Agenda and minutes

Venue: Council Chamber, Town Hall, Pinstone Street, Sheffield, S1 2HH

Contact: Paul Robinson, Democratic Services  Email: paul.robinson@sheffield.gov.uk

Items
No. Item

1.

Minute's Silence

Minutes:

2.

Apologies for Absence

Minutes:

3.

Declarations of Interest pdf icon PDF 88 KB

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

Minutes:

4.

Minutes Of Previous Council Meetings pdf icon PDF 410 KB

To receive the records of the proceedings of the ordinary meeting of the Council held on 5th April 2017, and the annual meeting of the Council held on 17th May 2017, and to approve the accuracy thereof.

Additional documents:

Minutes:

5.

Order of Business

Minutes:

6.

Tower Block Review pdf icon PDF 153 KB

To receive a verbal update from the Chief Executive, accompanied by other senior officials, to be followed by an opportunity for Members of the Council to ask questions.

 

Minutes:

7.

Notice of Motion given by Councillor Jayne Dunn

That this Council:-

 

(a)       expresses its shock and sadness at the tragic Grenfell Tower fire, and our thoughts are with the families of people who have been killed and people who are injured and everyone who has been forced out of the homes as a result of the fire;

 

(b)       notes that investigations into the fire and its causes are still ongoing and believes it will be important to consider any recommendations and their implications for Sheffield when the investigations are concluded;

 

(c)        believes it is important that, following the fire, all local authorities across the country are conducting extensive investigations into the safety of their tower blocks and that the Council has been working with South Yorkshire Fire and Rescue Service to carry out appropriate checks over the past week;

 

(d)       welcomes the commitment that has been made to retrofit all Council tower blocks in Sheffield with sprinkler systems and believes it is important that the Government commit to provide the funding for these systems in addition to any additional safety measures that are required as a result of the Grenfell Tower fire;

 

(e)       notes that in addition to this, the Government is conducting fire safety tests on tower blocks with composite cladding and the Council has taken the decision to ensure that all Sheffield blocks are tested;

 

(f)        notes that the tests from Hanover tower block have revealed that the cladding on the building should be removed and that action is being taken to do this immediately;

 

(g)       confirms that the cladding at Hanover is not the same as that used at Grenfell Tower and in addition to this there are none of the other concerns that have been found at other tower blocks in other authorities, such as gas in the building and lack of fire doors, which resulted in some blocks being evacuated;

 

(h)       reiterates the advice that Hanover residents are safe to remain in their homes while work to remove the cladding takes place and that this view is supported by South Yorkshire Fire & Rescue Service (SYF&R), however temporary accommodation has been offered to anyone who wishes to take it during the works;

 

(i)         welcomes that swift action has been taken to remove the cladding and have security on site 24 hours a day while the building works take place and that updates have been held with residents to inform them of progress;

 

(j)         recognises that, following the tragic fire at Grenfell Tower, tenants are concerned about their safety and believes it is important that the Council continues to provide as much information as possible to tenants and to continue to meet with residents, and welcomes the visits to tower blocks across the city from the Cabinet Member, Council Leader and local councillors since the incident to provide reassurance to tenants; and

 

(k)        believes it is important that all partners continue to work together to ensure that work is carried out as quickly as possible to ensure all Sheffield tower blocks are  ...  view the full agenda text for item 7.

Minutes:

8.

Public Questions and Petitions and Other Communications

(a)       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.

 

(b)       Petition Requiring Debate

 

The Council’s Petitions Scheme requires that any petition containing over 5,000 signatures be the subject of debate at the Council meeting.  A qualifying petition has been received as follows:-

 

L.I.F.E. Petition to Open a Sheffield Night Shelter

 

To debate a combined electronic and paper petition entitled “L.I.F.E. Petition to Open a Sheffield Night Shelter”.  The online petition – https://www.change.org/p/l-i-f-e-a-new-beginning-sheffield-night-shelter - contains 4,017 supporters (as at 27th June) and the paper petition contains 1,418 signatures.  The e-petition includes the following wording:-

 

After being involved with the homeless and vulnerable situation for a full year on the ground doing outreach I've noticed that there is a huge hole within the safety net of our city to keep people protected from rough sleeping and who generally find themselves homeless without warning. L.I.F.E (a new beginning) was created for the general public to just come together and help others in need with Sheffield Tent City being at the forefront of providing overnight accommodation with food/clothes/supplies/outreach services/medical supplies & assistance etc.

