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MINUTES OF MEETING OF THE CITY COUNCIL

held at the Council House, Nottingham, on Monday 9 September 2002 at 2.00 pm

ATTENDANCES

üüüü Councillor Wilson Lord Mayor

ü Councillor Afsar ü Councillor Hutchinson Councillor Ahmed ü Councillor Jackson ü Councillor Akhtar ü Councillor Johns ü Councillor Asghar ü Councillor Jones ü Councillor Bell ü Councillor Liversidge ü Councillor Bull ü Councillor Long ü Councillor Campbell ü Councillor Madeley ü Councillor Casson ü Councillor Malcolm Councillor Chapman ü Councillor Markin ü Councillor Charlesworth ü Councillor McNamara ü Councillor Clark ü Councillor Mir ü Councillor Clarke ü Councillor Mittenshaw-Hodge ü Councillor Cobb ü Councillor Mulloy Councillor Collins ü Councillor Parbutt ü Councillor Cowan Councillor Poole Councillor Cresswell ü Councillor Pope ü Councillor Culley ü Councillor Price ü Councillor Dewinton ü Councillor Scott ü Councillor Edwards ü Councillor Spear ü Councillor Gibson ü Councillor Spencer Councillor Greensmith Councillor Stapleton ü Councillor Griggs ü Councillor Taylor ü Councillor Grocock ü Councillor Trimble ü Councillor Hartshorne ü Councillor Unczur ü Councillor Haymes ü Councillor Urquhart ü Councillor Heppell ü Councillor Watson ü Councillor Higgins ü Councillor Wood

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34 MINUTES RESOLVED that the minutes of the last meeting of the City Council held on 15 July 2002 be confirmed and signed by the Lord Mayor.

35 OFFICIAL COMMUNICATION

Former Councillor Tony Robinson

The Chief Executive informed Council with regret of the death of former Councillor Tony Robinson. Tony Robinson was Councillor for Bestwood Park Ward from 7 May 1987 until May 2000. He was the first man to become Sheriff of Nottingham on three occasions, in 1989/90; 1993/94 and in 1997/98. He was also a member of Leisure Services, Planning, Community Development and Transportation Committees and Disabilities Joint Sub Committee. In addition, he was Vice-Chair of Tourism Committee in 1991/92 and Tourism and Public Relations Committee from 1995 to 1997. The Council stood in silence in tribute to the memory of former Councillor Tony Robinson

36 QUESTIONS

Standard of Housing Repairs Councillor Long asked the following question of the Portfolio Holder for Housing and Social Services:- Is the Portfolio Holder for Housing and Social Services satisfied with

the standard of housing repairs provided by this Council? Councillor Trimble replied as follows:- Thank you Lord Mayor, can I thank Councillor Long for his question. Members of all parties took part in the Housing Repairs Jury set up

after the last local elections. This carried on into the Best Value Review on repairs. It is worth noting that the new Call Centre came about through the Repairs Jury. As for satisfaction with the standard of repairs, I am satisfied when a repair is done well and the tenant is happy with it. I am dissatisfied when a repair is not

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done well and a tenant is unhappy with it. Overall my housing repairs casework has substantially reduced since I first became elected to this Council. MPs and other councillors confirm that to me.

I have been given the following performance figures by Nottingham

City Building Works: appointments kept 98.5%. Within this figure are tenants that are out when the operative calls. When these are taken out of the equation the figure is 92.7%. Since April, 95.8% of emergency orders have been completed on time. Non urgent work has an average time of thirteen days compared with a target of twenty-three days. A customer satisfaction check of 10-15% of all works orders is undertaken each week, with 95.7% satisfied with the quality of the work completed.

Members will be aware that housing repairs has just been reviewed

by a Best Value Inspection Team. For those Members not yet aware, I can announce it received a one star fair rating. The Inspection Team’s recommendations will be included in the improvement plan and I intend to work with the Director of Housing to ensure the Inspector’s recommendations are acted upon to improve the service to tenants.

Graffiti Removal Policy Councillor Akhtar asked the following question of the Portfolio Holder for Housing and Social Services:- Since the Housing Department have recently refused to fund graffiti

removal in a number of locations in the New Meadows on housing land, what is the policy on removing such graffiti in Nottingham - and if it is the policy that it be removed, why is the policy different for Bridge Ward?

