Council Meeting Wednesday 27th July, 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, 27th July, 2005, at 2.00 p.m.

 

 

THE FOLLOWING BUSINESS IS PROPOSED TO BE TRANSACTED-

 

 

1.         MINUTES OF PREVIOUS COUNCIL MEETING

 

To receive the record of the proceedings of the meeting of the Council held on 6th July, 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.         ITEMS REFERRED TO COUNCIL

 

SHEFFIELD CITY AIRPORT

To consider a decision which was referred by the Cabinet at its meeting held on 13th July, 2005.

 

FINANCIAL OUT-TURN POSITION FOR 2004/05

To consider a decision which was referred by the Cabinet at its meeting held on 13th July, 2005.

 

STATEMENT OF ACCOUNTS 2004/05

To consider a decision which was referred by the Cabinet at its meeting held on 13th July, 2005.

 

CHILDREN AND YOUNG PEOPLE’S DIRECTORATE AND SERVICE DISTRICTS

To consider a decision which was referred by the Cabinet at its meeting held on 13th July, 2005.

 

REVIEW OF BOUNDARIES OF THE COUNCIL’S PLANNING AND HIGHWAYS AREA BOARDS

To consider a decision which was referred by the Cabinet at its meeting held on 13th July, 2005.

 

PROVISIONAL SECOND LOCAL TRANSPORT PLAN 2006-2011

To consider a decision which was referred by the Cabinet at its meeting held on 13th July, 2005.

 

6.         OBSERVATIONS

To receive observations on the minutes of the meetings of the various Council bodies for the period 18th June to 8th July, 2005.

 

 

7.         NOTICE OF MOTION GIVEN BY COUNCILLOR JAN WILSON

 

That this Council:

 

(a)       offers its heartfelt condolences to all affected by the recent tragic events in London;

 

(b)       recognises that it is vital that these acts are seen for what they truly are, the acts of terrorists which are condemned by all of the diverse ethnic, faith, and religious groups which make up Sheffield’s population;

 

(c)        recognises the overwhelming importance of community cohesion at this difficult time;

 

(d)       believes in the strength and vibrancy of our multi-cultural community in Sheffield; and

 

(e)       will work together to provide leadership in supporting local communities to ensure that our communities remain united in their opposition to terrorism and that Sheffield remains a tolerant, safe and understanding City.

 

8.         NOTICE OF MOTION GIVEN BY COUNCILLOR  SYLVIA ANGINOTTI

That this Council:

 

(a)       notes proposals to take Waltheof and Myrtle Springs Schools out of the Local Education Authority family and turn them into ‘City Academies’ as part of the Government’s intention to have 200 Academies by 2010;

 

(b)       acknowledges that both Schools are in need of significant investment and that this investment can be gained through predominantly two methods, that is they can apply for Academy status or they can be included in the ‘Building Schools for the Future’ programme;

 

(c)        notes the widespread criticism of the roll out of the Academy programme from numerous sources including teacher representatives, the House of Commons cross-party Education Select Committee and concerned parents;

 

(d)       notes the poor performance of Academies nationally and in particular the Academy in Manchester, run by the United Learning Trust, which saw pupil performance fall to make the School the second worst performing in the Country;

 

(e)       notes that once Waltheof and Myrtle Springs Schools achieve Academy status, the private sponsor could change key policies, such as admissions and exclusions, and this Authority would be virtually powerless to do anything about it;

 

(f)         notes that both Waltheof and Myrtle Springs Schools are seeing pupil performance steadily improve working within the LEA family and also notes the huge improvements achieved at Fir Vale whilst working within the LEA family;

 

(g)       concludes that the best option for Myrtle Springs and Waltheof Schools would be to keep the Schools within the LEA family and gain funding through the ‘Building Schools for the Future Programme’ whilst retaining accountability which is achieved through keeping the Schools within the LEA, although this Council believes the parents should have the final say in the matter;

 

(h)        therefore calls for an indicative ballot of relevant parents to be carried out as soon as possible, to be financed within existing budgets, laying out the two options for both Schools, that is:-

 

(i)         for both schools to apply for Academy status and go forward with proposals to take them out of the LEA family; and

 

(ii)        for Academy status to be rejected in favour of gaining funding through the ‘Building Schools for the Future’ programme and keep both Schools within the LEA; and

 

(i)         directs the Chief Executive to organise the ballot and make provision for parents to receive balanced information in support of both proposals as soon as possible.

