Meeting of Sheffield City Council to be held Wednesday 6th April, 2005
CITY OF SHEFFIELD
METROPOLITAN DISTRICT
COUNCIL SUMMONS
Notice is hereby given that a Meeting of the Council of the City of Sheffield will be held in the Council Chamber within the Town Hall, Sheffield, on Wednesday, 6th April, 2005, at 2.00 p.m.
THE FOLLOWING BUSINESS IS PROPOSED TO BE TRANSACTED-
1. MINUTES OF PREVIOUS COUNCIL MEETINGS
To receive the record of the proceedings of the meetings of the Council held on
(a) 2nd March, 2005 and (b) 4th March, 2005 and to approve the accuracy thereof.
2. PUBLIC QUESTIONS AND COMMUNICATIONS
To receive any questions or communications from the public, or communications submitted by the Lord Mayor or the Chief Executive and to pass such resolutions thereon as the Standing Orders permit and as may be deemed expedient.
3. MEMBERS' QUESTIONS
(a) Questions relating to urgent business - Standing Order No. A18(6).
(b) Questions submitted at this meeting – Standing Order A18(2)
(c) Supplementary questions on questions submitted at this meeting - Standing Order No. A18(4).
(d) Questions on the discharge of the functions of the South Yorkshire Joint Authorities for Fire and Civil Defence, Passenger Transport, Pensions and Police - Section 41 of the Local Government Act, 1985 - Standing Order No. A18(6).
(e) Questions on the discharge of the functions of the Yorkshire and Humber Assembly – Standing Order No. A18(6).
4. REPRESENTATION
To consider any changes to the memberships and arrangements for meetings of Boards etc., delegated authority, and the appointment of representatives to serve on other bodies.
5. OBSERVATIONS
To receive observations on the minutes of the meetings of the various Council bodies for the period 12th February to 11th March, 2005.
6. NOTICE OF MOTION GIVEN BY COUNCILLOR JAN WILSON
That this Council:
(a) congratulates all Council staff, and partners in the community, business and public sectors in working together to help achieve Sheffield’s award of ‘Council of the Year’;
(b) notes that this accolade follows the recent Comprehensive Performance Assessment of the Council as ‘excellent’;
(c) believes that the people of Sheffield can see a real improvement in the services which they receive;
(d) acknowledges that this has been supported by unprecedented levels of Government funding, for example:-
(i) the biggest school building programme ever;
(ii) over £1billion investment in Council housing; and
(iii) improved levels of Local Government Grant;
(e) acknowledges the very significant investment of partner organisations such as the Millenneum Commission, the Heritage Lottery Fund and Sport England;
(f) recognises that Sheffield is ‘on the up’ and that the people of Sheffield deserve the best;
(g) therefore commits itself to a policy of continuous improvement, focusing on the needs and aspirations of Sheffield citizens; and
(h) invites every Member of the Council to wholeheartedly support this Motion.
7. NOTICE OF MOTION GIVEN BY COUNCILLOR PAUL SCRIVEN
That this Council:
(a) condemns the changes to this Council’s Constitution, forced upon this Council by the present administration at the 2nd February, 2005, meeting of the full Council;
(b) notes that these changes have not been the subject of any consultation or cross-party working;
(c) believes that by changing the way this Council operates without, at the very least, consulting all parties on the Council, the present administration are abusing their position of power;
(d) acknowledges that changes to the Constitution are needed to improve the way in which the Council operates, and therefore directs that a cross-party working group is set up to look at all the possibilities available, including the option of scrapping the ‘scrutiny’ Council and replacing it with a ‘working’ Council;
(e) therefore directs that all changes to the Council’s Constitution, passed at the 2nd February 2005 Council meeting, be reversed, pending a report from the cross-party working group; and
(f) believes that the Council’s Constitution is above party politics and that, in the interests of all of the people in Sheffield, all efforts should be made to achieve cross-party agreement on any changes to the Council’s Constitution.
