Agenda item

Clifton Town Board

Councillor Kevin Clarke asked the following question of the Executive Member for Skills, Growth and Economic Development:

Could the Executive Member update the Chamber on when the £20 million pledged by the last Government for Clifton will be allocated to the Town Board?

 

Councillor Ethan Radford replied as follows:

Thank you Lord Mayor and thank you Councillor Clarke for your question.  For context, Clifton was selected by the previous government to be the recipient of funding from the Long Term Plan for Towns programme. In consultation with the community, the Council formed the Town Board with Stephen Hackney as Chair to deliver the long-term plan for Clifton by 1August 2024. On 19 July, the Minister for Local Growth, Alex Norris, took the decision to suspend the first deadline for submitting plans and council officers were advised by officials that the Department will be in touch in due course with further details of the next steps and confirmation of the revised deadline. No such further details have yet been received, but officers remain in dialogue with Ministry for Housing, Communities and Local Government (MHCLG) officials, and recently hosted a visit for the officials with the Clifton Town Board exploring the practice and community engagement. We understand the MHCLG and HM Treasury ministers are giving full consideration to matters, including the Long Term Plan for Towns, as part of preparations for the Autumn budget.  However, no timetable has been provided for when the funding position will be clarified. In the meantime, the Council will continue to fully support the work that has been undertaken by the Board and remains committed to seeing this funding used to improve the lives of Clifton people.

 

Improvement Plan

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

Could the Leader of the Council outline what she believes the biggest challenge will be in delivering the Improvement Plan and how the Council will overcome it?

 

Councillor Neghat Khan replied as follows:

Thank you Lord Mayor. Can I thank you Councillor Rule for your question.  There are many challenges in delivering our Improvement Plan. I have been clear in this Chamber before that the next three years will make or break this Council. It’s not going to be easy. The biggest challenge is the pace needed to make these changes. We must improve and we must do so quickly. We need to work swiftly to deliver our services differently and bring our budget back on track, so that we are properly living within our means. I believe we can meet that challenge. New political leadership is helping to drive forward these changes. We have a new Senior Officer Leadership Team, including our new Chief Executive and soon-to-start two Corporate Directors for Adults’ and Children’s Services. There is renewed focus from this new councillor and officer team to continue to deliver for Nottingham. Together we are working with the Commissioners to deliver our Improvement Plan and we have more than 450 Council officers signed up to be part of our Change Community. The best outcomes for Nottingham come when we work together, and I am proud that so many of our staff are to contribute their ideas and their care to our great city. They want to be part of the solution.  Lord Mayor, we can do this only all together: as councillors, as a Council, as a city. We have a lot of hard work ahead of us, but I know we can make this happen and deliver change for the people of Nottingham. Thank you.

 

Subsidence Risks

Councillor Kevin Clarke asked the following question of the Executive Member for Housing and Planning:

Following reports in the local media regarding the condition of the former “Brass Monkey” building on High Pavement, could the Executive Member confirm whether the Council has any additional concerns about subsidence affecting any of the other historic buildings on that road?

 

Councillor Jay Hayes replied as follows:

Thank you Lord-Mayor. Thank you Councillor Clarke for your question.  Myself, and I know a few others, over the years have spent many good nights in Brass Monkey, and we are saddened to see the current state of the bar. However, the property is privately owned and it is landlord’s responsibility to address the matters and investigate the cause of the subsidence. Whilst not directly involved, relevant teams of the Council will provide support where appropriate.  Currently it only affects that one building, and at the moment there is no evidence of other buildings being affected. 

 

Council Tax

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

The Leader will be aware that the Chancellor’s decision to remove the automatic entitlement for winter fuel allowance has caused some considerable anxiety to those pensioners in the City who be affected by it. Does she share the view of the Labour Leader of the Local Government Association that the Chancellor should, alongside this, scrap the 25% single person’s discount for council tax and remove the cap, the Council is currently subject to, restricting increases in Council tax?

