Agenda item

Under the Council’s Constitution, any 10 Councillors not in the Council’s Cabinet may request that a Cabinet or Single Member Decision made but not yet implemented be reconsidered by the person or body who made it.  This is called a “call-in” and has the effect of preventing the implementation of the decision pending a review of the Decision by a Policy Development and Scrutiny Panel.

This report sets out the call-in by 14 Councillors of a Cabinet decision relating to the decision not to prepare a joint broadband plan with Bristol and South Gloucestershire under the terms of the Government Broadband UK offer.  The role of the Panel is to consider the issues raised by the call-in and to determine its response.

THE PANEL IS ASKED TO:

a)  Consider the call-in request received.

b)  Approve the Terms of Reference of the Call-in which will be prepared after consultation with the Chair of the Panel subject to any further comments received from Panel members (as in paragraph 6.2 below).

c)  Decide if it requires any further information to enable it to make a determination of the call-in request and, if so, request this information and any contributions that will assist the Panel in determining the call-in either at this meeting or at a further meeting (e.g. from the Cabinet; Councillor(s) representing the call-in signatories; and any other internal or external contributors required by the Panel).

d)  Decide whether it will reach a conclusion about whether to uphold or dismiss the call-in; or refer the matter to the Council itself to undertake the role of the Panel, at this meeting or if a further meeting is required.

e)  If a further meeting is required to hear and determine the call-in, the Panel is asked to agree the date for this.  The constitutional requirement is for that meeting to take place before the end of the 20th December 2011 (this timescale would not apply if the Panel decided to refer their role to the full Council).

f)  Undertake an examination of the call-in request in accordance with the proposed procedure set out in Appendix 5.

g)  Note that, following the examination, the Panel may either:

·  Dismiss the call-in, in which case the decision shall take effect immediately; OR

·  Uphold the call-in and refer the decision back to the decision-makers for reconsideration, setting out why it has decided that the decision should be reconsidered; OR

·  Refer the matter to Council to itself undertake the role of the Panel [NB: the ultimate decision still remains with the original decision makers].

PANEL’S DECISION (full minutes to follow)

The Economic & Community Development Policy Development Scrutiny Panel made the following resolution:

The Panel unanimously resolved to UPHOLD the Call In request and asked the Cabinet to reconsider the decision E2328: Improving Access to superfast Broadband for the following reasons:

1.  The Cabinet to consider the report in the light of additional technical information;

2.  The Cabinet to look into improved Impact Assessments including equalities impact statement as well as additional economic and business assessments;

3.  The Cabinet to enter into consultation with the wider community; and

4.  The Cabinet to provide a full cost benefit analysis.

The Chairman said that the purpose of the meeting was for the Panel to consider the Call In of Cabinet decision E2328: Improving Access to superfast Broadband.  The Panel will have 3 options: to uphold the Call In and ask the Cabinet to reconsider the decision, to dismiss the Call In or to refer the matter to the Council.

The Panel approved the Term of Reference for this meeting (attached as Appendix 2 to these minutes).

The Chairman also acknowledged that the ‘Call-In Panel Pack’, with some statements and other background information, had been distributed to the Panel in advance of the meeting and it was available to the public.

Call-In Panel Pack is available on the minute book in Democratic Services.

The Chairman invited Councillor Martin Veal (lead Call In Councillor) to read his statement.

Councillor Veal read out his statement highlighting these three main points:

•  Improved broadband is such an important issue to residents, businesses and local economy as a whole;

•  The Call In should be upheld; and

•  The Cabinet should reverse its previous decision and choose to enter into the broadband bidding process.

Councillor Veal also said that it is difficult to understand fully the extent of the problem until you have had to live with 1mbps speed and intermittent and unreliable connections.  Internet is not a luxury; it is as vital as transport, energy and clean water.  If we do not invest in our broadband infrastructure now we will be left behind.  The Council should be boosting the local economy and encourage the growth of creative industry and also encourage the existing businesses to stay in the area.  The £25k which the Cabinet set for a local study into improving internet access will not be enough to deliver the step-change required in service provision to many parts of the authority.

A full copy of the statement from Councillor Martin veal is available on the minute book in Democratic Services.

On a question from the Chairman on which resolution he would welcome Councillor Veal replied that it is for the Panel to decide.

