400,000 in the first full year of opening, with estimates of visitors spending over £200m in Nottingham over the next decade.  There will be major benefits for local people with around 420 extra jobs a year expected to be created in the City’s tourism and leisure industry.  That is on top of the 270 construction jobs that the regeneration has generated over the past few years, and in addition to opportunities for 500 volunteers going forward.  These figures were part of the business case pre-Covid so might be slightly lower in the short term due to the number of restrictions in the first few months of opening. 

 

Looking more widely, the Castle project has always been at the heart of the City Council’s vision for the wider regeneration of the City.  With £2bn of redevelopment currently underway transforming the City southside and further significant plans in the pipeline such as the reimaging of the Broadmarsh site and the developments on the Island Quarter to help Nottingham shine even more brightly on the map.  It is an incredible achievement for the Council to have taken what was a well-loved heritage site and turn it into something that is truly world class combining history, legend and modern technology, and enhancing the grounds with a new visitor centre and brilliant adventure playground; and despite Covid delivering the project on time and on budget.  The significance of the opening of the rejuvenated Nottingham Castle cannot be over-estimated especially coming, when it does, when the whole country is emerging from lockdown.  Over the last twelve months people across this City and beyond have ensured some of the most challenging circumstances in a generation, huge sacrifices have been made, lives have sadly been lost but we will emerge and we will be able to meet together again and enjoy this brilliant attraction.  I firmly believe that the Castle’s redevelopment and reopening is a cornerstone of the City’s regeneration, which makes Nottingham well-placed to recover strongly as a City post-Covid.  Those regeneration efforts are already well underway with huge potential still to unlock, such as at Broadmarsh, and will set a fresh ambitious direction for Nottingham for generations to come.  The timing of the Castle’s reopening coinciding with the last stage of the national roadmap will mean that the Castle will also play a big part in the City bouncing back from the impact of the pandemic and acting as a major draw for people to come into the City and enjoy what it has to offer.  It will help to support local retail and hospitality businesses as they and their customers emerge from over a year of Covid restrictions on 21 June.

 

Finally, I would like to pay a tribute to Councillor Trimble who has been involved in this project for over a decade, driving the vision forward and seeing it through to a conclusion; and of course to our dedicated team of officers who have enthusiastically taken this project forward to fruition.  I have no doubt that, like me, Nottingham people will feel incredibly proud of this significant moment in Nottingham Castle’s long history.  To conclude, this achievement is absolutely central to, and symbolic of our vision for Nottingham’s future: a city where there are jobs and opportunities for local people as well as somewhere that increasing numbers of people from outside the City will want to come and visit, boosting our standing and our economy.  The transformed Castle gives us all something to be very proud of as Nottingham people and I can’t wait for the gates to be thrown open once more in June.

 

 

Misogny

 

Councillor Audrey Dinall asked the following question of the Portfolio Holder for Employment and Community Protection:

 

Given the recent spotlight on misogyny, can the Portfolio Holder outline what steps have been taken in Nottingham to help women feel safer on our streets?

 

Councillor Neghat Khan replied as follows:

 

Thank you Lord Mayor and can I thank Councillor Dinnall for asking this question.  The tragic murder of Sarah Everard has highlighted misogyny in the UK and the issue of violence against women.  I would like to take you back to 2016 when Nottinghamshire Police announced that crimes ranging from harassment on the street to aggressive physical approaches would be recorded as hate crimes, becoming the first Force in the country to change its definition and officially classing misogyny as a hate crime.  Officers in Nottingham listened to a range of testimonies from women who had been harassed, abused and attacked and the City received praise in doing so from the Fawcett Society, which campaigns for women’s rights, which said: ‘this is what the Fawcett Society has been calling for, Nottinghamshire Police’s commitment to taking misogynistic hate crime seriously should be welcome and rolled out nationwide.  Our law has to set a clear signal that this is not acceptable, it is a crime.’  It was the understanding of this as a hate crime that helped people to see the seriousness of these incidents and hopefully encourage more women to come forward and report offences.  As recently as 2018, research by both Nottingham universities revealed that the policy was already shifting attitudes and recommended rolling the policy out nationally, increasing publicity and the reporting of incidents.  Nottinghamshire Police and Crime Commissioner, Paddy Tipping, has championed this work with regional and national chief constables making it clear that the primary objective of this policy change was never to see hundreds of prosecutions but to let people know that this behaviour isn’t acceptable and will not be tolerated in Nottingham.  People are now able to talk about misogyny as a hate crime and more is done to support victims and support change.  Reports have shown that increasingly more women feel confident to support incidents to the Police. 

