Meeting of the City Council to be held Wednesday 5th April 2006
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, 5th April, 2006, 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 1st and 3rd March, 2006, 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 Rescue, 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, DELEGATED AUTHORITY AND RELATED ISSUES
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
SCRUTINY BOARD REPORT ON HIV/AIDS
To consider a decision which was referred by the Cabinet at its meeting held on 22nd March, 2006
SECOND SOUTH YORKSHIRE LOCAL TRANSPORT PLAN 2006-2011
To consider a decision which was referred by the Cabinet at its meeting held on 22nd March, 2006
6. NOTICE OF MOTIONS
To consider any motions for which notice has been received by the Chief Executive in accordance with
the timescale set out in Standing Order No A13(1)
( NOTE: Details of all Motions received under the above arrangements will be set out in an addendum
to this Summons and circulated separately to all Members )
(A) NOTICE OF MOTION GIVEN BY COUNCILLOR TERRY FOX
That this Council:
(a) wholeheartedly welcomes the scheme of free local travel for over-60s which brings greater freedom to older and disabled people in South Yorkshire;
(b) thanks South Yorkshire Passenger Transport Authority for providing the extra resources to fund a scheme which is more generous than the nationally funded scheme;
(c) notes that all Senior Citizens and Mobility Pass holders living in South Yorkshire, will keep all of the travel opportunities they previously had - the only difference is that as of 1st April they do not have to pay the 40p concessionary fare;
(d) believes that it is fantastic that, as of 1st April, Sheffield’s older people are able to travel on all trains, trams and buses in South Yorkshire all day from 9am onwards for free; and
(e) further welcomes the recent announcement by the Chancellor of the Exchequer that from April 2008 older people will be eligible for free bus travel outside their home areas, under a £250m extension of concessionary travel, which will provide for a flexible nationwide scheme.
(B) NOTICE OF MOTION GIVEN BY COUNCILLOR IAN AUCKLAND
That this Council:
(a) is deeply concerned that it is becoming increasingly difficult for many pensioners within Sheffield to maintain a decent quality of life;
(b) believes that there are a number of factors which are currently having a detrimental effect on pensioners; and
(i) notes the huge increases in energy bills which will see many pensioners
struggling to make ends meet;
(ii) condemns the Government for ducking the reform of the unfair and flawed Council Tax, which hits pensioners the hardest, over a period in excess of eight years and believes that the best option remains to axe the Tax altogether in favour of a system based on the ability to pay;
(iii) notes that many vital bus routes, relied upon by many pensioners, have been cut by private operators and condemns the Government for their lack of action in reforming bus provision so that local authorities have greater control;
(iv) condemns the deeply harmful decision of the Government to axe the Post Office Card Account from 2010 which will result in the closure of thousands of Post Office branches nationally including within Sheffield; and
(v) notes that the recent report ‘Living Well in Later Life’, which assesses the Government's progress half-way through its 10-year plan to improve services for the over 50s, found that elderly people are being neglected and poorly treated by England’s Health system;
(c) notes that the Government’s £200 Council Tax rebate for pensioners last year has now been seen as the cynical one-off election bribe that many predicted;
(d) concurs with the views of the present Director-General of ‘Age Concern’ when, on 20th Feb 2006, he said:
“While Council Tax and energy bills have increased at a staggering rate in recent years, the state pension has stayed disgracefully low. The Government needs to replace the unfair Council Tax system with one that reflects people’s ability to pay”;
(e) condemns the present administration for adding to the problems of some of the most vulnerable pensioners by:-
(i) imposing a massive 165% increase to Home Care charges;
(ii) planning to impose a 70% increase to District Heating charges over two years; and
(iii) imposing a 4.6% Council Tax increase whilst voting against a possible 1.98% increase, as proposed by the major opposition group;
(f) believes that pensioners deserve to be treated with dignity and respect and is therefore dismayed at the actions of both the present Government and administration, and therefore supports pensioners in their campaign to bring pensioners’ issues to the forefront of debate;
(g) directs that a copy of this Motion is sent to the Minister responsible for Older People’s Issues and their opposite numbers, all the Sheffield Members of Parliament, Sheffield Pensioners Action Group, Age Concern Sheffield, Help the Aged and any other appropriate pensioners pressure groups locally and nationally.
(C) NOTICE OF MOTION GIVEN BY COUNCILLOR JAN WILSON
That this Council:
(a) celebrates the economic renaissance which is taking place in the North of England and particularly in Sheffield, a key economic hub within the North;
(b) wholeheartedly welcomes the benefits that this economic renewal brings to the people of Sheffield and notes that as a result of this regeneration, approximately 5000 new jobs are created every year for local people;
(c) celebrates the impressive public realm which has been created in Sheffield, which has been warmly welcomed by local people;
(d) in particular, celebrates the ‘Heart of the City’ project which is playing such a critical part in the City’s renaissance, changing not only the physical appearance of Sheffield but also the feel of the City; and
(e) welcomes the newest element of the Heart of the City project, Millennium Square, an outstanding public space, which was recently opened by the Deputy Prime Minister, the Rt. Hon. John Prescott MP.