The Chairman invited Councillor Cherry Beath (Cabinet Member for Sustainable Development) to give her statement.

Councillor Beath said that it is not a bad thing to have a Call In.  The Cabinet recognises what Councillor Veal said on importance of broadband.  The Cabinet decision is not to go into joint plan with other neighbour authorities but instead to put resources into further work.  If the Cabinet decided to go into joint offer with the other neighbouring authorities then this Council would incur further cost of £1m.  The Cabinet is aware that there is a low take-up on superfast broadband.  BT announced that by 2014 2/3 would have access to broadband.  The Cabinet also considered 4G mobile network which is extremely fast in terms of download speed and it is on trial in some areas.  The Cabinet also considered other technologies such as the satellite broadband, which appears to be also quite fast.

Councillor Bret asked about the prospects of satellite broadband and also about the 4G mobile broadband.

Councillor Beath said that it is very likely that the satellite broadband will be a part of the infrastructure.  In terms of 4G mobile broadband – soon there will be an auction for 4G mobile network and it will be much cheaper than fibre optic broadband. 

Councillor Evans commented that satellite reception is not always reliable and some areas are having very poor, or no reception at all.

Councillor Beath said that satellite reception is improving all the time.

The Chairman invited Councillor David Bellotti (Cabinet Member for Community Resources) to give his statement.

Councillor Bellotti read out his statement where he highlighted these points:

•  If the Cabinet received a quote of £250k to develop superfast broadband across the district then they would have jumped at the chance.  However, the opportunity to spend £1m needs to be considered carefully in terms of borrowings and value for money.

•  The previous Cabinet turned down the offer from Somerset County Council to join with Devon and them in their superfast broadband programme.  North Somerset Council accepted the Somerset offer and the cost for their district is £250k.

•  The Government money is really a 38% grant and not matched funding. There will still be 10-15% of households not reached. BT alone will reach 56% of households by 2015 and there are other providers as well.  No estimate has been made of the number of households who have computer and who are satisfied with their broadband speeds.

A full copy of the statement from Councillor Bellotti is available on the minute book in Democratic Services.

Councillor Bellotti also explained that the £1m cost would need to be borrowed which would lead to £50k of cuts in other services each year to support the borrowing.

The Chairman invited Chris Head (West of England Rural Network) to give his statement.

Chris Head said that internet access, and increasingly high-speed access, is now regarded as ‘the fourth utility’ and it is critical for enabling business start-ups, business growth, more flexible working, more flexible public service delivery and to promote more social inclusion.  Many households in the area, particularly in the rural areas, have poor access to broadband services.  The Government has made available £1.43m in capital funding for the areas of BANES, South Gloucestershire and Bristol in order to help fund better, superfast, broadband.  Chris Head pointed out to the results of the survey carried out with businesses in Chew Valley area.  Chris Head concluded his statement by asking the Cabinet to reconsider their decision.

A full copy of the statement from Chris Head, together with the survey data, is available on the minute book in Democratic Services.

Councillor Anketell-Jones asked what would the result would be if rural areas had superfast broadband.

Chris Head replied that more people would be employed and more businesses would be in the area.

Councillor Bret asked if they were aware of emerging technologies.

Chris Head responded that this is not only about technical options but also about business options for the Council.

The Chairman invited Councillor John Bull to give his statement.

Councillor Bull highlighted in his statement that he doesn’t believe that the wrong decision has necessarily been made but because he is not sure if the Cabinet had clear enough information to come to the correct decision.  Councillor Bull felt that the report only focused on cable and fibre optic fixed line and ruled out the other technologies as mentioned earlier by Councillor Beath.  Councillor Bull asked the Cabinet to reconsider their decision and asked for the more detailed report which clarifies the issues he highlighted in his statement.

A full copy of the statement from Councillor John Bull is available at the minute book in Democratic Services.

The Chairman invited Mark Swabey to give his statement.

Mark Swabey highlighted the following points in his statement:

Mark Swabey informed the Panel that his business is set at his home in Farnborough and despite its annual growth of 50% his business suffer due to the slow broadband (download speed of 2-4Mbps and upload speed of 300Kbps).  This and the other businesses in the area face limitations currently due to slow broadband speed.  Mark Swabey highlighted the advantages for employers, employees and wider community.  The investment that this meeting is discussing is a small amount when compared to the highways budget (£7.3M 2011-12); yet it’s impact in enabling small business growth, enabling more home-working, encouraging flexible work patterns and thus giving more opportunities to young parents, will be of far greater benefit.  Mark Swabey also asked the Cabinet to reconsider its decision.

