Agenda and minutes

Members to declare any interests they have in the business to be considered at the meeting.

To receive any questions or petitions from the public, or communications submitted by the Lord Mayor or the Chief Executive and to pass such resolutions thereon as the Council Procedure Rules permit and as may be deemed expedient.

4.1       Questions relating to urgent business – Council Procedure Rule 16.6(ii).

4.2       Supplementary questions on written questions submitted at this meeting – Council Procedure Rule 16.4.

4.3       Questions on the discharge of the functions of the South Yorkshire Joint Authorities for Fire and Rescue and Pensions – Section 41 of the Local Government Act 1985 – Council Procedure Rule 16.6(i).

            (NB. Minutes of recent meetings of the two South Yorkshire Joint Authorities have been made available to all Members of the Council via the following link -

            http://democracy.sheffield.gov.uk/ecCatDisplay.aspx?sch=doc&cat=13165&path=0)

That this Council:-

(a)       recognises that Sheffield’s mental health, homelessness and addiction services and charities come under particular pressure during the winter months as A&E services become overloaded;

(b)       is concerned that 95 per cent of NHS mental health trust leaders nationally consider homelessness to be a factor in increasing demand for mental health services in their area; that suicide is the most common cause of death for men aged 20-49 years in England and Wales; and that major depression is the second leading cause of disability worldwide and a major contributor to the burden of suicide and ischaemic heart disease;

(c)        notes that demand for community mental health services has grown by up to 40 per cent in some areas of Sheffield;

(d)       further notes the chronic staffing and recruitment and wider training crisis in mental health services;

(e)       notes also that Sheffield Health and Social Care NHS Foundation Trust consider the development of new roles to meet current and future workforce needs to be a key risk, highlighting cost pressures, mutual recognition of qualifications and general uncertainty created by Brexit;

(f)        notes with grave concern data provided by MIND that shows that, in the past year, the NHS in England has cancelled 175,000 appointments in Child and Adolescent Mental Health Services (CAMHS) – an overall increase of 25% compared to the previous year, representing nearly one in five of all missed appointments;

(g)       notes that nearly two thirds of NHS mental health trust leaders are very concerned about the numbers and skills of staff by 2021;

(h)       believes the Government’s attitude towards leaving the EU under a bad deal or no deal is having a negative impact on mental health services;

(i)         is dismayed that no Mental Well-being Impact Assessment (MWIA) has been published by the Government of any Brexit deal or ‘no deal’;

(j)         notes with grave concern the predicted shortages of food and prescribed drugs and medicine supplies in the realistic assessment by the Cabinet Office in its Operation Yellowhammer report and the disproportionate impact this would have on crisis mental health sufferers;

(k)        notes that NHS mental health trust directors are seeing greater social isolation, deprivation and homelessness increasingly driving demand for mental health services and changing the nature of the support that trusts need to provide, and believes this trend has only been compounded by continued cuts to local authority budgets and subsequent decommissioning of important local early intervention specialist mental health services; and

(l)         calls on the future Government to introduce measures to boost mental health services and to address the disparity between mental and physical health care.

That this Council:-

(a)       notes the substantial rainfall over recent weeks which have caused widespread flooding and damage to communities throughout South Yorkshire;

(b)       notes that Sheffield is continuing to work closely with those in the worst affected areas, and that as well as offering financial support to affected residents and businesses, clean-up efforts in the rivers and brooks are ongoing, with the Council working alongside the Environment Agency and other key partners;

(c)        believes that whilst the 64mm of heavy rain brought travel disruption to many areas of the city, it was thanks to the Council’s hard-working contractors, partners, community volunteers and investment in new flood defences that very few properties were flooded during this spate of bad weather;

(d)       notes also the involvement of South Yorkshire’s Fire and Rescue (SYFR) Service and that this again demonstrates the importance of the Service, and why this Council was right to oppose the proposed cuts to SYFR which helped lead to these plans being shelved for at least a year;

(e)       notes the significant investment in flood defences under this Council with the flood defences installed along the River Don in the Lower Don Valley proving to be a major success in protecting the city and its residents;

(f)        notes that although the amount of rainfall was substantial, the defences coped well, over-topping only slightly, which is even more remarkable given it was Sheffield’s wettest November day on record and the Environment Agency have confirmed that water levels reached the equivalent of the 2007 floods;

(g)       recalls that, in the 2007 floods, two lives were tragically lost, more than 1,000 people were either evacuated or unable to reach their homes, and millions of pounds worth of damage was caused to the city and thankfully, the city has not had to endure such hardship or tragedy this time;

(h)       expresses sympathy and solidarity with all of those affected by the recent floods and believes that support and assistance must continue to be provided to neighbouring local authorities;

(i)         notes that this Council has suspended council tax for the affected properties in Sheffield for a period of three months to allow residents to get back on their feet and, in addition, the Council will provide £500 to those whose houses have been affected by flooding;

(j)         notes, in addition, that for local small and medium sized businesses affected, the Council will be adopting a Government scheme which will include financial support and business rates relief for affected properties, and though it is understood funding will only go some way to restoring property and possessions damaged by flood water, it is hoped it will offer some comfort in the midst of difficult times;

(k)        notes that the funds to provide £500 to each affected household was promised by the Government, however, some objectionable criteria conditions have been added to this, meaning that there is a threshold of needing twenty five residential properties to be affected before the Government will refund  ...  view the full agenda text for item 6.

