Agenda and minutes

The minutes of the meetings held on the 22 May 2019 were confirmed as correct records and signed by the Mayor.

Apologies were received from Councillors Chadwick, McPherson and Page-Croft.

 

The Mayor said that she had had a busy and enjoyable start to the Mayoral year.

 

The Mayor highlighted several events which she had been invited to:

Arbury Carnival, Chesterton Festival, the Dragon Boat Festival & the Abbey People Big Lunch and the Brownies.

 

She was also privileged to be received by Her Majesty The Queen on her recent visit to NIAB Park Farm.

 

Mayor’s Day Out

 

Members were reminded about the annual Mayor’s Day Out to Great Yarmouth which was taking place on Tuesday 13 August.  

 

Antoinette Jackson

 

Members acknowledged and thanked Antoinette Jackson for her 10 years of service as the Council’s Chief Executive. Group Leaders made speeches in recognition of this achievement.   

 

Declarations of Interest

 

Member	Item	Interest
Cantrill	19/34/CNL 19/35/CNLd	Trustee of Wintercomfort
Massey	19/35/CNLc	Fundraiser for EACH
Davey	19/34/CNL, 19/35 CNLa, 19/35/CNLd	Trustee at Centre 33 and partner works for Cambridgeshire County Council
Barnett	19/35/CNLc	Employed by Cambridge University Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust and would not take part in vote.
Hadley	19/34/CNL 19/35/CNLd	Partner works for Willow Walk

 

Members of the public asked a number of questions, as set out below:

 

1.   Our Green party residents survey shows that over 98 % of residents are opposed to the proposed Easy Hotel on Newmarket Road.  There are already two hotels opposite the site and hotel proposed for East Road, Shire Hall and Park Street. Under the Council’s Local Plan this states that there is a shortage of super delux hotels. Residents would prefer a mixed scheme with ground level cafes and shops and new homes above.

 

Councillor Cantrill pointed out that there are 2,500 households in Cambridge on the Housing Register waiting for social housing. Why can’t we build flats on this brownfield site rather than on the St Albans green space in Arbury ? It would be a great site for retirement housing because it’s a location that would allow older people to retain their independence for longer. 

 

The Executive Councillor for Housing responded on behalf of himself and the Executive Councillor for Planning Policy and Open Spaces:

     i.        Ward Councillors had objected to applications at Planning Committees.

    ii.        The Planning Committee’s role was to determine if hotel applications were in accordance with the council’s development plan. Applications would be refused if they did not meet criteria and the Committee would have to give reasons for their decision.

   iii.        The Committee could not make recommendations for alternative site uses and could only review the application in front of them.

  iv.        The City Council planned to develop 500 affordable homes in the city on sites owned by the Council. It did not own the Easy Hotel site.

 

2.   Requested official regular car free days in Cambridge as per other cities. Noted that London was running a car free day on 22 September 2019. Asked if the City Council supported a car free day and called on the City Council to lobby the County Council to make this happen.

 

The Executive Councillor for Climate Change, Environment and City Centre replied:

     i.        She personally supported car free days. She could not speak on behalf of all councillors as they had not had the chance to vote on the idea as a body. The idea had been supported at a Labour Group meeting.

 

Councillors from both Groups in the Chamber indicated their support for car free days at this point.

 

    ii.        A car free day could not occur until the County Council agreed to close roads.

   iii.        She had emailed the Chair of the County Council’s Highway and Community Infrastructure Committee and he had agreed to take the issue to his Group.

  iv.        The City Council measured air quality when Extinction Rebellion protests closed roads and found that air quality improved. Poor air quality led to health concerns.

   v.        The protest did cause problems for staff being able to get into work, although the footfall was up in the Grand Arcade.

  vi.        She re-iterated her support for car free days and hoped to co-ordinate events with them. She offered to liaise with the public speaker after the meeting.

 

The public speaker made the following supplementary points:

i.     Car free days needed better publicity.

ii.    More than one car free day per year should be held.

iii.   Called for a regular weekly car free day.

iv.  Acknowledged access to the city needed to be organised for a car free day for example for people with a disability.

v.   Undertook to go to the County Council and lobby them for a car free day based on support given at tonight’s meeting.

 

3.   Asked the council to release a regular air pollution map to help raise resident’s awareness and noted that this would be particularly helpful for schools trying to get support for reduced drop offs and no idling policies. It would also allow residents to make informed choices about their travel.

