Agenda item

A period of up to one hour is allocated to consider the motions on notice.  This may only be extended with the agreement of the Council.

 

The Motions on Notice will follow in a supplementary pack.

The Chairman reported that four Motions on Notice had been submitted for the meeting, but the Motion relating to the Household Support Fund had been withdrawn and dealt with as a Question, so would no longer be debated.

 

Funding for Canals

 

Councillor P. Whittaker declared an interest in this item a canal ran through land he owned.

 

The Council considered the following Motion on Notice proposed by Councillor D. Nicholl.

 

“Bromsgrove District Council notes with concern planned cuts in government support from 2027 to our local canals.

 

1.     The Canal and River Trust is warning that a reduction in grant funding of over £300 million in real terms from 2027 will threaten the future of the nation’s historic canals, leading to their decline and to the eventual closure of some parts of the network. 

 

2.     This will almost halve the value of public funding for canals in real terms compared with recent years. This comes despite a Government Review, shared with the Canal & River Trust, confirming that its funding is ‘clear value for money’, with canals shown to deliver substantial benefits to the economy, to people and communities, and to nature and biodiversity.  

 

BDC calls on the Leader to write to the Secretary of State for the Environment urging them to put in place a fairer funding settlement to help protect Bromsgrove’s beautiful and historic canals.”

 

Councillor Nicholl referred to the purpose of the motion and that it had attracted cross party support elsewhere.  It related to the care and maintenance of infrastructure which was not only important to the District but of national significance.

 

Councillor D. Hunter seconded the motion.  In doing so he referred to the Trust itself saying that if the proposed cuts were implemented from 2027 it would not be able to maintain the canal network as it did currently. The canals brought benefits to all residents and this had been recognised through finance being provided at a national level.

 

Having sought clarification about the responsibilities of the Canals and Rivers Trust, a potential amendment by a member to include reference to rivers in the motion was withdrawn.

 

The following were the main points made during consideration of the Motion:

·       The Trust had been set up as a charity but had not been able to raise funds successfully and relied on grants to support its work

·       Canals played a role in nature conservation and leisure and helped support the local economy

·       The Trust was also responsible for maintenance of various structures, including reservoirs, of which there were a number in the District, and it was important that it received appropriate funding

·       The Motion did not provide sufficient evidence to support the Leader in writing a letter to the Secretary of State

·       The Canal and River Trust had assets of £1bn.  Of its income in 2022-23 of £225m, 23% was funded by Government grant, and this was due to reduce over time

·       The Trust should ‘sweat its assets’ and become more commercially focused

·       Members appreciated the health and wellbeing opportunities for residents offered by the canals in the District

·       It was difficult to understand the concept of what a ‘fairer funding settlement’ meant and it was unlikely to be productive for the Leader to write to the Secretary of State

·       It was suggested that the status of the Trust was a private sector body, even though it was a registered charity and the requirement to find alternative income sources had been known about for some time

·       The funding change set out in the Motion was three years away and the Government might change; it was suggested that the timing of the Motion was inappropriate

·       Councillors could contact MP’s directly to give their views about the proposals.

 

Having been put to the vote the Motion was declared lost.

 

 

Warm Welcome Spaces

 

The following Notice of Motion had been submitted by Councillor P. McDonald and was proposed in his absence by Councillor E.M.S. Gray:

 

“This Council notes that:

 

Charities have warned that many households are struggling to pay for their energy, with more than one million of Britain’s most vulnerable adults living in “Dickensian” cold and damp homes this winter.

 

Struggling households are facing an assault from all sides. Energy bills are going up just as winter bites hard, Christmas debts have to be paid off and the ongoing wider cost-of-living crisis continues into another.

 

In the face of the cost of living crisis, Bromsgrove District Council will work with faith and community groups to set up Warm Welcome Spaces across the District.”

 

The Motion was seconded by Councillor M. Marshall.     

 

During consideration of the motion the Deputy Leader referred to actions that the Council were taking in supporting those in the community in difficult times.  This included supporting the Bromsgrove Partnership which took a lead role in coordinating appropriate support such as the provision of warm hubs and spaces. 

 

RESOLVED that

 

This Council notes that:

 

Charities have warned that many households are struggling to pay for their energy, with more than one million of Britain’s most vulnerable adults living in “Dickensian” cold and damp homes this winter.

 

Struggling households are facing an assault from all sides. Energy bills are going up just as winter bites hard, Christmas debts have to be paid off and the ongoing wider cost-of-living crisis continues into another.

 

In the face of the cost of living crisis, Bromsgrove District Council will work with faith and community groups to set up Warm Welcome Spaces across the District.

 

 

Preparing For Extreme Heat Events

 

Council considered the following Motion proposed by Councillor M. Marshall:

 

“That the Cabinet be asked to undertake a review of how to take immediate action to educate and equip residents for impending heatwaves made more likely by climate change. This will include awareness campaigns, distributing guidelines and establishing cooling centres to ensure the community’s safety and well-being during future extreme temperature events.” 

 

In proposing the motion, Councillor Marshall referred to increasingly intense weather events, especially a succession of heat events in the summer of 2022.  One of the consequences of high heat was an increase in excess deaths.  He considered that although the Council had taken actions to reduce its carbon emissions it should also prepare for dealing with the impacts of climate change that already existed. He suggested that lessons learned from the 2022 event included the need for better co-ordination between agencies, educating the public about actions they could take and services available. 

 

Councillor E.M.S Gray seconded the motion. In doing so she suggested that the review would check and ensure that those who needed to be aware of the measures in place knew about them, as well as identify potential gaps. 

 

During consideration of the motion the following points were made:

 

·       The Council was a category one responder and had a legal duty to warn and inform the public and businesses before, during and after an emergency

·       The Council was in the Local Resilience Forum, but in most cases, it was not the lead agency.   

·       The organisation Applied Resilience which was supporting the Council with emergency planning and business continuity had discussed establishing a ‘Societal Resilience’ group to look at opportunities to expand community and business resilience.  This included awareness campaigns, community action groups and resilience measures, including extreme temperatures

·       A lot of activity was taking place, so it was not necessary for Cabinet to review the activity, but it was suggested better communication of what was being done was required

·       Parish councils should be involved in any actions to promote the principles of the motion.

 

Councillor P Whittaker proposed an amendment that reference to the Cabinet being asked to undertake a review should be replaced by the Overview and Scrutiny Board.  Councillor J. Robinson seconded the amendment.  The proposer of the motion agreed to include the amendment and it became the substantive motion.

 

RESOLVED that

 

the Overview and Scrutiny Board be asked to undertake a review of how to take immediate action to educate and equip residents for impending heatwaves made more likely by climate change. This will include awareness campaigns, distributing guidelines and establishing cooling centres to ensure the community’s safety and well-being during future extreme temperature events.