Agenda and minutes

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

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

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

(NB. Minutes of recent meetings of the four South Yorkshire Joint Authorities have been made available to all Members of the Council via the following link https://meetings.sheffield.gov.uk/council-meetings/full-council )

Report of the Director of Legal Services.

That this Council:-

(a)       notes that 4^th - 10^th November is Living Wage Week, and that the Living Wage is calculated by the Centre for Research in Social Policy at £7.20 per hour, compared to the national minimum wage of £6.19 per hour;

(b)       notes recent research from  KPMG indicating that 4.82 million people across the country are paid less than the Living Wage, which amounts to one in five workers in the UK;

(c)        notes that a Living Wage has been introduced in other areas across the country where several leading public and private sector organisations have signed up to the campaign;

(d)       believes that paying the living wage boosts the incomes of the lowest paid, who have been hit especially hard by rising prices, increasing costs of living and the double dip recession;

(e)       supports this Administration’s commitment to providing the Living Wage of £7.20 per hour for all Council employees from 1^st January 2013;

(f)         welcomes that this commitment from the present Administration means that from January next year all staff employed by Sheffield City Council will be paid a wage of at least £7.20 per hour, which will see an increase for the lowest paid 275 staff on the lowest two grades at the Council;

(g)       regrets that Council staff have seen their pay frozen for the past two years in order to protect as many jobs and services as possible given the massive cuts imposed by the Government and notes that consultation is currently taking place with trade unions to extend the increment freeze, acknowledging that if increments were frozen again the Council would save £5 million per year, however, implementing a living wage would target raising the incomes of the Council’s lowest paid staff;

(h)        supports the present Administration’s commitment to meet the cost of the Living Wage at the same time as making a £1 million saving through cuts to senior management positions; and

(i)         directs that a report is brought to Cabinet outlining plans to implement a Living Wage in the Council and to initiate a campaign to support a Living Wage for Sheffield involving partners across the City in public, private and voluntary sector organisations.

That this Council:-

(a)       notes the Medium Term Financial Strategy 2013/14 to 2017/18 presented to Cabinet last month outlining the financial position of Sheffield City Council over the next five years;

(b)       expresses its anger and dismay at the Council’s budget position which is now significantly worse than was previously estimated because the Government are making additional unfair cuts to Sheffield as a result of their failure to grow the economy and notes that even without the additional cuts the Council was already facing an impossible budget position which will have a massive impact on Council services in Sheffield;

(c)        notes that this is in addition to the £140 million that has been reduced from the Council’s budget over the past two years meaning that future cuts will unavoidably have a bigger impact on Council services that are valued by local people;

(d)       further notes that the £50 million of cuts to next year’s budget followed by £35 million the following year means that the cuts will now total £225 million over four years;

(e)       deplores this Government’s continued attack on Sheffield and believes that they have no understanding of the lives of normal hardworking families and the fact that they are making additional cuts to local government at the same time as giving income tax cuts to millionaires indicates the values of this Government;

(f)         is shocked at the irresponsibility of the Government who will not confirm the final settlement until the Autumn Statement in December, when the Council has to set the budget in March;

(g)       continues to oppose the unfairness of the cuts which see councils with the highest levels of deprivation receiving the majority of the cuts whilst some of the wealthiest areas in the country receive almost no cuts at all;

(h)        deplores the continued broken promises of the Member of Parliament for Sheffield Hallam, who earlier this month stated that he would ensure that future cuts are targeted at the wealthiest, whilst at the same time being the Deputy Prime Minister in a Government which is making additional unfair cuts to Sheffield and reneging on its promise that 100% of Sheffield’s business rates would be localised to spend on local services by now reducing this to 50% of business rates;

(i)         welcomes that the present Administration have identified protecting services for the most vulnerable as a key priority in addition to the significant work that the present Administration are undertaking to support the development of the local economy;

(j)         further welcomes that the present Administration are standing up for Sheffield, taking action to bring attention to the damaging impact of the reckless and unfair cuts that this Government are making to Sheffield and to be honest with local people by making clear the impact it will have on Sheffield; and

(k)        resolves to continue to stand up for Sheffield, focus on jobs, be business friendly and support and protect communities, however, regrets that given the level of cuts that the Government are  ...  view the full agenda text for item 9.

That this Council:-

(a)       recognises and welcomes the progress of the ‘Streets Ahead’ scheme, secured by Liberal Democrat influence in Government and backed by £1.2 billion of Coalition Government funding;

(b)       believes that, as a result of the hard work of Liberal Democrat Councillors, the whole of Sheffield will see dramatic improvements in the quality of its road network;

(c)        however, notes the large swathes of the City’s residential areas, with highly-concentrated areas of on-street parking, and is concerned that no effort has been made to provide alternative parking arrangements to mitigate the significant disruption that will be caused by these vital works; and

(d)       therefore, calls upon the Council to liaise with Amey and local land owners in order to provide free and secure alternative parking facilities to affected residents for the duration of the works.