 

The Executive Councillor for Climate Change, Environment and City Centre replied:

     i.        The Environment Quality and Growth Team regularly mapped air quality in the city. This was complicated and time consuming work, usually done in response to a specific request eg from Central Government. The results were published a year in arrears.

    ii.        The next map would be completed in summer 2019.

   iii.        Maps could not be produced upon request due to time/cost considerations.

  iv.        Some live data was available on the City Council website.

   v.        Officers were looking at trialling mobile data sensors around the railway bridge. If the trial was successful, it could be rolled out to other areas.

  vi.        Air quality in Cambridge was comparable with other cities. The target was met for the first time in 2018.

 

 

Resolved by (24 votes to 0) to:

 

Approve carry forward requests of £5,256,000 in HRA and General Fund Housing capital resources from 2018/19 to 2019/20 to fund re-phased net capital spending, as detailed in Appendix D of the officer’s report and the associated notes to the appendix.

Resolved by (24 votes to 0) to:

 

     i.        Approve the inclusion of an indicative capital budget for the scheme of £15,964,921 in the Housing Capital Investment Plan, to cover all of the site assembly, construction costs, professional fees and associated other fees to deliver a scheme that meets an identified housing need in Cambridge City.

 

Resolved (unanimously) to:

 

i.             Approve the report which included the Council’s actual Prudential and Treasury Indicators for 2018/19.

 

Resolved by (25 votes to 0) to:

 

i) Carry forward requests totalling £923,000k revenue funding from 2018/19 to 2019/20, as detailed in Appendix C of the officer’s report.

ii) Carry forward requests of £14,539k capital resources from 2018/19 to 2019/20 to fund rephased net capital spending, as detailed in Appendix D of the officer’s report.

1) Councillor Collis to the Executive Councillor for Communities

 

Can the Executive Councillor update us on the progress of the anti-poverty strategy?

 

The Council’s Anti-Poverty Strategy (APS) was introduced in 2014 and the current APS covered the period from April 2017 to March 2020. The APS had just had its annual review and there was a lot of exciting work being done.

 

The strategy underpinned everything that the council did on a day to day basis. For example the community grants programme funded over 100 voluntary and community groups. The groups had to show that they were meeting at least one of the anti-poverty targets to be eligible for the grant funding.

 

Discretionary housing payments had been made to more than 600 households. The Council was well on the way to building 500 council homes.  There were established specific anti-poverty projects for example the Council funded a Financial Inclusion Officer, a Fuel and Water Poverty Officer and a Living Wage Officer. She believed Cambridge City was the only Council in the country to do this. The Council was praised at the living wage award ceremonies where the council won an award.

 

The Council also worked with local churches to provide hundreds of free holiday lunches and worked with Cambridge Sustainable Food to provide cookery advice. The Council provided free and subsidised sport sessions. The Council had also tried to mitigate the impact of the introduction of universal credit by funding a Citizens’ Advice Bureau job.

 

2) Councillor Gehring to the Executive Councillor for Planning Policy and Open Spaces

 

Reducing single use plastics is a key part of all carbon neutrality strategies- does the Executive Councillor agree that it is therefore of vital importance that water fountains are installed and functional in public parks?

 

It was important that the Council focussed on water fountains being installed. There was a successful trial on Parkers Piece with the water fountains. She had worked with Anglia Water to have water banks when there were events taking place and these had been very successful. She was looking at using the Environmental Improvement Programme to look at where water refill points could be located throughout the city and was hopeful to locate some in the city’s parks.

 

3) Councillor Cantrill Executive Councillor for Housing

 

Does the Executive Councillor believe that the city council is doing everything possible to address the issue of rough sleeping in Cambridge?

 

The Council was doing an enormous amount to deal with rough sleeping. Examples included the provision of grants for up to £700,000 for agencies that provided accommodation and welfare services. The Council set aside 40 social tenancies a year to help former rough sleepers to move out of hostels, which in turn created new places for individuals. The Council funded a Street Outreach Team who had a remit to find and assist everyone sleeping rough and the Council made generous provision for the access scheme to help people into private sector tenancies.

 

The Council also provided funding through the Housing Benefit Plus Scheme to help people leaving hostels to afford the cost of renting in Cambridge. This scheme also provided employment support so that when the top up payment stopped the customer could continue to pay the rent in full.