Councillor Trimble replied as follows:- Thank you Lord Mayor and can I thank Councillor Akhtar for her

question. It is not correct to say that there is a different policy for Bridge

Ward. If graffiti is offensive or racist, the policy is for Contract Works to remove it within 24 hours. Non offensive graffiti is the

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responsibility of individual departments. Within the Housing Department the removal of graffiti was the responsibility of Area Caretakers. Members will be aware that a recent reorganisation deleted the post of Area Caretakers and a significantly larger team of Mobile Caretakers replaced them. Mobile Caretakers are based in each District Office, including the Meadows Office in the heart of Bridge Ward. A significant number of Mobile Caretakers have only just been recently appointed. They are undergoing training in a number of areas. Until training is completed new employees cannot undertake graffiti removal under Health and Safety regulations.

Housing Allocations Policy Suspension Councillor Mulloy asked the following question of the Portfolio Holder for Housing and Social Services:- What are the circumstances that led to the new Housing Allocations

policy (introduced on 22 July 2002) being suspended from approximately 1 August 2002 and has the suspension been lifted and, if not, when will it be lifted?

Councillor Trimble replied as follows:- Thank you Lord Mayor and can I thank Councillor Mulloy for his

question. A new computer system is being installed within the Housing

Department, with the allocations module going live on 22 July 2002. During the run up period, the system was tested and proved to be working. However, during the first week after going live, technical problems developed around the shortlisting process. This is the process that matches applicants to properties by size, type and area. It was discovered that the system associated with the shortlisting process had been deleted. Although this was rebuilt during the week commencing 22 July, and shortlists were able to be generated, there were some concerns over the accuracy of the lists generated. Since that time this problem has recurred a number of times, with a ‘bug’ having been identified as one of the critical reports that generates the shortlist for allocation purposes. To date these problems have not been satisfactorily resolved and action is being taken to remedy this as a matter of urgency. During this

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period allocations have been made to families living in temporary accommodation.

At the beginning of August there were 450 cases residing in

temporary accommodation. Where the City Council has accepted that these people are homeless and in priority need, under homelessness legislation, we have a responsibility to rehouse them. The opportunity to make allocations to these people has been successful.

However the area of concern remains in respect of the IT system.

The company installing this, along with the City Council’s own IT Section, are being asked to resolve this problem as soon as possible. I understand that work has been carried out this weekend and that the system will be tested again today.

Unfit Properties Councillor Markin asked the following question of the Portfolio Holder for Housing and Social Services:- Can the Portfolio Holder for Housing and Social Services explain

how, after 20 years almost unbroken Labour domination, Nottingham City Council has 3,042 homes unfit for habitation?

Councillor Trimble replied as follows:- Thank you Lord Mayor and can I thank Councillor Markin for his

question. Criteria 1 of the Decent Homes Standards requires us to include

whether or not a property fails the current fitness standard. The survey collected sufficient data to allow us to statistically forecast the number of properties that can be regarded as unfit. The survey was a 10% sample, therefore the figure 3,042 is indicative. However, statistically the survey should be regarded as accurate.

The main areas of unfitness are failure with food preparation and

cooking facilities (40%). This is mainly due to the fact that we have kitchen layouts that have been the same since the properties were built. A kitchen can be regarded as unfit if it lacks sufficient worktops to allow food to be prepared and it should have a worktop

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next to the cooker, for example. A minimum kitchen layout alteration will resolve this and bring the properties out of unfitness. As we have older properties that were built without or inadequate damp courses, this accounts for 30%. We continue to replace and provide new damp proof courses, but this process is ongoing and, again inserting an effective damp proof course, coupled with other improvements, will bring the property back into a fit standard.

Keeping properties free from disrepair. The purpose of our stock

condition survey is to allow us to plan maintenance to a property. This process will reduce properties falling into disrepair where a tenant either does not know a repair is required or does not report a repair to us.

We have areas in the City where structural stability is a problem.

These properties are known and are being resolved. However, structural work often requires long periods of monitoring and other investigative work before a clear scheme of work can be put forward to ensure the problem has been rectified, providing a permanent resolution.

The Decent Homes Standards sets new standards for the condition

of Council housing For the first time Local Authorities are making formal assessments on their stock condition and, like Nottingham, finding that some of their stock is technically unfit. However, as I have outlined earlier, some elements of disrepair that contribute to that unfitness are relatively minor. In Nottingham it is 10.6% of the stock. I do have some other figures, in Derby, which is close to Nottingham, it is 13%, Stoke 46%, Liverpool 40% and Salford 66%. Our aim is to target our finances to the properties we need to bring up to the Decent Home Standard by 2010 as well as providing a safe, clean and healthy environment to maintain customer demand for our stock.