(D) NOTICE OF MOTION GIVEN BY COUNCILLOR SHAFFAQ MOHAMMED
That this Council:
(a) believes that the condition of Sheffield’s roads remains at unacceptable levels across the City;
(b) notes that under the previous administration the Council had begun to address the condition of roads, originally brought about by years of neglect and financial
incompetence under other previous administrations;
(c) regrets that the present administration have failed to build on this success and are, once again, neglecting Sheffield’s roads and failing to recognise the seriousness of the situation which has led to Sheffield being labelled ‘pothole City’;
(d) furthermore regrets that the present administration, supported by the third group in Council, continue to prioritise many road repairs on the basis of their unfair ‘favoured areas’ policy and calls on the present administration to decide priority for road repairs on the basis of need rather than geographical area;
(e) supports the idea of using 5% of all capital receipts in order to provide a huge financial boost to the road maintenance programme, and notes this would see a significant increase in the road repairs budget of around 70%; and
(f) therefore directs that:
(i) the Chief Executive commission a report which recommends how the Council can facilitate the use of 5% of capital receipts in order to increase the road maintenance budget; and
(ii) the current system of prioritising road maintenance is immediately amended so that potential schemes no longer score extra points for being in a favoured area.
(E) NOTICE OF MOTION GIVEN BY COUNCILLOR CHRIS WELDON
That this Council:
(a) celebrates the completion of the 5000th home, under the Decent Homes Programme;
(b) welcomes the unprecedented investment in housing from the Government which is providing better quality social housing for tenants in Sheffield;
(c) wholeheartedly welcomes the £126 million spending within the Decent Homes Programme which has been approved for the next financial year, which will enable it to continue with this outstanding level of investment in social housing in Sheffield;
(d) further welcomes the recent announcement by the Rt. Hon. John Prescott MP of a further £482 million Housing Market Renewal investment to regenerate some of England's most run down estates, of which South Yorkshire’s share is £90 million;
(e) recognises that many tenants have experienced a great deal of disruption and
inconvenience during the time that Decent Homes work has been carried out on their
estates and thanks them for their patience during this transitional period;
(f) believes that putting tenants at the heart of the better homes and better neighbourhoods strategy is crucial to the success of the strategy; and
(g) congratulates Sheffield tenants for working in partnership with the Council and Sheffield Homes to deliver better homes for their areas, and thanks them for the hard work they continue to put into the Decent Homes programme.
(F) NOTICE OF MOTION GIVEN BY COUNCILLOR JANICE SIDEBOTTOM
That this Council:
(a) welcomes the introduction of free local concessionary travel for people over sixty and for people with disabilities from 1st April 2006 but regrets that the Government's scheme only funds travel from 9.30 am and is restricted to bus travel only;
(b) is pleased that the South Yorkshire Passenger Transport Authority has decided to extend the scheme to a 9.00 am start and to include light rail, local rail and cross-boundary journeys;
(c) believes that this scheme will improve the quality of life for those on low incomes;
(d) hopes that the scheme will encourage more journeys to be made by public transport rather than by car;
(e) is concerned that there is still uncertainty over the funding for this initiative;
(f) welcomes the Chancellor of the Exchequer's commitment to a free national bus travel scheme but hopes it will be fully funded and that the uncertainties and complexities around the introduction of the local scheme can be avoided; and
(g) directs that copies of this Motion be sent to the Secretary of State for Transport and his opposite numbers, to all the Sheffield Members of Parliament and to the Chair of the South Yorkshire Passenger Transport Authority.
(G) NOTICE OF MOTION GIVEN BY COUNCILLOR JILLIAN CREASY
That this Council:
(a) notes that, since the Council passed a Motion in December 2004 instructing the Chief Executive to promote Sheffield’s case for a Regional Casino:
(i) there has been so much national concern about the detrimental effects of “mega casinos” that the Government was forced to reduce the number of proposed sites
from eight to one;
(ii) the health assessment commissioned from the Directors of Public Health in
Sheffield has still not been undertaken;
(iii) the economic assessment carried out by Ernst and Young for Yorkshire Forward in 2005 has concluded that Sheffield would be a better location than Leeds but did not make a strong case for the overall economic benefits of a Regional Casino;
(iv) a report by the independent management and regeneration consultants Hall Aitken has stated that a Regional Casino in Sheffield could create over 14,000 new problem gamblers with an estimated cost to the region of £124 million, would displace spend from other leisure industries and would allow a large corporation to siphon profits out of the local economy; and
(v) the City Council’s own report “A Regional Casino in Sheffield: Realising the
Opportunity” has stated that it expects people to drive in from across the region and beyond, but made no mention of how this will affect congestion and air quality near the M1;
(b) also notes that the City Council has nevertheless made a provisional application to the Casino Advisory Panel to secure the right to issue a license for a Regional Casino;
(c) therefore resolves, in the light of emerging new evidence, to put this application on ice until a fuller assessment of the economic, social and environmental effects has been undertaken, scrutinised and widely consulted upon.
