Please note that all questions must be receive by the committee officer detailed on the agenda by 10am on Thursday, 21 September 2017. 

For guidance on submitting public questions please see appendix 1 of the council's constitution.

Petitions must be received by the committee officer detailed on the front of the agenda by 10am on Monday, 25 September 2017.

For guidance on submitting petitions please see appendix 1 of the council's constitution.

To approve the accuracy of the minutes of the meeting held on 17 July 2017.

Purpose -  To consider the appointment of the external auditors as endorsed by cabinet and audit committee.

Councillor Jones (B) to move and Councillor Davis to second the following motion:

"The massive disparity in NHS funding for mental health has become a far more widely acknowledged fact in recent years, along with the stigma that is still attached to mental health. Unfortunately, the promised ‘parity of esteem’ has proved to be an empty phrase, it has not converted into increased funding despite vast growth in the need for mental health support.

The Tory government’s austerity measures are exacerbating an already critical situation as mental health does not exist in a vacuum. Unfavourable social, economic and environmental circumstances increase vulnerability to a range of mental health problems.

This council RESOLVES to ask cabinet to:

(1)      Work alongside statutory services including Norwich CCG and Norfolk Public Health, to ensure consideration of mental health and wellbeing is built into relevant plans, including the Healthy Norwich Action Plan and continue to advocate for the highest standards of services for all our citizens and challenge inequalities of access.

(2)      Continue to work to mitigate the impact of the austerity measures of the Tory government which impact on the mental wellbeing of the citizens of Norwich and sign post them to other organisations that can offer further assistance.

(3)      Explore opportunities to work in partnership and promote engagement both with and between voluntary organisations that provide mental health and mental wellbeing support to Norwich residents.

(4)      Support the continued development of social prescribing in Norwich, addressing social needs which impact upon mental wellbeing.

(5)      Reaffirm the council’s commitment to the Local Authorities’ Mental Health Challenge, with an identified elected representative to champion mental health.

(6)      Ensure that consideration of mental wellbeing is included in any corporate strategy review.

(7)      To call on the government to translate ‘parity of esteem’ into parity of funding for mental health."

Councillor Jones (T) to move and Councillor Jackson to second:

" Norwich is losing out on affordable housing due to developers producing viability assessments that allow them to avoid affordable housing obligations.

Details of 15 major housing developments approved between 2013-2016 show that of the 299 affordable homes developers should have supplied if all had complied with the 33% requirement set out in the Joint Core Strategy, only 39 were delivered. Based on a cost per unit of between £70,000 and £120,000, this approach has lost Norwich between £18.7 million and £32.6 million worth of affordable housing provision.

Council resolves to:

(1)     seek that the existing policy of requiring at least 33% affordable housing in developments of more than 10 houses is upheld or bettered within the Greater Norwich Local Plan.

(2)     note the planning application committee’s recent refusal of planning permission for St Peter’s Church on Park Lane, due to scrutiny of their viability assessment by an outside expert, as the precursor to a new, more rigorous approach to holding developers responsible for meeting the council’s affordable housing targets.

(3)      ask cabinet to:

           (a)     Make viability assessments publicly accessible online and therefore open to public scrutiny throughout  the planning consultation process, following the example of councils including Greenwich, Islington, Lambeth and Bristol.

         (b)     Introduce a policy of requiring external, independent scrutiny of all viability assessments by default, to replace the current procedure of subjecting a viability assessment to independent assessment only when the council ‘considers it necessary’ (as set out in the council’s Affordable Housing Supplementary Planning Document 2015).

         (c)    Clarify in the forthcoming revised Affordable Housing Supplementary Planning Document what specifically is meant by ‘reasonable profit’ for a developer, by stipulating a maximum profit level (such as 15%) that recognises developers’ financial constraints while also demonstrating the council’s refusal to allow developers to profit at the expense of much-needed affordable housing.