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Nottinghamshire and City of Nottingham Fire Authority

Leen Valley and Longdale Estates flats

Councillor Hutchinson asked the following question of the Lead Member for the Nottinghamshire and City of Nottingham Fire Authority:- Following yet another fire in the wooden flats on the Leen Valley

and Longdale Estates, does the Fire Authority remain confident that the existing fire safety provisions are adequate to protect the upper floor residents who include the elderly and other vulnerable residents?

Councillor Scott replied as follows:- Thank you my Lord Mayor and can I thank Councillor Hutchinson

for his question. I have spoken to the Fire Brigade Officers who have assured me

that the properties on Belconnen Road and Cairns Close, Frobisher Gardens, Wilmington Gardens were built to the standards of the day.

In the report, which was written after the fire took place at

Belconnen Gardens in August, no mention was made by the Chief Officer of any need for further or structural work for fire precautions. This particular malicious fire spread quickly, very rapidly because of the accelerant that was used. There have been some incidents where some bins have been set on fire previously, the flames of which reached the cladding and set it alight and, following discussions with the Fire Officer, these bins have now been chained and are chained clear of the properties. Refurbishment of the cladding is to commence next January when the flats are to be re-clad in fire resistant panels made of glass fibre, a proposal which was discussed and agreed with the Fire Officer. To the best of my knowledge, at the moment, they are all quite confident that the existing fire safety provisions are adequate. They are aware of some vulnerable people and they have contacted Social Services to ensure they have sufficient precautions in their own house, that they have been given further advice and that the routines have been described yet again.

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Leisure Centres and Swimming Pools Councillor Culley asked the following question of the Leader of the Council:- How many Council leisure centres and swimming pools were open

to the public on August Bank Holiday Monday this year? Councillor Parbutt replied as follows:- Thank you my Lord Mayor and I thank Councillor Culley for her

question. All leisure centres and swimming pools in the City were closed on

August Bank Holiday, with the exception of the Tennis Centre which usually opens on Bank Holidays due to the number of tournaments held during the year. Other leisure run facilities such as the Castle, Newstead, Wollaton, the Arboretum were open as normal and the Castle grounds were hosting the sixth Shakespeare Festival.

The majority of leisure centres have not opened on Bank Holidays

in the City for roughly the past fifteen years due to low demand. After this issue was raised previously in Council, Councillor Unczur, as the then Chair of Leisure Committee, trialled opening on Bank Holidays in 1998 and, despite wide advertising in the local press, there was very little demand.

I think we are always prepared to look at the flexibility around when

we open and how we open and where we are meeting customer needs within the City. But, I would have to say that we would need to have some demonstration in any future move to open on Bank Holidays to show that there was some demand, both through any consultations that we take and also through customers actually having taken up the service at the time.

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Smartcards Councillor Cobb asked the following question of the Deputy Leader of the Council:- Is the Deputy Leader aware that, as a result of the introduction of

smartcards for concessionary passes, many elderly and disabled people are greatly inconvenienced now that they can renew them only at the NCT travel centre on South Parade and not at Post Offices as previously?

Councillor Liversidge replied as follows:- Thank you Lord Mayor. The transfer of around 30,000 pass holders to smartcards is being

spread over a two year period and there are 65 Post Offices in the City. It is not financially or technically practical to issue smartcards from these outlets. The cards are therefore being issued from the NCT Travel Centre in the Old Market Square. Each person is given a choice of dates to come into the Travel Centre, close to when their existing pass is due to expire. Days and times are designed to avoid NCT normal peaks and to fall well within the concessionary travel times. Prior to undertaking this exercise, we surveyed a sample of 100 holders of all ages and found that 97 had been into the City Centre in the previous month. Two of the remainder had been on holiday.

Staffing at the Travel Centre has been increased to deal with the

smartcard issue. A dedicated front-of-house member of staff shows each person how to use their new pass. A full instruction leaflet is also distributed. The process has been taking place since 1 July and the situation has been closely monitored to make sure there are no prolonged queues. The transfer is going smoothly and we have received very few complaints. Those who are unable to make an appointment are given another time over the ‘phone. Those who are unable to get to the Travel Centre for mobility reasons are asked to send in a photo that will be digitally scanned in and a smartcard returned by post. (This is fairly expensive and we cannot offer it to all holders).

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We are obviously anxious to minimise the need for renewals at the Travel Centre in subsequent years. Around 55% of holders have so far taken up the new three-year pass option. All holders will be sent renewal forms well in advance of their renewal date and, once a pass is issued, renewals can be made remotely by post, direct debit or even the internet. Disabled pass holders are not being transferred over at this point in time. Their applications and renewals will continue to be administered by post for the time being. Therefore I am not aware of the problems.