 

What myself [the organiser of the petition] and volunteers from Sheffield and surrounding areas plan to do next is open a night shelter within Sheffield city centre where not one single person will find themselves in need of help ever again”.

 

 

Minutes:

9.

Review of Full Council Meetings pdf icon PDF 152 KB

To note a verbal update from the Director of Legal & Governance concerning the progress of the Member Working Group.

 

Minutes:

10.

Members' Questions pdf icon PDF 273 KB

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

 

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

 

6.3       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://sheffielddemocracy.moderngov.co.uk/ecCatDisplay.aspx?sch=doc&cat=13165&path=0)

 

 

 

Minutes:

11.

Representation, Delegated Authority and Related Issues pdf icon PDF 135 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:

12.

Notice of Motion given by Councillor Olivia Blake

That this Council:-

 

(a)       thanks the people of Sheffield for turning out in such large numbers and for using their vote in the General Election on 8th June 2017 and the recent Council By-Elections in Southey and Nether Edge & Sharrow Wards;

 

(b)       notes that it is likely a record number of young voters took part in the General Election in Sheffield and throughout the UK and believes that this is a highly positive development for democracy in our country;

 

(c)        congratulates Sheffield's newest Member of Parliament, Jared O’Mara MP, and thanks all candidates for taking part in the General Election;

 

(d)       notes there have been two Council By-Elections since the last business Council meeting in April 2017 and welcomes both new Sheffield Councillors to the Town Hall and thanks all candidates for taking part in these elections; and

 

(e)       gives thanks to the police and all staff at the polling stations and the count for their hard work on and around the General Election on 8th June, and for the smooth running of the General Election and both Council By-Elections.

 

Minutes:

13.

Notice of Motion given by Councillor Joe Otten

That this Council:-

 

(a)       notes the recent High Court judgment, which ruled that South Yorkshire Police and Crime Commissioner, Dr. Alan Billings, acted “unlawfully” in suspending former Chief Constable, David Crompton, and then asking him to resign;

 

(b)       notes that the High Court further stated the decisions made by Dr. Billings were “irrational, perverse, unreasonable, misconceived and wholly disproportionate”;

 

(c)        further notes that in the light of the suspension, the independent comment from HM Chief Inspector of Constabulary, Sir Tom Winsor, was to describe the action against the Chief Constable as “conspicuously unfair, disproportionate and so unreasonable that I cannot understand how the PCC has reached this view”;

 

(d)       notes that Dr. Billings failed to criticise the conduct of police counsel at the Hillsborough inquest – this being a grievance of the Hillsborough victims’ families – in the evidence he gave for his decision, even though he was dismissing Mr. Crompton for seeking to defend that conduct;

 

(e)       believes that this ruling reveals Dr. Billings to be incompetent and irrational;

 

(f)        notes that removing Mr. Crompton from his post is likely to cost taxpayers more than £500,000 in legal fees, plus additional staff expenses;

 

(g)       recalls previous calls by the Sheffield Liberal Democrats for Dr. Billings to resign over his gross mishandling of this situation; and

 

(h)       in light of the High Court judgment, endorses those calls for Dr. Billings to resign and requests him to consider his position.

 

Minutes:

14.

Notice of Motion given by Councillor Steve Wilson

That this Council:-

 

(a)       wishes to pay tribute to all those serving, or who have served, in our armed forces, and places on record our enormous gratitude to them for keeping us all safe;

 

(b)       notes that Armed Forces Day took place on Saturday 24th June; an occasion giving support to the men and women who make up the Armed Forces community, from currently serving troops to Service families, veterans and cadets;

 

(c)        reaffirms the importance of such events and notes the success of recent events held in Sheffield in support of Armed Forces Day, including a veterans parade and a short ceremony led by the Lord Mayor;

 

(d)       notes that this year’s event marks the 35th anniversary of the Falklands War and the sinking of HMS Sheffield;

