Agenda and minutes

1.1

Apologies for absence were received from the Lord Mayor (Councillor Anne Murphy) and Councillors Andy Bainbridge, Penny Baker, Craig Gamble Pugh, Richard Shaw and Jim Steinke.

2.1

Councillor Bryan Lodge declared a Disclosable Pecuniary Interest in Agenda Item 9 – Notice of Motion regarding Carillion, due to him being an employee of that Company, and he did not speak or vote on that item of business.

2.2

Councillor Shaffaq Mohammed declared a personal interest in the same Item due to his son being an employee of Carillion, and he stated that he would not speak or vote on that item of business.

2.3

Councillor Paul Scriven declared a personal interest in the same Item, on the grounds that he had undertaken work for Carillion over 12 months ago.

3.1

RESOLVED: On the Motion of Councillor Peter Rippon, seconded by Councillor David Baker, thatapproval be given, for the duration of this meeting and (via suspension of Council Procedure Rule 4.1) the ordinary meeting of the Council on 28^th March 2018, to certain revisions to the Council Procedure Rules, as set out in the schedule included with the agenda for this meeting, in order to apply, to these meetings, the changes to the operation of the full Council meeting that were used at the ordinary Council meetings held from September to December as part of a pilot exercise being overseen by the Review of Full Council Meetings Member Working Group.

4.1

Petitions

4.1.1

Petition Requesting a Safe House for Males Suffering Domestic Abuse

The Council received an electronic petition containing 123 signatures, requesting a safe house for males suffering domestic abuse.

Representations on behalf of the petitioners were made by Alex Szumski and Cameron Barber. They informed the Council that the rate of suicides among males in the United Kingdom was three times that of females, although there were more programmes in place to support females. Young males aged 11 to 16 were subject to physical and verbal abuse and represented 13 percent of such reported cases. There are only 18 safe houses for males in the country and a much higher number for women and it was considered that the resources available to support males were significantly less.

This work had been carried out by young people as part of a National Citizenship Service Programme. The petition requested a safe house for males suffering domestic abuse, where they can feel safe and able to openly share their experiences without being judged.

The Council referred the petition to Councillor Cate McDonald, Cabinet Member for Health and Social Care. Councillor McDonald thanked the petitioners and concurred that many people were affected by domestic abuse, sexual abuse and rape, which was clearly not acceptable. What was known was that the majority of people affected were women as shown by needs assessments. The Council did work with other agencies to provide services which supported people who had experienced abuse. There were options for men seeking accommodation to escape abuse. However, there was not a specific refuge for men in Sheffield. Arrangements were made for young men suffering abuse. There was also a domestic violence helpline and services provided at Howden House, an independent domestic violence advocacy service, outreach services and homelessness support.

There was not a lot of demand for specific support for men and therefore in cases where it was thought men would benefit from all male support groups, people should contact the appropriate organisations, such as the helpline.

She welcomed the work which the young people leading the petition had done. She said that if it was felt that people would benefit from the provision of an all-male support group then she urged people to make contact so that discussion could be held with the relevant service.

4.1.2

Petition Requesting a Change to the Policy on Black Bins

The Council received an electronic petition containing eight signatures, requesting a change to the policy on black bins, to allow for one large, and one standard size bin for students in households with six or more residents.

There was no speaker to the petition.

The Council referred the petition to Councillor Bryan Lodge, Cabinet Member for Environment and Streetscene.

4.1.3

Petition Requesting Road Safety Improvements in Woodseats

The Council received a joint paper and electronic petition containing 245 signatures, requesting road safety improvements in Woodseats.

There was no speaker to the petition.

The Council referred the petition to Councillor Jack Scott, Cabinet Member  ...  view the full minutes text for item 4.

5.1

Urgent Business

5.1.1

There were no questions relating to urgent business under the provisions of Council Procedure Rule 16.6(ii).

5.2

Questions

5.2.1

A schedule of questions to Cabinet Members, submitted in accordance with Council Procedure Rule 16, and which contained written answers, was circulated and supplementary questions, under the provisions of Council Procedure Rule 16.4, were asked and were answered by the appropriate Cabinet Members.

5.3

South Yorkshire Joint Authorities

5.3.1

There were no questions relating to the discharge of the functions of the South Yorkshire Joint Authorities for Fire and Rescue or Pensions, under the provisions of Council Procedure Rule 16.6(i).

