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Agenda and minutes
Venue: Council Chamber, Muriel Matters House, Breeds Place, Hastings, East Sussex, TN34 3UY
Contact: Democratic Services on 01424 451484 email: democraticservices@hastings.gov.uk
Items No. Item Apologies for Absence
Minutes:
Apologies for absence were noted for Councillor Roberts. Apologies for lateness noted for Councillors Forward and Louise.
To approve as a correct record the minutes of the last meeting held on 15 May 2019 PDF 148 KB
Minutes:
RESOLVEDthat the minutes of the Full Council meeting held on 15th May 2019 be approved and signed by the Mayor as a correct record of the proceedings.
Declarations of Interest
Minutes:
Councillor
Committee
Minute
Interest
Cox
Cabinet – 8th July 2019
184 – Lower Tier Residential Development
Personal – Chair of Coombe Valley CIC
Announcements from the Mayor and Leader
Minutes:
The Mayor led a minute’s silence to mark the death of Sir Kenneth Warren, Member of Parliament for Hastings 1970 – 1983 and Hastings & Rye 1983 – 1992.
Following the closure of the University of Brighton Hastings Campus the Leader of the Council thanked campus staff for their work and the opportunities the campus has brought to people in Hastings.
Questions (if any) from: PDF 215 KB
a) Members of the public under Rule 11
b) Councillors under Rule 12
Minutes:
75.1 Members of the public under rule 11
A written question was received from Ms Barbara Lowe asking if Hastings Borough Council had a 5G strategy. Councillor Chowney provided a written response to the question. Copies of the question and response were circulated to Councillors and members of the public.
Ms Lowe asked a supplementary question inquiring when Hastings Borough Council anticipates rolling out 5G in the borough and whether there been approaches by any telecoms company or any other authorities about 5G rollout.
Councillor Chowney responded that there hasn’t been any approach to the council regarding 5G rollout and the council wouldn’t be involved in the rollout as the telecommunications network is privatised. Hastings doesn’t appear to be one of the locations where 5G is going to be introduced. The council will have a peripheral role in assessing any planning applications relating to 5G rollout.
A written question was received from Ms Liz Bygrave regarding the respective roles and responsibilities of Hasting Borough Council and East Sussex County Council in dealing with planning applications for 5G small cell antennae. Councillor Chowney provided a written response to the question. Copies of the question and response were circulated to Councillors and members of the public.
In a supplementary question Ms Bygrave asked if the council knows whether the LED lampposts already rolled out in the borough are 5G enabled.
Councillor Chowney confirmed that as East Sussex County Council is responsible for street lighting he is unable to provide an answer.
A written question was received from Mr Welch regarding the criteria Hastings Borough Council will use to evaluate planning applications for 5G small cell antennae. Councillor Chowney provided a written response to the question. Copies of the question and response were circulated to Councillors and members of the public.
In a supplementary question Mr Welch asked if the Leader of the Council could confirm that planning permission would still be required if 5G antennae were placed on street furniture.
Councillor Chowney said he would provide a written response.
A written question was received from Ms McCleary regarding income generation in relation to 5G small cell antennae. Councillor Chowney provided a written response to the question. Copies of the question and response were circulated to Councillors and members of the public.
Ms McCleary did not ask a supplementary question.
A written question was received from Mr Joel Brook regarding the development of a 5G strategy. Councillor Chowney provided a written response to the question. Copies of the question and response were circulated to Councillors and members of the public.
Mr Brook did not ask a supplementary question.
A written question was received from Mr Nigel Farrow regarding the energy consumption of 5G technologies. Councillor Chowney provided a written response to the question. Copies of the question and response were circulated to Councillors and members of the public.
Mr Farrow asked a supplementary question. Noting that Glastonbury and Frome councils are funding research into the environmental impact of 5G Mr Farrow asked Councillor ... view the full minutes text for item 75.
Motion (Rule 14)
Minutes:
Councillor Batsford proposed a motion, as set out in the agenda, which was seconded by Councillor O’Callaghan.
Councillor Patmore proposed the following amendment to the motion:
Add at the end ‘3. Calls for Section 8 of the Housing Act 1988 to be reviewed and adapted to help those good landlords against rogue tenants.’
Councillor Batsford accepted the proposed amendment. The motion as amended became the substantive motion debated by Councillors.
RESOLVED (unanimously) that the Council do accept the motion as set out below:
Over the last four years, Hastings has seen a huge rise in the numbers of households threatened with homelessness through the increased use of ‘No-Fault Section 21 Notices’ of the 1988 Housing Act, which allows landlords to carry out 'no fault' evictions.