That this Council:-

(a)       is appalled that the Chancellor of the Exchequer in this Government has announced he is planning to make £10billion of further cuts to the welfare budget;

(b)       is concerned that the impacts will be felt greatly by hard working low income families, and that Northern cities including Sheffield will bear the brunt of the cuts, having huge detrimental impacts on local residents, the Council’s services and the local economy with an estimate of £180 million less coming into the City’s economy annually;

(c)        worries that the system is not fit for purpose, noting that analysis of the new system for the Joseph Rowntree Foundation, by the University of Portsmouth and the Centre for Social and Economic Inclusion, has raised serious concerns about the administration of Universal Credit and potential outcomes and they believe that “while some would see improvements to their finances, the report concludes, not everyone will benefit and some could be worse off on universal benefit than under current arrangements…our research has found the actual roll-out could unintentionally trap people in poverty and hardship";

(d)       is concerned that the proposal of Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, (the Rt. Hon. Iain Duncan Smith, MP) to only give child and work related benefits to the first two children is attacking poor low paid families in an attempt to paint welfare recipients as ‘takers’ who should have to “cut their cloth like everyone else”, and believes that the move is ill thought out and would only save £200million;

(e)       is worried that recipients of disability benefits are going to be worse off under Universal Credit, noting that £9billion has already been cut from the budget since this Government came to power with further cuts planned and many people will have to be reassessed and will find their benefits reduced, and that the Hardest Hit Campaign believes these further cuts will put disabled people at risk of poverty, debt and isolation;

(f)         is concerned that the bedroom tax is likely to affect approximately 6-7000 residents in Sheffield, and that many residents will have to leave family homes as they will be unable to pay the tax to stay put, and that this also puts a further strain on the Council as there is a shortage of housing in the City;

(g)      opposes the Government’s cuts to Council tax benefit which will see many families in Sheffield being hit with increased Council tax bills, putting a further strain on their finances at the same time as this Government are giving tax cuts to millionaires;

(h)       worries that the cumulative effect of welfare cuts is going to have a huge detrimental impact on the most vulnerable people in society and cause further poverty, force people into using debt and burden frontline services that are already being cut; and

(i)        urges this Government to wait a year before implementing Universal Credit and believes that there are too many questions that have yet to be answered and such  ...  view the full agenda text for item 11.

That this Council:-

(a)       is aware that there are approximately 3.6 million children living in poverty in the UK today and the Government is not doing enough to tackle the problem and proposed new legislation announced by the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, (the Rt. Hon. Iain Duncan Smith MP) which limits benefits to two children threatens to make the situation much worse;

(b)       regrets that there are even more serious concentrations of child poverty at a local level: in 100 local wards, for example, between 50 and 70 per cent of children are growing up in poverty, 23% of children in Sheffield live in poverty, there are significant variations with numbers at 36% and 37% for Brightside and Central compared to just 5% in Hallam and 11% in Hillsborough;

(c)        believes that, despite Government rhetoric, work does not provide a guaranteed route out of poverty in the UK, noting that almost two-thirds (62 per cent) of children growing up in poverty live in a household where at least one family member works;

(d)       acknowledges that people are poor for many reasons, however, believes this Government’s explanations which put poverty down to drug and alcohol dependency, family breakdown, poor parenting, or a culture of worklessness, are not supported by the facts;

(e)       also regrets that child poverty blights childhoods and has long lasting effects, noting that by age 16, children receiving free school meals achieve 1.7 grades lower at GCSE than their wealthier peers, and that leaving school with fewer qualifications translates into lower earnings over the course of working life;

(f)         is concerned that child poverty is also related to more complicated health histories over the course of a lifetime, again influencing earnings as well as the overall quality and indeed length of life, noting that professionals live, on average, eight years longer than unskilled workers;

(g)       is aware that child poverty imposes costs on broader society – estimated to be at least £25 billion a year, but believes that savings could be made if the Government tackles the problem now;

(h)        acknowledges that child poverty reduced dramatically between 1998/9-2010/11 when 1.1 million children were lifted out of poverty (before housing costs) and that this reduction is credited in large part to measures by the previous Government that increased the levels of lone parents working, as well as real and often significant increases in the level of benefits paid to families with children;

(i)         is concerned that according to the charity Child Poverty UK, under current Government policies, child poverty is projected to rise from 2012/13 with an expected 300,000 more children living in poverty by 2015/16, and that this upward trend is expected to continue with 4.2 million children projected to be living in poverty by 2020;

(j)         is saddened that this Government has failed to acknowledge that what happens outside schools has a huge impact on children's ability to do well within them, noting that since the Coalition Government took office, out-of-school  ...  view the full agenda text for item 12.