(H) NOTICE OF MOTION GIVEN BY COUNCILLOR IBRAR HUSSAIN
That this Council:
(a) notes the recent United Nations Report to the Commission on Human Rights on ‘The Situation of Detainees at Guantanamo Camp', which confirms that torture including
violent force feeding of detainees and cruel, inhuman and degrading treatment are part of
the regime in Guantanamo;
(b) notes that the same report noted that even during a public emergency or armed conflict threatening the life of the nation certain articles cannot be derogated from (Article 4(2) of the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights); these include the right to life, the prohibition of torture, inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment, and the safeguards for the right to fair trial;
(c) notes that the report also states that 'the United States Government should close the Guantanamo Bay detention facilities without further delay';
(d) also notes that the Human Rights Annual report of the House of Commons Foreign Affairs Select Committee, in referring to Guantanamo Bay, calls on the British Government to 'make loud and public its objections to the existence of such a prison regime';
(e) notes the recent comment regarding Guantanamo Bay, from the Rt. Hon. Peter Hain MP that he 'would prefer that it was closed';
(f) also notes Kofi Annan's response that 'there will be a need to close Guantanamo';
(g) therefore calls upon the British Government to publicly call for the closure of
Guantanamo Bay and the return of the remaining British residents who are held there, to
their families in Britain; and
(h) directs that copies of this resolution be sent to the Sheffield Members of Parliament, the Prime Minister and the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs.
(I) NOTICE OF MOTION GIVEN BY COUNCILLOR PETER MOORE
That this Council:
(a) is delighted by the phenomenal recent success of the Sheffield band, Arctic Monkeys, both in Europe and the USA;
(b) recognises the added value given to the reputation and economy of the City by the many outstanding Sheffield musicians and those in the Sheffield music industry over the years; and
(c) therefore instructs the Chief Executive to:
(i) set up a working group to examine ways in which the reputation afforded to Sheffield by those musicians can be harnessed to provide positive benefits for the citizens of Sheffield;
(ii) ensure representatives from the music industry are invited on to the working group; and
(iii) explore ways in which a civic reception honouring Sheffield’s musicians and those involved in the music industry in Sheffield can be hosted within the next 12 months and in doing so liaise with the office of the Lord Mayor.
(J) NOTICE OF MOTION GIVEN BY COUNCILLOR JILLIAN CREASY
That this Council:
(a) is concerned about the decline in local services and facilities which:
(i) affects local communities, especially the elderly and those on low incomes;
(ii) damages local jobs and local economies;
(iii) increases traffic and pollution due to the need to travel further; and
(iv) adds to people’s feelings of exclusion and lack of involvement;
(b) supports measures to reverse this process as envisaged in the Sustainable Communities Bill which would promote local economies; promote local services and facilities; protect the environment; reduce social exclusion and increase democratic involvement;
(c) resolves to support the Sustainable Communities Bill which:
(i) requires the Government to assist local Councils and communities in promoting
sustainability in ways decided by them; and
(ii) sets up a participative process whereby Councils and communities can drive the
way in which the Government uses its power and influence to assist with promotion of local sustainability; and
(d) therefore resolves to:
(i) write to all the local Members of Parliament asking them to support the Bill and the Early Day Motion (number 641) and
(ii) write to the Local Works Campaign expressing its support.
(K) NOTICE OF MOTION GIVEN BY COUNCILLOR PETER MOORE
That this Council:
(a) notes that it is now just over three years since the illegal invasion of Iraq;
(b) remembers that the decision by the current Prime Minister to commit British Forces to the invasion was supported by the overwhelming majority of Government party and official opposition MPs but none of the MPs from the third largest parliamentary party;
(c) regrets the deaths and injuries caused to hundreds of thousands of innocent Iraqi civilians as well as the deaths and injuries suffered by US, British and other armed forces as a result of the illegal war;
(d) believes that the most lasting legacy of the Prime Minister will be the memory of his involvement in the illegal Iraq war and in the deception of Members of Parliament and the public at large about the supposed reason for going to war i.e. the possession of weapons of mass destruction said by the Prime Minister to be held by the Iraqi Government and capable of being deployed against British interests within 45 minutes; and
(e) further believes that the Prime Minister’s stated intention of standing down as Prime Minister before the end of the current parliamentary session should happen sooner rather than later.
7. OBSERVATIONS
To receive observations on the minutes of the meetings of the various Council bodies for the period 11th February to 17th March, 2006.
Dated this 27th day of March, 2006
Chief Executive
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