Items
No. |
Item |
1. |
Apologies for Absence
Minutes:
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2. |
Declarations of Interest
Members to declare any
interests they have in the business to be considered at the
meeting
Minutes:
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3. |
Minutes Of Previous Council Meeting PDF 273 KB
To receive the record of the
proceedings of the meeting of the Council held on 13 June 2012 and
to approve the accuracy thereof.
Minutes:
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4. |
Public Questions and Petitions and Other Communications
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
Minutes:
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5. |
Members' Questions PDF 118 KB
Minutes:
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6. |
Representation, Delegated Authority and Related Issues PDF 53 KB
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
Minutes:
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7. |
Designation of Monitoring Officer PDF 72 KB
Report of the Chief
Executive.
Minutes:
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8. |
New Standards Framework PDF 164 KB
(a)
New Code of Conduct for Members and Procedures for Dealing with
Complaints about Members, Establishment of a Standards Committee
and Guidance Relating to Disclosable
Pecuniary Interests.
Report of the Deputy Chief
Executive.
(b) Members’
Interests
To receive a presentation from Lynne Bird,
Director of Legal Services on new requirements for registering
interests and declaring them at meetings.
Minutes:
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9. |
Notice of Motion Concerning Council Tax benefit
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That this Council:-
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(a)
deplores the Government’s shambolic mishandling of welfare
reform which has seen delays to the introduction of universal
credit to 2014 at the same time as other reforms, including the
localisation of council tax benefit, will be implemented from
2013;
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(b)
regrets that the Government’s mismanagement of the economy
and the failure of initiatives such as the Work Programme has
contributed to an increasing benefits bill;
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(c) opposes the
Government’s proposals on council tax benefit localisation
which will see a 10% cut in funding for council tax benefit in
addition to the £170 million budget gap faced by the Council
over the next four years;
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(d)
believes that the localisation of council tax benefit has been
completely mismanaged by the Government and should have been
aligned with the introduction of universal credit;
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(e)
notes research by the Institute for Fiscal Studies which indicates
that the working poor will be hit hardest by the cuts to council
tax benefit, completely contradicting the Government’s stated
aims in its welfare reform programme;
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(f) further
notes research by the Local Government Association warning that the
cut is also likely to hit hardest councils in the most deprived
areas of the country and authorities in the wealthiest areas of the
country will experience a smaller cut;
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(g)
regrets that this mirrors the Government’s unfair policy of
giving heavy cuts to Sheffield whilst at the same time wealthier
areas of the country are experiencing next to no cuts at all;
and
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(h) regrets that
this is a further example of this Government hitting the most
vulnerable the hardest which is exemplified by cuts to housing
benefit, the reassessment of incapacity benefit claimants and cuts
to tax credits.
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Minutes:
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10. |
Notice of Motion Concerning Bus Services
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That this Council:-
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(a)
recalls its support for the twin-track approach of the South
Yorkshire Integrated Transport Authority regarding Bus Partnerships
and Quality Contracts;
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(b)
welcomes improvements to some bus routes as part of the proposed
bus partnership agreement but regrettably notes that many local
people will lose out, such as residents on Psalter Lane, in
Stocksbridge or in Ringinglow Village;
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(c) urges the
South Yorkshire Passenger Transport Executive to investigate these
routes in particular as part of their consultation and deliver
improved services for these residents;
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(d)
believes it is becoming clearer that a voluntary partnership will
not deliver the fair, affordable and equitable bus service that
Sheffield residents deserve;
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(e)
reiterates the cross-party support in this Council for a
‘Quality Contracts’ strategy for Sheffield;
and
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(f)
therefore encourages South Yorkshire
Integrated Transport Authority and this Council to deliver a
fully-tendered network by continuing its pursuit of ‘Quality
Contracts’.
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Minutes:
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11. |
Notice of Motion Concerning Apprenticeships
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That this Council:-
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(a) is
extremely concerned by the current levels of youth unemployment
both in Sheffield and nationally, and believes that the actions of
the current Government are hitting young people disproportionately
hard;
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(b)
believes that this Council must do all it can to ensure that a
generation of young people are not left on the scrap heap by the
heartless actions of the present Government;
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(c) welcomes that
the Sheffield Apprenticeship Programme introduced by the present
Administration has now given the opportunity of an apprenticeship
to 100 young people;
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(d)
notes this approach, which has seen £1 million invested in
apprenticeships, is in stark contrast to the previous
Administration whose Leader broke a promise to commit £1
million of the Council's own resources to support the Future Jobs
Fund in Sheffield;
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(e)
thanks partners in the public, private and voluntary sector who
have employed an apprentice, noting that the Sheffield
Apprenticeship Scheme has involved a 50% Council contribution to
the wages of an apprentice and a 50% employer contribution;
and
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(f)
welcomes the wider work taken by the
present Administration to increase the uptake of apprentices in the
City and the doubling of the number of apprentices funded by the
Sheffield Apprenticeship Scheme to 200 and calls on any local
employers who wish to take on an apprentice in the future to
contact the Council.
