Agenda item

Report of the Leader of the Council, attached.

The report of the Leader of the Council was submitted setting out the details of the business undertaken by the Executive.

 

The Leader and the Cabinet made statements and responded to questions.

 

The following questions were submitted in accordance with Council Procedure Rule 11.1:-

 

1.  Life Expectancy

 

Question from Councillor Fielker to Councillor Fitzhenry

 

The gap in life expectancy between the most and least deprived neighbourhoods in Southampton is almost 10 years.  Why then has your administration removed reducing this gap as a measure to success in your new corporate priorities?

 

Answer

 

The measures we chose for the plan, were selected on the basis that City Council activity had a substantial impact on the outcome/measure and the timeframe of the plan – ie 4 years, with a focus on change in the next 2.  The measure is obviously important, but not included in the Corporate Plan as life expectancy is a measure in the current Health and Wellbeing Strategy; Health and Wellbeing Strategy 2017-2025 (southampton.gov.uk). 

 

2.  Health in Planning

 

Question from Councillor Professor Margetts to Councillor White

 

What steps in the administration taking to include health as a factor in planning applications?

 

Answer

 

The issue of health and planning was referred to officers shortly after we took control of the Council and following advise it was decided that we would not pursue any planning policy changes. 

 

3.  Buses

 

Question from Councillor Bogle to Councillor Moulton

 

The Government’s National Bus Strategy requires bus usage to increase beyond pre-Covid levels.  Can the Cabinet Member detail what his plans are to achieve this in Southampton?

 

Answer

 

At Cabinet on 19 June 2021 it was agreed that developing an Enhanced Partnership was the most appropriate route for Southampton to increase bus patronage.  The first step of this will be the submission of a Bus Service Improvement Plan (BSIP) that is going to Cabinet on 18 October before being submitted to the Department of Transport by the end of October.  This sets out the vision for how we, the bus operators and stakeholders will work together to achieve aims for bus usage, reliable journeys and passenger satisfaction.  Following the submission of the BSIP we will work and consult on the details of the Enhanced Partnership in advance of that coming into place in April 2022.  

 

4.  Universal Credit

 

Question from Councillor Dr Paffey to Councillor Vassiliou

 

Does the Cabinet Member accept that removing the £20 uplift of Universal Credit at the same time as the cost of living increases will have a detrimental effect on vulnerable families in Southampton?

 

Answer

 

The £20 Universal Credit uplift was part of the Government’s temporary support measures brought in during the Covid-19 pandemic. Now that the temporary uplift is coming to an end, our administration is bringing in policies which will help our City’s economy and support our residents to

Get Southampton Moving. Some of the other work we are doing includes:

 

•  The Government has recently announced a £500 M Household Support fund – we await further information on how much Southampton will be allocated to administer and the criteria for these funds

 

•  During the pandemic the City administered in excess, of £3.5m to vulnerable families and those in need via a variety of Government funding initiatives including:

 

·  DEFRA – food support for vulnerable people

·  DWP - COVID local support Grant rounds 1, 2 and 3

·  Holiday, Activity and Food fund

·  Financial Support for vulnerable families and individuals who are self-isolating

 

•  The Council continues to support and fund local welfare provision for vulnerable families and individuals via services such as those provided by SCRATCH and the Welfare Information line.

 

5. Bitterne Hub

 

Councillor Kataria to Councillor Hannides

 

Will the administration commit to securing the necessary budget so the Council can progress with plans for the Bitterne Hub?

 

Answer

 

The previous Administration's proposals for the Bitterne Hub would cost £30m, this would add an additional £1.7m Revenue pressure each year to cover the extra borrowing costs. The Administration does not consider this to be the most prudent use of tax payers money at a time when we need to invest in and support priority front line services, including increasing demands on Social Care for Adults and Children, and fixing our network of broken roads and pavements resulting from years of neglect by the previous Labour Administration.

 

Following consultation, this Administration intends to submit modified proposals for the improvement of local facilities, including the Bitterne Leisure Centre.

 

6. 1000 Parking Spaces

 

Councillor Kaur (in Councillor McEwing’s absence) to Councillor Vassiliou

 

Can the Cabinet Member please update Council on the public consultation to determine where the 1000 new car park spaces in our estates will be built?

 

Answer

 

A project team is now in place to lead this work and they have recently finalised a list of potential sites across the city and will now be reviewing next steps towards action.

 

•  Consultation with residents will form part of the process as each site is taken forward following similar processes as have been used previously. Residents will have the opportunity to respond on plans for all sites. Depending upon the complexity of the scale of implementation this will range from site notices to targeted mailing of properties.

 

•  Two schemes that were already in train have recently competed at Minster Avenue and Ozier Road, adding 21 spaces in recent weeks.

 

•  Next steps will be to finalise the project plan and phasing of delivery and complete phase one (a further 4 sites tbc) before March 2022 with the majority being completed by end March 2023.

 

7.  Spitfire

 

Councillor W Payne to Councillor Vassiliou

 

Having committed £500,000 of Southampton taxpayers’ money to the Spitfire Memorial at the last Full Council, can the Cabinet Member for Communities, Culture and Heritage guarantee that no more council money will be sought for this project and private funding and other external grants will cover all the remaining cost?

 

Answer

 

We have allocated £500,000 to support the Spitfire Memorial Project which will be a proud monument in Southampton.

 

The charity are now working on producing a business plan to take the project forward. It is too soon to say if we would or would not support them further to deliver this iconic memorial, which is an integral part of our City of Culture bid, but it is our intention to support the charity to raise the required funds from private and other donations/ contributions.

 

8.  Planning

 

Councillor Bogle to Councillor Moulton

 

What is the position of this Administration with regard to the government’s Planning for the Future proposals?

 

Answer

 

The Government is proposing to implement what it describes as “radical changes” to the planning system. The proposals as set out in the Planning White Paper (last year) will affect plan making processes (Local Plan), and development management processes (determination of planning applications). The proposals are intended to give greater certainty to developers to encourage them to bring forward and implement proposals for growth. The proposals also place a greater emphasis on developing “beautiful buildings”. In summary, the key elements of the White Paper are:

 

•  Changing local plans so that they provide more certainty over the type, scale and design of development permitted on different categories of land.

•  Significantly decreasing the time it takes for developments to go through the planning system.

•  Replacing the existing systems for funding affordable housing and infrastructure from development with a new more predictable and more transparent levy.

•  Using post-Brexit freedoms to simplify and enhance the framework for environmental assessments for developments.

•  Reforming the framework for locally led development corporations to ensure local areas have access to appropriate delivery vehicles to support growth and regeneration.

•  Digitising a system to make it more visual and easier for local people to meaningfully engage with.

 

The consultation on the White Paper received over 40,000 responses and the Government has not yet published it response to the consultation. Whilst legislation on planning was anticipated to be placed before Parliament this autumn, it has been delayed following the recent changes in Cabinet. Given that we do not know the Government’s response and on what will be carried forward into legislation, it is difficult to provide a view on this matter at this time.