 

 9.        NOTICE OF MOTION GIVEN BY COUNCILLOR CHRIS WELDON

That this Council:

 

(a)       welcomes the Government’s support of the bid for £171 million for the last phase of Sheffield’s Arms Length Management Organisation (ALMO) Programme, and welcomes the recent announcement of a provisional allocation of £67.5 million to fund the scheme during 2006/07 and 2007/08;

 

(b)       celebrates that Sheffield now has a fully funded public sector housing programme;

 

(c)        welcomes the unprecedented investment in housing from the Government, which has enabled, and will continue to enable the Council to provide better quality social housing for tenants in Sheffield;

 

(d)       believes that putting tenants at the heart of the better homes and better neighbourhoods strategy has been and will continue to be crucial to the success of the strategy; and

 

(e)       congratulates Sheffield tenants for working together to secure extra investment for their area, and thanks them for the hard work they have put into the process.

 

 

10.       NOTICE OF MOTION GIVEN BY COUNCILLOR SHAFFAQ MOHAMMED

 

That this Council:

 

(a)       notes the concerns of residents living in the vicinity of Parkwood Landfill Site;

 

(b)       instructs the relevant Cabinet Member to grant a public meeting to a group of residents who collected a petition numbering nearly 3000 which details various concerns regarding the Parkwood Landfill Site in terms of the way it is being run, related health concerns and the plans for the future;

 

(c)        is particularly alarmed about the health implications for local residents and the evidence of bad practice that local residents have gathered, and is also concerned with the wider environmental problems that the Parkwood Landfill Site presents;

 

(d)       notes that the Cabinet on the 21st January 2002 directed a cross-party working group to assess all environmental issues associated with the Parkwood Landfill Site and therefore regrets that local residents are still reporting unacceptable environmental issues regarding the site;

 

(e)       calls for a plan which would ensure no expansion of the Parkwood Landfill Site and include details for an agreed phased closure of the Site within an agreed timeframe;

 

(f)         directs that the Chief Executive prepares a report for the framework for the aforementioned plan, to be brought back to the next Council meeting, which will include details of how the plan can be progressed.

 

 

11.       NOTICE OF MOTION GIVEN BY COUNCILLOR TIM RIPPON

That this Council:

 

(a)       congratulates London on winning the bid to host the 2012 Olympic Games;

 

(b)       welcomes the economic benefits that this will bring, not just to London but to the whole of the United Kingdom;

 

(c)        acknowledges the vast benefits that sporting activities can bring for people of all ages and particularly the role that sport can play in improving people’s health; and

 

(d)       therefore celebrates this achievement which will encourage people in Sheffield and throughout the UK to participate more in sporting activity.

 

 

12.       NOTICE OF MOTION GIVEN BY COUNCILLOR MARTIN BRELSFORD

 

That this Council :-

 

(a)       welcomes the adoption by the Government of the policy of the third party in Parliament, to provide free off-peak bus travel for people aged 60 and over and for people with disabilities to be introduced in April 2006;

 

(b)       is extremely concerned that initial work suggests a potential shortfall in funding in South Yorkshire of between £4m and £6m per annum;

 

(c)        notes that the Government has not included extending this fares-free concession to tram and rail users;

 

(d)       further notes that the concession agreement for Supertram obliges the Passenger Transport Executive to offer a concessionary fares scheme for the tram on the same basis as for buses  and that this will require a further estimated £700K of funding;

 

e)         therefore calls upon the Government to:-

 

(i)         fully fund free bus travel for the over 60s and people with disabilities so that no cost falls on the Council Tax payer or leads to cuts in existing services; and

 

(ii)        extend the free bus travel concession to tram and rail users, a move which is also supported by the Local Government Association; and

 

(f)         directs that copies of this Motion be sent to all Sheffield Members of Parliament, the Secretary of State for Transport and his opposite numbers, the Chair of the South Yorkshire Passenger Transport Authority and the Director General of the South Yorkshire Passenger Transport Executive.

 

 

 

 

Bob Kerslake

Dated this 19th day of July, 2005