Agenda item

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 16 July at 12 noon.

 

Questions should be submitted to democratic.services@adur-worthing.gov.uk

 

Questions can be asked of the following:

a)     The Mayor

b)     A Member of the Executive

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 10 questions from Members in accordance with Council Procedure Rule 12. He 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 5 rotations of speakers possible. At the end of 30 minutes the Mayor explained that he would extend the time to conclude the current rotation of questions.

 

The Mayor announced that the following Councillors had submitted questions:

 

Councillors Coxhill, Howard, Murphy, S Smith and Thorpe.

 

First rotation:

 

Question 1 from Councillor Margaret Howard to the Executive Member for Resources

 

Worthing Council has lent substantial sums of money to key partners, including South Downs Leisure and the Theatre Trust to keep them afloat during the Covid-19 pandemic. Whilst we agree with the Council supporting the two Trusts we believe that the Council and the Trusts should be more transparent with taxpayers money and there should be readily available reports on the amounts and the planned use for those funds.

 

Could the Executive Member for Resources please explain what money has been loaned or granted by Worthing Council to the two Trusts, which is over and above that granted by the Government, and what have the Trusts told WBC are their plans for the use of these funds?

 

The Leader replied that the pandemic had hit South Downs Leisure Trust (SDLT), Worthing Theatres and the Museum Trust (WTM) hard and the Council had sought to provide support where it could, but this support had not included the provision of loans.

 

The Council paid the annual contract sum for WTM as per the contractual agreement and in accordance with Cabinet Office guidance on the support to public sector suppliers. WTM also received some additional funding from the Arts Council. No other financial payments by the Council had been made to WTM.

 

The Council had paid additional grant funding to SDLT. This was approved by the Joint Strategic Committee on 8th September 2020 which detailed the amount of support that the Trust would receive for the remainder of 2020/21 and 2021/22.  It was important to note that in the absence of the opportunity to generate income through the normal channels, SDLT used the majority of its reserve fund.

 

The additional agreed support package amounted to £594,000 in 2020/21 and £198,000 in 2021/22 which was funded through Covid 19 government grants.

 

The Council had also successfully applied to the National Leisure Recovery Fund for additional financial support of £200,000 to offset the costs incurred. These funds had been carried forward to the current year and were available to fund any reopening costs.

 

 

Question 2 from Councillor Hazel Thorpe to the Leader

 

Many of us, since covid have found it harder to get around due to lack of exercise. Recently I have been made aware of a severe lack of thought and resources given to making Worthing Town and its surrounding area accessible and welcoming to all comers.

 

Given the withdrawal of the Worthing Mobility and Access working group – how will the people of Worthing and visitors with accessibility and health issues be best served?

 

The Leader replied that the Council had a focus on improving all aspects of the town centre to ensure all visitors had the opportunity to experience the place in a safe way.

 

An example of the Council’s commitment was to ensure its streets were as decluttered as possible to allow for safe circuits. The Council was working with local businesses and issuing pavement licences which allowed a business to trade outside with the distances needed to adhere to mobility and disability standards.

 

As the Council brought forward new public realm spaces, as it was doing in Portland Road and Montague Place, the Council had, and would continue to, engage with representative groups to guide the design. For example, the Council continued to work with the RNIB and its local sight support groups who had provided great advice and expertise in its efforts to make part of the town centre accessible and to reduce obstructions and trip hazards for people with sight difficulties.

 

The Council’s key car parks were assessed by the British Parking Association against the Park Mark Safer Parking Award which considered things like physical accessibility, the number of blue badge bays and the accessibility of any payment machines.  The sites were reviewed on a regular basis.  Whenever the Council carried out improvement works in its car parks it always looked at how it could improve accessibility.  The refurbishment of Buckingham Road car park for example would focus on making the site more welcoming and accessible. A further example was the creation of more blue badge bays in Liverpool Gardens car park since the council took that site over in August last year.

 

Councillor Thorpe asked a supplementary question regarding the reestablishment of the Worthing Access & Mobility Group.

 

The Leader requested that details be shared with him following the meeting to see how the Council could help support this.

 

Question 3 from Councillor Louise Murphy to the Leader

 

Could the Leader please update the Council on what this council is doing to ensure that Worthing is able to benefit from the government programmes such as the Levelling Up Fund and the Shared Prosperity Fund that will help us to build back from the effects of the pandemic?

 

The Leader replied that the Council was continually active in dialogue with partners, including the Greater Brighton Economic Board and Coast to Capital LEP, to ensure it was best positioned to apply for government funding. As with all grants, there were eligibility criteria and outline prioritisation for where the funds were to be distributed, however the Council continued to  ensure that the Council was part of the bidding process, and submitted high quality applications.

 

The Council had already submitted a number of strategic pipeline projects to the Coast to Capital LEP (to feed into the Shared Prosperity Fund process), whilst it recently submitted an application to the Levelling Up Fund. Within the short bidding timeframe, Officers worked extremely hard to pull the Council’s proposition together, whilst also eliciting the necessary support from a range of key stakeholders.

 

The Levelling Up bid for Worthing focused on investment into its town centre to inject further new public realm and new cultural and creative uses.

 

Second rotation

 

Question 4 from Councillor Margaret Howard to the Executive Member for Resources

 

Regarding the loan of £10 million to Worthing Homes which is listed On Page 72 Section 1.4

 

I note that the loan of £10 million to Worthing homes is not decreasing and assume that only interest is being paid on the loan.

 

When is the loan contract due to end and does the Council have the option to call in the loan at the end of the contract or take the housing stock back into Council ownership?

 

The Leader told the Council that the loan was a maturity loan and so no payment of principal was due until the end of the loan agreement. The loan was advanced in 2 tranches each of which was repayable 10 years after the date of advance:

 

·         Tranche A - £5m repayable on the 20th April 2027

·         Tranche B - £5m repayable on the 19th February 2028

 

The loan was secured on Worthing Homes properties, so if Worthing Homes defaulted on the loan then the Council could assume responsibility for the properties detailed within the loan documentation.

 

Question 5 from Councillor Hazel Thorpe to the Leader

 

Leader, we have both served on the Plastic Free working group, and I am aware that officers have changed their way of working and procurement. Can you update the Council on the extent of financial savings we may have accrued please?

 

The Leader stated that the last 15 months had been an exceptional time for everyone. For the councils, it had seen significant changes in the amount of visits to and time spent in its buildings, the amount of consumable goods purchased from its high streets, the amount of lunches eaten at work and so on. Due to a vast number of factors influencing the councils’ finances during this time, it was not possible to provide detail on the financial savings accrued through a reduction in single use plastic consumption, however the councils’ current financial position was available in the draft annual Statement of Accounts.

 

Since the Council pledged to become a Plastic Free Council, it had worked hard to deliver on the Action Plan produced at the time. As a result there were now over 50 refill stations across Worthing. The councils had conducted an audit to identify and replace all single-use plastics within its buildings with sustainable alternatives and, as the Council returned to the office, the plan was to focus efforts to visibly ‘come back sustainably’. The Council had also broadened its internal staff network, to create Sustainability Champions who would work on eco-lunch and learn sessions, driving plastic-free councils work, Climate Assembly meet-ups, beach cleans or activities to promote awareness. Local community groups had committed to actions within Sustainable AW to deliver campaigns, local events, beach cleans and litter picks and promotion around reuse. This would be important as the impact of Covid had seen a massive increase in single-use plastics across the area, including on-the-go food / drink containers and face masks.

 

Councillor Thorpe asked a supplementary question regarding the ring fencing of savings and their use to support the sustainability of the local environment.  

 

The Leader replied that the Council was very committed to all those environmental programs in platform three including reducing the use of plastics, increasing recycling and the naturalizing of various sites.  

 

Third rotation

 

Question 6 from Councillor Sally Smith to the Executive Member for Health and

Wellbeing

 

What has been the uptake of the Wellbeing alcohol service and how are outcomes being measured?

 

The Executive Member replied that 15 adults had been referred to the service since the project started in January 2021 (up to the present date of 20 July 2021). Nine of these had been supported through the project with an Extended Brief Intervention (EBI); 18 EBI sessions had been delivered in total.

 

The reasons for the remaining six people referred who did not receive a direct intervention was around either non engagement (despite follow up) or having alcohol levels that surpassed the criteria for the project.

 

A number of outcomes were captured from the project including reduced levels of alcohol, reduction in numbers of days alcohol was consumed, improvements to psychological and physical health and quality of life, all of which contributed to a public health outcomes framework that was used for the Wellbeing Programme.

 

Question 7 from Councillor Dan Coxhill to the Leader

 

I fully support the efforts this council is taking to improve biodiversity and opportunities for rewilding in the borough. Can the Leader update me on the progress made in this regard?

 

The Leader replied that a huge amount was being done, including

 

·         Acquisition of New Salts Farm, 100 acres of chalk grassland.  Working closely with the community and South Downs National Park to rewild, while preserving a much loved amenity for walkers;

·         Working with partners to attract investment in kelp forest restoration, and creating a vision for Sussex Bay, the blue mirror to the South Downs.  Secured £79k investment from DEFRA to create an investment model in kelp blue carbon;

 

·         Large scale tree planting scheme by the Parks and Foreshore team;

 

·         Natural capital baseline assessments being undertaken with support from Surrey Wildlife Trust and Sussex Local Nature Partnership.  Rewilding sites have been identified across our open spaces; and

 

·         Beach House Park application for Green Flag Status.

 

Councillor Coxhill asked the following supplementary question: Does the Leader believe enough is being done to "tell the story" of why more wild areas are better for our local natural environment?

 

The Leader replied that there was always more to be done to communicate the importance of restoring nature.  Along with the SustainableAW magazine which promoted the council’s work and lots of incredible community projects, the Council used Facebook and other social media to keep promoting the importance of nature and its restoration.

 

Our Zero 2030 conference and Climate Assembly had helped raise awareness over the last year or so, and the Council had key officers blogging on a range of nature based topics.

 

The fabulous Junior Tree Trail at Highdown, designed and created by Creative Waves and Men in Sheds was helping children learn more and engage with nature whilst the Council’s summer campaign “The Great Outdoors” had been designed to encourage people out into our wonderful open spaces.