Agenda and minutes

To confirm and sign the minutes of the meeting of the Council dated 20 May 2024.

Resolved – That the minutes of the meeting held on 20 May 2024 be confirmed and signed as a correct record.

Apologies for absence were received from Councillors Clay, Sharkey and Stewart-Roberts.

Disclosure by councillors of personal interests in matters on the agenda, the nature of any interest and whether the councillor regards the interest as prejudicial under the terms of the Code of Conduct.

There were no declarations of interest

To receive any announcements from the Chair of the Council, Leader of the Council, Members of the Cabinet or the Chief Executive. A list of the Chair of the Council's engagements since the previous meeting is enclosed.

The Chair drew attention of the Council to the list of her engagements since the last Council meeting.  

The Leader of the Council advised that the Council had submitted its response to the Government consultation on the proposed National Planning Policy Framework (NPPF) this week and thanked all members of the Local Plan Steering Group who had taken part in shaping the response, and Parish and Town Councils and members of the public who had submitted their views. 

Items not on the agenda which the Chair of the meeting is of the opinion should be considered as a matter of urgency by reason of special circumstances as defined in Section 100B(4)(b) of the Local Government Act 1972.

There were no urgent items for decisions.

To deal with questions which members of the public may wish to put to members of the Cabinet in accordance with Council Procedure Rule 11 (if any).

There were no questions from members of the public.

To receive petitions from councillors or members of the public in accordance with Council Procedure Rule 13 (if any).

There were no petitions to be reported to Council.

In accordance with Scrutiny Procedure Rule 17, to receive details of any urgent decisions taken by the Cabinet or Cabinet members since the previous meeting.

There were urgent decisions taken by the Cabinet or Cabinet members since the previous meeting to be reported in accordance with Scrutiny Procedure Rule 17.

Report of Councillor Zoe Nicholson on behalf of the Cabinet held on 11 July 2024.

Councillor Nicholson moved and Councillor Gauntlett seconded the recommendation referred from the meeting of Cabinet held on 11 July 2024, in support of the approval of the Annual Treasury Management Report 2023/24. It was noted that the report had been considered by the Audit and Governance Committee prior to it being recommended by Cabinet.

The report was discussed by the Council.

Councillor Nicholson indicated that the report provided a background to the motions on the agenda, in that it set out the economic conditions in which the Council was operating, including the costs of borrowing for the Housing Revenue Account, and also set out the choices being made for sustainable investments.

Councillor Gauntlett highlighted as the Chair of Audit and Governance Committee, the significant difficulties that this Council had had, alongside around 600 other Councils, with delays in external audit reports, so that the 2019/20 statement of accounts had only just been approved last month.  He was hopeful, now that the Government had introduced a national process for all outstanding accounts, that the situation would improve, and the Committee had moved its meeting in December to meet the new deadlines. 

The recommendations were put to a vote and carried unanimously.

RESOLVED –

(1) To approve the Annual Treasury Management Report 2023/24 (the Cabinet Report); and

(2) To approve the 2023/24 Prudential and Treasury Indicators included in the report.

Submitted by Councillor Lucy Agace.

Councillor Agace moved and Councillor Davies seconded a motion in relation to the council housing funding and homelessness crisis as set out in the agenda.

The Council debated the motion, and it received cross-council support. 

It was agreed that the financial model for provision of housing was broken, and there needed to be reform to enable Councils to invest and retain Council houses, for there to be a new fair and sustainable housing revenue account model, and for right to buy policies to be reformed or phased out.

The Council was one of 100 councils that had written to the Government calling for the introduction of fairer funding for temporary accommodation by removing the cap based on the 2011 local housing allowance rate, and for 90% of the actual cost to be funded to 2023-24 until a long-term strategy to end homelessness was developed.  It was highlighted that although the level of demand for temporary accommodation had improved slightly for Lewes District Council recently, the Council currently had 39 families in temporary housing, which was too many.

In addition, Councillors expressed disappointment on the lack of affordable housing being delivered by developers in housing schemes, with many ruled out at the final stage due to affordability. 

The motion was put to a vote and carried unanimously.

Resolved to:

1.      Ask the Leader of the Council to write to local Members of Parliament to inform them that this motion has been passed and urge them to raise this issue with the Government and support our call for changes to be made to the way both council housing and homelessness services are funded.