 

The Council had a Town Hall Lettings Scheme, which helped source and manage private sector accommodation for people who would otherwise be homeless. The Single Homeless Service had now helped over 500 people to find a place of their own to get people quickly off the streets in order to stop them developing habits which might make it more difficult for them to be assisted.

 

There were over 500 assisted beds in the city, 300 of which were for people who were homeless. The Council had developed a pocket size guide to help advise people of the services offered within the city.

 

From November to March the Council and other agencies provided extra beds for rough sleepers when the weather turned bad.

 

Street Aid had 6 contactless points where donations could be made; further terminals were planned.

 

4) Councillor Bick to the Executive Councillor for Housing

 

Does he regard the proposed expansion of Housing First as representing an additional option in the mix for helping rough sleepers into mainstream housing - or a replacement for the hostel system?

 

The Housing First model was used in Cambridge and in other cities to support rough sleepers with complex needs, who had a history of repeat homelessness through the hostel and existing support rehousing pathways. Whilst hostels may not be the way forward for some rough sleepers, the council was not against hostels per se and Housing First wasn’t necessarily (in the
Council’s view) a like for like replacement of the hostel system.

 

5) Councillor Price to the Executive Councillor for Housing

 

How much has Cambridge Street Aid raised so far, and how many grants have been distributed?

 

Figures up to April 2019 showed that £57,257.44 had been raised and 179 grants had been given to people on the streets to help turn their life around. The Council was waiting for more recent figures from the Cambridge Community Foundation.

 

6) Councillor Dalzell to the Executive Councillor for Climate Change, Environment and City Centre

 

Does the Council have data regarding the level of recycling at much enjoyed events held on our parks and open spaces this summer compared to previous years?

 

The Events Team did not hold data on levels of recycling because whilst the Events Team organised events, the waste from these events fell under a commercial waste contract. The Council, unlike many other councils, had its own Commercial Waste Team who were available for events, but not all events / organisations used the Council’s Commercial Waste Service. Some events were ones that went all over the country and they had their own commercial waste service contracted.

 

The Commercial Waste Service had some data when they serviced events, for example the half marathon had a recycling rate of 82% but they were working with the event to try and encourage them to have reusable bottles rather than plastic bottles.

 

The Council also had the commercial waste contract for the beer festival which had a 70% recycling rate. This was the first year that the Council had had the contract, therefore there was no data to compare it to other than anecdotally the beer festival said it was a great service and that recycling was up. 

 

7) Councillor Davis to the Executive Councillor for Communities

 

What is the Executive Councillor’s response to the cuts announced this week by the Clinical Commissioning Group (CCG)?

 

The cuts announced on Tuesday seemed to fall disproportionately on the elderly and the vulnerable. Funding to Dial-a-ride had been cut, funding to the Stroke Association which gave much needed care to people in their homes after they had had a stroke was being cut. Funding for the Careers Trust was to be renegotiated to include support for only the highest need people.

 

Yesterday £500,000 of cuts were made and the CCG was still planning to make £32.5 million savings this year. Many public sector organisations were facing unsustainable cuts. The austerity policy was taking public services to breaking point and beyond. It was the most vulnerable who were continuing to suffer.

 

There was an urgent need for funding across the country and an urgent need for parity as well.  The Cambridge region was at the bottom of the list when it came to getting its fair share of funding. The Cambridgeshire CCG was the third lowest funded in the country, there were others getting over £350 per head of population more than Cambridgeshire was. The Government needed to take action and start funding services properly.  

 

8) Councillor Thittala to the Executive Councillor for Transport and Community Safety

 

Can you update the Council on Cambridgeshire police plans for a new Milton Police station, and the council’s commitment on retaining a fully effective city centre police station?

 

The Executive Councillor had had an interesting meeting with the Police and Crime Panel last month and had persuaded the Police and Crime Commissioner to meet with herself and Councillor Herbert the following week.

 

City Officers had been working with local Police Officers and the Office of the Police and Crime Commissioner to consider the number of neighbourhood police which was needed in the city, access and any options for co-location for the new police station. She would continue to apply pressure to retain a city centre police station. 

 

The following oral questions were tabled but owing to the expiry of the period of time permitted, were not covered during the meeting. The Mayor asked Executive Councillors if a written response could be provided to those questions that had not been covered.

 

9) Councillor Davey to the Executive Councillor for Climate Change, Environment and City Centre

 

Does she support future Car Free Days for Cambridge city centre?