 

Councillor Neghat Khan replied as follows:

Thank you Lord Mayor. Thank you Councillor Rule for your question.  I understand your concerns about the Chancellor’s decision to remove the automatic entitlement to winter fuel allowance. Many older residents in our city are understandably anxious about their energy bills. However, it is important to recognise that this allowance has often benefited wealthier pensioners who may not need the support. Reform is necessary to ensure that assistance is targeted where it is most needed towards low-income pensioners, with an estimated 880,000 households not being on pension credits. This is where our efforts should be focused. I encourage all members to actively work within our communities to ensure pensioners are accessing the benefits they are entitled to, particularly pension credit. It is vital to expand the safety net to include more pensioners who are struggling to make ends meet.

 

Due to the £22 million black hole in the national finances left by your former Tory Party, Councillor Rule, I understand why the Labour Government is not currently ruling out potentially ending the 25% discount or ending the cap on increases in council tax.  I do not share the same view of the Labour Leader of the Local Government Association on scrapping the 25% single person discount and removing the cap because increases could raise revenues. These measures risk disproportionately affecting low-income and single-person households. Blanket changes to council tax would hurt those who can least afford it, especially in a city like Nottingham, which already faces significant financial challenges, compounded by a low council tax base and high levels of student housing, who do not pay council tax but still rely heavily on council services such waste collection, road maintenance, and emergency services. The lack of council tax contribution from students puts additional strain on our already limited resources. I hope that the Government will explore alternative funding mechanisms to ensure that areas with large student populations are adequately compensated for the services they use without placing further burden on other residents, which can fuel division.  What Nottingham needs is a long-term financial settlement, which the Government has promised, and equitable distribution of settlements that reflect the needs of areas like ours where the ability to generate revenue from council tax is limited. If the Government does decide to remove the discount and lift the cap, we will carefully consider the needs of our communities before making any decisions. Our focus will remain on financial stability while ensuring affordability for our residents.  Thank you.

 

Nottingham Forest Football Club

Councillor Kirsty M Jones asked the following question of the Executive Member for Skills, Growth and Economic Development:

Could the Executive Member confirm whether or not the in-principle deal with Nottingham Forest referred to at the last Full Council meeting is dependent on the Club successfully obtaining planning permission from Rushcliffe Borough Council?

 

Councillor Ethan Radford replied as follows:

Thank you Lord Mayor, and thank you Councillor Jones for your question.  The Heads of Terms when disposing of the asset are being finalised between Nottingham Forest Football Club and the Council. The terms of the agreed subject and delegated approval are set out in the Executive Board papers. A recommendation will be made as soon as possible. At this stage the terms of the deal remain commercially confidential. I will refer the member to ask that question to Rushcliffe Borough Council.

 

Right to Buy

Councillor Anwar Khan asked the following question of the Executive Member for Housing and Planning:

Could the Executive Member explain what new Labour Government’s changes to Right To Buy means for the city?

 

Councillor Jay Hayes replied as follows:

Thank you Lord Mayor, and thank you Councillor Khan for your question.  It is true, at this time last year, councillors across the country met to discuss the ongoing homelessness and housing crisis. Since then, the election has happened, and a new Government is in place and has announced a number of changes to tackle the housing crisis and one of these is changes to the Right to Buy scheme.  Councils will now be able to use 100% of the Right to Buy Replacement Fund to be able to build houses. This is an increase of 50%. Right to Buy funds can now be matched by Section 106 contributions and the cap on the percentage of replacements delivered as acquisitions each year will be lifted.  These changes - in short the maximum spend, equivalent to 150% of the Right to Buy receipts, and other funding that has been generated through other means or from borrowing, to be able to build or replace the council houses lost through Right to Buy. This is good news for Nottingham. Under the previous laws, we would only be able to use 70% of the total of the resources to build or to acquire new housing. Given this, it means we will be able to look at other sites across the city and be able to put in place plans for the development of more council houses for the first time in a long time, and those houses will be funded from the Right to Buy receipts and the s106 contributions.