6.1

It was moved by Councillor Jayne Dunn, seconded by Councillor Tony Downing, that the following recommendations made by the Cabinet at its meeting on 17^th January 2018 in relation to the Housing Revenue Account Business Plan and Budget 2018/19, be approved:-

“RESOLVED: That Cabinet recommends to the meeting of the City Council on 7 February 2018 that:-

(a)       the HRA Business Plan report for 2018/19 as set out in the appendix to the report is approved;

(b)       the HRA Revenue Budget 2018/19 as set out in the appendix to the report is approved;

(c)        rents for council dwellings, including temporary accommodation, are reduced by 1% from April 2018 in line with the requirements in the Welfare Reform and Work Act 2016;

(d)       a single rate for garage rents of £9.35 per week for a garage plot and £2.10 per week for a garage site be applied to new garage tenancies from April 2018 and to existing garage tenancies once improvements have been made to existing garage sites and plots;

(e)       the community heating unit charges remain unchanged for 2018/19;

(f)        the sheltered housing service charge remain unchanged for 2018/19;

(g)       burglar alarm charges remain unchanged for 2018/19; and

(h)       service charges for furnished accommodation remain unchanged from April 2018.”

6.2

Whereupon, it was moved by Councillor Shaffaq Mohammed, and seconded by Councillor Steve Ayris, as an amendment, that the recommendations made by the Cabinet at its meeting held on 17^th January, 2018, concerning the Housing Revenue Account Business Plan and HRA Budget 2018/19, be approved with the addition of a new paragraph (i) as follows:-

(i)         (i) notes that it was necessary to remove the cladding from Hanover Tower, due to safety concerns following the devastating Grenfell Tower fire;

(ii) notes that the original purpose of the cladding was to insulate the tower block and that now residents of the building may face higher heating bills to compensate for the lack of insulation since the removal of the cladding; and

(iii) requests that officers ensure that any increase in heating costs since the removal of the cladding is identified and, if necessary, arrange to provide financial support to the residents from the District Heating Account or alternative sources of financial assistance.

6.3

After contributions from other Members, and following a right of reply from Councillor Jayne Dunn, the amendment was put to the vote and was negatived.

6.4

The original Motion was then put to the vote and carried, as follows:-

7.1

It was moved by Councillor Shaffaq Mohammed, and seconded by Councillor Adam Hanrahan, that this Council:-

(a)       notes the concerns reported in the press regarding the tendering process which resulted in the Amey StreetsAhead contract;

(b)       believes that this contract should serve the people of Sheffield; that the Council Administration should work towards achieving greater flexibility, timeliness, cost effectiveness and improve the safety whilst achieving better value for money from the StreetsAhead programme;

(c)        is deeply concerned by the reported allegations that Amey may have failed to declare legal proceedings that were pending or threatened, leading to a criminal conviction, and therefore believes this warrants further investigation as, if found to be true, it could be the basis to determine a legal validity of the StreetsAhead contract; and

(d)      resolves that due to the serious nature of the allegations, the Administration should ensure that an open and independent inquiry be carried out as a matter of urgency by a person such as a retired judge with expertise in commercial law, which would report back to full Council so an open, independent and transparent recommendation can be made to this Council to allow us to continue to invest in our highways infrastructure.

7.2

Whereupon, it was moved by Councillor Bryan Lodge, and seconded by Councillor Mike Chaplin, as an amendment, that the Motion now submitted be amended by the deletion of all the words after the words “That this Council” and the addition of the following words:-

(a)       reaffirms its commitment to the ongoing work under the Streets Ahead contract;

(b)      highlights the fact that a large number of Freedom of Information requests, and petitions, as well as a KPMG investigation instigated by members of the public, have been put forward in relation to the aforementioned allegations and the suggestion that the Streets Ahead contract can be terminated without significant financial penalties;

(c)      notes that Sheffield City Council’s legal department have scrutinised claims that the contract could be cancelled penalty free due to legal reasons, and does not agree, and also notes that the allegation that Amey plc had a conviction for corporate manslaughter was found by the Court to be inaccurate;

(d)      further notes that Amey UK plc was the lead bidder in the procurement and was required to respond to the mandatory and discretionary procurement regulated Pre-Qualification Questionnaire (PQQ) questions and that they did this to the satisfaction of the Council and our external legal advisers;

(e)      reaffirms awareness of the Health & Safety conviction in 2011;

(f)       reiterates satisfaction that there has been no breach by Amey of the PQQ process or the Bid Process Agreement and, therefore, strongly disagrees that there are grounds for terminating the contract without incurred penalties on the basis that has been set out;

(g)      notes that in relation to the most recent Health & Safety Contravention Notices given to Amey by the Health and Safety Executive (HSE), Amey are complying with the terms of the PFI Contract by notifying the Council of the  ...  view the full minutes text for item 7.