 

10) Councillor Pippas to the Executive Councillor for Planning Policy and Open Spaces

 

Following a request in early May from the young residents  of Queen Edith’s  for the Council to install an additional  rubbish bin in the children’s play area at Gunhild Close recreation park, Can the Executive Councillor tell us when is the anticipated day of installation for the new rubbish bin please?

 

11) Councillor McPherson to the Executive Councillor for Communities

 

Can the Executive Councillor update us on the preparations for the Cambridge Folk Festival?

 

12) Councillor O’Reilly to the Executive Councillor for Communities

 

What activities are being planned for children and young people over the summer?

 

13) Councillor Todd-Jones to the Executive Councillor for  Housing

 

Given that the Government is projecting that it will spend a total of £29 billion of housing funding on its ‘Help to Buy’ scheme, what has been the benefit or not of this scheme for Cambridge people needing affordable housing?

 

14) Councillor Porrer to the Executive Councillor for Housing

 

Could the Executive Councillor for Housing confirm that our existing home loss policy will be available to all tenants who are required to relocate as a result of redevelopment of the housing in which they currently live?

 

15) Councillor McGerty to the Executive Councillor for Communities

 

Can the Executive Councillor give an update on the Cambridge Live Review previously committed to by the council?

 

16) Councillor Martinelli to the Executive Councillor for Climate Change, Environment and City Centre

 

Does the Executive Councillor believe that the Council is doing everything it can to prevent waste going to landfill?

 

17) Councillor Payne to the Executive Councillor for Communities

 

Can the Executive Councillor provide comment on whether she believes Cambridge is an equal city?

 

 

 

 

18) Councillor Barnett to the Executive Councillor for Communities

 

Can the Executive Councillor update us on the progress of encouraging employers to pay the real living wage?

 

19) Councillor McQueen to the Executive Councillor for Communities

 

What is Cambridge City Council doing to promote LGBT rights?

 

20) Councillor Summerbell to the Executive Councillor for Planning Policy and Open Spaces

 

Many people in Trumpington are concerned for the future of the Flying Pig pub. They recall the occasion on which the Osborne Arms pub nearby was demolished in 2012 without approval for demolition. This approval was granted retrospectively, on the grounds that the developer had not been informed that it lay in a conservation area. Can the executive councillor confirm that explicit consent would be required to demolish the Flying Pig under Policy 76 (the Pub Protection Policy) and Policy 61 (that it is in a Conservation Area) of the local plan, and that this consent has not yet been granted?

 

21) Councillor Thornburrow to the Executive Councillor for Communities

 

Can the Executive Councillor give us an update on the progress of the doctor’s surgery at the Clay Farm site?

 

Cambridge City Council notes:

 

- Pesticides are currently used by the City Council to control plant growth within Cambridge, including in our open spaces.

- City Council teams also use pesticides for the management of grass areas associated with highways under a Service Level Agreement with Cambridgeshire County Council. 

- Exposure to pesticides is associated with human disease, harm to wildlife and contamination of our natural resources.

- Safe and effective alternatives to the use of chemical pesticides exist and are in use by other local authorities who have committed to becoming pesticide-free.

- Trials this year of stopping herbicide use in a number of parks in Cambridge have been successful without significant negative impact on either the quality of the area or the Council's resources.

- The City Council does not operate in isolation and engagement from the wider community and other bodies will be necessary to phase out the use of pesticides within the city.

 

Cambridge City Council therefore resolves to:

1) Commit to stopping all use of pesticides on Cambridge City Council's open spaces within the next year

2) Bring a report to the Environment and Community Scrutiny Committee defining a strategy for the complete phase out of pesticide use by the end of 2022

3) Establish a stakeholder forum including Cambridgeshire County Council, members of the public and local landowners to assist in implementing the strategy

 

Councillor Martinelli proposed and Councillor McGerty seconded the following motion:

 

Cambridge City Council notes:

 

- Pesticides are currently used by the City Council to control plant growth within Cambridge, including in our open spaces.

- City Council teams also use pesticides for the management of grass areas associated with highways under a Service Level Agreement with Cambridgeshire County Council. 

- Exposure to pesticides is associated with human disease, harm to wildlife and contamination of our natural resources.

- Safe and effective alternatives to the use of chemical pesticides exist and are in use by other local authorities who have committed to becoming pesticide-free.

- Trials this year of stopping herbicide use in a number of parks in Cambridge have been successful without significant negative impact on either the quality of the area or the Council's resources.