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Minutes:
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12. |
Notice of Motion Concerning Household Waste Recycling Centres
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That this Council:-
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(a)
recalls the Notice of Motion proposed by Cllr Jillian Creasy at the
Council meeting on 13th June 2012, and expresses
disappointment at the decision of the largest party in the council
chamber to oppose moving the item up the agenda, given the clear
interest in the public gallery;
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(b)
notes that following the change of Administration in May 2011, a
further £150,000 was removed from the budget of recycling
centres, and believes this was a short-sighted move given the
Administration’s plan to end weekly black bin
collections;
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(c) understands
that Blackstock Road has the highest
tonnage of any recycling centre, and therefore expresses dismay at
the Administration’s decision to close Blackstock Road three days a week, while the
recycling centre in what the Council believes to be in one of the
Administration’s ‘favoured
areas’ remains open seven days a week;
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(d)
furthermore, notes with disappointment the failure to avoid
strikes, and regrets the effect this has had on the service for
local residents;
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(e) in
addition, recalls the decision of the present Administration to end
the free collection of garden waste, and notes that more than a
year after it was first agreed, the flexible blue bin/box offer has
still not been fully rolled out;
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(f) believes
the simultaneous strategies of the present Administration to end
weekly black bin collections and reduce recycling services always
amounted to a recipe for disaster; and
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(g)
therefore, in light of the
Administration’s decision to enforce fortnightly bin
collections, calls upon the Administration to re-consider its
reductions to recycling centre opening hours.
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Minutes:
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13. |
Notice of Motion Concerning The "Meet the Cabinet programme"
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That this Council:-
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(a)
believes it is important to improve the way that the Council
engages with local people;
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(b)
notes the Meet the Cabinet Programme introduced by the present
Administration last year which provided an opportunity for members
of the public to ask questions to Cabinet members and to raise
issues in their local communities;
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(c) recalls that
the meetings were well received and thanks all members of the
public who attended the meetings;
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(d)
welcomes this new way of engaging with local people;
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(e)
further welcomes that the present Administration will be repeating
the Meet the Cabinet initiative this year starting in
October;
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(f) further
welcomes that the present Administration are not only extending the
initiative but enhancing it by introducing a “Question
Time” style format where the first 30 minutes of the meeting
will be chaired by the Community Assembly Chair and will be spent
discussing an issue that matters to local people, providing a
greater opportunity for members of the public to engage with the
Council; and
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(g)
notes that the topics for debate in each
area will be set by the concerns of local people and calls on all
local people who wish to raise an issue to be debated in their area
to contact their local Community Assembly.
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Minutes:
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14. |
Notice of Motion Concerning Green Waste Collection Service
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That this Council:-
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(a)
understands that as a result of this Administration’s
decision to end free collections of green bins, up to 30,000 bins
could be shredded;
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(b)
believes this is a complete waste of an asset which originally cost
£600,000;
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(c) understands
that many residents who do not currently benefit from a green bin,
may appreciate the offer of a green bin, even at the current
charge, which is believed to be extortionate; and
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(d)
calls on the Cabinet Member for
Environment, Waste and Streetscene to
write to Veolia to ask that the green bins and the green bin
collection service be offered to residents across the
City.
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Minutes:
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15. |
Notice of Motion Concerning Equal Marriage
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That this Council:-
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(a) congratulates the organisers of Sheffield Pride for a very
successful festival that brought our City together in a celebration
of diversity and togetherness;
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(b) recognises the equal rights of all people and supports the
campaign for Equal Marriage and calls upon the Government to
support legislation to enable this at the earliest possible
opportunity; and
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(c)
seeks to secure marriage for gay people as a civil vehicle on the same
basis as heterosexual marriage, available in a registry office and
approved premises.
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Minutes:
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16. |
Notice of Motion Concerning Highways Private Finance Initiative (PFI)
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That this Council:-
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(a)
regrets that Sheffield is home to some of the worst roads in the
country and rightful owner of the ‘pot-hole city’
title;
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(b)
believes that the City could have had decent roads if millions of
pounds had not been required each financial year to service the
Council’s debt as a result of the World Student
Games;
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(c) welcomes the
£2bn Highways PFI project, which will see every road in
Sheffield improved and thanks councillors of the current opposition
and administration parties for helping to secure the project, in
particular the previous Administration, for securing the future of
the project at a time of intense public spending
reviews;
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(d)
thanks the Coalition Government for its £1.2bn contribution
to the project, in addition to investment in Sheffield’s
trains, trams and buses, particularly when public finances are
tight as a result of the previous Government’s record budget
deficit;
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(e)
believes investment from this project should be spread fairly
across the City, and will oppose any attempt to deliver one level
of standard for the Administration’s ‘favoured
areas’ and a lower standard for local residents elsewhere in
the City; and
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(f)
therefore calls upon the Leader of the Council, the Cabinet Member
for Environment, Waste and Streetscene
and the Chief Executive to sign a “First Street, Last
Street” public pledge, which will guarantee that the last
street and road, and all those before, will be of the same quality
as the first street and road to benefit
from the Project.
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Minutes:
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17. |
Notice of Motion Concerning Playgrounds
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That this Council:-
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(a)
believes that Sheffield can be proud of its reputation as the
greenest city in the country and considers that its parks and green
spaces should be accessible to all children and young
people;
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(b)
notes that there are currently hundreds of disabled children living
in Sheffield, including many who are wheelchair users;
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(c) however,
understands that currently only four parks across the City have
playgrounds that include wheelchair accessible
roundabouts;
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(d)
thanks the Government for investing in the Graves Park, Rose Garden
playground, as part of its Aiming High for Disabled Children
programme and welcomes reports that improvements to Rivelin Valley paddling pools will make the
facility more accessible to wheelchair users;
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(e)
believes that all new playgrounds should contain at least one piece
of accessible equipment for wheelchair users and that priority be
given to them when replacing old equipment; and
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(f)
requests the Cabinet Member for Culture,
Sport & Leisure to bring forward a report to Cabinet so that
official council policy can be amended accordingly.
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Minutes:
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