Minutes of the Meeting of the City Council held 7th September 2005

Minutes of a Meeting of the Council held Wednesday, 7th September, 2005

Meeting of the Council of the City of Sheffield held in the Council Chamber within the Town Hall, Sheffield, on Wednesday, 7th September, 2005 pursuant to notice duly given and Summonses duly served.

PRESENT

THE LORD MAYOR (Councillor Roger Davison)

THE DEPUTY LORD MAYOR (Councillor Jackie Drayton)

1 Arbourthorne Ward			10 Dore & Totley Ward	19 Mosborough Ward
Julie Dore			Anne Smith	Mike Peat
John Robson			Mike Waters	David Barker
Tim Rippon			Keith Hill	Sam Wall

2 Beauchief/Greenhill Ward			11 East Ecclesfield Ward	20 Nether Edge Ward
Anthony Holmes			Pat Fox	Ali Qadar
Simon Clement-Jones			Vic Bowden	Andrew White
Clive Skelton			Graham Oxley	Pat White

3 Beighton Ward			12 Ecclesall Ward	21 Richmond Ward
Ian Saunders			Sylvia Dunkley	Martin Lawton
Chris Rosling-Josephs				John Campbell
Helen Mirfin-Boukouris				Terry Barrow

4 Birley Ward			13 Firth Park Ward	22 Shiregreen & Brightside Ward
Bryan Lodge			Joan Barton	Jane Bird
Mike Pye			Chris Weldon	Peter Price
Denise Fox			Alan Law	Peter Rippon

5 Broomhill Ward			14 Fulwood Ward	23 Southey Ward
Paul Scriven			John Knight	Leigh Bramall
Alan Whitehouse			Andrew Sangar	Gill Furniss
Shaffaq Mohammed

6 Burngreave Ward			15 Gleadless Valley Ward	24 Stannington Ward
Ibrar Hussain			Terry Fox	Arthur Dunworth
Steve Jones			Rosemary Telfer	David Baker
			Garry Weatherall

7 Central Ward			16 Graves Park Ward	25 Stocksbridge & Upper Don Ward
Jean Cromar			Peter Moore	Martin Brelsford
Jillian Creasy			Ian Auckland	Alison Brelsford
Mohammad Azim			Barrie Jervis

8 Crookes Ward			17 Hillsborough Ward	26 Walkley Ward
John Hesketh			Robert MacDonald	Diane Leek
Sylvia Anginotti			Janet Bragg	Veronica Hardstaff
			Alf Meade	Jonathan Harston

9 Darnall Ward			18 Manor Castle Ward	27 West Ecclesfield Ward
Mary Lea			Pat Midgley	Alan Hooper
Harry Harpham			Jan Fiore
			Jan Wilson

				28 Woodhouse Ward
				Marjorie Barker
				Mick Rooney
				Ray Satur

	1.	APOLOGIES FOR ABSENCE
		Apologies for absence were received from Councillors Mohammad Altaf, Trevor Bagshaw, Kathleen Chadwick, Tony Damms, Martin Davis, Kate Dawson, Brian Holmes, Vickie Priestley and Janice Sidebottom.

	2.	MINUTES OF PREVIOUS MEETING
		RESOLVED: On the motion of Councillor Pat Midgley, seconded by Councillor Jean Cromar, that the minutes of the meeting of the City Council held on 27th July, 2005 be approved as a correct record.

	3.	PUBLIC QUESTIONS AND COMMUNCIATIONS

	3.1	Petitions
		(a) Petition concerning speed of traffic on Woodseats Road
		The Council received a petition containing 102 signatures expressing concern regarding the increase in the speed of traffic on Woodseats Road which makes crossing the road safely very difficult, and requesting the Council to assess the speed of the traffic, investigate and apply realistic speed enforcement and consider the installation of a crossing.
		After hearing representations made on behalf of the petitioners by Ms. Lisa Johnson, to which a response was given by Councillor Terry Fox, the Cabinet Member for Environment and Transport, who indicated that the points raised in the petition would be fed into the consultation process for the Safer Roads Project, referred the petition for consideration by the City Council, South and East Planning and Highways Area Board.