- The City Council does not operate in isolation and engagement from the wider community and other bodies will be necessary to phase out the use of pesticides within the city.

 

Cambridge City Council therefore resolves to:

1) Commit to stopping all use of pesticides on Cambridge City Council's open spaces within the next year

2) Bring a report to the Environment and Community Scrutiny Committee defining a strategy for the complete phase out of pesticide use by the end of 2022

3) Establish a stakeholder forum including Cambridgeshire County Council, members of the public and local landowners to assist in implementing the strategy.

 

On a show of hands Council agreed to suspend Council Procedure Rule 23.3 (by 25 to 12 votes) to permit amendments to be moved where no, or inadequate notice had been given.

 

Councillor Thornburrow proposed and Councillor Hadley seconded the following amendment to motion (additional text underlined and deleted text struck through in black type).

 

Cambridge City Council notes that:

- Pesticides are currently used by the City Council to control plant growth within Cambridge, including in our open spaces.

- City Council teams also use pesticides for the management of grass areas associated with highways under a Service Level Agreement with Cambridgeshire County Council.

- Pesticides are substances that are designed to control pests, including weeds.  The term, pesticide, covers a broad range of applications, including herbicide, fungicide, insecticide and rodenticide.  The most commonly used pesticide are herbicides, which account for a very large percentage of all pesticide used by the City Council.

- Exposure to pesticides is associated with human disease, harm to wildlife and contamination of our natural resources.

- Safe and effective alternatives to the use of chemical pesticides exist and are in use by other local authorities who have committed to becoming pesticide-free.

- Trials this year of stopping herbicide use in a number of parks in Cambridge have been successful without significant negative impact on either the quality of the area or the Council's resources.

- Understanding that our biggest use of pesticides is herbicide applications, the City Council, Streets and Open Space team has ceased to use herbicides pesticides for in the management of council parks and city council open spaces; and only will apply these in exceptional circumstances.

 - The City Council does not operate in isolation and engagement from with the wider community and with other bodies will be necessary to phase out the use of pesticides within the city, including ending use on highways under the Service Level Agreement with agreement of Cambridgeshire County Council. 

Cambridge City Council therefore:

1) Commit to stopping all use of pesticides on Cambridge City Council's open spaces within the next year

2) Bring a report to the Environment and Community Scrutiny Committee defining a strategy for the complete phase out of pesticide use by the end of 2022

3) Establish a stakeholder forum including Cambridgeshire County Council, members of the public and local landowners to assist in implementing the strategy

- Commends the Streets and Open Spaces team for having stopped the use of herbicides unless special circumstances warrant their use ended pesticide use on the Council’s parks and open spaces. from July 1 2019, within three months of having committed to do so.

- Supports the Streets and Open Spaces team in their work with Cambridgeshire County Council to reduce and remove the need to use herbicides end the use of pesticides by the City Council on highway footpaths and verges, and their continued efforts to find viable and effective alternatives. under the service level agreement that governs these areas.

- Will continue the process of discussion and consultation with other interested parties and public realm landowners to work to eliminate the use of pesticides on publicly accessed land in Cambridge, the aim that Cambridge becomes pesticide-free.

 

On a show of hands the amendment was carried by 26 votes to 12.

 

Resolved (unanimously):

 

Cambridge City Council notes that:

- Pesticides are substances that are designed to control pests, including weeds.  The term, pesticide, covers a broad range of applications, including herbicide, fungicide, insecticide and rodenticide.  The most commonly used pesticide are herbicides, which account for a very large percentage of all pesticide used by the City Council.

- Understanding that our biggest use of pesticides is herbicide applications, the City Council, Streets and Open Space team has ceased to use herbicides for the management of council parks and open spaces; and only will apply these in exceptional circumstances.

 - The Council does not operate in isolation and engagement from with the wider community and with other bodies will be necessary to phase out the use of pesticides within the city, including ending use on highways with agreement of Cambridgeshire County Council. 

Cambridge City Council therefore:

- Commends the Streets and Open Spaces team for having stopped the use of herbicides unless special circumstances warrant their use on the Council’s parks and open spaces.

- Supports the Streets and Open Spaces team in their work with Cambridgeshire County Council to reduce and remove the need to use herbicides on highway footpaths and verges, and their continued efforts to find viable and effective alternatives.

- Will continue the process of discussion and consultation with other interested parties and public realm landowners to work to eliminate the use of pesticides on publicly accessed land in Cambridge, the aim that Cambridge becomes pesticide-free.