That this Council:-

(a)       reiterates its commitment to Sheffield’s magnificent parks and green spaces, which have earned Sheffield a reputation as the greenest city in the country;

(b)       praises the work of the previous Council Administration in doubling the number of parks with Green Flag awards, securing more of the awards than any other authority in Yorkshire;

(c)        believes that despite financial constraints the maintenance of local parks and green spaces remains an important duty;

(d)       understands that as the Council faces its future, more innovative and cost-effective methods of delivering services are required; and

(e)       therefore calls upon the Council to investigate new methods for delivering services in local parks, including partnership working with external organisations and greater collaboration with “Friends of Groups”.

That this Council:-

(a)       is concerned that the average energy bills are soaring, up by £200 in the last two years and this Conservative-led  Government is out-of-touch, out-of-date and puts the interests of the big energy companies ahead of ordinary families and pensioners struggling with soaring energy bills;

(b)       believes that this is a big contributor to the cost of living crisis afflicting millions of families across the country, where many families, including in Sheffield, are having to choose whether to heat or eat;

(c)        is aware that the energy market is dominated by just six companies; in fact 99 per cent of households get their energy from one of the ‘Big Six’ who are all but one putting up their prices between 6-11% by the end of 2012;

(d)       understands that a lack of competition in the market means energy prices are higher than they might otherwise be, and notes that a recent report by the Institute for Public Policy Research suggests that with more competition in the market, bills could be as much as £70 less per year;

(e)       acknowledges that switching between energy suppliers reached its lowest ever level in the first quarter of 2012, and believes this is not because customers are happy with their energy providers, but rather because there has been a loss of faith in the energy market;

(f)         is not surprised that the Prime Minister’s announcement that the Government would legislate to force energy companies to put customers on their lowest tariffs unravelled within hours, noting that even consumer groups argued that it was unworkable and would destroy what little competition there is in the energy market, forcing prices up not down and believes this is  another u-turn by the Coalition Government who have proven that they do not think before they make announcements;

(g)       is disappointed that the Government’s Draft Energy Bill has nothing to help families struggling to make ends meet and believes that their only answer so far has been to say that customers are to blame for not shopping around enough and, at the same time as energy bills are rocketing, the Government has cut back the support it is offering to help people heat their homes;

(h)        regrets that this Government is not prepared to stand up to powerful vested interests, noting that they have backed business-as-usual in the energy market and refused to challenge the practices, pricing and structure of the energy market, and the need for urgent reform;

(i)         believes that the Government should change course and make reforms that would benefit hard working families in the UK, and that they should open up the market to greater competition and transparency by following Labour’s Real Energy Market Reform which:

(i)         would force the energy companies to pool the power they generate and to make it available to any retailer, in an attempt to open the market and to put downward pressure on prices;

(ii)        would abolish Ofgem and create a  ...  view the full agenda text for item 14.

That this Council:-

(a)       congratulates the Sheffield Eagles on their magnificent victory over Featherstone Rovers in the Rugby League Championship Grand Final last month;

(b)       congratulates  Mark Aston and his colleagues on their tireless efforts  in rebuilding the new Eagles since 1999;

(c)        thanks the Sheffield Eagles for all the work done in promoting Sheffield nationally;

(d)       thanks the Sheffield Eagles for their rugby league development work done within Sheffield communities and particularly young people  (boys and girls);

(e)       wishes them every success in their aim to return to the Super League; and

(f)         directs that copies of this resolution be sent to Mark Aston, the Chief Executive of the Sheffield Eagles and the Chief Executive of the Rugby Football League.

That this Council:-

(a)       notes the recent announcement by the Prime Minister of aproposal to relax certain planning laws relating to housing for a three-year period;

(b)       notes that nearly 90% of all planning applications from householders are approved and believes the failure to proceed with housing developments is not a result of the current planning laws;

(c)        believes these proposals go against the principle of localism, will fail to protect local communities and fears the changes could lead to inappropriate developments, which will adversely impact communities in Sheffield;

(d)       recalls the motion agreed at the 2012 Liberal Democrat Conference, which set out opposition to these proposals;

(e)       echoes the sentiments of this motion and calls upon the Prime Minister to withdraw these proposals; and

(f)         directs that a copy of this motion is sent to the Prime Minister and the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government.