 

I am also pleased to say that Nottingham City Council has led development of a City-wide partnership strategy to tackle hate crime.  During 2019 and 2020 Nottingham City Council was successful in attracting European funding for the Citizens at the Heart project.  This funded training for staff and volunteers, both female and male, on understanding misogyny and responding to it.  We have also run a large programme of community conversations both at community events and virtually to help people respond to hateful and disrespectful speech online and face to face, and produced resources that people can download and use to teach others.  Working closely with partners at the Women’s Centre and the Police, Nottinghamshire was the first area to formally record misogynistic incidents and work goes on and is reflected in the strategy action plan.  Nottingham is pleased to have its pioneering work recognised and reflected in now national policy. 

 

The work on misogyny builds on work in the City over many years, working in partnership with the Business Improvement District and the Police in developing the City’s Purple Flag status, Best Bar None accreditation scheme for venues, street pastors and Safe Spaces programme.  In addition to this, the Council maintains a comprehensive network of CCTV in the City Centre and local neighbourhoods.  Paddy Tipping, the Police and Crime Commissioner is developing a Women’s Safety Charter, proving that he is listening to what people have to say and many are wanting immediate change.  The Council also continues to work to support Juno Women’s Aid in responding to domestic abuse.  We have commissioned work in schools on healthy relationships which is delivered by Equation, and supports delivery of quality relationships and sex education in our schools to ensure that young people know what a good relationship looks like and are able to put what they may see on the internet into true perspective. 

 

Now, coming back to the aftermath of the murder of Sarah Everard: women took to the streets to highlight violence against women and the issue of misogyny.  This included a vigil here in Nottingham at the Brian Clough statue by Old Market Square.  At the vigil we saw a stark contrast between the approach of Nottinghamshire Police compared with the Metropolitan Police in London.  I would like to acknowledge and thank Nottinghamshire Police for their understanding and sensitivity around this issue.  Nottingham caught positive national attention with the low Police presence at the peaceful and socially distanced vigil, in contrast to the heavy handed and violent response in London.  Police in Nottingham even took time to place flowers at the vigil.  This is something that is consistent with Paddy Tipping’s priorities in tackling violence against women and misogyny in Nottingham.  There was more positive national attention for Nottingham, with calls for the rest of the country to match Nottinghamshire Police with what was the first place in the country to designate misogyny as a hate crime.  Since 2014 Paddy Tipping has increased domestic abuse funding from just under £500,000 to around £1m in 2019/20, 14% of his total commissioning budget.  Often described as a hidden crime, the pandemic has heightened the problem for many.  That is why the Commissioner has been careful to distribute nearly £1m in emergency funding to services that can best help those at risk.  This year Nottinghamshire Police launched a new Sexual Violence Hub, a partnership approach to providing an all-round support service.  Paddy Tipping has helped to fund new integrated services for victims of domestic violence and crimes against girls and women with specialist support in place for the most vulnerable.  Paddy has also maintained and improved women’s refuges and continues to lobby Government to ensure better responses to the rising demand.  There is also lots of other partnership working taking place across the City. 