World Summit on Sustainable Development Councillor Edwards asked the following question of the Leader of the Council:- How did the City Council promote debate on sustainable

development in the run-up to the “World Summit on Sustainable Development” and what early views can be determined on the likely implications for the City Council and the City of Nottingham of any agreements made at the Summit?

Councillor Parbutt replied as follows:- Thank you Lord Mayor, I thank Councillor Edwards for his question. The City Council, in conjunction with the Green Partnership,

Nottinghamshire County Council, Nottinghamshire Agenda 21 Forum and the Nottingham United Nations Association and others, staged a local earth summit event entitled ‘Ten Years On’ at the Broadway Cinema on Saturday 13 July, which was attended by 170 people. Some of the participants of the event were also delegates to Johannesburg.

The aim of the high profile event was to discuss the progress that

has been made on sustainable development locally since the 1992 Rio Earth Summit and to identify the challenges of the next ten years. The event also aimed to demonstrate community action and a number of tours of local sustainability projects in Nottingham also took place. The day concluded with an evening event at County Hall to celebrate all that has been achieved since 1992.

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To help engage a wider audience in the sustainable development debate, Nottingham City Council and its partners also launched a 3 edition pilot run of a new high quality, free sustainability magazine called ‘Living for Tomorrow’, which we did in March of this year. This was distributed to schools, housing offices, libraries, tenants’ and residents’ groups, partnerships in the City, health centres, community centres and even some supermarkets. The magazine was designed to promote the ‘Ten Years On’ event and also to present sustainable development in an accessible manner to the general public, through the stories and experiences of local residents, community groups and businesses. The magazine has generated a lot of interest, feedback and debate about sustainable development in Nottingham. Fifty copies of the magazine were also sent to Johannesburg to demonstrate how sustainable development is being acted on at the local level in one part of the world here in the City.

The City Council and its partners also created other ways for local

people to join the debate, including a competition called ‘Changes and Challenges’ (which was won by children from the Early Start Nursery in Radford), an art exhibition called ‘Blueprint’ at Turtle Arts Gallery on Mansfield Road and a ‘Ten Years On’ website with a live discussion forum (which included a link with our twin City of Minsk).

As to the World Summit itself, this was the most important

sustainable development event for a decade and the biggest conference ever staged in the world with an estimated 60,000 delegates. It has been heavily criticised by many observers, but the event was nevertheless a milestone in the process of creating a better world for both our generation and future generations. Agreements were reached with targets on sanitation - giving access to clean water and sanitation for a billion more people by 2015; on the restoration of fish stocks in the oceans and there was some agreement on minimising the use of chemicals and protection for biodiversity.

Probably the most disappointing outcome was a failure to reach

agreement on global targets for renewable energy, though thirty countries, including the UK and all other EU states, have subsequently set their own agreement. The implications for Nottingham and the City Council from these headline agreements are not yet clear. However, the Summit did include a four day

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parallel session for local government, which was attended by 700 delegates from around the world.

The Local Government Session agreed upon a collective statement

‘The Johannesburg Call’ and a proposal for ‘Local Action 21’ to build upon the success of the Local Agenda 21 initiative. This has now been taken up by over 6,400 local authorities in 113 countries. This proposes a new mandate for local government to reinforce its commitment to Local Agenda 21 and its implementation to the next decade of Local Action 21.

The main implication for Nottingham as a result of the agreement

appears to be that sustainable development will need to become much more of an everyday reality for us all and less perhaps of merely an aspiration. This concurs with the main finding of those groups and individuals represented at the ‘Ten Years On’ event in July. The last ten years have produced many good ideas and demonstration projects to move forward, but sustainable development is still seen by many largely outside of the mainstream.

The main implication for us therefore, is probably that a renewed

commitment to sustainability is needed and that we need to ensure that we integrate the concept into the Council’s activities and spread existing good practice throughout the organisation.

Public Transport Councillor Bull asked the following question of the Portfolio Holder for Environment, Planning and Transportation:- What further actions are planned to encourage people to use public

transport more rather than using their car on Nottingham’s busy roads?

Councillor Clark replied as follows:- Thank you Lord Mayor and I thank Councillor Bull for her question. In a City where, on average, there is one car for every two adults,

that does clearly mean that most people are reliant on other means than cars, at least some of the time. I am afraid I am going to read

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out quite a long list and I haven’t, in drawing up this list, tried to distinguish between those measures which benefit only public transport and those measures which benefit public transport, the private motorist and freight. The NET Line One is on budget and on schedule for its opening in November 2003, so we have a new major public transportation scheme coming on line in just over a year’s time.

