Agenda item

A citizen asked the following question of the Executive Member for Communities, Waste and Equalities:

How do you intend to contribute to keeping people safe when on the streets in the next year with the violence we have seen in Nottinghamshire in recent times?

Street safety

Councillor Corall Jenkins replied as follows:

Thank you, Lord-Mayor. In response to the citizen’s question, I can say we work with the police and other partners like probation to develop a public health led approach to reduce violence in the city with the involvement of the Violence Reduction Team. Because of this partnership, effectively sponsors are commissioned, such as the Streets Youth Team, or Breaking Barriers Building Bridges, which have been shown to reduce violence, and they have supported younger people into purposeful activity. Nottingham, as a purple flag city, recognises the safety in the night-time economy. We have an extensive CCTV network across the city that is regularly monitored, and it is linked to the police control room, thereby reducing response time. The Nottingham Community Partnership Team meets regularly. The body not only includes the police, the Crime Commissioner, and the Nottingham City Council Safety Team, but it also includes other partners like Notts Healthcare Mental Health Team. There is a good range of providers coming together to share data and coordinate approaches where needed. Councillors may have noticed in their wards that the Police Officers have been more visible and Community Protection Officers are more visible. Police and Community Protection meet regularly with community groups to provide reassurance, and in addition the North, South, and Central Police Neighbourhood Inspectors share monthly crime rates with communities and the Police and Crime Commissioner. This information is also shared by the police on their social media, thereby keeping the public up to date. The Police Commissioner has targets and aims to tackle anti-social behaviour in all its forms, making it it’s number one priority. I sit on the Partnership Board, and I can confirm that there is a lot of discussion, planning, preparation, and evaluating that goes on behind the scenes to ensure that Nottingham remains a safe place to live. Thank you.

Library consultation

A citizen asked the following question of the Executive Member for Carbon Reduction, Leisure and Culture:

At the final library consultation event, held at the Council House on Thursday 15 August, it was indicated that the decision on the library review would come later in 2024. Campaigners were heartened at a recent protest outside Basford Library on Saturday 19 October, when Basford Councillor Linda Woodings, who is also Executive Member for Finance and Resources, said that library closures “were not a done deal.” Could the Executive Member report on the next stage of the process, and also when the final decision will be made?

Councillor Sam Lux replied as follows:

Thank you, Lord-Mayor, and I’d like to thank the citizen for this question regarding the next steps in the decision-making process for the proposed library service which were consulted on from the 28^th May to the 19^th August 2024. First, I want to extend my thanks to everyone who participated in the 12-week consultation. We received a record 5,378 responses, along with a large volume of comments and suggestions. As part of the process, several community and charitable organisations had expressed interest in partnering with Nottingham City Council to explore options for library delivery or alternative uses for library buildings. All this feedback has been invaluable and will let us better understand the concerns and needs of our community as we explore alternative options for achieving the necessary savings. I, alongside officers, are working diligently to review the consultation findings and consider potential collaborative approaches with our interested partners. Recognising the importance of libraries and the impact that closures could have on specific communities, we want to ensure that every possible alternative is thoroughly explored before presenting final recommendations to the council. The final report is likely to be presented in the early new year, and in the meantime we are committed to reviewing all findings from the consultation, which may be subject to an additional scrutiny report in January of 2025 to ensure the robustness of our process. We are also collaborating with charitable partners to assess the realistic options and support they can provide while evaluating community needs in light of community sentiment across the council. This work will culminate in a final report and council decision in early 2025 with full implementation of any changes by the 1^st of April 2025. We are fully aware these decisions will shape the library provision across the city for the next decade, and ultimately our goal is to have secure libraries that offer modern, welcoming, and safe spaces, act as a gateway to support services, enhance digital inclusion and continue to provide essential resources to areas of high economic need. In short, we want to ensure that libraries remain viable and vibrant hubs at the heart of our communities. Thank you.

Budget consultation

A citizen as the following question of the Executive Member for Finance and Resources:

Given the commitment to the citizen voice being heard in the process of decision making, can the Executive Member assure us with dates, as to when the budget will go out for citizens to give their views as part of the public consultation that is required?

Councillor Lida Woodings replied as follows:

Thank you, Lord-Mayor, and thank you to this citizen for their question. The draft proposals for the 2025-28 Medium Term Financial Plan and the 2025-26 budget are currently being prepared for approval through the Executive Board decision making process. The council will consult on those proposals, requiring public consultation, and further proposals will be made available closer to the publication of the budget proposals in accordance with the Executive Board timetable. We anticipate the public consultation will commence in December and conclude in late January. As usual, there will be an online consultation, but we will also be consulting with local partner organisations and the voluntary sector, and there will be meetings where citizens can attend in person and hear more details about the proposals and give us their views directly.  We will know more about our provisional local government settlement in mid December and the final settlement is always confirmed in February. Thank you.

Cultural infrastructure

A citizen asked the following question of the Executive Member for Carbon Reduction, Leisure and Culture:

Given that the City of Nottingham is already ranked amongst the materially most deprived areas in England, what does the Executive Member believe the consequences of cutting - to the point of near-elimination - the cultural infrastructure and social fabric of the City will be? Clearly, we do not all have the private means to compensate for the loss of youth centres, community centres, libraries, Arts etc etc.

Councillor Sam Lux replied as follows:

Thank you, Lord-Mayor, and I’d like to thank the citizen for this question regarding reductions to funding for cultural services. It is important to recognise that yes, funding provided by the city council towards the support for many cultural activities has reduced over the last number of years. This originated in reduced government funding settlements that the council has had to manage alongside increased cost pressures from adults’ and children’s social care needs, cost of living price increases on the authority’s utilities, and rising cost pressures associated with more homelessness. These pressures are outlined in the Medium Term Financial Plan published on the 13^th of February 2024. Nottingham City, like many other local authorities, has a prescribed number of statutory duties it must fulfil, and while the council recognises the importance of building positive cultural and social infrastructure, these are not recognised by central government or directly funded, so therefore have to be viewed as discretionary services. As financial pressure on the council has mounted, reductions in spending in the authority’s discretionary services has regrettably had to follow. This means we can ensure we can comply with the statutory responsibilities. While this is difficult and we are all concerned about the long-term impact spending reductions may have on the city, we have tried to balance our reductions wherever possible to avoid getting to the point of elimination of these vital networks in areas of cultural and social worth. Despite these difficult challenges we have tried to protect and do still need to celebrate what we have been able to support. It is important to know that we are working really hard towards securing self-sustaining models for these areas in the long term. So these areas include our new central library, which is just about to come up to its first anniversary, thriving theatre and music provision across the city including work taking place at the Theatre Royal Concert Hall and the Nottingham Motorpoint Arena, reopening Nottingham Castle, and as part of the museums and gallery service supported by the Arts Council, continued support to community cultural events including Saint Patrick’s Day, Light Night, Nottingham Pride, and Nottingham Carnival, and the Nottingham Arts Library Service supporting access to music and drama scores to enable community choirs, orchestras and drama groups to thrive. With regards to community centres, we are still in an ongoing consultation around future support of provision. We remain hopeful that the agreement with community associations can be reached to ensure that we are able to maintain a strong core network of community assets going forwards. Similarly, work has also taken place in regard to future library provision, it’s just subject to the answer to the previous question today. Thank you.