 

Finally I want to share some statistics, and I apologise in advance for the upsetting nature of these but I feel it is important to hear them.  In the year ending March 2020, the Office for National Statistics estimated that 4.9m women had been victims of sexual assault in their lives, this included 1.4m who had been raped or faced attempted rape.  A recent YouGov poll for United Nations Women found that 7 out of 10 women had experienced some form of sexual harassment in public.  This number was nearly 9 out of 10 for younger women.  There is still an enormous amount of work to do to tackle misogyny and violence against women in our society.  Safety is an integral part of our existence as women.  It is drummed into us from a young age that our actions determine our safety.  In fact, since the news of Sarah Everard’s disappearance and tragic death we have all, I am sure, had a moment of serious reflection where we have thought about our own personal experiences.  Rather than look at how society can keep women safe, the responsibility for far too long has been placed on women with the expectation that women don’t travel alone, don’t go to unlit areas and don’t dress to draw attention to themselves.  People want to feel safe and be safe on the streets in their communities.  In the time that I have been on the Council, residents have told me that they want more police officers tackling the things that matter to them.  I am pleased that since 2012 we have seen more police officers on our streets, more police in our neighbourhoods, we have specialist teams dealing with things like hate crime, sexual violence, domestic abuse – all introduced by the Nottinghamshire Police and Crime Commissioner, Paddy Tipping.  I know that now is not the sit to back and rest on what we have already done and achieved in partnership with organisations across the City but remain ambitious.  Sarah Everard’s death must be a turning point to change how we, as a society, treat women and girls and we must act now.  As a result, on 5 May we are running training on understanding misogyny and sexism as part of our Difficult Conversations training programme and I am sure you will join me Lord Mayor in promoting this opportunity as we in Nottingham continue to lead the way.  Thank you. 

 

 

Voter registration and participation

 

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

 

With 9.4m people in the UK not even registered to vote including many thousands of our own residents in Nottingham, does the Portfolio Holder agree with me that registering to vote and voting should be being made easier rather than more difficult and shouldn’t any genuine democrat be seeking to increase voter registration and voter participation?  Proposals by the Conservative Party to introduce voter ID will deter even more people from voting.  Does she agree with me that every vote is equal and every vote is precious?

 

Councillor Sally Longford replied as follows:

 

Thank you Lord Mayor and thank you Councillor McCulloch for your question.  I entirely agree with you that voting should be made as easy as possible and that everyone who is entitled to vote should be able to participate in a simple and convenient way.  Previous governments have tried to enable easier access to vote, for example by introducing postal voting on demand, extension of polling hours and emergency proxy votes for people who are suddenly unable to vote due to work or health issues.  I am very concerned that this Conservative Government elected in 2019 has in its manifesto a commitment for the need to show ID at polling stations and making it harder to use postal votes by the end of their term in 2024.  Only last month the Constitution Minister, Chloe Smith, reiterated that intention.  Such measures would, in my view, constitute an attack on democracy, disenfranchising many people particularly those from more deprived communities.  The Electoral Reform Society quotes research that in the UK 3.5m citizens do not have access to photo ID and 11m do not have a passport or driving licence.  Research from 2019 estimated that 1.3m people do not even have a bank account.  We know that citizens of cities like Nottingham will be disproportionately affected by these measures.  Imposing extra identification measures could be understandable if there was evidence of wide-spread electoral fraud, but the Electoral Commission is clear that there is no such evidence.  In 2019, across the country over all elections, the Electoral Commission found only 595 cases of alleged electoral fraud which, following investigation, led to only four convictions and two police cautions.  The Conservatives want to take a sledge hammer to crack a nut because, the truth is, they want to reduce turnout to stop people who are not their supporters from getting the opportunity to exercise their human right to express their view at the ballot box.  We must resist any attempt to disenfranchise our citizens and we must work with our local MPs to ensure that the voices of Nottingham people are heard if this comes to Parliament. 

 

In the meantime, we will continue to promote voter registration, which is the first step to enable people to vote.  Our Elections Team run marketing campaigns and voter registration with partner organisations such as Nottingham City Homes, student unions, schools and colleges, youth organisations and faith groups.  The Team also reviews and adopts best practice from the Electoral Commission and the Association of Electoral Administration.  Currently, the overall electorate in Nottingham is 207,684, compared to 230,549 in December 2019 before the General Election.  Unfortunately, there is always a reduction in the proportion of people who are registered between General Elections and it is the Elections Team’s role to continue to encourage registration so that people have the opportunity to vote in local elections.  People in this country and across the world have struggled to get the representation they deserve and it is regrettable that the Conservatives are working to actually row back on the hard-won rights of all citizens.  Everyone, whatever their background, their economic circumstances or their health, should be able to freely exercise that right to choose who represents them.  I hope many people will take the precious opportunity to vote on 6 May for our Police and Crime Commissioner candidate, Paddy Tipping, who will maintain and support people’s rights in this City.