A full copy of the statement from Mark Swabey is available on the minute book in Democratic Services.

Councillor Bret asked about 4G prospects.

Mark Swabey responded that, at the moment, 4G upload performance is an issue.

The Chairman invited Councillor Neil Butters to give his statement.

Councillor Butters highlighted the following points in his statement:

•  Impact from slow broadband in villages in Bathavon South Ward.

•  Broadband is so slow that in some areas people are experiencing download speed of just 0.5Mbps which affects small businesses and people working from home.

•  It also affects children who are being disadvantaged by poor broadband speeds and have to, sometimes, go elsewhere to complete their homework.

•  However, even if we invest £1m of public money into rural broadband we will still find that it will not resolve the problem in some places, such as Wellow.

Councillor Butters asked that the study should be carried out and keep a close eye on technological improvements, keep pressing BT to fulfil their obligations or else give refunds and look to target our scarce resources in precision fashion to maximum effect.

A full copy of the statement from Councillor Neil Butters is available on the minute book in Democratic services.

The Chairman invited Alison Howell to address the Panel.

Alison Howell highlighted the following points in her statement:

•  How rural business contributes to Banes economy & community

•  How poor broadband negatively impacts job creation and economic growth

•  Why the decision to take advantage of government funding for rural areas will not wait

A full copy of the statement from Alison Howell is available on the minute book in Democratic Services.

The Chairman invited Peter Duppa-Miller to give his statement.

Peter Duppa-Miller (Combe Hay Parish Clerk) said that he represents Parish Councils in the area and reminded the meeting that the need for broadband is articulated in the Council’s Sustainable Communities Strategy.  Poor broadband, or lack of it, had been identified as the most significant obstacle in BANES rural area.  More and more older people are using internet for health care interchange.  Peter Duppa-Miller also asked the Cabinet to reconsider their decision.

The Chairman asked Nicholas Gates (Shoscombe Parish Council) to give his statement. 

Nicholas Gates highlighted the following points in his statement:

Shoscombe Parish Council expressed their total dissatisfaction with the inadequate “Broadband Service" which BT “provide" in the community (Shoscombe Parish).  Many residents within the parish have petitioned BT to fulfil their contractual obligations to provide a service for which they are all charged, without any positive action, they all seem to be in a "Loop" which involved futile visits from the BT engineers without any noticeable improvement to the "service".

A full copy of the statement from Nicholas Gates is available on the minute in Democratic Services.

The Chairman invited Peter Gradwell (Managing Director of Gradwell dot com Limited) to give his statement.

Peter Gradwell highlighted the following points in his statement:

•  We should not underestimate the importance of deploying superfast broadband. 

•  Broadband is without the question the 4th utility.  In November 2011 Gradwell conducted a survey asking 300 local businesses in 8 cities about their reliance on broadband.  Results of the survey are available in the statement.

•  Fibre To The Cabinet (FTTC) solves the problem. Satellite and mobile solutions had been around for 10+ years and it is not physically or economically possible to deliver the quantity of bandwidth required today via these technologies.

•  The Council should not look if there is alternative around the corner.  There should be a balance of the economic benefit of upgrading to faster broadband with the cost of the funding but the Council will find that the pros outweigh the cons in this case.

A full copy of the statement, including survey results, from Peter Gradwell is available on the minute book in Democratic Services.

Councillor Stevens asked Peter Gradwell if he was aware that small businesses were consulted before the report was submitted to the Cabinet for decision.

Peter Gradwell responded that he was not aware of it.

The Chairman invited Councillor Tim Warren to give his statement.

Councillor Warren said that he was surprised and disappointed that the Cabinet did not consider carbon footprint reduction on this matter.  Councillor Warren agreed with the other speakers that broadband is now essential for households and businesses.  Slow broadband is quite frustrating when there is a need for website update.  Councillor Warren also asked the Cabinet to reconsider their decision.

The Chairman invited Trudie Mitchell (Chair of Compton Dando Parish Council) to give her statement to the Panel.

Trudie Mitchell highlighted the following points in her statement:

•  Parish Plan published in October 2010 which included parishioners’ views on broadband speed.