Alongside this, we have been able to look at increasing our capacity to buy back old council houses through the acquisitions programme. This is good news for everyone in the city because it lets us increase our housing stock, it allows us to tackle the waiting list and the people who are in temporary accommodation, it strengthens our Housing Revenue Account business plan over 30 years, and I’m really looking forward to seeing new council houses built across this city. What a difference this is. This is the Government listening to local authorities; the Government working with local authorities to address real issues that affect everybody across this country, and I am looking forward to working with the Government over the next four or five years. Thank you.

 

Library Consultation

Councillor Fozia Mubashar asked the following question for the Executive Member for Carbon Reduction, Leisure and Culture:

Could the Executive Member please provide us with an update on the Library Consultation, which closed on 19 August 2024?

 

Councillor Sam Lux replied as follows:

Thank you Lord Mayor, and thanks to Councillor Mubashar for her question.  Firstly, I want to recognise and really emphasise the important roles that libraries play in our communities – access to high-quality local library provision makes a massive difference to so many peoples’ lives in a variety of ways, so their impact can’t be overstated. Recently we’ve concluded an extensive 12-week public consultation exercise addressing and receiving feedback on ways which we might be able to better find savings as part of the budget reduction agreed in March. The pressure to change and reduce library provision isn’t just a Nottingham issue – it’s happening all across the UK; library services are under review as local authorities’ expenditure continues to be squeezed. Derbyshire County Council are similarly undergoing consultation on library reductions, as has been Leicester City Council and Birmingham City Council. I can report that at the close of consultation we had received 5,378 official responses.  That is incredible and there have also been many additional letters and emails alongside additional information from public meetings and drop-in sessions. I have also met with a number of bodies and organisations including the Save the Libraries Campaign Group and participated, with the Leader and Deputy Leader of the Council, in a public meeting that took place in this Council House on 13 August.  In the coming weeks I have meetings set up with organisations to explore creative options and ideas, some of which emerged from the public consultation. It is important that over the next few weeks we carefully review all of the feedback received in order that we are able to bring in a detailed report to Council for the final decision.  I think we all agree that given the gravity of the decision we should really seek to get this right and, rather than annual pressures to cut the service, we want to establish strong, sustainable library provision and also maximise the impact of the budget that we do have to benefit communities and citizens in an optimal way.

Thank you.    

 

Household Support Fund

Councillor Georgia Power asked the following question of the Executive Member for Finance and Resources:

Can the Executive Member give an update on the extension of the Household Support Fund and what this will mean for Nottingham?

 

Councillor Linda Woodings replied as follows:

Thank you Lord Mayor, and thank you Councillor Power for your question.  Colleagues, you will recall the Household Support Fund was introduced following the cessation of the £20 per week uplift to universal credit that was brought in during the COVID pandemic and ceased in September of 2021. That was to great protest from members of all parties, including the Conservative Party, who wanted the uplift to continue as a permanent measure. The Household Support Fund was introduced as a less valuable measure to essentially paper over the cracks of a decade of Tory austerity. Now, I should mention, there was a very unnerving period of uncertainty about the future of the Household Support Fund after the former Chancellor, Jeremy Hunt, failed to mention it in his 2023 Autumn Budget Statement, and that uncertainty led to great anxiety for people who received assistance from the scheme and also from the voluntary sector helpers who helped deliver it. However, in March 2024, facing the May elections, an extension was confirmed – albeit only for six months – and that was one clear sign of an early General Election that we all missed.