 

 

Local authority funding

 

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

 

With the rejection of our cross-party budget amendment at the previous Full Council meeting, this Council accepted the maximum Council Tax rise for the rate payers in this City.  With Council Tax rises consistently and repeatedly outstripping rates of inflation, the taxpayer is, year-on-year, being handed greater and greater pressures, with some councils deciding to freeze charges so as not to add to the costs and burdens of Covid-19.  Does the Portfolio Holder agree with me that this is a simply unsustainable model of funding, and can he outline the long-term strategy that this Council will be undertaking to stop ratepayers shouldering an ever increasing burden?

 

Councillor Sam Webster replied as follows:

 

Thank you Lord Mayor.  Thank you Councillor Clarke for your question, in fact it is music to my ears.  Whenever the light can be shone on Government cuts to local public services I think it is always a good opportunity to remind people that Nottingham now receives over £100m less each year than it did back in 2011 from Government in our main grant funding.  £100m less every year.  I think people should just contemplate the size and scale of that reduction in Government funding, just for a moment, because we say it, we gloss over it but people don’t necessarily think about it.  £100m less than we had back in 2011 in funding.  Latest estimates tell us that is a £427 cut to funding per resident.  That means that each and every resident in Clifton, every person that Councillor Clarke represents on this Council, has had £427 of Government funding taken away since 2011.  The question is: does he think that is ok?  I certainly don’t think that it is ok.  Councillor Clarke suggests freezing charges.  Yet in the Conservative budget amendment that he supported and seconded in our last full Council meeting, the Clifton Independents proposed additional charges for bulky waste collections and additional charges for garden waste collections.  They also attacked workers’ rights by proposing to cut trade union time.  Clifton Independents and Clifton Conservatives, and if you are struggling to spot the difference don’t worry so is everyone else, also wanted to take away almost £1m of project money from neighbourhoods across Nottingham.  Residents in Bestwood, Bulwell and Bilborough, for example, would not have been too pleased I don’t suppose to have lost important local projects such as pavement resurfacing, parking improvements, pothole repairs and tree planting schemes this year.

 

Councillor Clarke asks in his question: do I think council tax is an unsustainable model of funding?  Yes, absolutely I do as does my Party.  I have spoken about the unfairness of the current system many times in these meetings and lobbied Ministers many times, but everyone knows what is going on here.  It is a convenient trick, by Conservatives in Government to give councils more and more legal duties, services we are responsible for while at the same time reducing funding by astonishing amounts thus leaving councils across the country with little choice but to increase council tax.  For many councils it is the only way to offset Government cuts and keep pace with inflation and service demands.  That is why council tax rises have been happening across the country.  This isn’t just a Nottingham issue, it is something that affects councils across England, with the vast majority of unitary councils like Nottingham increasing by close to the maximum 2% allowed.  Add on to that the Government’s 3% adult social care precept, which makes up the bulk of the overall increase and it becomes an unfair burden on hard-pressed household finances.  So I think we have had a break through here because although Labour councillors have been saying for years about how unfair and how unsustainable the council tax system is, it is the first time that the Clifton councillors have said the same thing.  So a break through. 