 

Council welcomes the concept of a Universal Basic Income (UBI) where citizens are paid a non-means tested sum from the state to cover the basic cost of living. The amount is paid to all citizens, regardless of employment status, wealth, marital status or any other circumstance.

Council believes that UBI is an idea that could address challenges faced by new technologies, the changing world of work, the emergence of extreme poverty for many citizens and increasing wealth inequalities by:

·        Rethinking how and why we work

·        Contributing to better working conditions

·        Ending artificial distinctions between paid and unpaid work, recognising the contribution of unpaid caring, for example

·        Contributing to fewer working hours and a better distribution of jobs.

Council also welcomes the recent announcement by Shadow Chancellor John McDonnell that a future Labour Government would bring in a pilot UBI scheme to test the idea and evaluate its operation.

Council therefore requests that the Leader of the City Council writes to the Chancellor of the Exchequer asking the Government to introduce a trial UBI as a matter of urgency and also write to the Shadow Chancellor sharing this motion and asks that Cambridge is considered for any pilot UBI scheme introduced by a future Labour Government.

Council furthermore requests that the Leader writes to our local MPs with the motion and requests they also write to the Chancellor and Shadow Chancellor with the same message.

 

Councillor McQueen proposed and Councillor Thittala seconded the following motion:

Council welcomes the concept of a Universal Basic Income (UBI) where citizens are paid a non-means tested sum from the state to cover the basic cost of living. The amount is paid to all citizens, regardless of employment status, wealth, marital status or any other circumstance.

Council believes that UBI is an idea that could address challenges faced by new technologies, the changing world of work, the emergence of extreme poverty for many citizens and increasing wealth inequalities by:

·        Rethinking how and why we work

·        Contributing to better working conditions

·        Ending artificial distinctions between paid and unpaid work, recognising the contribution of unpaid caring, for example

·        Contributing to fewer working hours and a better distribution of jobs.

Council also welcomes the recent announcement by Shadow Chancellor John McDonnell that a future Labour Government would bring in a pilot UBI scheme to test the idea and evaluate its operation.

Council therefore requests that the Leader of the City Council writes to the Chancellor of the Exchequer asking the Government to introduce a trial UBI as a matter of urgency and also write to the Shadow Chancellor sharing this motion and asks that Cambridge is considered for any pilot UBI scheme introduced by a future Labour Government.

Council furthermore requests that the Leader writes to our local MPs with the motion and requests they also write to the Chancellor and Shadow Chancellor with the same message.

Resolved (by 26 to 0 votes) to support the motion.

 

 

Council considers we are very lucky here in Cambridge city to be served by the East Anglia Children’s Hospice (EACH) that is based in Milton just outside of our city. EACH provides much need care and support to many families in Cambridge city and around East Anglia.

The City Council notes that:

 

1.   On 27 December 2018, NHS England Chief Executive Simon Stevens announced that, over the next five years, up to £7million additional funding would be made available to children’s hospices each year on top of the existing £11million Children’s Hospice Grant, if CCGs also provide additional match funding.

 

2.   That NHS England subsequently rowed back on this promise in its Long Term Plan and instead, this stated that the additional funding would not be exclusively for children’s hospices. Since then, Charity Together for Short Lives* has also received no reassurance from NHS England or government that the children’s hospice grant will still be available beyond 2020.

 

3.   A recent survey by charity “Together for Short Lives” of children’s hospices found that:

i.             Overall, the level of funding children’s hospices receive from the state has dropped to 21%, down from 27% in 2013/14.

ii.            The average amount given to each children’s hospice charity by local NHS clinical commissioning groups (CCGs) fell by 2% between 2016/17 and 2018/19.

iii.           This combination of falling funding and increasing costs is hitting our most vulnerable children and their families at a time when Labour Party national policy states that “We will ensure high quality, personalised care for people approaching the end of their life, wherever and whenever they need it.”

In response, the Council asks the Leader to

 

1.   Write to the CCG and NHS England and ask that funding for our children local service East Anglia Children’s Hospice, and other children’s hospices, is protected.

2.   Also write to our MP’s and encourage them to press The Secretary of State for Health and Social Care Matt Hancock to protect the funding for children’s hospices and increase it to £25 million.

3.   Write to East Anglia Children’s Hospices expressing the Council’s thanks on their 30 years anniversary of service to children and families in Cambridge and East Anglia.