2.      Continue to work with partner councils to lobby Government for the changes required, taking a collaborative approach to better highlight the issues we all face.

3.      Continue raising awareness of the challenges, and our calls for government action, in local media.

Submitted by Councillor Ezra Cohen

Councillor Cohen moved and Councillor Fabry seconded the motion as set out on the agenda, calling on the Government to establish a new partnership between national and local government to deliver on the UK's net zero commitment, with a new statutory duty suggested for Councils to lead on climate delivery with funding to match.

The Council debated the motion and it received broad support.

It was highlighted that the Council had recently refreshed its Climate and Nature Strategy and Action Plan to reach net zero by 2030 and to support the district to do so, but additional funding was still required to implement it in full.  The idea of working in partnership to deliver its commitments was welcomed, and a question was raised as to whether further work could be done locally with Towns and Parish Councils.

The use of a national climate test was supported by Councillors, as it was felt that the development locally of a baseline against which to measure progress currently depended on the level of each Councils’ expertise and investment.  It was, however, highlighted that Councils should not wait on a perfect measure before starting the work.

A question was raised as to whether a statutory duty for local authorities to deliver the transition was the right route, if it came with nationally set targets, that did not adequately reflect local or regional conditions and geography.  In response, Councillor Cohen advised that he felt that although this Council had taken its own steps, a statutory duty with appropriate funding and powers, was needed to ensure all Councils were taking consistent action everywhere.

The motion was then put to a vote and approved unanimously.

Resolved that:

1.    This Council therefore calls on the new Government, before the next funding settlement, to plan for levels of sufficient and sustainable funding for Local Authorities that will enable an effective, locally led net zero transition in line with local commitments such as this Council’s Climate and Nature Action Plan, and the UK’s legally binding commitments.

2.    This Council also calls for a new local-national partnership approach to net zero delivery, enabled by:

• A new Local Net Zero Delivery Unit which brings national, regional and local government and key institutions together.

• A new climate ‘test’ applied to all Government decisions – from housing to skills - that guarantees that they support, rather than undermine, local climate action (as proposed in the LGA Local Government White Paper).
• A new statutory duty for Local Authorities to deliver the transition to net zero in line with the UK's legally binding commitments. Crucially, this additional responsibility must come alongside the necessary powers and funding to fulfil it.

3.    This Council therefore instructs the Leader of the Council to write to Deputy Prime Minister, Angela Rayner, Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero, Ed Miliband, and the Prime Minister, Sir Keir Starmer, calling on the Government to commit to the above.

To deal with written questions which councillors may wish to put to the Chair of the Council, a Lead Councillor on the Cabinet or the Chair of any committee or sub-committee in accordance with Council Procedure Rule 12 (if any).

There were no written questions.

To deal with questions (if any) which councillors may wish to put to the Leader of the Council. It will be at the Leader’s discretion to re-direct questions to relevant Members of the Cabinet. A councillor wishing to raise a question must notify the Chair of the Council of the text of the question prior to the commencement of the meeting. (NB This item is limited to a maximum of 5 questions, with no more than 1 question being asked per councillor. If a question requires a detailed or technical response, the Leader may decide that a written response is more appropriate).

No questions had been submitted to the Leader of the Council.

To deal with ward issues which councillors wish to raise (if any).

There were no ward issues.

To receive any reports from the Council's representatives who serve on outside bodies in respect of meetings they have attended.

The following reports had been received on outside bodies set out in the agenda and agenda supplement:

·        Wave Active – Councillor O’Connor

·        Seaford Head Nature Reserve Committee – Councillor Brett

·        South Downs National Park Authority – Councillor Stewart-Roberts

·        Armed Forces Champion – Councillor Stewart-Roberts

With the Chair’s permission, Councillor Makepeace provided a verbal report on the Lewes Citizens Advice Bureau (CAB).  She highlighted that CAB found that those most vulnerable residents in the district were continuing to face significant cost of living challenges.  She welcomed the new access that CAB has to the Council’s Home First, welfare and income maximisation advice and asked that the Council continued to explore ways to provide further support.

The Council agreed to note the updates.

The next meeting of Full Council is scheduled to take place at 6 pm on Monday 18 November 2024.

It was confirmed that the next meeting of Full Council was scheduled for 18 November 2024 at 6 pm.