That this Council:-

(a)       is concerned that changes to the immigration policy will be hugely detrimental to the multicultural vitality of Sheffield and the UK, and believes that changes to the minimum income threshold, right of appeal and student immigration would cause damage to the culture and economy of our City;

(b)       disagrees with the decision of the Government to scrap the full right of appeal for more than 80,000 relatives of British families who are refused entry to visit them each year;

(c)        notes that from 9 July 2012, uncles, aunts, nephews, nieces and first cousins will no longer be considered to be family visitors for appeal purposes;

(d)       is further concerned about Government intentions to remove completely the right of appeal against family visitor visa refusal decisions through a clause in the Crime and Courts Bill (House of Lords Bill 4 of 2012-13);

(e)       is worried that if this Bill is passed in 2013, the family members (spouses, parents, siblings, children, grandparents, grandchildren, in-laws) will also lose the right of appeal;

(f)         recognises the importance of right of appeal: principles of equality, and respect for the rule of law demand an appropriate mechanism to check the actions of the entry clearance officers through scrutinising their findings, decisions and all of the relevant evidence upon which they are based, and  that appropriate mechanism is a right of appeal;

(g)       opposes the proposal by the Home Secretary to impose a minimum income threshold of £27,500 to allow a British Citizen to bring their non European Union partner/spouse and family to settle in the U.K;

(h)        condemns the Liberal Democrats in Government for supporting the measures and doing a u-turn in their support of Article 12 of the Human Rights Act ‘the right to marry and found a family’ ;

(i)         supports the right of people to choose their life partner from anywhere in the world and believes these proposals, if implemented, would have a detrimental effect on the vitality of multicultural life in Sheffield;

(j)         views these proposals as a back door attempt by the Conservative  party to bring back the Primary Purpose Rule which was abolished by the previous Government, thereby enabling families to be reunited who had been separated for more than 10 years by the rule;

(k)        supports the work of Paul Blomfield MP, in particular, his work on the Select Committee on Business Innovation and Skills towards taking students out of the net migration targets and reviewing the restrictive proposals on the new English test and the restrictive rules on post-study work, noting that overseas students contribute millions of pounds a year into the local economy and according to Professor Edward Acton (Vice-Chancellor of the University of East Anglia) the change could result in as many as 70% of these students being barred from entry to the U.K; and

(l)         resolves to write to the City’s six MPs requesting that they write to the Home Secretary to raise the deep concerns of this Council  ...  view the full agenda text for item 17.

That this Council:-

(a)       is dismayed by the recent unjust and vicious attack on Malala Yousafzai, a 14 year old girl who has campaigned for education for girls in Pakistan;

(b)       is pleased to hear that Malala is making progress while being treated at Queen Elizabeth’s and Birmingham Children’s Hospital, Birmingham;

(c)        joins the international community in condemning this attack and stands shoulder to shoulder with Pakistan in its fight against terrorism;

(d)       is aware that 32 million girls worldwide do not have access to education;

(e)       calls on the international community and Pakistan to ensure that every girl like Malala has the chance to go to school;

(f)         supports Gordon Brown, UN Special Envoy for Global Education, in his calling for action on the second millennium goal for universal primary education; and

(g)       believes that by declaring 10 November - one month after the attempted assassination -  "Malala and the 32 million girls day", we can start to make Malala's dream come true.

That this Council:-

(a)       notes the recent YouGov survey commissioned by the Resource Association, which demonstrated that 73 per cent of adults did not know where the waste ended up, with 68 per cent saying they would like more information;

(b)       therefore supports the Resource Association’s End Destination of Recycling Charter, which encourages local authorities and companies to publish an annual register of the end point to its recyclables;

(c)        welcomes the hard work of Rebecca Taylor MEP to promote the Charter across Yorkshire and The Humber; and

(d)       calls upon the Council to sign up to the Charter with immediate effect.

That this Council:-

(a)       notes that a number of construction companies have been challenged about supporting the existence of and subscribing to construction industry ‘blacklists’;

(b)       believes that blacklisting is an unacceptable practice and cannot be condoned, and notes that the GMB union is leading a national campaign aimed at forcing those who have been involved in blacklisting to apologise to those who have been affected by it;

(c)        notes that it is understood that the construction industry blacklist was collated by the Consulting Association (a private consultancy) and was then provided at a cost to construction companies as they sought to recruit/avoid new workers;

(d)       notes that the Information Commissioner has investigated and taken action against the Consulting Association for this practice and the Information Commissioner has taken enforcement action against a number of construction companies based on the evidence recovered from the Consulting Association;

(e)       further notes that owing to the concentration of construction activity in and around large cities, many of those alleged to have been discriminated against live in the country’s major cities; and

(f)         resolves to support the GMB campaign.