A comprehensive study is being undertaken of the requirements for

further bus lanes and for junction priority for buses, which should speed up substantially journeys across the whole City by buses; and some studies suggest that speeding up bus priority does not actually have a negative effect on cars and sometimes even has a positive effect. There is detailed research going on with a trial this year on real time information at all main bus stops rather like the London Underground system, with a plan for a comprehensive installation in 2003. There is, as has already been discussed in some respects, the introduction of smartcard ticketing in the City which will, amongst other things, allow for easy interchange between buses and the NET. There is a detailed worked up proposal on the station masterplan to upgrade the Midland station, £30m of that being the capital works to do directly with transport, another £120m being the peripheral and additional inward investment that it could bring. And that scheme would bring capacity for extra train services and would allow seamless interchange between train, tram and buses. Similarly, the scheme at the Broad Marsh Centre, as and when that takes off, will also have a good interchange as part of it. There are additional trains now running on the Robin Hood Line, including a Sunday service, and that’s building on what’s already one of the most successful new local rail services in the UK, currently carrying 3,200 passengers a day.

We are currently actively pursuing with the Strategic Rail Authority

the vision, along with the County Council, for a South Notts Rail Network. There will be, in the coming few years, an increase in Park and Ride, particularly along the NET routes. There will, of course, be an introduction of workplace parking levy to pay for many of these improvements. We are looking with employers especially, at the provision of improved bus services, especially at anti-social hours. Consultation is well advanced now on NET Lines 2 and 3 which will bring in Clifton, provide extra Park and Ride and

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link the QMC, University, Beeston and Chilwell. Of course we are currently seeking how we would pay the 25% local contribution to that cost.

We work with employers through the Greater Nottingham Transport

Partnership and the Commuter Planners Club in order to help access to work and we are working on what’s called the Hearts and Minds campaign with the Big Wheel campaign in the City, provided by additional money given by the Government in recognition of our broad range of schemes. In addition, although this is a figure for the City and the County together, since we co-operate with the County on a joint Local Transport Plan, a further sixty-one new easy access buses with low emission levels have been introduced in the last year, bringing the total to 446. So we are an area with 59% of the local bus fleet easy access, low emission, which is good. The number of improved bus stops has been increased to 1,091 City and County-wide and that includes those that are raised for easy access to buses.

In the City Centre, works have been completed on a Clear Zone,

significantly improving the City Centre environment, improving accessibility for pedestrians and disabled people and reducing traffic and vehicle emissions. The southern relief road has been completed to facilitate traffic reduction and provide space for significant development in the City Centre. Works have been completed in the first phase of the National Trail Blazer Scheme at Nobel Road in Clifton and we are currently looking at Kennington Road as well for Home Zone. Works have been done to improve safer routes to school with eighteen different schools. Improvements have been made to pedestrian facilities, including at Cinderhill, Red Lion Bend and 280 dropped crossings across the City and County. Again, the City and County figure, six new locations for cycle facilities, fifty new cycle stands provided. As a consequence of all this, the number of road casualties was reduced compared to the Government base line, the 94-98 average, especially within the City where the continued success of the digital speed camera scheme contributed to the reduction, as well as the other traffic calming measures.

During this last year we also designated three air quality

management areas. In fact, the only ones in the whole County are within the City, around the City Hospital, around the City Centre and

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around the Queen’s Medical Centre, for the different kinds of emissions that you have there, caused for different reasons. During the last year also, we have introduced on-street parking charges to the City Centre and they free up spaces for shoppers and visitors. We are also planning, not many weeks away now, the introduction of the City Council Parking Enforcement which will make a major difference for all road users.

There has been, in the last year, a major increase in the number of

major highway maintenance schemes, rectifying the poor state of many roads. The increased Government funding, approximately ten times what it was four years ago, means that, rather than merely resurfacing, which had been the only option dictated by a shortage of funds, we are actually doing full reconstructions and an expanded programme of footway repairs from last year and consultation is currently taking place on the New Year’s set of footway repairs.

Plans are in place for a new City Centre major scheme and for a

ring road major scheme in its early days of preparation. The consequences of this and of other changes in people’s behaviour is that road traffic, which had grown by 50% between 1980 and 1997, has not grown since 1997. We seem to have steadied out the amount of road traffic. That has been done against a local economy that has performed particularly strongly, registered unemployment in the City having been reduced by 7.2% in the last year compared with the average national reduction of 2.4%. So, we have reduced unemployment at three times the rate of the rest of the country, yet at the same time we have kept road traffic steady. And finally, it is worth noting that bus usage is up strongly, by 3% in 2000 and a further 2.6% in 2001. There were 3.8m extra bus passengers in 2001 compared with 1999. An average increase of 11,000 per day.

