Agenda and minutes

The Mayor received apologies for absence from Councillors Roy Barraclough, Jim Deen, Rita Garner, Kevin Jenkins, Elizabeth Sparkes and Rosey Whorlow.

Members and Officers must declare any disclosable pecuniary interests in relation to any business on the agenda. Declarations should also be made at any stage such an interest becomes apparent during the meeting.

If in doubt contact the Legal or Democratic Services representative for this meeting.

There were no declarations of interest. 

To approve the minutes of the Annual Council Meeting held on Friday 20 May 2022, copies of which have been previously circulated.

A copy is available to view at

https://democracy.adur-worthing.gov.uk/ieListDocuments.aspx?CId=158&MId=1704&Ver=4  

Resolved that the minutes of the meeting held on 20 May 2022 be approved as a correct record and that they be signed by the Mayor.

To receive any questions from members of the public addressed to Members of the Executive in accordance with Council Procedure Rule 11.  There is up to 5 minutes for each question, one supplementary question may be asked arising from the original question.

Questions must relate to any matter the Council has power or which affects the Borough, except no questions may be asked in relation to

a)    A specific planning or licensing application

b)    A specific staffing appointment or appeal, or Standards determination

Public question time will last up to 30 minutes; questions will be taken in the order of receipt.

The deadline for submission of questions is Friday 15 July 2022 at 12 noon. Questions to be submitted to democratic.services@adur-worthing.gov.uk

The Mayor advised that 3 questions had been received in advance of the meeting.

1.         Question submitted by Mr Keith Sunderland, a Worthing Resident  

Our community food network is extremely concerned about the current cost of living crisis. We are not able to meet the rising demand as it currently stands, food donations and available funding for food continues to drop.

Just one member of our food network is feeding 800 people a week, and will close by mid-August due to lack of food and funds. They work with 80 volunteers who provide over £250,000 of labour and infrastructure support each year.

We know there are hundreds of people, children and families out there who do not have enough food in their cupboards and are not currently accessing support. 

If we fail to support our neighbours with food, fuel and housing this will cost the council significantly more money in the near future and have ramifications for many years to come. 

It is not only the financial costs of us closing down that are significant but the impact it has on people's lives. The trauma of hunger and food insecurity causes mental and physical health issues. We are seriously concerned that people are not just going to get ill, but are going to die, and are especially worried about the older neighbours in our community. 

We know already about proactive work and the preventative approach being done, but the need is now. 

As this is an emergency, will you transfer at least £100,000 financial resources from your reserve funds into your emergency fund for food support?

The Deputy Leader replied that the Council shared the concerns. On the agenda was an item for consideration where it was hoped that the Council would be declaring a cost of living emergency. He thanked all of the organisations who had given huge amounts of their own personal time, resources and energy in order to support residents who were most in need. The mantra of the food network was well known, food space money. The Council understood what the need looked like.

The Council, through the cost of living emergency, had to deliver in whatever way it possibly could. The commitment in the Labour manifesto was to put £100,000 into discretionary support but it had been decided to set up a specific cost of living emergency budget stream in order to use the money to the best effect. In the next few days the Council would convene an emergency panel of relevant stakeholders which would include members of the food network to talk about how to best get that money, as quickly as possible, to those who are most in need. The Council would also be developing a cost of living emergency strategy that was short, medium and long term but that would be after the emergency. The Deputy Leader recognised that right now there were a lot of organisations that were on their knees.

Looking at the budget, the Council was currently looking  ...  view the full minutes text for item C/17/22-23

To appoint a Deputy Mayor of the Borough until the Annual Meeting of the Council in 2023.

The Deputy Mayor to declare their acceptance of office.

Following Cllr Rita Garner stepping down from the role of Deputy Mayor to join the Cabinet, Council was required to appoint a new Deputy Mayor for the remainder of the 2022-23 Municipal Year.

The Mayor proposed that Councillor Jim Deen be appointed to serve as Deputy Mayor in 2022/23, the proposal was seconded by Councillor Hazel Thorpe.

Resolved that Councillor Jim Deen be appointed as Deputy Mayor for the remainder of the 2022/23 Municipal Year.

The Mayor provided a summary of the civic and charity events that she had attended and supported since the Annual Council meeting. 

