Meeting Details

This Council notes that spending on public transport per head in the East Midlands was only £268 last year.  This is the fourth year in a row that the East Midlands has had the lowest public transport spend in the country.  This compares unfavourably with the West Midlands who saw £467 spent per head at the same time.  The UK average was £481 per year according to figures released by East Midlands Councils.

This Council further notes the decision to pause the Eastern Leg of HS2b.  The news HS2 has been shelved from Birmingham to Leeds, via the East Midlands in favour of the Western Leg of Crewe to Manchester is a disaster for our region. This decision will cost this region hundreds of millions of pounds in regeneration opportunities.  This is catastrophic for our region.

This Council believes that it is imperative that HS2b is delivered in full.  The Eastern Leg of HS2 is critical to the long-term economic success of the East Midlands.  This must include the East Midlands Hub Station at Toton.

This Council also notes the lack of progress with the campaign to fully electrify the Midlands’ Mainline. 

We therefore call for an urgent meeting with the Secretary of State for Transport and all key stakeholders to make the case for urgent investment in public transport in Nottinghamshire and the East Midlands including the reinstatement of the electrification of the Midlands’ Mainline and the unpausing of the Eastern Leg of HS2b.

Councillor Jason Zadrozny     Councillor Rachel Madden

Nottinghamshire County Council notes that from 1st May to 31st October – Value Added Tax (VAT) was set at a zero rate on supplies of PPE as defined by Public Health England’s coronavirus (COVID-19) PPE guidance on 24 April 2020.

This Council notes that from November 1st, face masks and gloves now cost more after the government said a waiver of VAT on personal protective equipment (PPE) would not be extended.

The Treasury has confirmed that the 20% sales tax would once more apply to protective equipment bought by firms and consumers after the six-month exemption.

This is a tax on safety and leaves the poorest vulnerable in our County and is having an adverse impact on businesses and ordinary people who are legally bound to use masks in shops and on public transport.

We note that food and convenience store owners and other businesses that are obliged to use PPE are now facing increased costs just when they are struggling most.  An increase of 20% is a significant amount and has led to increases in price for PPE equipment, it has slowed demand and is acting as a barrier to buying PPE for some, at a time when many people’s income has been reduced due to the pandemic.

This Council asks the Leaders of the Ashfield Independents, Conservative / Mansfield Independents and Labour groups to write a joint letter to the Chancellor of the Exchequer Rishi Sunak MP and Treasury Minister Jesse Norman MP to call for this decision to be reversed and that a zero rate on VAT on supplies of PPE is reintroduced until we get to grips with the coronavirus pandemic.

Councillor David Martin    Councillor Helen-Ann Smith

This Council is concerned that water companies continue to allow the discharge of significant amounts of untreated sewage into our watercourses and waterways during periods of heavy rainfall.

It has been reported that in their respective regions last year (2019), untreated sewage was released almost 40,000 times by Severn Trent Water and more than 10,000 times by Anglian Water.

This Council resolves to write to Severn Trent Water and Anglian Water seeking an explanation and demanding that they invest more in the monitoring and reduction of these discharges, in order to prevent raw sewage polluting this county’s watercourses, killing wildlife, damaging biodiversity and undermining all attempts to create a cleaner, better environment.

Councillor Richard Jackson    Councillor Bruce Laughton

This Council:

• recognises the significant increase in the number of Nottinghamshire people working from home during the COVID-19 pandemic and the contribution this has made to reducing the ‘R’ (reproduction) number especially during the early stages of the lockdown;

• anticipates that this increase in home working could bring about a permanent change to the way some organisations, businesses and employees work in the future, even after the country returns to more ‘normal’ circumstances;

• believes that many people have worked from home very happily and successfully, but understands why others have found this change of routine and working environment to be isolating and stressful;

• urges employers across Nottinghamshire to ensure that their employees working from home are given the practical and personal support they need, so that this does not have a negative impact on their mental and physical health and wellbeing.

Councillor Dr John Doddy    Councillor Kevin Rostance

This council notes that on 20th March 2020, as part of his pandemic response package, the Chancellor provided a £20 a week uplift to the basic rate of Universal Credit. This was to reflect the reality that the level of benefits were not adequate to protect the swiftly increasing number of households relying on them as the crisis hit.

This council further notes that in April 2021, this benefit will end, leaving the level of unemployment support at its lowest ever relative to average earnings, and meaning many families income will be below the poverty line.

Therefore this council resolves to:

1. Write to the Chancellor, Rishi Sunak and to the Prime Minister, Boris Johnson demanding that the £20 increase to Universal Credit is made permanent and extended to claimants on legacy benefits.
   
   
   
2. Work with other local government organisations to form a coalition to pressure the government to make the £20 increase to Universal Credit permanent.

Councillor Alan Rhodes    Councillor Nicki Brooks

This council notes that fireworks impact considerably on the health and wellbeing of the elderly and vulnerable in our communities, together with domestic pets and wildlife.

This council proposes:

1. To write to the UK Government urging them to introduce legislation to ensure that only silent fireworks are available for retail.
   
   
   
2.  To undertake a proactive public awareness campaign, in partnership with public health and our district, borough and city councils, to encourage our residents to only attend silent firework displays. 

Councillor Alan Rhodes   Councillor Kate Foale