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Inward Investment Councillor Pope asked the following question of the Leader of the Council:- What contribution does Education make to inward investment in

Nottingham? Councillor Parbutt replied as follows:- Thank you Lord Mayor and I thank Councillor Pope for her question. Education of the workforce is vital to the success of Inward

Investment, as skill shortage is one of the biggest constraints that we face. Improving educational standards and skills of local people is the City Council’s top priority. The qualifications of the resident workforce in Nottingham are higher than the rest of the East Midlands and on a par with national levels. For instance, 41.2% of people in the City of working age are educated to NVQ Level 3 or equivalent, which means people with at least two A levels, compared to only 37% in the East Midlands as a whole, and 23.2% of people in the City are educated to Degree level and above, compared to 22.4% in the region as a whole.

In recent years many inward investors have been attracted to the

City and the quality of the local labour market has been key to the decision-making process. Patrick Nelson, Head of Communications at Capital One, said that Nottingham beat Cardiff and Cork for their location because it was the right size of City, with the right workforce within a 20 mile radius. In June 2001 computer software specialist, SSS, officially opened its East Midlands regional base in Nottingham. The company was attracted to the area because of its highly skilled and stable workforce. Experian is to build its new office complex, which will eventually accommodate up to 1,500 employees, on the former Royal Ordnance Factory site. This follows an extensive analysis of workforce skills.

The City has an innovative further education sector that is

responsive to the ongoing recruitment needs of employers and local training providers will benefit from over half a million pounds of funding that has been injected into the Nottingham area to meet the increased demand for ready-skilled staff. By the end of 2002, over

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1,000 people will have received accredited training through New College Nottingham and People’s College Nottingham. This will provide them with transferable skills in IT, customer care, and written and oral communications, and the main focus of the Adult Learning Plan for Nottingham is targeting those most hard to reach groups, most disadvantaged and disengaged people. The primary focus of the provision is “first steps” learning and support into further training and education. In this way Nottingham is enabling residents to increase skills and experience levels in order for them to take up opportunities presented by inward investment companies.

Of course, I am sure Members of Council would say that the

educational attainment in our own schools needs to contribute to the sustainability of the educational qualifications held by adults in the City. And we are continuing to see improvement in educational attainment in the City year on year. This year’s GCSE results show a further 2% increase in those achieving five or more A-Cs. At Key Stage 1 - we were the most improved LEA in the country in 2001 and the gap between our performance and the national average is being closed. At Key Stage 2 - the gap to the national average is also closing rapidly, from 18% to just 10% last year.

We would all say that progress to date is not yet good enough and

we need to sustain progress year on year, which is why, as a Council, we have increased spending per pupil by £752 per year, a 36% increase since we have managed the City schools. The Standards Fund expenditure in the City has increased from £1.5m to £25m in the last financial year, thanks mainly, I would suggest, to the Labour Government, and also that we now have a capital programme which was running at just a little over £4m and now runs at over £20m per year. We have a clear plan in place through the EDP to feed all of this investment into continuing improvements in standards across all of our schools and we shall continue to pursue an agenda that does so.

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Blue Bag Recycling Scheme Councillor Haymes asked the following question of the Portfolio Holder for Environment, Planning and Transportation:- How well is the new pilot “blue bag” recycling scheme being

received in Clifton and Sherwood? Councillor Clark replied as follows:- Thank you my Lord Mayor and can I thank Councillor Haymes for

her question. The initial response from the public has been very encouraging.

We have leafleted and distributed blue bags to over 15,000 properties in Clifton, Wilford and Sherwood, with over 30% take up of the scheme, resulting in about four tonnes of papers collected each day. Cheshire Recycling, our contractors, who do similar schemes for about fifteen other local authorities, have confirmed that we have achieved a good response in the early weeks of the scheme, outperforming their expectations.

However, the success of the scheme has not been without some

minor problems, in particular with some streets being missed and some confusion in residents’ minds about their particular collection day and frequency of collection. Some residents did not realise that this was a fortnightly service. This was clear from the leaflet sent to all residents, but as the day of collection was more prominent this seems to have caused some residents, to be confused. Though initially the intention had been to run the scheme in four particular wards, it was decided, particularly for the scheme in the Sherwood area, to align the scheme with refuse collection rounds, which do not entirely respect political wards. Thus, some people who live in the current Sherwood Ward are not in the pilot scheme, and some who do not, are. There has not been any confusion in the operator’s minds, so people only got the leaflet and the first bag if they were supposed to be in the scheme and, did not, if they were not.