 

Some quick fire council tax statistics.  The average increase in England this year is 4.4% because of Government’s reliance on it as a way to fund services such as care for older people.  Council tax increase in Scotland this year is 0%.  This demonstrates very clearly that the policy of national government in large part determines what happens to council taxes.  For Band D properties in Nottingham the Government’s adult social care charge has added a cumulative £211 per year per household.  That is the Government’s charge.  The bulk of the increase people see on their council tax bill relates to the Government’s adult social care charge and not to standard council tax.  Out of 309 billing councils, Nottingham has the 43^rd lowest average council tax per chargeable dwelling in the country.  Councils serving the poorest parts of the country have had much bigger funding cuts from Government, totally unfair.  The cut to Nottingham has been assessed to be 57% greater than the national average.  Just think of that as well, one of the poorest parts of the country, 57% greater cuts to our area than the average across the country.  So unfair.  I hope the Clifton councillors are as angry as I am about the scale of Government cuts to public services in their community.  Remember, this scale of funding cut has never happened before in the post-war era.  It is not normal, it does not have to be this way.  Alas, I don’t have the Prime Minister’s personal phone number to be able to send him a text message to be able to sort this unfairness out for our City.  So instead, I will be writing to him, the Prime Minister, again this week with a suggested plan and I hope that this time Councillor Clarke and the Clifton Independents will be able to sign that letter with me.  Thank you Lord Mayor. 

 

 

Public safety measures

 

Councillor Maria Watson asked the following question of the Leader of the Council:

 

In the previous Full Council meeting I asked a question regarding whether extra measures should be undertaken by the Council to ensure public safety following relaxing of rules and improving weather.  In a repeat of what happened with the Christmas market, we subsequently saw embarrassing scenes in our parks that made the national news and shamed this proud City.  While the Christmas market fiasco could be blamed on a lack of hindsight, it cannot be argued that there was not sufficient information, opportunity or warning to make attempts to prevent it from happening this time.  Can the Leader of the Council pledge that should an opportunity to intervene like this present itself again, we as a Council won’t allow this City to become a laughing stock for a third time?

 

Councillor David Mellen replied as follows:

 

Thank you Lord Mayor and can I thank Councillor Watson for her question.  It is the responsibility of Nottinghamshire Police to deal with breaches of coronavirus regulations in respect of individuals including gatherings, in addition to any other public order offences.  As a Council we work in partnership with the Police where this is needed.  A period of good weather and the first stage of loosening of Government restrictions saw an increased use of our parks and open spaces within Nottingham City and, for the most part, they were used responsibly.  However, there were a number of high profile incidents of misuse of a few of our parks that did make the national media.  It should be noted that it was not just the use of parks and open spaces in Nottingham that were reported on, but many parks across England including those in Leeds, Sheffield, Birmingham and Brighton as well as many other places that saw similar scenes.  While Nottinghamshire Police are the lead authority, Nottingham City Council Community Protection Officers supported the response to these incidents by utilising their powers under the Public Spaces Protection Orders and Environmental Protection Acts to deal with the possession and consumption of alcohol in these public areas and littering offences.  Discussions have taken place with the Police following these incidents that made the national media as to lessons that can be learnt from what happened.  As we saw what happened in Nottingham, parks were closed to give staff a good chance to clean the parks thoroughly as well as working with our Communications Team and responding to media requests.  However, I am also sure that members on my side of this virtual Chamber will share my frustrations with our opposition councillors’ need to ridicule our City in public meetings.  It is disappointing that rather than condemn the few whose behaviour was unacceptable or to thank our staff and volunteers who spent early mornings clearing up and restoring our parks to their normal level of cleanliness, rather than praising Police Officers and Community Protection Officers who joined the crowded parks to seek to restore order or to praise the student volunteers who joined in the clear-up Councillor Watson chooses to denigrate Nottingham.  As we have heard already, there is so much to be proud of in our City with truly exciting opportunities on the horizon for Nottingham people and we are rightly proud of our City’s hard-working staff who keep our parks in good order and have worked hard in the last few days to open up our City Centre once again.  We are not a laughing stock and using that phrase here today undermines Councillor Watson’s contribution to our debate.  The opening of outdoor hospitality has taken the pressure off the use of parks and open spaces as individuals have alternative places to socialise in line with current coronavirus guidelines.  That being said, Nottinghamshire Police have put a plan in place for any future periods of good weather, with support from Nottingham City Council colleagues, that will be continually reviewed.