8. NOTICE OF MOTION GIVEN BY COUNCILLOR GILL FURNISS
That this Council:
(a) notes the recent report from Sport England that shows that Sheffield people are getting on the move and that 60% of people in the City are involved in some form of physical activity in their leisure time, which figure is 1% more than in Yorkshire as a whole and 3% more than in South Yorkshire;
(b) notes the report also showed that the City has more ‘highly active’ people – those exercising at least 5 times a week – than Leeds, our nearest comparable City in the survey;
(c) understands that there is a strong correlation between deprivation and activity levels and that given Sheffield’s overall level of deprivation, we should be encouraged by the levels of activity being achieved in the City;
(d) notes that the strong results are in a large part due to the good provision within the City of formal sports facilities along with parks and community activity programmes;
(e) accepts the major health benefits for adults from participating in 30 minutes of active recreation or sport on at least five days a week and therefore;
(f) commends the Council’s ‘Activity Sheffield’ team for developing the City’s Physical Activity Strategy in conjunction with the City’s four National Health Service Primary Care Trusts, voluntary and community groups;
(g) understands that opportunities to become more active are presented to people every day in work and leisure through walking, cycling, using stairs instead of lifts, as well as through the participation in formal sports and gym sessions; and
(h) would wish to see the continuing development of measures to further increase activity levels – especially for those who are currently least active.
9. NOTICE OF MOTION GIVEN BY COUNCILLOR ARTHUR DUNWORTH
That this Council:
(a) is alarmed, but not surprised, at the way in which the relationship between the present administration and FirstBus has deteriorated in the last few weeks, demonstrated by the now regular allegations from both parties in the local media;
(b) notes that the relationship between the present administration and FirstBus has deteriorated to the extent that the Leader of Council is not consulted about proposed bus fare increases and service cuts;
(c) believes that the breakdown of communications between the present administration and FirstBus is bad for the people of Sheffield and represents another failure of the present administration’s transport policy;
(d) believes that allegations levelled at the Council by FirstBus, such as FirstBus not being consulted or notified of road traffic works, are disturbing and require a full explanation;
(e) therefore directs that a report is commissioned which looks into how the Council works with FirstBus and makes recommendations on how communication can be improved, specifically looking at the option of setting up a committee named ‘Sheffield on the Move’ which would include bus operators, relevant businesses, the public, the Council, motoring organisations and train and tram representatives;
(f) notes that the major opposition group have consistently called for cross party working and representations on this issue in order to try and find a solution, only to be ignored by the present administration;
(g) condemns the present administration and the Government for doing nothing whilst bus services provided to the people of Sheffield have been getting worse, and reminds the public that this is a result of the present administration working with the present Government;
(h) notes that the ‘bus consultation’ carried out by the present administration has done nothing to persuade bus operators to reduce fares or reinstall cut bus services for the people of Sheffield; and
(i) concludes that only a cross party agreement on a solution, such as the franchising model used in London, can alleviate the present problems, and therefore calls for an urgent joint visit to Government by representatives of the two main parties to press for immediate permission to test out in Sheffield the licensing of routes, services and fares.
10. NOTICE OF MOTION GIVEN BY COUNCILLOR DAVID BAKER
That this Council:
(a) is concerned that local communities through their experience of the planning process are often of the view that the process is flawed and undemocratic, with inadequate consultation and with the perception that decisions are frequently taken behind closed doors;
(b) notes the Government's aspiration for the development of an accessible and transparent planning system which provides continuing opportunities for local people to participate;
(c) further notes that in preparing and revising local development documents and for consulting on planning applications local authorities are obliged to produce a Statement of Community Involvement;
(d) recognises the importance of pre-application discussions whose objective should be to confirm whether the principle of development is acceptable and to clarify the format, type and level of detail required to enable an authority to determine an application and that it is at this early stage in discussing applications that the Government encourages developers to engage with local communities;
(e) acknowledges that many authorities such as Surrey County Council have already recognised that more time spent in consulting at the pre-application stage is not only worthwhile and enables communities to feel part of the process but also improves the quality of submissions and reduces the amount of staff time spent in determining the application post submission;
(f) recalls the success of the pre-application consultation with local residents on the proposals for the new Ecclesall library which had a beneficial outcome not only for the local community but also for the developer; and
(g) resolves therefore that the menu of community involvement activities to be adopted in Sheffield's Statement of Community Involvement includes a requirement for pre-application consultation with the appropriate Area Panels and Parish Councils on all developments of significant community interest.