 

Councillor Massey proposed and Councillor Hadley seconded the following motion:

 

Council considers we are very lucky here in Cambridge city to be served by the East Anglia Children’s Hospice (EACH) that is based in Milton just outside of our city. EACH provides much need care and support to many families in Cambridge city and around East Anglia.

The City Council notes that:

 

1.   On 27 December 2018, NHS England Chief Executive Simon Stevens announced that, over the next five years, up to £7million additional funding would be made available to children’s hospices each year on top of the existing £11million Children’s Hospice Grant, if CCGs also provide additional match funding.

 

2.   That NHS England subsequently rowed back on this promise in its Long Term Plan and instead, this stated that the additional funding would not be exclusively for children’s hospices. Since then, Charity Together for Short Lives* has also received no reassurance from NHS England or government that the children’s hospice grant will still be available beyond 2020.

 

3.   A recent survey by charity “Together for Short Lives” of children’s hospices found that:

i.             Overall, the level of funding children’s hospices receive from the state has dropped to 21%, down from 27% in 2013/14.

ii.            The average amount given to each children’s hospice charity by local NHS clinical commissioning groups (CCGs) fell by 2% between 2016/17 and 2018/19.

iii.           This combination of falling funding and increasing costs is hitting our most vulnerable children and their families at a time when Labour Party national policy states that “We will ensure high quality, personalised care for people approaching the end of their life, wherever and whenever they need it.”

In response, the Council asks the Leader to

 

1.   Write to the CCG and NHS England and ask that funding for our children local service East Anglia Children’s Hospice, and other children’s hospices, is protected.

2.   Also write to our MP’s and encourage them to press The Secretary of State for Health and Social Care Matt Hancock to protect the funding for children’s hospices and increase it to £25 million.

3.   Write to East Anglia Children’s Hospices expressing the Council’s thanks on their 30 years anniversary of service to children and families in Cambridge and East Anglia.

 

Resolved (35 to 0 votes) to support the motion.

 

Councillor Cantrill

This Council recognises that there is an urgent need to build social housing in the city to meet the needs of those 2,500 families (approximate) who are currently on the Council’s Housing Register.  The programme to build 500 council houses goes some way to address this need.  However, the Council is deeply concerned about the proposed Meadows & Buchan Street scheme to provide some of these and the proposal to take a part of St Albans recreation ground in order to deliver the scheme, which provides new homes at the cost of removing public amenity for existing ones.  The Council is also concerned that residents have not had a proper opportunity to comment on the proposals through the Council’s consultation process.

The Council asks the Executive Councillor for Housing that he:

     I.        pause the project and rerun the consultation exercise again, giving residents a further chance to give their input on the scheme on a proper basis; and

   II.        should the public response to the new consultation be against St Albans rec land being used that the Executive Councillor for Housing accepts this view and commits to adjust the current proposals accordingly.

 

 

Councillor Cantrill sought to alter his motion with the consent of Council under Council Procedure Rule 26.1.1.  On a show of hands this request was lost by 12 votes to 25 votes.

 

Councillor Cantrill proposed and Councillor Payne seconded the following motion:

 

This Council recognises that there is an urgent need to build social housing in the city to meet the needs of those 2,500 families (approximate) who are currently on the Council’s Housing Register.  The programme to build 500 council houses goes some way to address this need.  However, the Council is deeply concerned about the proposed Meadows & Buchan Street scheme to provide some of these and the proposal to take a part of St Albans recreation ground in order to deliver the scheme, which provides new homes at the cost of removing public amenity for existing ones.  The Council is also concerned that residents have not had a proper opportunity to comment on the proposals through the Council’s consultation process.

The Council asks the Executive Councillor for Housing that he:

     I.        pause the project and rerun the consultation exercise again, giving residents a further chance to give their input on the scheme on a proper basis; and

   II.        should the public response to the new consultation be against St Albans rec land being used that the Executive Councillor for Housing accepts this view and commits to adjust the current proposals accordingly.

 

Councillor Johnson proposed and Councillor Collis seconded the following amendment to motion (additional text underlined and deleted text struck through).

This Council recognises that there is an urgent need to build social housing in the city to meet the needs of those 2,500 families (approximate) who are currently on the Council’s Housing Register. The programme to build 500 council houses goes some way to address this need. However, the Council is deeply concerned about the proposed Meadows & Buchan Street scheme to provide some of these and the proposal to take a part of St Albans recreation ground in order to deliver the scheme, which provides new homes at the cost of removing public amenity for existing ones.  The Council is also concerned that residents have not had a proper opportunity to comment on the proposals through the Council’s consultation process.