In the first two weeks of operation twenty streets were missed out of

a total of five hundred. That is clearly not good enough, but we did not expect it to be perfect from the start. Missed bags should be

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collected on the next day, but the contractor has slipped up in a few cases. These and other operational difficulties are common when introducing a scheme into an area for the first time and our contractor has confirmed that these will be resolved within the coming weeks, once the scheme has become established.

The number of queries and complaints from the public has been

low. On average, fewer than five per collection day and, generally, these complainants have all expressed support for the aims of the scheme. The pilot scheme that has now been launched in Clifton, Wilford and Sherwood is the first stage of a process that will see a paper kerbside collection implemented across the whole of the City within the next two years. We’re using a cheap and cheerful sustainable method of collection, rather than some of the schemes which can be very capital intensive to set up. This is helping to remove waste which otherwise would, in some cases, be landfilled. The paper is being used to produce essentials such as newsprint and computer paper so people can publish articles about how the scheme is going. The public is very clear on wanting such provision. The Landfill Tax has been used to fund the pilot and there is a promise for its extension to the whole City.

One Sherwood resident has also remarked to me how the scheme

avoids the problem of “bring sites” getting overfull at weekends. These are still needed for those paper products which are not part of the “blue bag” scheme and for those who currently live outside the pilot area. One clear saving should be the reduction in travel by car to “bring sites”. This scheme is an essential step in achieving the City’s statutory recycling targets based on Central Government’s definition of recycling, and was recognised as such within the recent Best Value Inspector’s Report for Waste Management.

37 PARLIAMENTARY BOUNDARY CHANGES

This item was withdrawn from the agenda.

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38 APPEALS PANEL WORKING ARRANGEMENTS The report of the Leader (set out on pages 67 and 68) was submitted. RESOLVED on the motion of Councillor Parbutt, seconded by Councillor Clark:- That the total membership of the Appeals Panel be increased to 16

(11:3:2) and that the following additional Members be appointed to the Panel:-

Councillor Griggs Councillor Heppell Councillor Mittenshaw-Hodge Councillor Markin Councillor Trimble One other (to be notified to the Deputy Chief Executive and City Secretary)

39 CAPITAL STRATEGY 2002-2007 AND ASSET

MANAGEMENT PLAN Councillor Hutchinson declared a personal interest in this item as the holder of a relevant investment in the City Council. The report of the Deputy Leader (set out on pages 69-71) was submitted. RESOLVED on the motion of Councillor Liversidge, seconded by Councillor Parbutt:- That the Capital Strategy and Asset Management Plan be

approved.

40 HOUSING INVESTMENT PROGRAMME SUBMISSION 2003/2004 The report of the Portfolio Holder for Housing and Social Services (set out on page 72) was submitted.

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RESOLVED on the motion of Councillor Trimble, seconded by Councillor Bell:- That the Housing Investment Programme submission for 2003/04

be approved.

41 LOCAL LEGISLATION TO REGULATE THE SECOND-HAND

GOODS TRADE The report of the Portfolio Holder for Environment, Planning and Transportation (set out on pages 73-75) was submitted. RESOLVED on the motion of Councillor Clark, seconded by Councillor Scott that:- (1) in the judgement of this Council it is expedient to promote a Bill for

effecting all or some of the objects and purposes mentioned below and that such Bill be accordingly promoted by the Council in the Session of Parliament 2002 to 2003, it being noted that the objects and purposes were to:-

(i) provide for the Council to have power to require second-hand

goods dealers to be registered; (ii) provide for the Council to have power to require occasional

sales and squat trading to be notified to it; (iii) detect and reduce property crime in the City; (2) the Executive Board and the Chief Executive of the Council take all

necessary steps to carry the above resolution into effect and that the corporate seal be affixed to the petition for the Bill and to any other necessary documents.

The above resolution was passed by a majority of the City Council, with 35 votes for and no votes against the resolution.

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42 MOTION IN THE NAME OF COUNCILLOR LIVERSIDGE - LOCAL

GOVERNMENT FINANCE MOVED by Councillor Liversidge, seconded by Councillor Long:- That this Council notes that the Government is currently reviewing

the local government finance system and that the outcome of the review will significantly affect the resources made available to address the many major needs of our local communities.