That this Council:-

(a)       notes the recent Stonewall Gold Champion Award given to the Council for LGBT+ services for Children & Young People’s Services in the first Stonewall CYPS Champion Award, scoring a remarkable 128 out of a possible 130 points;

(b)       notes that in early 2019, Stonewall replaced its Education Champions Programme and the Education Equality Index with a Children and Young People’s Programme which has been designed to give a holistic overview of services working with young people up to the age of 18;

(c)        further notes that Sheffield is one of only two local authorities to have featured in the Top Ten of every Stonewall Education Equality Index since 2011;

(d)       believes that everything possible must be done to support young LGBT+ people and notes the following national research which denotes the struggles faced by many:-

(i)         84% of transgender young people have self-harmed; for lesbian, gay and bisexual young people who are not transgender, 61% have self-harmed;

(ii)        45% of transgender young people have attempted to take their own life; for lesbian, gay and bisexual young people who are not transgender, 22% have attempted to take their own life;

(iii)       just 40% of lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender young people have an adult at home they can talk to about being LGBT; and

(iv)       half of LGBT+ pupils hear homophobic slurs 'frequently' or 'often' at school and have reported being bullied at school;

(e)       believes that these problems must be not be shied away from and welcomes the submission to Stonewall, that resulted in the Gold Award, for demonstrating the work in tackling these issues and showcasing the wide range of work from staff in People’s Portfolio, our key partners SAYiT, the LGBT+ Youth Group for Sheffield and Learn Sheffield that supports equality and inclusion of LGBT+ young people in Sheffield;

(f)        notes that the Council has also been credited as  one of the top ten local authorities for tackling anti-LGBT+ bullying and celebrating difference in schools by lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender equality charity, Stonewall, in its annual Education Equality Index;

(g)       further notes that Sheffield Council was also named one of the most inclusive employers in Britain in Stonewall’s Top 100 Employers list for 2019;

(h)       reaffirms this Council’s commitment to promoting equality and diversity within the organisation and across the city, and notes the Education Index is an important way of measuring our progress on LGBT+ equality in the workplace and in our schools;

(i)         believes that the Council is right in its vision for Sheffield to be the fairest city in Britain, where all people feel included regardless of their age, race, gender, sexuality or ability, and that whilst we have come a long way, it is essential this success is built on so that everyone feels accepted in our city;

(j)         notes that Sheffield’s Children and Young People Services are building on the award winning support for young LGBT+ people, and have won numerous awards for their  ...  view the full agenda text for item 7.

That this Council:-

(a)       notes that Sheffield City Council has declared a Climate Emergency;

(b)       believes that with the right support, British businesses have the opportunity to be world leaders in green and sustainable technology;

(c)        believes successful economies of the future will be those which adopt the ‘circular economy’ approach, which designs out waste, is regenerative by design and is powered by renewable energy; at its heart is the idea of reducing resource use, reusing resources and materials that are in circulation in the economy and recycling as a last resort, which will help us meet our sustainable development goals;

(d)       believes a prime example of this is the forthcoming EU ‘right to repair’ legislation which will require manufacturers to design longer-lasting products and make spare parts readily available in a push to reduce waste and increase opportunities for small businesses in the after-sales support sector;

(e)       believes that Sheffield can have a huge and positive role to play in the transition to a circular economy; and

(f)        therefore resolves to:-

(i)         consult with local universities, charities and Ellen MacArthur Foundation Knowledge Partner organisations, that have experience of delivering circular economy projects with businesses and local authorities;

(ii)        support the introduction of local deposit return and refill schemes for all food and drinks containers;

(iii)       make ‘evidence of environmental improvement’ a requirement for all businesses and organisations seeking grant funding or any other form of financial support from the Council; and

(iv)       instruct the Executive Director, Place, to carry out a full study that quantifies the potential benefits of the circular economy approach to the city and report back to full Council within six months.

Report (to follow) of the Executive Director, Resources on the recruitment exercise for an Interim Chief Executive, and containing recommendations relating to that appointment, the Head of Paid Service and Returning Officer designations.

Report of the Chief Executive.

To receive the record of the proceedings of the meeting of the Council held on 6th November 2019, and to approve the accuracy thereof.

To consider any changes to the memberships and arrangements for meetings of Committees etc., delegated authority, and the appointment of representatives to serve on other bodies.