The following question was submitted by Mr Bamping and answered by Councillor Lowry, Cabinet Member for Finance:

Question: Why is the Plymouth Dome building being sold off for £500,000 by the council on a 125 year lease; when there has been no public consultation on what is to happen to this Public Building?

This property should NOT go into private hands; who is behind making this decision and how can it be stopped?

Answer: The freehold interest of the Dome is not being sold - it is currently being marketed on a long leasehold basis of 125 years as this length of lease term will provide prospective lessees with the security required to enable them to obtain institutional funding in order to carry out the significant capital expenditure required to bring this prominent waterfront landmark building back into long term sustainable economic use - benefitting all Plymouth’s residents and visitors.  Granting leasehold interests of up to 125 years is standard practice in the management of the Council’s substantial commercial property portfolio.

The Council has elected to grant a leasehold interest rather than dispose of the freehold as this enables the Council to retain long term control over the site and its future use and appearance through the lease terms granted.  In addition to the controls on the site contained under the lease provisions, any future substantial material changes or redevelopment of the site will also require formal planning permission via the formal democratic process which of course includes public consultation.

The following question was submitted by Mrs Reeby and answered by Councillor Pete Smith, Deputy Leader:

Question: There has been a suggestion to rename Drake ward. A: When were the residents of Drake ward consulted over this? B: Will this mean the renaming of Drakes place, Drakes Island, Drakes Leat and the bankruptcy of the National trusts Buckland Abbey? C: How do you propose taking this forward and educating for a better future rather than erasing history?

Answer: A: There has been suggestion made in public to rename Drake Ward. The Council has not received an official request to look into this matter and has not taken any steps to rename the Ward.

B: The Leader of the Council has made a statement on How Plymouth is acknowledging the role historical figures played in the slave trade, which is attached and describes the actions being taken by the Council.

C: The actions being proposed by the Council are set out in the statement by the Leader of the Council which is attached above.

The following question was submitted by Ms Lloyd and answered by Councillor Kate Taylor, Cabinet Member for

Question: BAME are at extreme risk of death via C19 both in the NHS, in multi-generational homes, or overcrowded lower income communities What Risk Assessments and strategies exist to ensure they are prioritised for tracking tracing and any other support they need?

Answer: The disproportionate number of deaths in people from BAME communities due to COVID19 has come to light over recent months. A recent review showed that people of Bangladeshi ethnicity had around twice the risk of death than people of White British ethnicity. People of Chinese, Indian, Pakistani, Other Asian, Caribbean and Other Black ethnicity had between 10% and 50% higher risk of death when compared to White British. This study did not take into account factors such as occupation and pre-existing health conditions, both of which are thought to be important, highlighted by the large number of people from BAME communities affected by COVID19 who have been working in health and social care.  Being from BAME communities has been recognised as a risk factor in these relevant occupations and is taken into account in risk assessments for health and social care, and other public sector roles. The key factor is to prevent exposure and infection in the first place.

Local Authorities do not have responsibility for the NHS Track and Trace programme. We receive limited data and information from the programme; for example, currently we do not receive data on ethnicity of people who test positive, though we have asked for this data to be provided. We do not receive names or contact details of individuals, so we are unable to use any local information to identify ethnicity. Similarly, we do not receive any information on contacts and we would only hear of an issue if there were two or more positive cases linked to the same setting, outside of a household.

Groups from BAME communities are listed in our Local Outbreak Management Plan as higher risk, and if NHS Test and Trace were to notify us of an issue, we would receive sufficient information to work with the community to identify any specific issues that they might have.

It is now very easy to get a test, and anyone who has symptoms should contact nhs.uk or call 119 to access a test, and for them and their household to self-isolate, and to provide contact details to NHS Test and Trace. This will break the chain of infection and so keep it at or below the current levels that we are seeing.

We would also urge everyone to remember to socially distance, wash your hands, and wear face masks when in close proximity to others. 

The following question was submitted by Mr Reilly and answered by Councillor Pete Smith, Deputy Leader.

Question: Will PCC change the plaque in the Mayflower Museum that doesn’t refer to Hawkins family as slave traders, and review and redesign the Museum and Box’s displays to ensure that the connections between the New England colonies and slavery in the British Caribbean and North America colonies are highlighted.

Answer: Let’s first answer the question in relation to The Box, which includes displays about Hawkins, Francis Drake, the Mayflower and other aspects of the histories of empire and colonisation. Considerable care and attention has been given in the years of planning this nationally important museum and art gallery, due to open soon we hope this autumn, to ensure that the connections with slavery that Mr Reilly refers to, are clearly manifest and form part of the understanding of our collective past, present and future. Redesign has not been necessary as these issues were being addressed from the beginning.

In relation to the Mayflower Museum, any reference to Hawkins (whose slave trade voyages preceded that of the Mayflower by forty years) will in future include reference to his role in establishing the British slave trade.