		(b) Petition concerning land in Oughtibridge
		The Council received a petition containing 21 signatures requesting support in persuading Bradfield Parish Council to provide some land in Oughtibridge to rent out as allotments for local people and referred the petition for consideration by the Allotments and Leisure Gardens Advisory Group.

		(c) Petition concerning school crossing roadworks in Argyle Road and Argyle Close
		The Council received a petition in the form of communications from approximately 50 residents of Argyle Road and Argyle Close indicating their agreement with up to nine concerns set out in a standard letter, and expressing additional comments, in connection with the road safety and school crossing road works being carried out on Argyle Road and Argyle Close as part of the Safe Roads Project for Heeley, Meersbrook and Norton Lees and referred the petition for consideration by Councillor Terry Fox, the Cabinet Member for Environment and Transport and the City Centre, South and East Planning and Highways Area Board.

		(d) Petition concerning traffic dangers in Bankwood Road
		The Council received a petition containing 172 signatures requesting that the Council takes measures to stop the “rat runners” who currently use Bankwood Road as a short cut during the morning rush hour, as they believed they cause a danger to the residents and to the pupils of Bankwood Community Primary School and referred the petition for consideration by the City Centre, South and East Planning and Highways Area Board.

		(e) Petition concerning safety of residents on Blackstock Road
		The Council received a petition containing 119 signatures requesting that mobile safety cameras be used on Blackstock Road for the safety of the local residents and the pupils of Bankwood Community Primary School and referred the petition for consideration by Councillor Terry Fox, the Cabinet Member for Transport and the Environment.

		(f) Petition concerning refurbishment of houses on the Arbourthorne Estate
		The Council received a petition containing 521 signatures requesting that all of the houses on the Arbourthorne estate are refurbished to the same standards as the houses that had already been refurbished and referred the petition for consideration by Councillor Chris Weldon, the Cabinet Member for Neighbourhood Regeneration, who indicated that Sheffield Homes had rescinded a decision to refurbish 370 homes on the Arbourthorne estate but that, following a meeting held with them last week, Sheffield Homes had agreed to carry out the remodelling works to those who had been offered the works, if the tenants wanted them. He added that it was intended to carry out improvements to the rest of the houses on the estate as part of the long term plans to bring all Sheffield’s Council housing up to a decent standard.

	3.2	Public Questions
		(a) Public Question re Council Tax on unoccupied property
		Chris Beck stated that, as an heir and executor of an unoccupied property, he was only entitled to a 10% discount of the Council tax, whereas in 2004/05 he would have been entitled to a 25% discount. He asked why he was expected to pay more not to live in Sheffield whereas if he was single and living in a property in Sheffield, he would be entitled to a 25% discount. Amongst other things, he asked that the policy in relation to heirs and executors be reviewed.
		In response, Councillor Steve Jones, the Cabinet Member for Finance and Performance stated that it was important that homes in Sheffield were brought into use and people who had second homes were expected to live in them. He acknowledged that Mr. Beck had raised some complex issues and promised to provide him with a detailed answer in writing.

		(b) Public Question re greenhouse gas emission targets
		Bernard Little asked if the Action Plan on Climate Change for Yorkshire and Humberside be included in the City Strategy on Climate Change and if the Council would establish, without delay, a baseline on greenhouse gas emissions and publish regular monitoring reports on progress in reaching the target of a 20% reduction in emissions by 2010.
		In response, Councillor Terry Fox stated that, as Cabinet Member for Environment and Transport, he was committed to finding ways of reducing greenhouse gas emissions and had been empowered to challenge issues and pursue initiatives to address climate change. He added that the Council’s Environmental Performance Working Party would be drawing up policies for a more robust strategy that would be rolled out in due course.