I can easily explain how essential this grant is to the people of Nottingham, thanks to the Nottingham Financial Resilience Partnership, who commissioned Charles Walker – a Research Fellow at Nottingham Trent University – to evaluate both the need and the effectiveness of the Household Support Fund for Nottingham residents. His final report made in January this year showed that we, as a City Council, received £15.626 million since April 2021, and we use that money firstly to support the supply of food to vulnerable households and secondly to pay for energy and supermarket vouchers to deliver in partnership with our centres, housing associations, and charities. That meant that between June and October 2023 the Council was able to support 64,741 households, and that funding was given to food banks, social supermarkets, and social eating organisations, equating to £235,000 buying essential food and essential items for food banks which is estimated to have supported 11,784 food parcels and meals.  I certainly hope we’ll get to a stage in this country where we don’t have to have food banks.  That’s one thing we need from a Labour Government: no more food banks because you won’t need them because you’ll have a decent income.  Somewhere else that Household Support Funding was used was supermarkets and fuel vouchers, and that paid for 120,000 vouchers at a cost of £2.9 million. We are uncertain exactly how much the Council will receive in the latest stretch of funding announced by Rachel Reeves for the last 6 months of this financial year up to April 2025, but we anticipate that this will be in region of £3.6 million so we can continue to give this essential support for energy and household bills, food, and essential items for vulnerable residents. That will mean the total Household Support Fund distributed to residents will be over £22 million since October 2021. Whatever the final sum is, we will seek to continue the existing model of support to residents and community-based organisations who provide that essential assistance, and that includes distribution of supermarket vouchers to children who are in receipt of free school meals to cover the October, Christmas, and February holiday periods so the total which we hope to continue with will be £1.4 million to free school meals children’s support for holiday periods; £800,000 to food support for vulnerable residents, £800,000 for energy support, £200,000 to food banks funding, £130,000 to our admin and welfare advice two community organisations; and £226,000 in smaller grants and some administrative costs as well. This year’s current funds still remain available for residents to apply for up to the 30September to help with food and energy costs, and our website will be updated as soon as the final details of the scheme are confirmed.

 

The big question is, of course, will that funding continue after April 2025? We are not sure yet, because our new Labour Government has set up an urgent Child Poverty Taskforce just three weeks ago, and they’re urgently reviewing all benefits as well to identify both short-term and long-term measures that are needed to address the national disgrace that 700,000 more children now live in poverty since the last Labour Government in 2010.  We’d like to see any support to be over a longer term so more strategic decisions can be made on how such funds are used and we know our partners in the voluntary sector would like that too so they can plan and recruit staff to support beyond a six-month window.  Hopefully with multi-year settlements for councils and various reviews of support benefits we will see more sustained ongoing support for these vital services that keep poverty and destitution at bay.  Thank you.

 

Nottingham Centre for Trauma, Resilience and Growth

As Councillor Maria Joannou was not present to ask the following question of the Chair of the Health and Adult Social Care Scrutiny Committee it received a written response:

Could the Committee Chair give an update on the Committee’s decision to make a referral to the Secretary of State regarding the loss of the Nottingham Centre for Trauma, Resilience and Growth?

 

Goose Fair

Councillor Audra Wynter asked the following question of the Executive Member for Carbon Reduction, Leisure and Culture:

Now that the Nottingham Beach has closed for 2024 and with Goose Fair returning for 10 days on 27 September, does the Executive Member agree that providing these types of events is important for Nottingham not just for local families but for the local economy too, and can they detail any steps taken to minimise disruption for those who live near the Goose Fair site?

 

Councillor Sam Lux replied as follows:

Thank you Lord Mayor and thank you to Councillor Wynter for your question.  I’m very proud to be at that stage for the city, and I very much agree with Councillor Wynter that our citywide programme of events, festivals, markets and fairs provides fantastic content for families in the city, right on their doorstep. As Councillor Wynter points out, there’s also a wider economic benefit to such events. As the city seeks to deliver ambitions set out in our strategy for vibrant, dynamic, family friendly content in our own centres, heritage venues, open spaces and Castle these play a significant and positive step in how the city markets itself to leisure visitors, prospective students, potential employers and investors. This summer has been one of our busiest ever with events ranging from open-air Shakespeare at the Castle, to packed Tuesday nights at Old Market Square for songs and the Beach. In just the past few weeks alone, our fantastic range of parks, heritage, and public-owned spaces venues have hosted many events. Over 10,000 music fans descended upon Wollaton Park for the hall events, gold medal winning paralympic athletes competed at the archery championships and the Nottingham Beach has seen thousands of families enjoy what is widely considered to be the UK’s best free-to-access urban beach attraction. These events are all staged at no cost to the council taxpayer, and any fees and charges contribute to the cost of the Council’s free-to-access Culture Development Programme.

 

All events, not just major impact events like Goose Fair, do unfortunately encompass an element of disruption and the Council’s Nottingham Events Team work really hard to minimise the disruption to residents, particularly those living immediately adjacent to the event sites. New mitigation measures are in place for this year’s Goose Fair, including a revised traffic management plan, off-street enforcement operations, and various improvements to reduce the environmental impact of the event.  This includes regular noise management controls via our Environmental Health Team, and residents living nearby to the events also receive numbers to contact our Events Team control room directly, should any issues arise. Members of the Showman’s Guild now also contribute towards a levy to help fund future sites and environmental improvements for the Forest Recreation Grounds as well.  Thank you.

 

Green Heart

Councillor Matt Shannon asked the following question of the Executive Member for Strategic Regeneration, Transport and Communications:

Work is nearing completion on the Green Heart at the former Broadmarsh site, does the Executive Member share my excitement for the work finishing, and do they agree that the Green Heart is only one of the many positive constructions happening in the Broadmarsh area and across the city as a whole?

 

Councillor Neghat Khan replied as follows:

Thank you Lord Mayor and thank you Councillor Shannon for your question.  I’m proud of our Green Heart and what it represents for Nottingham. It shows we are changing our city for the better. Where we once had an ugly concrete shopping centre and three lanes of choking traffic, we now have a peaceful green space for people to enjoy. When INTU Broadmarsh went bust, we asked the people of Nottingham what they wanted to see in this space. They overwhelmingly responded to ask for an open and welcoming space and the return of nature to the heart of the city centre. You asked for a park, and I am pleased to deliver that for Nottingham. This is the first new green space for the city in over 100 years and I was delighted to be joined by children from Mellors Primary School and our Regional Mayor to officially open the Green Heart last week. The Green Heart is a hugely important part of our ambitious plans for Broadmarsh and our wider strategic regeneration of the city, providing opportunities to promote urban living with thousands of new homes and places for people to work in well-connected places with easy access to sustainable transport and green spaces. This is part of our plan for over 26,000 new homes by 2041.

 

As you say, it is only one of many major developments - improvements to turn previously busy, vehicle-dominated roads into new, high-quality public spaces which invite citizens and visitors to spend time in the city centre; the building of a state-of-the-art bus station, car park, and new Central Library; new Government office at Unity Square; and headquarters for Domestic and General to name just a few of the major schemes that we have supported. This area is unrecognisable from how it looked four years ago. In that short time, we have transformed this part of the city and soon we will have the new state-of-the-art NHS diagnostic centre, along with new homes and more offices.  We are turning the city around and making  good things happen for the people of Nottingham. It’s not just the Green Heart – we are working with partners and investors on ambitious plans for the Island Quarter, East Side, Waterside, and Castle Meadow. I am passionate about delivering the best deal for Nottingham people by championing and working with our communities. Our ambition is for urban living with thousands of new homes, well-connected offices with easy access to public transport and green spaces. We’re putting Nottingham back on the map. We are open for business and investment – a destination city; somewhere that attracts people to live, work, visit, and study. As more news is able to be shared about our redevelopment of the south side of the city with new partners coming on board, I am sure you will see that Nottingham Labour is delivering on a bold vision for Nottingham, its residents, and its future.  Thank you.