Agenda item

The Democratic Services Manager will announce any submissions received. The Council will be invited to decide what action it wishes to take, if any, on the matters raised in these submissions. As the questions received and the answers given will be circulated in written form there is no requirement for them to be read out at the meeting. The questions and answers will be published with the draft minutes.

Statements were made by the following members of the public;

Jake Hotchkins spoke to Members about his experience of being a care experienced person, in support of the motion later on the agenda.  He called on Members to demonstrate they were taking their corporate parenting responsibilities seriously by adopting care experience as a protected characteristic.  A full copy of the statement is available attached to the minutes and added to the Minute book.

Terry Galloway also spoke in support of the care experience motion on the agenda.  He explained he was leading the campaign nationally to make care experience a protected characteristic in UK legislation. Councillor Joanna Wright asked how such a move would have impacted Terry as a young man, to which he replied that this was about system design and the process of making decisions.  The hope is that the system will change around people, so they won’t have to actually declare and won’t have the barriers that they often face. A full copy of the statement is available attached to the minutes and added to the Minute book.

John Morgan made a statement on behalf of his neighbour, Alexandra Watkins, against the proposed ETRO to block Winifred’s Lane and Lansdown Crescent, in the context of the wider Liveable Neighbourhood programme, and urging Councillors to reconsider this proposal.  Councillor Joanna Wright asked if John considered this would be beneficial to health or not, to which he replied that it didn’t affect him at all.  A full copy of the statement is available attached to the minutes and added to the Minute book.

Chad Allen made a statement calling on the Council to cut back or remove ivy from various locations as natural habitat was being destroyed.

Luke John Emmett made a statement calling for more support for the cultural industries and expressing disappointment that culture was not more embedded in the Heritage Services Business plan.  Councillor Robin Moss asked if Luke knew when the last time was that the Council had a strategy for, or gave out grants for, commissioned work to artists or makers.  Luke replied that the end of the Cultural Strategy coincided with the closure of the Arts department in 2017, and there hasn’t been any cohesive support since then.  Ad-hoc initiatives happen and are appreciated but an over-arching strategy is needed.  Councillor Saskia Heijltjes asked how much the culture industries contribute to the local economy.  Luke replied it was a huge amount; citing the statistic that for every £1 invested in the arts, it brings back between £2 - £7 into the local economy.  He added that the arts budget of £423,000 which had been cut, although not a large amount, then leveraged income from the Arts Council and other funders. A full copy of the statement is available attached to the minutes and added to the Minute book.

Bob Goodman made a statement about the legalities of listed building consent and detailing various perceived infractions of process.  He called for a fully independent inquiry to be held in public.  Councillor Colin Blackburn asked if Bob was aware of any other examples of the Council carrying out work without consent, to which he replied that there were, and cited one property he knew of where over £300k was spent without consent.  Councillor Tim Warren asked if or when elected members were aware of this taking place, to which Bob replied that he did have confirmation that the previous Administration had not been made aware of this. Councillor Joanna Wright asked for clarity on the significance of the lath and plaster ceiling being replaced with plasterboard, to which Bob explained that the replacement has to be ‘like for like’ and that when consent was finally given, this was the stipulation.  A full copy of the statement is available attached to the minutes and added to the Minute book.

Emma Owens made a statement about the situation in Gaza, challenging Councillors to consider the right course of action to take.  Councillor Joanna Wright asked if B&NES Councillors had any legal duty to prevent genocide, following the International Court of Justice’s (ICJ) ruling that genocide may be being committed.  Emma responded that, since the Genocide Convention 1948 was incorporated into UK law, the nation does have obligations to prevent genocide and punish such crimes.  A full copy of the statement is available attached to the minutes and added to the Minute book.

Marie Duffy addressed Councillors about the situation in Gaza and the impact on B&NES residents, some of whom have family there.  She called on the Council to do more and highlighted many other Councils who have agreed a motion calling for a ceasefire.  A full copy of the statement is available attached to the minutes and added to the Minute book.

Alice Georgiou called on Councillors to use their public platform to show solidarity to call for a ceasefire.  She stated that a poll in October 2023 had shown that 76% of the British public supported a ceasefire and it was likely to be a higher percentage now.  B&NES Councillors needed to represent their constituents by calling for a ceasefire.

Jane Samson addressed Councillors by passing on a number of statements about the personal impact the Gaza conflict was having on B&NES residents.  This was compounded by a perception that, by not taking a peace motion at Council, their Council did not care.  A full copy of the statement is available attached to the minutes and added to the Minute book.

Sophie Higgins spoke on behalf of Johyna Ballout, a Palestinian student who was unable to be present.  The statement described the history of occupation and the need to fight for Palestinian rights.  Assigning blame was not divisive but necessary and taking a neutral stance was cowardly.  Councillor Saskia Heijltjes asked Sophie to explain how the situation affected British people and specifically B&NES residents, to which they replied that young people have been told that empire and colonisation are a thing of the past, but they now see that it seems to be acceptable and supported.

Mohammed Alrozzi in his statement asked why, after 160 days of relentless bombardment and the ICJ ruling, the Council had not demanded a ceasefire.  This silence leads to residents feeling defeated and alienated from the decision making processes and erodes trust.  He added that the Council had a responsibility to reflect the conscience of the community and urged Councillors to speak up and call for a ceasefire in Gaza.  Councillor Kevin Guy asked if Mohammed was aware that the Chair had made a statement at the start of the meeting from all Group Leaders calling for a ceasefire, to which he replied that he had not been aware.  Councillor Sam Ross asked if the lack of consensus had personally impacted on him as a Palestinian and a resident of B&NES.  Mohammed replied that he had mixed feelings, one of which was that his wellbeing and life do not matter.

The Chair thanked everyone for their statements, which would be considered by the relevant Cabinet Members.