		(c) Public Question re transport and the environment
		Jenny Patient stated that, as approximately a third of greenhouse gases was produced by various forms of transport, there was a need to attract car drivers onto buses and asked what the Council was doing to help bring about a re-regulation of bus services.
		In response, Councillor Terry Fox, the Cabinet Member for Environment and Transport, stated that the Council had aspirations for a first class bus service and had signed up with regional partners to the Yorkshire Bus Strategy and had implemented Quality Partnership Initiatives and Better Buses in North Sheffield. He added that the Bus Commission due to meet in September would be challenging a number of issues with the bus operators that had been raised in the 12,000 replies and 20,000 comments that had been received from consulting the public.

		(d) Public Questions re climate change demonstration and Bus Service 8/9
		Ian Wallace asked if Councillors were aware that an International Day of Action Against Climate Change was planned for 1st December, 2005, with a demonstration proposed to be held in London, and whether the Council was aware of the success of local residents’ lobbying to restore a large portion of the former service 8/9 in the Nether Edge area.
		In response, Councillor Terry Fox, the Cabinet Member for Environment and Transport, indicated that he was now aware of the proposed Day Of Action and outlined events taking place in Sheffield, including a Care for Air and other initiatives in September, and the proposed introduction of a policy for green parking. He expressed his thanks to the people of Nether Edge for bolstering his discussions with bus operators to retain bus links from the communities to hospitals, resulting in the award of a “not for profit” tender to Sheffield Community Transport to operate a new bus service 10 that covered part of the route of the former bus service 8/9 which, he understood, was increasing bus patronage.

		(e) Public Question re Decent Homes Programme
		Barry New asked if the Council was installing energy efficiency measures such as solar and wind generated energy under the Decent Homes programme and, if not, why not. In response, Councillor Terry Fox, the Cabinet Member for Environment and Transport stated that energy efficiency and heating measures were being promoted through the Warm Front Government Funded Initiative and that the Council was rolling out its environmental strategy along with the Decent Homes programme.

		(f) Public Question re energy efficiency of old buildings
		Mervyn Smith asked, as part of the measures to limit climate change, what advice and assistance the Council was giving, for example, to improve the standards of insulation and energy efficiency of old buildings.
		In response, Councillor Terry Fox, the Cabinet Member for Environment and Transport, stated that free advice on energy efficient and heating measures suitable for people’s homes was available under the Government funded Warm Front Initiative. He pointed out that such information was available on the Council’s website but undertook to supply detailed answers to Mr. Smith’s questions.

		(g) Public Question re boundary walls on the Arbourthorne Estate
		With reference to the petition that had been submitted earlier in the meeting in relation to the refurbishment of houses on the Arbourthorne estate, and to a recent Sheffield Homes Roadshow, Tyrone Colley asked what the position was doing in relation to the renewal of the boundary walls on the Arbourthorne estate.
		In response, Councillor Chris Weldon, the Cabinet Member for Neighbourhood Regeneration, confirmed that each property would benefit from a £20,000 improvement that would include new toilets and bathrooms, new double glazed windows, doors and improvements to the boundary walls.