 

(e)       regrets the loss of life caused by the sinking of HMS Sheffield and places on record our sympathies to the friends and families of the 20 crew members who were killed in the missile attack of 4th May 1982;

 

(f)        notes work undertaken by this Council to improve support of our armed forces communities, including a grant of £180,695 which Sheffield City Council successfully led a bid for from the Ministry of Defence’s Covenant Fund, in partnership with Rotherham, Doncaster and Barnsley Councils, and Sheffield Hallam University; and

 

(g)       notes that this grant, awarded in April, will help South Yorkshire gain a better understanding of the local Armed Forces community and strengthen the delivery of the Community Covenant; the grant money is being spent on research and training at Sheffield Hallam University and was officially launched to coincide with national Armed Forces Day in June.

 

Minutes:

15.

Notice of Motion given by Councillor Julie Dore

That this Council:-

 

(a)       is horrified by the reports coming out of the Chechen Republic, Russia, that as many as 100 gay men have been detained, tortured and killed because of their sexuality;

 

(b)       notes that the Russian Government has ultimate responsibility for the safety of its citizens, yet it appears to have been wilfully in disregard of this duty as Chechen authorities committed the most terrible abuses due to appalling and disgusting prejudices, which have no place anywhere in the world;

 

(c)        notes that whilst the Foreign and Commonwealth Office described these reports as "credible" and expressed concern, our whole Council believes the UK's representations on this issue should have been escalated to a much higher political level;

 

(d)       believes there has been a significant deterioration in the human rights situation for LGBT people across Russia in recent years and the Government should use the UK's influence to fight discrimination and promote equality; and

 

(e)       reaffirms our commitment to LGBT rights throughout the world and directs that a copy of this motion be sent to the Foreign Secretary.

 

Minutes:

16.

Notice of Motion given by Councillor Martin Smith

That this Council:-

 

(a)       notes that in 2016 nearly one in three requests to this Council for information under the Freedom of Information (FOI) Act were refused either in part or as a whole;

 

(b)       notes this was a 35% increase in the refusal rate compared to 2014/15;

 

(c)        notes that Sheffield, unlike some other core cities, does not publish data on FOI or Environmental Information Regulations (EIR) request refusal rates;

 

(d)       believes that failure to publish an unredacted copy of the Amey contract or any documentation for the Guodong deal has contributed to a lack of trust in this Administration;

 

(e)       agrees that it is right to withhold personal information, but withholding information on issues that are strategically important for the future of our city should not be done on a routine basis; and

 

(f)        requests the Leader of the Council to carry out a review of the relevant policies and procedures and publish the outcome and recommendations of that review within the next three months, and immediately request the Chief Executive to publish FOI request refusal rates on a monthly basis.

 

Minutes:

17.

Notice of Motion given by Councillor John Booker

That this Council:-

 

(a)       believes there needs to be a bonfire of excessive EU regulations when the UK leaves the EU so that smaller businesses can compete successfully on the global stage;

 

(b)       further believes Britain's 5.5 million small businesses are the life blood of our economy, making up 60 per cent of jobs in the private sector, according to the Federation of Small Businesses;

 

(c)        also believes in (i) cutting business rates by 20 per cent for the 1.5 million British businesses operating from premises with a rateable value of less than £50,000, (ii) making HM Revenue and Customs investigate big business or public sector bodies that repeatedly make late payments to smaller customers, (iii) improving access to trade credit insurance to remove the drag on growth for businesses struggling to secure loans, and give small traders the confidence to expand their businesses and (iv) encouraging local trade by pushing every local authority to offer at least 30 minutes free parking in town centres and shopping parades;

 

(d)       notes that local, regional and national governments have immense spending power totalling around £230 billion, and that whilst in the EU they are required to offer contracts right across Europe, which has made it harder for British business to compete, and forced them to jump through expensive bureaucratic hoops, and believes that Brexit offers the perfect opportunity to open up government order books to smaller businesses, and encourage local, regional and national procurement strategies that will deliver better value for taxpayers;

 

(e)       acknowledges that it takes courage and determination to set up your own business, and that many self-employed people work for less than the national living wage, especially when they start out, and believes that there should be no requirement for quarterly tax returns, and no increases in Class IV National Insurance or taxes for Britain’s self-employed strivers and that taxes and red-tape should be kept to the minimum necessary; and

 

(f)        places on record its belief that workers’ rights must be protected once the UK leaves the EU, and that we must enforce the minimum and living wage and reverse government cuts to the number of minimum wage inspectors in England and Wales, and significantly tighten up the rules on zero hours contracts and severely limit their use.