 

The Council asks the Executive Councillor for Housing that he:

 

I)             pause the project and rerun the consultation exercise again, giving residents a further chance to give their input on the scheme on a proper basis; and

II)           should the public response to the new consultation be against St Albans rec land being used that the Executive Councillor for Housing accepts this view and commits to adjust the current proposals accordingly

 

To help address this need, the Council was successful in obtaining £70million from Government, as part of the Devolution Agreement, to assist with building at least 500 new council homes over the next few years. Roughly 100 of these new homes are proposed to be situated at the current Meadows Community Centre and Buchan Street Neighbourhood Centre sites. It is acknowledged that much of the demand for new council housing comes from residents who live in the north of Cambridge.

 

This Council notes that:

 

     I.        In line with recommendations from its 2017 Community Centres Review, a modern community facility will also be built at the Meadows site, integrating the functions of both the Meadows and Buchan Street venues, benefitting residents of the north of the city.

 

   II.        Improvements to St Alban’s Recreation Ground are also proposed, enhancing biodiversity and playing pitch provision. The existing play equipment will be retained.

 

  III.        An extensive pre-planning application consultation exercise was undertaken in March of this year, with a leaflet publicising the proposals delivered to 3500 households, and promoted in the ‘Cambridge Matters’ magazine. Two consultation events took place at both the Meadows and Buchan Street, and further consultation was undertaken on the specific issue of open space.

 

 IV.        In considering comments from the public, it has been confirmed that there will be refinements and improvements to the original proposals. These refinements include the potential of reducing the percentage of open space lost, and modifying the design to take better account of the existing streetscape.

 

  V.        Following sharing with the public the refined plans, there will be a further round of engagement after the summer holidays. The planning applications for both the Meadows and Buchan Street sites will then be submitted in the autumn.

 

This Council resolves to:

 

     I.        Welcome the progress being made to deliver at least 500 new council homes in Cambridge.

 

   II.        Recognise the importance of the Meadows and Buchan Street sites in helping meet this target.

 

  III.        Acknowledge the input from the public in helping inform the plans for these schemes, including on the subject of open space.

On a show of hands the amendment was carried by 26 votes to 12.

Resolved (by 26 to 0 votes)

This Council recognises that there is an urgent need to build social housing in the city to meet the needs of those 2,500 families (approximate) who are currently on the Council’s Housing Register.

 

To help address this need, the Council was successful in obtaining £70million from Government, as part of the Devolution Agreement, to assist with building at least 500 new council homes over the next few years. Roughly 100 of these new homes are proposed to be situated at the current Meadows Community Centre and Buchan Street Neighbourhood Centre sites. It is acknowledged that much of the demand for new council housing comes from residents who live in the north of Cambridge.

 

This Council notes that:

 

      I.       In line with recommendations from its 2017 Community Centres Review, a modern community facility will also be built at the Meadows site, integrating the functions of both the Meadows and Buchan Street venues, benefitting residents of the north of the city.

 

     II.       Improvements to St Alban’s Recreation Ground are also proposed, enhancing biodiversity and playing pitch provision. The existing play equipment will be retained.

 

   III.       An extensive pre-planning application consultation exercise was undertaken in March of this year, with a leaflet publicising the proposals delivered to 3500 households, and promoted in the ‘Cambridge Matters’ magazine. Two consultation events took place at both the Meadows and Buchan Street, and further consultation was undertaken on the specific issue of open space.

 

  IV.       In considering comments from the public, it has been confirmed that there will be refinements and improvements to the original proposals. These refinements include the potential of reducing the percentage of open space lost, and modifying the design to take better account of the existing streetscape.

 

    V.       Following sharing with the public the refined plans, there will be a further round of engagement after the summer holidays. The planning applications for both the Meadows and Buchan Street sites will then be submitted in the autumn.

 

This Council resolves to:

 

      I.       Welcome the progress being made to deliver at least 500 new council homes in Cambridge.

 

     II.       Recognise the importance of the Meadows and Buchan Street sites in helping meet this target.

 

   III.       Acknowledge the input from the public in helping inform the plans for these schemes, including on the subject of open space.

Members were asked to note the written question and answer that had been placed in the information pack circulated around the Chamber.