11. NOTICE OF MOTION GIVEN BY COUNCILLOR ANNE SMITH
That this Council :-
(a) condemns the changes to this Council’s Constitution, forced upon this Council by the present Administration at the 2nd February, 2005, meeting of the full Council;
(b) notes that these changes have not been the subject of any consultation or cross-party working;
(c) believes that by changing the way this Council operates without, at the very least, consulting all parties on the Council, the present administration are abusing their position of power;
(d) acknowledges that changes to the Constitution are needed to improve the way in which the Council operates, and therefore directs that a cross-party working group is set up to look at all the possibilities available, including the option of scrapping the ‘scrutiny’ Council and replacing it with a ‘working’ Council;
(e) therefore directs that all changes to the Council’s Constitution, passed at the 2nd February 2005 Council meeting be reversed, pending a report from the cross-party working group; and
(f) believes that the Council’s Constitution is above party politics and that, in the interests of all of the people of Sheffield, every effort should be made to achieve cross-party agreement on any changes to the Council’s Constitution.
12. NOTICE OF MOTION GIVEN BY COUNCILLOR DIANE LEEK
That this Council :-
(a) notes with concern the recent reports in the Star newspaper revealing problems with ‘bombsite’ Council homes on the Arbourthorne Estate;
(b) believes that problems and the scale of problems regarding the renovation of homes on the Arbourthorne Estate should be fully assessed, facilitated by a tenants’ survey, in order to plan for and avoid similar problems in future widescale renovation works in Sheffield;
(c) therefore directs that a questionnaire be distributed to all affected properties within the Arbourthorne Estate asking questions on the following issues:-
(i) the length of time it has taken for homes to be renovated;
(ii) access to essential facilities during renovation;
(iii) whether appropriate accommodation has been offered;
(iv) whether there has been sufficient information for tenants; and
(v) how tenants believe the experience can be improved;
(d) directs that a report is brought back to Council and the relevant Scrutiny Board with findings from the survey, and that this report recommends how the experience of tenants could be improved in future renovation works; and
(e) notes that as renovations are currently ongoing speedy assessment is of the utmost importance, and therefore directs that the tenant survey be drawn up and distributed as soon as possible, and that the report comes back to the relevant Scrutiny Board and is then considered at the next meeting of Council.
13. NOTICE OF MOTION GIVEN BY COUNCILLOR MARTIN BRELSFORD
That this Council :-
(a) believes that communities in the North of Sheffield such as Ecclesfield, High Green, Chapeltown, Grenoside, Oughtibridge, Stocksbridge, Stannington, Walkley and Hillsborough are being neglected by both Government and the present administration and that the people of these communities deserve a fair deal; and
(b) notes that this is demonstrated by the ‘North’ Sheffield Better Buses Scheme which redistributes bus services away from the North of Sheffield and into the present administration’s favoured areas.
14. NOTICE OF MOTION GIVEN BY COUNCILLOR PETER MOORE
That this Council: -
(a) notes the recent two year anniversary of the invasion of Iraq by predominantly US and UK forces;
(b) notes recent reports which suggest that the Attorney-General originally advised Government that an invasion of Iraq would be illegal, only to change his advice just prior to the actual invasion;
(c) concurs with the view of the United Nations Secretary General, Kofi Annan, that the invasion of Iraq was illegal;
(d) recalls the original stated reason for going to war with Iraq was said to be that the Government of Iraq had weapons of mass destruction capable of being deployed against British interests within 45 minutes;
(e) notes that after the invasion no weapons of mass destruction have ever been discovered in Iraq;
(f) recalls that the Prime Minister told Parliament on September 24th 2002 that intelligence on the issue of weapons of mass destruction in Iraq was “extensive, detailed and authoritative”, and believes that subsequent events have shown this statement to be false;
(g) therefore believes that Parliament and the British people were misled over the issue of weapons of mass destruction in Iraq; and
(h) calls on the people of Sheffield to consider carefully the information regarding the Iraq war and its justification.
Dated this 29th day of March, 2005
Sir Bob Kerslake
Chief Executive
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