Over 27% of all accepted homelessness applications in Hastings now result from ‘No-Fault Section 21 Notices’ evictions.
This widespread use of ‘No-Fault Section 21 Notices’ results in insecurity for private tenants and disruption to family life, as well as affecting job security, educational performance in children, and mental health, with families continuously under the threat of potential eviction proceedings.
In Hastings, which has the largest proportion of private rented housing in the south east, it also creates instability in local communities, with transient populations who are never able to settle.
There is not only a personal cost for Hastings but a financial one as well. Temporary accommodation for those who are accepted as homeless now costs the council over £1m.
Abolishing ‘No-Fault Section 21 Notices’ would provide increased security for tenants, as well as reducing the homelessness burden on local authorities, particularly if coupled with the government's proposals to extend the minimum period for shorthold tenancies from six months to three years.
This Council:
1. Calls for the end of the use of ‘No-Fault Section 21 Notices’ evictions.
2. Instructs the Leader of Hastings Council to write on behalf of the council to the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, asking him to repeal ‘No-Fault Section 21 Notices’ of the Housing Act 1988 and to speedily implement their proposals for three year fixed term tenancies.
3. Calls for Section 8 of the Housing Act 1988 to be reviewed and adapted to help those good landlords against rogue tenants.
Motion (Rule 14)
Minutes:
Councillor Chowney proposed a motion, as set out in the agenda, which was seconded by Councillor Berelson.
Councillors debated the motion.
RESOLVED (by 23 for, to 8 against) that the Council do accept the motion as set out below:
Since 2002 people seeking asylum have only been able to apply for the right to work after they have been waiting for a decision on their asylum claim for over a year. Even then they can only be employed into one of the narrow, highly-skilled professions included on the Government’s Shortage Occupation List.
People seeking asylum are left to live on as little as £5.39 per day, struggling to support themselves and their families, and left vulnerable to destitution, isolation, and exploitation.
The potential economic gain for the UK economy of allowing people seeking asylum to work is estimated to be £42.4million via increased taxable income and reduced payments of accommodation / subsistence support.
71% of people polled agreed with the statement: “when people come to the UK seeking asylum it is important they integrate, learn English and get to know people. It would help integration if asylum-seekers were allowed to work if their claim takes more than six months to process”.
In Hastings, there are up to 120 people seeking asylum in receipt of Section 95 support.
We believe that:
(i) people seeking asylum want to be able to work so that they can use their skills and make the most of their potential, integrate into their communities, and provide for themselves and their families;
(ii) restrictions on the right to work can lead to extremely poor mental health outcomes, and a waste of potentially invaluable talents and skills both for the economy of Hastings, Rye, East Sussex and the UK;
(iii) allowing people seeking asylum the right to work would therefore lead to positive outcomes for those seeking asylum in Hastings and for the local and national economy.
This council:
(i) Agree to join the Lift the Ban Coalition, which is campaigning to restore the right to work for everyone waiting for more than 6 months for a decision on their asylum claim.
(ii) Call on East Sussex County Council to also join the Lift the Ban Coalition as above.
(iii) Call on the UK Government to give people seeking asylum the right to work unconstrained by the shortage occupation list after they have waited six months for a decision on their initial asylum claim or further submission.
Motion (Rule 14)
Minutes:
Councillor Rankin proposed a motion, as set out in the agenda, which was seconded by Councillor Beaver.
Councillor Chowney proposed the following amendments:
Insert at the beginning ‘As well as maximising our opportunities for sustainable energy generation’
Remove ‘or managed hay meadows’
Add ‘seeking funding to’ before ‘plant trees to increase’
Councillor Rankin accepted the proposed amendment. The motion as amended became the substantive motion debated by Councillors.
RESOLVED (unanimously) that the Council do accept the motion as set out below:
As well as maximising our opportunities for sustainable energy generation HBC will consider the carbon reducing impact of planting trees on council land and where appropriate seek funding to plant trees to increase carbon sequestration as set out in The Royal Society Greenhouse Gas Removal report of October 2018. We call on ESCC to implement this policy on a wider scale.
Motion (Rule 14)
Minutes:
Councillor Barnett proposed a motion, as set out in the resolution below, which was seconded by Councillor Charman.
Councillors debated the motion.
RESOLVED (unanimously) that the Council do accept the motion as set out below:
Recent evidence shows that poverty in Hastings has worsened significantly in the last few years. More adults live in poverty, more children live in poverty, and those that do so are likely to die even sooner, at all age groups. Especially shocking is that infant mortality has increased for the first time in 60 years, so poorer parents are now more likely to see their new baby die before that baby is one year old.