 

Minutes:

18.

Notice of Motion given by Councillor Jack Scott

That this Council:-

 

(a)       notes with concern and alarm that child poverty has worsened in recent years and believes that the new changes to Child Tax Credit will make this situation worse; and further believes that levels of child poverty in this country are a disgrace and it should be seen that a central task of any Government should be to help prevent, reduce and eradicate child poverty;

 

(b)       believes that the Government is in neglect of its duties by changing the Child Tax Credit and Universal Credit provision to two children per family; and notes that the changes were introduced as part of the Welfare Reform and Work Act 2016, despite Parliamentary opposition from the Labour Party, citing in particular the lack of an equality impact assessment for any changes;

 

(c)        notes that Child Poverty Action Group have raised concerns that this change will push more children and families into poverty, and that the Joseph Roundtree Foundation has published a report which suggests that the two child limit could push 200,000 children into poverty;

 

(d)       highlights in particular the appalling so-called ‘rape clause’; which requires a mother seeking benefits for a third child to prove she has been sexually assaulted or that the child was conceived through abuse or within an abusive relationship;

 

(e)       endorses entirely the view of the Fawcett Society, which has stated: "Women have been consistently and repeatedly hit hardest by austerity measures and tax and benefit changes. Child poverty is rising. The new two child limit in the Tax Credit system will see another 200,000 children pushed into poverty, and the disgraceful ‘rape clause’ that accompanies it pushes women into disclosing sexual violence in order to obtain financial support.";

 

(f)        believes that the so-called ‘rape clause’ forces women into a horrifying ordeal; having to recount their sexual abuse via an eight-page document in order to prove that their abuse is worthy of government support, clearly showing how badly conceived the policy is;

 

(g)       believes that rather than making suffering victims and survivors go through this ordeal, the policy should be entirely scrapped as it is extremely damaging to survivors of abuse and will lead to a greater number of children in child poverty; and

 

(h)       calls upon the Government to immediately reverse, what this Council believes to be, this disastrous, unfair and spiteful policy and directs that a copy of this Motion be submitted to the Prime Minister and Sheffield's Members of Parliament.

 

Minutes:

19.

Notice of Motion given by Councillor Gail Smith

That this Council:-

 

(a)       notes that 14th to 23rd July is “Love Parks” week;

 

(b)       believes that Sheffield has some of the best public parks in the country and our parks are something which sets Sheffield apart as the “Outdoor City”; and

 

(c)        calls on the Authority to get involved in Love Parks week and become an official supporter of the campaign.

 

Minutes:

20.

Notice of Motion given by Councillor Pauline Andrews

That this Council:-

 

(a)       expresses concern at what this Council believes to be the excessive charges being put on vulnerable patients in hospitals by private companies, such as (i) average car parking charges of £2.50 per hour, (ii) bedside television charges of £10.00 per day for the full package including films, internet and phone, or £5.00 per day minimum for just television, (iii) the cost of an incoming call of 50p per min BT line, and (iv) cashpoint fee of £2.00;

 

(b)       believes it's unethical for these companies to make huge profits by preying on the sick and dying;

 

(c)        further believes that Sheffield Teaching Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust doesn't make any money from this system;

 

(d)       notes that the NHS health care service is supposedly free at the point of use, however, believes that the extra charges to access the service are far from healthy;

 

(e)       believes it is not acceptable that some patients are paying £10.00 per day to view a television, whilst inmates in Doncaster prison pay just £1.00 for an entire week’s worth of viewing; and

 

(f)        requests that the Cabinet Member for Health and Social Care writes to the Secretary of State for Health to demand an end to excessive charges for these services, which this Council believes are outrageous, especially for patients at the end of life.

 

Minutes: