Agenda item

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 District except no questions may be asked on

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 minute; questions will be taken in order of receipt. The deadline for submissions is Tuesday 22 February at 12 noon.

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

The following question had been received in advance of the meeting.

Question submitted by to the Executive Member for Health and Wellbeing

The Adur & Worthing Community Food Network includes a number of organisations who work with and support local people who would otherwise go hungry.

We are very grateful for the time, funds and resources from Adur & Worthing Council, which we could not have done without. We also appreciate their proactive approach and willingness to work with us.

However, demand for food is rising and many of our organisations are now operating at capacity. We are currently supporting over 3,500 of our neighbours with nearly 10,000 food parcels and 1,600 pre-prepared meals every quarter.

We would like cross-party support to work on a long-term, community-led action plan to address the causes of and the solutions to food insecurity, alongside food acquisition and distribution so that we can better support our community.

We would ask that the Council: 

Confirms its cross-party, continued support, both practical and financial, for the Community Food Network.

Further we ask for a cross-party financial commitment to fully fund a community-directed long-term Food Action plan that will address both the causes of, and the solutions to, food insecurity in our community.

Response:

The Executive Member responded that the Councils’ had been working in partnership with the food groups since April 2020, during the first national lockdown to share information and resources, with the Councils providing significant emergency resources, including money, space, and assistance to ensure those in need, received food and other help.

The Councils continued to play a key role with the AW Food Network to help and enable this group with its ambitions, focusing on how partners could address food needs now, supporting groups with Covid funding resources and officer time.  The Council had also been working alongside other partners and many of its generous businesses and volunteers who had continued to help and support people, with food, financial contributions, skills and volunteering hours.

The approach needed to be more than alleviating the immediate need for food, connecting to the wider support and advice available to help and enable people to manage their situation: their money, housing, benefits entitlement, access to employment etc. The Councils had directed £195,000 of the COMF funding directly to food groups (Contain Outbreak Management Fund) to address food and these broader issues over the last year. The Councils had also used and mobilised resources to help ensure early help and prevention work was provided, through the Proactive project, employment coaches, money advice, temporary housing, and street outreach.

The Councils were keen to work on a more long term approach with food partners to tackle the long-term drivers of food need and insecurity and to support more sustainable food supply issues that helped share food resources and tackle food waste in ways that address food insecurity in its community.

The Councils’ fully recognised and supported the need to work cross party and as part of a coalition of community-directed, multi-agency partners.   Part of this was about building a much better and informed position around food need and supply to inform the direction of this work and ensure any short term resources the Council had provided the best means of helping local residents and communities. 

Question submitted - to the Executive Member for the Environment

The resident was not present at the meeting to ask the question