The Leader proposed the following appointments to Committees following Cllr Garner’s appointment to the Cabinet:-

·         Cllr Dan Hermitage to replace Cllr Helen Silman on the Joint Governance Committee;

·         Cllr Mike Barrett - Chair of the Joint Governance Committee;

·         Cllr Dan Hermitage - Vice-Chair of the Joint Governance Committee;

·         Cllr Cathy Glynn-Davies appointed to the Joint Overview & Scrutiny Committee and the Worthing Overview & Scrutiny Committee; and

·         Cllr Cathy Glynn-Davies to be the Council’s representative on the West Sussex Health and Adult Social Care Committee

The proposed appointments were seconded by Cllr Sam Theodoridi.

Following a vote (For 28, Against 0, Abstentions 3) it was

Resolved: That Worthing Borough Council approved the appointments as set out above.

The Leader also highlighted the upcoming Big Listening Campaign and encouraged Councillors and residents to participate wherever possible.

There were no announcements from the Cabinet Members or the Chief Executive.

To consider any items the Mayor has agreed are urgent.

There were no urgent items raised under the urgency provisions.

To consider recommendations to the Council, details of which are set out in the attached items as 8A, 8B and 8C(i), (ii) & (iii).

Full reports are available on the website as listed below: 

Council had, before it, recommendations from the Joint Governance Committee, the Joint Overview and Scrutiny Committee and the Joint Strategic Committee.

Extracts of these minutes had been circulated as items 8A, 8B and 8C(i) to (iii).

Item 8A           Joint Governance Committee - 31 May 2022

Joint Governance Committee Appointments: Parish Councillors

The Chair of the Joint Governance Committee, Cllr Barrett, proposed the recommendations from the meeting held on 31 May 2022. The proposal was seconded by Councillor Sally Smith and following a vote (For 29, Against 0, Abstentions 2):

Resolved: That Worthing Borough Council approved the appointment of Cllr Mike Mendoza as a Co-opted Member (from Lancing Parish Council) of the Joint Governance Committee for 2022/23 and the appointment of Cllr John Salisbury as a Co-opted Member (from Sompting Parish Council) of the Joint Governance Committee for 2022/23.

Item 8B           Joint Overview and Scrutiny Committee - 9 June 2022

Joint Overview and Scrutiny Committee Annual Report 2021/22

The Chair of the Joint Overview and Scrutiny Committee, Cllr Jon Roser, proposed the recommendation from the Joint Overview and Scrutiny Committee meeting held on 9 June 2022.

The proposal was seconded by Councillor Sally Smith and unanimously supported.

Resolved: That Worthing Borough Council approved the Joint Overview and Scrutiny Committee Annual Report for 2021/22.

Item 8C(i)       Joint Strategic Committee - 5 July 2022

Financial Performance 2021/22 - Revenue Outturn

The Leader proposed the recommendations from the Joint Strategic Committee meeting held on 5 July 2022.

The proposal was seconded by Councillor Ibsha Choudhury and unanimously supported.

Resolved: That Worthing Borough Council approved the net appropriations from General Fund Reserves in the year, as detailed in section 6 of the report, totalling: Adur District Council £2,050,390 and Worthing Borough Council £4,971,169.

Item 8C(ii)      Joint Strategic Committee - 5 July 2022

Financial Performance 2021/22 - Capital & Projects Outturn

The Leader proposed the recommendations from the Joint Strategic Committee meeting held on 5 July 2022.

The proposal was seconded by Councillor John Turley and unanimously supported.

Resolved: That Worthing Borough Council

a)    noted the overall capital final outturn for 2021/22;

b)    agreed the net carry over of General Fund Capital underspends for Worthing Borough Council as detailed in paragraph 5.10 of the report;

c)    approved the financing of the Worthing Borough Council 2021/22 Capital Investment Programme, including the use of capital receipts as set  out in paragraphs 5.7 and 5.8 of the report; and

d)    approved the carry forward of Council resources underspends to fund budget pressures as detailed in paragraph 4.2.2. and summarised in paragraph 5.15 of the report.

Item 8C(iii)     Joint Strategic Committee - 5 July 2022

Developing a revenue budget for 2023/24 against a backdrop of high inflation

The Leader proposed the recommendations from the Joint Strategic Committee meeting held on 5 July 2022.

The proposal was seconded by Councillor John Turley and unanimously supported.

Resolved: That Worthing Borough Council approved the Budget Strategy for 2022/23, as outlined in Section  ...  view the full minutes text for item C/21/22-23

To receive a report from the Leader as item 9. The report contains decisions taken by the Cabinet, Cabinet Members, the Joint Strategic Committee and the Joint Strategic Sub-Committee (Worthing) since the last Council meeting. 

There will be up to 15 minutes for Cabinet Members to make any statements on the report. There will also be up to 15 minutes for Cabinet Members to respond to questions on the report. These questions will not be the same as any to be asked under Item 10. 

(Note: Papers relating to items under 8 and 9 have been previously circulated and can be viewed on the Council’s website)

The Leader of the Council presented their report on decisions taken by the Cabinet since the last meeting of the Council, which were detailed in Item 9.

Questions were received in relation to the future of Public Space Protection Orders and the cost of additional community engagement work.

Members question time will last up to 30 minutes, with questions being taken in the order of receipt and in rotation from each political group on the Council. The deadline for submission of questions is Friday 15 July at 12 noon. Questions to be submitted to democratic.services@adur-worthing.gov.uk

Questions can be asked of the following:

a)    The Mayor

b)    A Member of the Cabinet

c)    The Chairman of any Committee

d)    The Council’s representative on any outside body

Questions cannot be asked in relation to the following:

a)    A specific planning or licensing application

b)    A specific staffing appointment, appeal or Standards determination

The Mayor announced that the Proper Officer had received 7 questions from Members in accordance with Council Procedure Rule 12. She advised that one supplementary question could be asked which must arise out of the original question, or, the reply. 

Questions would be asked in rotation of the Groups represented in the Chamber and there were 30 minutes allowed for questions with 6 rotations of speakers possible. At the end of 30 minutes the Mayor explained that she would extend the time to conclude the current rotation of questions.

The Mayor announced that the following Councillors had submitted questions:

Councillors Atkins, Thorpe, Cochran, Nowak and Mercer.

First rotation:

Question 1 from Councillor Noel Atkins to the Leader

At the public meeting at Chatsmore farm Cllr Cooper you announced to the public that you wanted more brown-field sites to come forward. What brown-field sites have you been able to identify so far coming forward?

The Leader replied that the Council was actively looking at all opportunities for brownfield sites, particularly to find much needed land for emergency and temporary accommodation.  The Council was reviewing its own land holdings as well as watching closely when property came to market.  In addition, the Council was keen to engage West Sussex and other partners.

Cllr Atkins asked a supplementary question regarding the provision of new homes on brownfield sites such as Teville Gate.

The Leader advised that the new administration was absolutely committed to looking at the social housing stock and increasing it in any way they could. In terms of the brownfield sites that were available, the Council was reviewing what were the best options and models and the most affordable way to deliver more social housing on these sites.    

Question 2 from Councillor Hazel Thorpe to the Leader

I am sure that you are aware that

·         Not being able to pay bills on time is an indicator of the cost of living crisis.

·         The closure of bank branches in many parts of Worthing, the removal of as many as one in four ATM machines making it harder for working people and pensioners to access cash and the failure of large banks to offer mobile banking services to compensate for the closure of branches is causing  unnecessary hardship to our residents.

·         Not all local residents are confident about using online banking facilities because of concerns about technology and internet banking scams and small businesses necessarily deal with cash and require local facilities for banking cash and obtaining change.

Therefore are you willing to promote and encourage the use of some of the replacements for traditional banking trialled by the Cash Action Group in particular;

o   to encourage in those parts of Worthing where branches have been closed the use of shared banking hubs and mobile banking facilities, and

o   by carrying out a study to determine the current and future needs of Worthing residents for the delivery of banking services.

The Leader replied that she was in agreement with what had been said.  ...  view the full minutes text for item C/23/22-23

To consider a Motion on Notice, submitted by the Proper Officer on behalf of Councillor Carl Walker, detailed as item 11.

Members had a motion before them proposed by Councillor Carl Walker and seconded by Councillor Emma Taylor.

The motion was debated and following a vote (For 29, Against 0, Abstentions 1) it was

Resolved:

This Council recognised that violence against women and girls could include, or be linked to, domestic abuse. This was often a hidden crime unreported to the police and although both men and women were affected, incidence and severity were much greater for women. Domestic and family violence could affect well being and developmental growth of children and teenagers both in the short and long term.

The Coronavirus pandemic had further caused what one worker described as ‘an epidemic beneath a pandemic ’The charity Refuge reported that in the year between February 2020 and March 2021 72% of calls to their helpline were from women who said they were experiencing violence and abuse, and nearly a fifth said their abuser had threatened to kill them. Tragically, statistics showed that more female homicide victims were killed by a partner or ex-partner than by strangers.

It was imperative we learnt from and acted on the weaknesses in our systems and structures the pandemic had so starkly exposed. The Council had a well developed network of support via the Wellbeing team, links with the Police, the Housing needs team plus connection  with Worth, West Sussex specialist services and the Women’s accommodation support officer. This Council together with all parts of society should play their part in tackling domestic violence'.