	4.	CLIMATE CHANGE
		The Council received (a) a briefing note prepared by the Director of Environment and Regulatory Services summarising the possible effects of climate change in the United Kingdom and outlining the development of a strategy to address this local and global challenge and (b) presentations on climate change strategy given by George Munson, Climate Change Co-ordinator (Government Office for Yorkshire and the Humber/Yorkshire Forward) and Andy Nolan, the City Council’s Head of Environmental Strategy.
		George Munson began his presentation by stating that, whilst there were differing opinions voiced about climate change, there was incontrovertible evidence to prove the link between carbon dioxide emissions and observed temperature changes. He demonstrated this by displaying graphs showing a comparison between modelled and observations of temperature rise since the year 1860 which revealed a higher rise due to the human impact as opposed to the natural impact on climate change. He then displayed charts showing predicted changes in annual average daily temperature and percentage changes in summer and winter precipitation in Yorkshire and Humberside, based on low and high emissions scenarios, that had been drawn up by the United Kingdom Climate Impacts Programme and which indicated that the UK climate would become warmer especially in the summer. This indicated that, by the 2020s, annual temperatures might increase up to 1° centigrade and by the 2080s by up to 6° centigrade under the high emissions scenario, whilst very cold winters would be increasingly rare. Less rain overall was predicted, especially in the south and east of the UK and, in summer, but more in the west and in winter.
		Insofar as the UK Strategic Framework was concerned, he referred to two areas of work that was being developed, which included “Securing the Future, the UK Sustainable Development Strategy - Confronting the Greatest Threat: Climate Change and Energy” and the UK Climate Change Programme review announced in December, 2004, which indicated that whilst the Government was on track to meet its Kyoto commitments, there was a need to do more to achieve 20% reductions in emissions by 2010 and, in examining the potential for additional savings from all sectors, the Government was open to new ideas for reducing greenhouse gases. Insofar as the regional approach was concerned, he outlined the work that was being done to understand the issue and that emission models and forecasts had been drawn up between 1990 and the present and projected to 2010. In developing a strategic approach, specific targets to reduce emissions were being included in regional strategies such as the Regional Economic Strategy, the Regional Spatial Strategy and the Regional Housing Strategy. He added that Yorkshire and Humberside was the first region to develop a Regional Climate Change Action Plan.
		He then listed the sources of help available, including the Carbon Trust which helped Local Authorities to identify corporate emissions, the Energy Saving Trust, which provided domestic help and encourage Local Authorities to provide grants and advice, the UK Climate Impact Programme, which helped Councils to examine the impact of climate change on the services it provided, the Climate Change Communication Initiative, which helped local organisations to raise awareness, the Regional Climate Change Action Plan, which linked local and regional activity, and the UK Climate Change Programme Review, which may make recommendations to the Department for Environment, Food and Regional Affairs to place more emphasis on local and regional action which may, in turn, give Local Authorities a statutory basis and empowerment to reduce the effects of climate change.
		Andy Nolan continued the presentation by showing images of the consequences of recent severe weather, possibly brought about by climate change. Developing a Climate Change Strategy involved mitigation: minimising the rate of climate change by avoiding the need for energy, using energy more efficiently, switching to less damaging sources of energy and ensuring security of supply. In this respect, he pointed out that the City Council procured 99% of its energy needs from non-renewable sources. It also involved adaptation: to live with the effects of climate change by adapting buildings, transport, settlements, livelihoods and lifestyles. He cited examples of good practice that could be built on, such as the Climate Change Strategy documents produced by Woking, Leicester and Bristol City Councils. He added that the Council, by tackling the causes and consequences of climate change, would demonstrate that Sheffield is forward thinking, would continue to attract investors and developers, create short term and long term cash financial savings, ensure cost avoidance by eliminating the risk of flood and loss of infrastructure, bring benefits to communities and improve quality of life, for example, by avoiding fuel poverty and reducing the health threat, and would enable Sheffield to be in the forefront, particularly as future comprehensive performance assessment measures would look more critically at measures to address climate change.
		He concluded the presentation by suggesting that the Council might wish to make a public commitment to tackling climate change, such as signing the Nottingham Declaration on Climate Change which involved contributing at a local level to the UK climate change programme, addressing the causes and effects of climate change, publicly committing to a significant reduction of greenhouse gas emissions from operations, encouraging all sectors in the local community to reduce their greenhouse gas emissions, working with health authorities, businesses and development organisations to assess effects of climate change on its communities and to identify ways in which they could adapt and the development of renewable energy generation within its area. He also suggested that Council might wish to promote sustainable energy and climate change objectives by adopting a “whole life” approach to investment, integrating climate change strategy across all service areas within the authority, seek some early successes and securing “buy-in” and support across all Directorates and amongst officers and members.
		A lengthy question and answer sessions ensued, during which it was suggested that a report on the issues raised might be submitted to a future meeting of the Cabinet. At the end of the session, the Council thanked George Munson and Andy Nolan for giving the presentation and answering the questions.