The following question was submitted by Mr Tindall-Jones and answered by Councillor Jon Taylor, Cabinet Member for Education, Skills and Transformation.

Question: Following Plymouth City Council’s recent expressions of concern about Black Lives Matter and Racism, will the council use its position as Education authority to firstly, organise a review of the teaching about colonialism in local schools with a view to promoting  ‘decolonisation of the curriculum’.

Answer: There is a named officer within the Education Participation & Skills Team responsible for supporting racial equality and monitoring reported racist incidents in schools who also manages the Ethnic Minority Achievement Team (EMAT). Through this role we know that all schools have in place racial equality policies, which adhere to the 2010 Equalities Act legislation, most schools report racist incidents quarterly and accept advice in positively challenging racism. The Adviser provides training for schools focused on recognising institutionalised racism, review of ethos and curriculum, as well as dealing with racist incidents. However, this is a traded service to schools and take up is not extensive. Schools can develop their own resources or use any market place provider.

The local authority know of one case study of a Plymouth school working towards effectively decolonising the curriculum and we know that many schools are not yet confident in engaging deeply with issues surrounding positive anti-racism or diversity. There is capacity (and skills set) for a review of teaching about colonialism, and to establish a schools working group to explore a curriculum review. The Adviser/EMAT work within the PCC group managing the city resettlement programmes and liaise with a number of partners and agencies within PCC and the city, as well as retaining links with EMAT Tower Hamlets – all of which could be put to good use.

In other areas of the Education, Participation & Skills Team there is an offer of school support focused on National Curriculum Spiritual Moral & Social Education (SMSC) & British Values. This NC subject includes mutual respect for/tolerance of those with different faiths/beliefs, although we recognise the need to go beyond ‘acceptance’ and ‘tolerance.’ These areas are also addressed in a Healthy Child Quality Mark award which many schools buy into.

Plymouth SACRE are sensitive to ensuring that children and young people, through their RE curriculums, learn about the faiths of peoples from across the world, complementing the SMSC curriculum. Plymouth SACRE has provided a comprehensive, inclusive RE syllabus supported by specific training, free for maintained schools and at a considerably reduced rate for academies. However, again, we recognise the gap between supporting positive multicultural awareness and revising learning to properly address inherent racism.

The EP&S Team facilitate a Plymouth Equality & Diversity Forum, which meet regularly and engages partners from schools and external agencies including Plymouth Racial Equality Council and the Intercom Trust. The group aims to inform practice and support the ongoing implementation of the 2010 Equalities Act in educational settings. 

The Education Department have also developed resources and links with schools that address the Mayflower discourse in a sensitive way encouraging participation of all voices and views in what needs to be a pluralistic conversation. Teachers are at liberty to engage their students, explicitly, to understand experiences and rights of the Native Americans and to understand the challenging cultural debates around the wider legacy of colonisation.

In addition, we would like to note that the Box team are creating education materials and resources, for direct use with young people, that will clearly cover these aspects, should schools wish to access them

The following question was submitted by Mr Davey and answered by Councillor Chris Penberthy, Cabinet Member for Housing and Co-operative Development.

Question: In light of criticism raised by Black Lives Matter, will the council adopt a pro-active policy initiating an immediate holistic public inquiry into the scale and depth of institutional racism in Plymouth and its impacts, with specific proposals for eradicating inequalities and injustices resulting from White entitlement?

Answer: Racism in all its forms is unacceptable. As an international city we have a proud history in Plymouth of welcoming people from all over the world. It is as important as ever that Plymouth, England, makes a clear statement against any form of discrimination or oppression and that we stand in solidarity with those who are being discriminated against. We are very serious as a council about our pledge to make Plymouth a safe and welcoming city and to champion equality and diversity. This is why we will always stand shoulder to shoulder with all those fighting racism, hatred and bigotry in all its forms

Several of our pledges laid out as part of our manifesto set out how we would tackle equality and diversity in the City. This included Pledge 65 where we said we would review the progress made in implementing the recommendations of the Plymouth Fairness Commission. Our review set out 4 key themes that we want to tackle moving forward and these are combating loneliness, supporting an ageing population, financial inclusion and tackling discrimination in all forms.

We have also set out Equality and Diversity objectives for the next four years which has seen us set five priorities for the City around closing the gender pay gap, making sure that Plymouth celebrates diversity and is a welcoming City,  Supporting our workforce through the implementation of Our People Strategy, Supporting victims of hate crime so they feel confident to report incidents, and working with, and through our partner organisations to achieve positive outcomes, and making sure Plymouth is a city where people from different backgrounds get along well. Through all of this work we are clear that we want Plymouth to be a City that welcomes people of all races and backgrounds and at the same time we want to tackle racism, hatred and bigotry in all its forms.