Agenda item

Victoria Market

The following question was asked on behalf of NC of the Portfolio Holder for Skills, Growth and Economic Development:

How much has the Council paid Bruton Knowles for their consultancy services

regarding compensation for the Victoria Market traders, and would that have been better used to pay the said market traders?

Councillor Rebecca Langton replied as follows:

Thank you Lord Mayor, and can I thank the member of the public for their question. The Council has paid £25,000 to Bruton Knowles for their services, who have largely now concluded their work. The Council has used an external contractor for this work as we don’t have the in-house resources to undertake this kind of negotiation, so we have had to rely on external resource.  Allocating this budget to others, as the questioner asks, would not have secured the primary objective, which was the procurement of an expert adviser to the Council. In responding to this question, I would like to acknowledge that this is a difficult time for traders at the Victoria Centre Market and provide my personal reassurance we are doing all we can as quickly as we can to make our final decision, and we will keep traders informed and provide an update in the coming days. Thank you.

Nottingham Castle

The following question was asked on behalf of TU of the Portfolio Holder for Leisure, Culture and Planning:

Can you explain why Nottingham Castle remains closed and what you consider to be the public benefit of spending hundreds of thousands of pounds to keep it closed?  Further, can you tell the people of Nottingham when they will be able to enter the grounds of their Castle and view the displays, exhibitions, and artwork?

Councillor Pavlos Kotsonis replied as follows:

Thank you Lord Mayor. Since the site was handed back to the Council from Nottingham Castle Trust liquidators at the end of November 2022, our initial focus has been to ensure that both the site and the collections are safe, secure and appropriately managed. I want to thank our officers who are working really hard to achieve that outcome. Following the site handover, we have been reviewing the full range of options for the future of the Castle and how that we best open the site. In doing so it is vital this is done in a way which ensures the future of the Castle that will be viable without creating risks to the Council and to the local taxpayers. The work is still ongoing and it is progressing really well. We’re extremely keen to return public access to the site and to re-ignite its social and economic benefits, we are also aware that any proposals need to be agreed with our funders and partners who we are working to engage with and take advice from, to help ensure positive outcomes for our city. As previously stated seeking a resolution that enables the reopening of Nottingham Castle for Nottingham people and other visitors to our city remains a top priority and something I know our team of officers have been working on with both rigor and pace, but we know in doing so it is vitally important that the decision we make is properly assessed to ensure the best outcomes for the people of Nottingham.

Concessionary Mobility Passes

The following question was asked on behalf of DC of the Portfolio Holder for Highways, Transport and Parks:

I welcome that 24/7 travel for citizens with a concessionary mobility pass will remain in place until at least March 2025. However, I believe that more can be done to ensure that all citizens with a mobility pass are aware of its full 24/7 scope. Therefore could the Portfolio Holder with responsibility for transport arrange a promotional and publicity campaign (including the use of the electronic display systems across the bus and tram network) as a matter of urgency enhancing the recent Council press release: ensure that the 24/7 benefits are detailed on the physical application form (they are not on the form reprinted in August 2021); and confirm whether the Medilink bus is part of the scheme and if so, ensure that publicity and systems are up to date to reflect this?

Councillor Audra Wynter replied as follows:

Thank you, Lord Mayor, and can I thank the citizen for their question. As the citizen states, the National Concessionary Travel Scheme does allow mobility pass holders to receive free travel from 9:30am until 11:00pm Monday to Friday and other times during weekends and bank holidays on local bus services. A similar level of concession is also valid on the tram service through local agreement. Alongside this, the Council secured £11.4million in funding from Government up to March 2025 following its successful bus service improvement plan bid. The funding will allow citizens to benefit from improved bus reliability and enhanced passenger experience with ticketing initiatives including a discount for travellers under 22 years and support for people leaving care to enable them to use public transport. One of the key benefits prioritised by the Council in its bid was to secure funding until at least March 2025 to allow Nottingham mobility pass holders to receive free travel before 9:30 in the morning and after 11pm in the evening Monday to Friday. This allows mobility pass holders to travel for free at all times on buses including the Medilink Service. The Council also successfully negotiated with Government for the funding to allow for concessions on the tram service as well. The Council has previously undertaken significant consultation on the extension of the mobility bus concession, and this recognises difficultly in helping people to get to medical appointments and to work, hardship issues due to increased travel costs, social exclusion, restriction on services and barriers to travel for those with certain disabilities. Extending the concession will be important for continuing to build an accessible and integrated public transport system, which removes barriers to travel, in particular to work, education, health and leisure facilities.

As noted in the question, the Council publicised the concession in its recent agreements for 2023/24 and there has been information on social media channels and the Council’s and the Robin Hood Card’s websites. Information on the concession is also available through the application process and the main operators also highlight its availability through their communications. As part of the bus improvement plan, Council is preparing a communication plan for all public transport to encourage further use of public transport network and assist in its recovery from the pandemic and in delivering its Carbon Neutral 28 objective. This will include further publicity of the pre-9:30am concession to ensure there is good awareness in the community of the benefits it brings. 

The Council is absolutely committed to providing excellent transport links across the city. We know first-hand the value it has in affordable transport links to communities. Whilst councils up and down the country parted ways with their municipally-owned bus company, Nottingham City Council retained ownership of Nottingham City Transport.  We now benefit from the best integrated transport system outside London. Most of the bus networks in the UK are dominated by big companies but Nottingham City Transport is locally owned, meaning it cares about Nottingham and its transport network. We also care about helping drastically reduce our carbon footprint and our fleet of electric bio-gas buses. We are immensely proud of our award-winning bus company and its success in delivering an affordable and reliable means of getting around the city. It works because public ownership works. For this reason, Manchester and Merseyside, both under Labour mayors, are catching up with Nottingham in ending this disastrous 40 years of Conservative experiments on bus privatisation. Ambitious decisions taken by past and present Nottingham Labour councillors have ensured Nottingham continues to invest in its public transport system, the first of its kind in Europe. The Workplace Parking Levy has directly and indirectly contributed to £60million redevelopment of Nottingham Station, incorporating trains, trams, buses, taxis and e-scooters; £570million investment in Nottingham Express Transit Network to extend south and west to Clifton and Beeston; investment in 120 low and zero emission buses with 30% of buses operating in the city either bio or electric; lowering carbon emissions by 58% since 2005; and improving our air quality in Nottingham which has avoided a Government-imposed clear zone, while cities like Birmingham, Bath and Sheffield are now charging drivers. Labour will continue to defend and enhance Nottingham’s reputation as having the best transport outside of London, continue to follow and promote our publicly owned bus company and expand existing tram networks.