For those in poverty, the early role out of Universal Credit has led to further disadvantage, with many denied previous benefits or forced to abandon training and higher education. The recent United Nations report concludes that austerity policies have clearly contributed to this growth in poverty and deprivation.
Demand for temporary accommodation has increased dramatically as housing becomes increasingly unaffordable.
The Child Poverty rate for Hastings is now 38%, by far the highest in the South East.
Many children are not attending school regularly, and are increasingly obese by the age of 11.
The increasing attractiveness of Hastings as a place to move to, with a buoyant creative economy, cuts little ice with those who see their standard of living falling further and further behind the better off.
Rather, they see many support services failing to provide adequate support, with schools, GP's and other health services, voluntary sector groups and the local authorities all struggling with increased demand and reduced budgets.
This council is determined to address poverty in whatever ways are possible, and agrees to:
• Press government for an end to short term funding through competitive grants (ie Homelessness provision) and other initiatives, such as Hastings Opportunity Area, and a return to adequate longterm support based on local needs.
• Ask the Overview and Scrutiny Committee to consider the impact of the anti-poverty strategy 2016-21 and for it to undertake to monitor key indicators of poverty on a regular basis.
• Call for a community conference to consider how best to tackle poverty in the next anti-poverty strategy, and to consider making this strategy a longer term (10 year) one to encourage partners to plan joint action more strategically.
• The council is already committed to fund and support voluntary sector advice and support agencies (HARC, CAB and Credit Union) for 2020/21, but we'll do all we can to protect funding to commission effective advice and support services in future years.
• Sign up to become affiliated to the Child Poverty Action Group.
• Support and encourage others to support the day of action on child poverty in Hastings on August 1st, led by Unite the Community and other local voluntary organisations.
Membership of Committees
To give effect to any request received from a political group for a change in their representation on committee(s).
Minutes:
There were no proposed amendments to the membership of any committees.
Reports of Committees PDF 96 KB
a) To resolve that the public be excluded from the meeting during the discussion of any items considered while the public were excluded by the relevant committee because it is likely that if members of the public were present there would be disclosure to them of exempt information as defined in the respective paragraphs of Schedule 12A to the Local Government Act 1972 referred to in the minutes of the relevant committee.
b) To receive and consider the recommendations and any decisions of the following committees.
(Table Goes Here)
Notes:1. The Mayor will call over the minutes and members will rise and indicate those items which they wish to have discussed.
2. No discussion shall take place at this stage upon part II minutes covered by the resolution 9a) above. Any such discussion shall be deferred to item X on the agenda.
Additional documents:
- Constitutional Report Cabinet 8th July 2019, 08/07/2019 Cabinet , item 81. PDF 115 KB
- Part 2 Constitution - Articles of the Constitution July 2019, 08/07/2019 Cabinet , item 81. PDF 208 KB
- Sex Establishments Policy Review, 08/07/2019 Cabinet , item 81. PDF 136 KB
- App 1 for Sex Establishments Policy Review - Draft Policy, 08/07/2019 Cabinet , item 81. PDF 169 KB
- App 2 for Sex Establishments Policy Review - Castleham, 08/07/2019 Cabinet , item 81. PDF 510 KB
- There are a further 7 documents.View the full list of documents for item 81.
Minutes:
The Mayor having called over the minutes set out in the agenda, the under mentioned minutes were reserved for discussion.
Meeting
Minute
Councillor
Cabinet, 8th July 2019
184 – Lower Tier Residential Development
Beaver
Cabinet, 8th July 2019
185 – Proposed Variation of the Anti Social Behaviour Public Spaces Protection Order
Foster
Cabinet, 8th July 2019
187 – Final Accounts
Lee
Cabinet, 8th July 2019
188 – Corporate Plan Retrospective Report on Performance During 2018/19 and Proposed Performance Indicator Targets for 2019/20.
Lee
Minute 182 of Cabinet on 8th July 2019, Constitution Change July 2019, was a matter on which the Council was required to make a decision. Under rule 13.3, the minutes were approved without being called for discussion.
Minute 183 of Cabinet on 8th July 2019, Sex Establishments Policy Review, was a matter on which the Council was required to make a decision. Under rule 13.3, the minutes were approved without being called for discussion.
Minute 191 of Cabinet on 8th July 2019, Annual Treasury Management Outturn Report 2018/19, was a matter on which the Council was required to make a decision. Under rule 13.3, the minutes were approved without being called for discussion.
Councillors debated minutes 184, 185, 187, 188 and of Cabinet on 8th July 2019. These matters did not require approval of Full Council.
No motions for reference to Overview and Scrutiny Committee or reference back to Cabinet were approved in respect of the items reserved for discussion and they were therefore received.
(The Mayor declared the meeting closed at 9.47pm)
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