 

 

Electrical waste collection

 

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

 

We recently received a letter from a constituent concerning electrical waste collection.  The Council charges £10 for an electrical item plus £7.50 for any additional.  As such our constituent, an elderly lady with limited other options, is forced to pay £55 for just 7 items, none larger than a vacuum cleaner.  The Council’s financial challenges are well documented, but this figure seems nothing more than taking advantage of those who, due to personal circumstances, have few other options.  Furthermore, this incredibly high charge will only contribute to the rising levels of fly tipping as people try to avoid paying.  Does the Portfolio Holder agree that these charges are overly punitive and it would be in the best interests of both the Council and the City to look at ways we can make this service more affordable to our citizens?

 

Councillor Sally Longford replied as follows:

 

Thank you Lord Mayor and thank you Councillor Jones for bringing this item of case work to my attention.  It is actually the first complaint we have received about the service.  In fact, many people have welcomed the resumption of collections by our dedicated frontline workers who have done an amazing job during the Covid crisis.  The Controlled Waste Regulations 2012 allow authorities to charge for items that do not fit into the wheelie bin.  The provision of bulky waste collections is discretionary for local authorities.  Most councils provide a collection service for large bulky waste items and waste electrical and electronic equipment (WEEE) and most choose to charge a fee to recover some, or all of the associated costs.  Until very recently we were one of the few councils to offer an entirely free service.  Now, only six councils across the whole of the UK offer a free bulky waste collection service: Hillingdon, Hyndburn, Liverpool, Newham, Tower Hamlets and Redbridge.  However, it should be noted that Newham is now budgeting to introduce a charge so it will be down to five very soon.  The Local Government Association has commented that they have found no evidence to link charging for bulky waste services and fly tipping.  In legal terms a resident can place almost any item in their green wheelie bin and since the electrical items referred to are relatively small it seems likely that it would have been acceptable to place them in the bin, although clearly we would prefer to have all WEEE items recycled allowing extraction of the component parts.  It is useful to note here that if items that citizens wish to dispose of are still working there are charities, including those we advertise on our website, who will pick up suitable items from their home.  We are promoting the use of these services to ensure items that can be reused are removed from the waste system altogether.  Current charging policy exists across most local councils and core cities for bulky collections including electrical waste.  Nearby councils all charge for all bulky waste items.  Rushcliffe charges £18 for the first, and £8.75 for each subsequent item.  The core cities typically charge more than £20 for each collection.  Since the start of this chargeable WEEE collection only 23 bookings out of 426 have requested more than two items to be collected.  Nottingham City Council continues to offer non electrical bulky waste collections for free.  You can be assured that I will continue to work with the Waste Collection and Disposal Teams to ensure that we are providing a good quality services for all our citizens and our charges will be part of that review.  For more mobile citizens there is the Waste Recycling Centre at Lenton, which is free to use and which will take a variety of goods for recycling, including WEEE items.  To encourage greater recycling of small WEEE items we are hoping to introduce collection bins inside some of our popular Council buildings.  Trials of this will commence as soon as the local hubs start to reopen after Covid-19.  We know that there is an appetite for such schemes as when we advertised an opportunity to bring small WEEE items to a collection event last year we were overwhelmed with the response.  Perhaps you could suggest a location in Clifton that would be suitable for the scheme?  It is essential to our progress towards carbon neutrality in 2028 to improve the level of recycling and reuse, moving towards a circular economy and despite our financial constraints we are absolutely determined to do so.

 

 

Summerwood Day Centre

 

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

 

Following the ending of the most recent consultation on the closure of Summerwood Day Centre in Clifton, the service users and their families are yet to receive any further information.  Can the Portfolio Holder please provide them and ourselves an update on the results of the consultation and what decisions have been take subsequently?

 

Councillor Adele Williams replied as follows:

 

Thank you Councillor Watson for your question.  I would like to thank everyone who has taken the time to share their views about Summerwood.  We have gathered a great deal of information and feel that it is really important to take the time to review the information very thoroughly before a final decision is taken.  I really understand that people will be very anxious to know what the outcome is and I want to assure everyone that we will communicate this decision as soon as possible, and it will most likely be this week.  Thank you.