•  Action points from the Parish Council which were to highlight poor broadband blackspots to the Council and co-ordinate test on broadband speeds across the parish.

•  The results of those tests were included in the statement.

•  Focus on the Big Society, internet, email and social networking along with the small businesses and home-working.

A full copy of the statement from Trudie Mitchell is available on the minute book in Democratic Services.

The Chairman invited Chris Shah to address the Panel.

Chris Shah said that the majority of services are coming from BT and there are no other providers in the area.  Slow broadband has a big impact on education and the Cabinet should reconsider their decision.

The Chairman invited Megan Witty (Wellow Parish Council) to give her statement.

Megan Witty highlighted the following points in her statement:

•  Her business in Wellow suffers due to the slow and unreliable broadband.

•  Range of businesses in Wellow (global fine art distributor to architects, solicitors, PR & marketing execs, a petroleum geologist, managing consultants, sport equipment distributors, advertising and IT specialists, international bankers, university researchers, a cookery school, artists, companies with business in the Middle East) that are affected with the slow broadband.

•  If there is no improvement in Wellow's broadband connectivity, it will lead to a significant brain-drain from rural Bath to high-speed business areas such as the city of Bath or Bristol and London.

•  £25k must be spent on the Local Broadband Plan.  This will confirm the area's broadband requirements and the costs of supplying high-speed broadband to the BaNES area.  If the government has asked BaNES for a higher contribution than other councils, could the council not ask for this to be reduced?

A full copy of the statement from Megan Witty is available on the minute book in Democratic Services.

The Chairman invited Max Crofts to address the Panel.

Max Crofts said that 30 years ago he was president of Bath Chamber of Commerce and then things looked much different in terms of the needs of small businesses in the area.  Broadband is a utility as important as water and electricity.  Communication with BT is impossible and North East Somerset needs to be looked at.

The Chairman invited Peter Downey to address the Panel.

Peter Downey said that that he had to move company from Wellow to Bath because of the broadband issues. He also said that he has satellite but that it is not a solution for faster broadband.

The Chairman thanked all speakers for their statements.  He also said that there was an interesting cross section of information related to the broadband subject.

The Chairman invited Councillor David Bellotti to give his closing statement.

Councillor Bellotti said that the case was very well made about the broadband issues and that the Council should have a plan on this matter.  If the Council is asked to submit £250k for faster broadband then this would be value for money.  Government offer of £20m will start with North Yorkshire first although Government are working on other alternatives, other technologies.  The Council would want to move on although whatever approach is adopted 10-15% of the area will still not benefit. 

The Chairman invited Councillor Cherry Beath to give her closing statement.

Councillor Beath thanked everyone for the contributions they made today.  She also felt that many interesting points were made.  Councillor Beath agreed with Councillor Bellotti that Government will be also looking at other technologies and BT should be held to account about the services they provide in the area.

The Chairman invited Councillor Martin Veal to give his closing statement.

Councillor Veal said that residents in some rural areas are lucky if they get the speed of 2Mbps.  Also, the broadband in rural areas is not reliable.  We can’t afford to be left behind our neighbours and the rest of the country.  This would be an investment in business and it doesn’t need to come from borrowing.  Councillor Veal said it appears that the Cabinet finds money only for something they consider as a priority.  If we continue with what we have there will be no business growth in the area.  Councillor Veal asked the Panel to uphold the Call In and ask the Cabinet to reconsider their decision.

The Chairman thanked everyone who participated in the discussion.  The Chairman also thanked those people who sent their comments to the Panel but were unable to attend the meeting.

The Chairman informed the meeting that following the break of 10 minutes the panel will debate the matter and then make their resolution.

The meeting adjourned at 11.15am.

The meeting reconvened at 11.25am.

The Chairman informed the meeting that the Panel will now debate the issue.  The Panel will be asking questions to John Wilkinson (Economic Enterprise & Business Development Manager) and the relevant Cabinet Members (Councillors Beath and Bellotti).

Councillor Stevens asked which businesses had been consulted.

John Wilkinson replied that large section of business community had been consulted.

The Chairman asked if the level of consultation was adequate.

John Wilkinson replied that the consultation was adequate based on the evidence that he had at time.

Councillor Bellotti added that £25k plan approved by the Cabinet would include consultation with all residents.