The Council warmly endorses the arguments set in ‘Prosperity for

All’, the paper prepared by the Special Interest Group of Municipal Authorities outside London.

In particular, it endorses the views of SIGOMA in calling for a fair

deal for the majority of England’s local authorities which allows them to tackle the poverty, deprivation and educational failure which particularly blights authorities outside the ‘golden triangle’ of London and the south east by introducing a fairer Standard Spending Assessment (SSA) system.

Specifically, the Council strongly urges the Government to:-

• properly take account of multiple deprivation by basing its system around the Index of Multiple Deprivation (IMD);

• address the consequences of decline including population decline which exacerbates demands upon resources rather than reducing them;

• create a revised system for distribution of resources that removes the current implausibility of high deprivation and high council tax and ensures the more deprived the area, the more it gets from Central Government;

• ensure the system reflects the ‘actual’ cost of providing services rather than a theoretical cost;

• ensure properties are revalued regularly and the revised values come into use quickly; and

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• provide adequate revenue support for capital investment based upon need.

It further urges local Members of Parliament and other key partners and local organisations to work to effect the principles of this motion.

After discussion the motion was put to the vote and was carried.

43 MOTION IN THE NAME OF COUNCILLOR PRICE - NEW

STARTERS’ AGREEMENT MOVED by Councillor Price, seconded by Councillor Cowan:- That a report be submitted to the Personnel Committee on the New

Starters’ Agreement, and any similar local agreement, under which employees are allowed fewer concessionary days’ leave than are generally given to other employees of the Council, or are required to work on Good Friday or any other concessionary day at plain time rates without time off in lieu, or under which part-time employees are required to work any day Monday to Saturday and up to 37 hours a week at plain time rates, specifying the number of employees on such contracts by department, type of work, and gender and explaining the reasons for such terms of employment.

MOVED by Councillor Campbell by way of an amendment and seconded by Councillor Haymes:- delete remainder of motion after “on” on line 1; add at the end “equal pay and job evaluation” After discussion the amendment was put to the vote and carried. The motion, as amended, was then put to the vote and was carried and the Council resolved as follows:- That a report be submitted to the Personnel Committee on equal

pay and job evaluation

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44 MOTION IN THE NAME OF COUNCILLOR CULLEY - BUILDING

REGULATIONS - EXTENSION OF PART M Councillor Culley declared a personal interest in this item as her husband is an architect. Councillor Clarke declared a personal interest in this item as he has a physical disability. MOVED by Councillor Culley, seconded by Councillor Cowan:- That the Government’s proposals to extend Part M of the Building

Regulations so as to require existing public and commercial buildings, when they are altered or undergo changes of use, to be adapted so as to allow convenient access to parents with children, elderly people and people with disabilities be warmly welcomed, and the Government be advised accordingly and urged that the amended Regulations should apply to listed buildings unless an exemption was obtained from English Heritage, and that the revised Regulations be introduced as soon as possible.

MOVED by Councillor Clark, seconded by Councillor Gibson:- delete all after the third “and”; add at end “the Executive Board

prepare a considered response on behalf of the City Council before the consultation deadline of 29 November”.

The amendment was put to the vote and was carried. The motion, as amended, was then put to the vote and was carried and the Council resolved as follows:- That the Government’s proposals to extend Part M of the Building

Regulations so as to require existing public and commercial buildings, when they are altered or undergo changes of use, to be adapted so as to allow convenient access to parents with children, elderly parents and people with disabilities be warmly welcomed, and the Executive Board prepare a considered response on behalf of the City Council before the consultation deadline of 29 November 2002.

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45 EXECUTIVE BOARD PROCEDURE RULES - AMENDMENT TO

THE SCHEME OF DELEGATION The report of the Acting Chief Executive (set out on pages 76 and 77) was submitted. RESOLVED on the motion of Councillor Parbutt, seconded by Councillor Haymes that the action of the Leader of the Council in amending the scheme of delegation under paragraph 1.4 of the Executive Board Procedure Rules be noted. In accordance with standing order 17, Councillors Clarke, Cobb, Cowan, Culley, Hutchinson, Johns, Price and Spencer requested that their votes against the motion be recorded.

46 BUDGET MEETING RESOLVED that a meeting of the Council be held at 2.00 pm on Monday 3 February 2003 to consider the Budget.

47 ENVIRONMENTAL SERVICES POLICY DEVELOPMENT AND

REVIEW COMMITTEE RESOLVED that Councillor Spencer be appointed to the Environmental Services Policy Development and Review Committee in place of Councillor McNamara (resigned).

The meeting concluded at 8.40 pm