	5.	CORPORATE PARENTING
		The Council received presentations by Penny Peysner, Director of City Wide Services for Children and Young People and Jayne Ludlam, Strategy and Operations Manager, Children and Families, on the Council’s Corporate Parenting Strategy.
		Penny Peysner opened the presentation by drawing Members’ attention to their roles and responsibilities on being a good corporate parent, as set out in a letter issued by the former Secretary of State for Health, the Right Hon. Frank Dobson, in September, 1998. She also drew Members’ attention to the checklist issued to them in June, 2005 under the title of “If this were my child”. She briefly outlined the changes in residential care that had occurred over the last six years resulting in the use of small family units accommodating four/five young people as opposed to the larger residential units. She welcomed feedback from Members on the way the service was run and suggestions for any possible improvements and sought the support of Members on two specific areas in relation to improving the opportunities and chances of the young people in education and also in the subsequent employment and training of young people. She gave an overview of the categories of children that the Local Government was working with, which included 2,500 children in need and 660 looked after children. She added that new guidance on Elected Members supporting Looked After Children and Children in Need had been produced this year and could be circulated to members. She also encouraged Members to be involved in the Total Respect Training Programme for Managers and Elected Members.
		Justine Skeats, Children’s Services Manager at the NSPCC Young People’s Centre in Sheffield gave a brief presentation on the Total Respect training package that was commissioned by the Department of Health in 2001 and was designed by Looked After and care experienced young people, supported by the Children’s Rights Officers and Advocates. She explained that the course was structured to enable all those working in any area of the Looked After system to listen and involve young people meaningfully. She added that the course gave participants an opportunity to explore how well they listen to young people and what they could do better, to consider at what level young people participate in the services provided and how frequently are their voices heard. The course enabled participants time to reflect on young people’s experiences and think about how young people’s participation could be made central to decision making. It offered an opportunity to think about the challenges of listening and practical tools for enabling participation.
		She briefly outlined the Total Respect programme in Sheffield, which was run as a three day training course, delivered by care experienced young people and adults working in the field of children’s rights and participation, and was being run on three occasions over the coming twelve months to give as many people as possible the opportunity to attend. She then introduced Shelley Marsh and Nicky Lyne, who worked for the Authority with care leavers, and Chris and Danny, young people in care who had become Total Respect trainers and who explained their reasons for choosing to work on the Programme at the Young People’s Centre. This was followed by a brief video presentation on Total Respect that had been produced by them.
		Jayne Ludlam then explained the role of the Looked After and Adopted Children’s Strategy Group which involved multi-agency working together to achieve the Every Child Matters five outcomes for looked after children, to co-ordinate the development and delivery of services to Looked After and Adopted Children (LAAC) at a strategic level, to raise the positive profile of the children, especially in relation to Members. She summarised the achievements of the Strategy Group, which included health assessments for young people, increased medical advisor support, access to personal computers, the production of a personal health guide for young people, dedicated support from SHED, a draft directory of services for looked after children and targeted educational support at Key Stage 3/4.
		In relation to ongoing work, the Group was working with Adoption UK to develop a multi-agency strategy to support adopted children, was also working to achieve a dedicated Health Service for Care Leavers and was supporting the co-location of Health Colleagues and Social Work staff to support Looked After Children and Carers. The Group was also developing a healthy care partnership, supporting the restructuring of the Looked After Children’s (LAC) Education Service and taking forward Total Respect development and establishing a LAC web page. As far as the future was concerned, a LAAC strategic plan was being developed, along with oversight of an organisational Action Plan to increase the educational attainment of Looked After Children. The Group was also monitoring the implementation of the Children’s Service Action Plan to address the adoption and Children Act 2002.
		A question and answer session ensued, following which the Council thanked Penny Peysner, Jayne Ludlam, Justine Skeats, Shelley Marsh and Nicky Lyne for their presentations. Members also thanked Chris and Danny for their contributions and conveyed their best wishes to them for their future.