The Chairman asked if the £25k plan would pick up what work telecom providers would not do.

John Wilkinson said that BT had been contacted on this issue and the maps of allocated areas, provided by the BT, are included in the report.

The Chairman questioned the reliability of local providers, such as BT, considering the negative comments from the public about the BT, and asked if the Council could set some contract clauses with private telecom providers.

Councillor Beath said that she will speak with the BT (i.e. regional manager) and raise the issues from the meeting today.

The Chairman asked how soon we will know which 10-15% of the area will still be affected with the slow broadband.

Councillor Beath responded that she would not have precise information on that question.

The Chairman asked if any other local authorities in South West region declined to go into matched funding of the Government Broadband UK offer.

John Wilkinson responded that he is not aware that any other authority declined to go into matched funding.

Councillor Beath added that there are various disparities for different authorities.

Councillor Bellotti added that in the West of England we would be making the biggest contribution.  He also said that the previous administration declined the offer back in March this year to join the programme for much cheaper option.

Councillor Veal commented that when the previous administration was asked to join the programme it was late in the day hence why they didn’t go with the offer.

The Chairman thanked everyone who participated in this part of the debate.

The Chairman invited the Panel to give their views on this issue and to vote on one of the 3 options available to the Panel.

Councillor Patrick Anketell-Jones said that the Cabinet should reconsider their decision.  The decision will affect thousands of people.  There was no Equality Impact Assessment done for this report.  The decision will have a huge impact on education.  There was no information about the impact on the environment.  Speakers highlighted that superfast broadband will be a sustainable investment and it would cut down the CO2, strengthen community and increase employment.  There was no cost benefit analysis per premise, whether household or business.  The quality of fibre optic broadband is much higher than the other options.  We don’t really know if 4G is better option, it is just a guess.  The investment into superfast broadband fits the need for sustainable economy.

Councillor Lisa Brett also said that the Cabinet should reconsider their decision.  There is a need for more information about the other broadband options available as, at the moment, fibre optic option is the best available.

Councillor Michael Evans said that he support for Cabinet to reconsider their decision.  This is not something that it should be delayed.  Our younger people should be given the chance to have the access to internet like everyone else across the country has.

Councillor Ben Stevens also said that the Cabinet should reconsider their decision.  The Cabinet should look into the full facts about this matter.  It was interesting to hear from the public that they had concerns about the download speed and also about the upload speed.  Councillor Stevens had slight concerns about 4G mobile networks.  He was also concerned that the Council was held in ransom by the BT, especially in the light of the statements from the residents that BT is not delivering the service that they get paid for.  The Cabinet should take this issue with BT into account.

Councillor Brian Simmons also said that the Cabinet should reconsider their decision.

Councillor Manda Rigby also said that the Cabinet should reconsider their decision.  Councillor Rigby agreed with Councillor Anketell-Jones about the insufficient information related to the Equalities Impact Assessment.  The Council should also consider involving external agencies/organisations on this matter.  This should not evolve into Bath vs. North East Somerset divide.  It is quite difficult for BT to predict what will happen in future and it not always possible for BT to provide services in remote or rural area.  Other local providers will have to purchase services and equipment from BT.  Nobody questioned that we want the superfast broadband – the question is how to get that broadband.  Bi-directional speed is important and not only download speed. 

The Chairman thanked the Panel for their comments.  He also said that we are not at the same place as we were on 9th November.  The additional information received today from number of speakers should be considered, and if the same information was available at 9th November Cabinet meeting the debate would be different.  If Local Authority is making an investment in external organisations then they should monitor and control the delivery of services.  If the delivery of services is not satisfactory then Local Authority should look for another provider.  The scheme will not hit 100% of communities in the area but there was no information which areas will still be without the broadband and what is the plan to help those.  Broadband is now seen as the 4th essential utility. 

RESOLUTION

The Economic & Community Development Policy Development Scrutiny Panel made the following resolution:

The Panel unanimously resolved to UPHOLD the Call In request and asked the Cabinet to reconsider the decision E2328: Improving Access to superfast Broadband for the following reasons:

1.  The Cabinet to consider the report in the light of additional technical information;

2.  The Cabinet to look into improved Impact Assessments including equalities impact statement as well as additional economic and business assessments;

3.  The Cabinet to enter into consultation with the wider community; and

4.  The Cabinet to provide a full cost benefit analysis.