8.1

It was formally moved by Councillor Olivia Blake, and formally seconded by Councillor Zahira Naz, that this Council:-

(a)       notes that this month we celebrate the 100 year anniversary of the Representation of the People Act (1918), which first granted the vote to 8.4 million women in the UK, being initially only to those over the age of 30 who meet a property qualification;

(b)       notes that in addition to this important milestone, International Women's Day will be celebrated globally on 08 March and it is, therefore, a pertinent time to consider how far we have travelled in the fight for gender equality but to also recognise how much further we have to go, both in the UK and internationally;

(c)        believes that the challenge now is to build on past achievements and push for full equality for women: financially, in the workplace, in families and homes and in public spaces, but further believes, with regret and anger, that many policies introduced by this Government are retrograde for the economic equality for women;

(d)       believes it is outrageous that in 2016, women in the UK are more likely to work for less pay than men, in low paid sectors and be disproportionately affected by austerity;

(e)       notes that women approaching the pensionable age have also been badly affected by the 2011 Pensions Act, which legislated that women’s State Pension Age would increase to 65 by 2018;

(f)        believes that whilst the equalisation of the State Pension Age should be welcomed, the acceleration of that equalisation, implemented by the Coalition Government and overseen by former Liberal Democrat Pensions Minister, the Rt. Hon. Steve Webb, discriminates against women born in the early 1950s, and has left them with inadequate time to make alternative arrangements and adversely affected their retirement plans;

(g)       notes Steve Webb’s admission to the Institute for Government in December 2015 that he made a “bad decision” on raising the State Pension Age;

(h)       calls on Richard Harrington MP, Parliamentary Under Secretary of State for Pensions, to immediately introduce transitional arrangements to provide protection for women affected by the equalisation of the State Pension Age;

(i)         notes with regret that the Women Against State Pension Inequality (WASPI) movement and the Labour Party have been demanding such transitional arrangements for seven years and yet Conservative governments, and the preceding Coalition government, have failed to implement such arrangements and have, as such, affected millions of women in the UK, which this Council believes is unfair and unjust;

(j)         notes that for 2016's Autumn Statement, 86% of the amount taken by HM Treasury through tax and benefit measures had come from women, with a disproportionate impact on women from black and minority ethnic backgrounds; and

(k)        supports the Labour Party's on-going consultation on a new Economic Equality Bill, as this Bill will aim to strengthen legislation around equal pay and tackle the structural and economic barriers that stop women, BAME communities and disabled people from reaching their full potential.

8.2  ...  view the full minutes text for item 8.

9.1

It was formally moved by Councillor Lisa Banes, and formally seconded by Councillor Mark Jones, that this Council:-

(a)        believes Carillion’s collapse is deeply concerning and that the Government have significant questions to answer as to how this situation was allowed to develop and why they so recently awarded contracts worth billions of taxpayers’ money;

(b)        notes that Carillion’s demise will be felt right across the county, but gives reassurances that Sheffield City Council has no contracts for services with Carillion, and that all works under previous construction deals have already been completed;

(c)         notes that Carillion employs 250 people in Sheffield at their call centre on Broad Street West, and the Council’s Administration will provide whatever support it can to those affected;

(d)        believes that the Carillion case highlights Government negligence and corporate failure and, whilst the government have committed to an investigation, it is essential that this is thorough and of consequence;

(e)        notes that on 10 July 2017, Carillion issued its first profit warning, with its share price dropping by 39%, but only one week later the Transport Secretary, the Rt. Hon Chris Grayling MP, awarded Carillion a £1.4 billion HS2 contract as part of a joint venture;

(f)        reiterates the Labour Party’s belief that workers should have representatives on company boards, and that had such a policy been in place it would have almost certainly improved the governance of Carillion;

(g)       further notes that Carillion has had a long history of involvement in the blacklisting of trade union workers, and reiterates that, whilst under this Administration, this Council has previously passed a motion (November 2012) decreeing blacklisting as an unacceptable practice which cannot be condoned;

(h)       supports the Labour Party’s position that the Government need to act quickly to bring Carillion’s public sector contracts back in-house to protect public services and ensure employees, supply-line  businesses, taxpayers and pension fund members are all protected, as the Government cannot outsource its responsibility and duty of care to these workers and vital public sector projects;

(i)         notes that this Council Administration has never supported financing through the PFI model when work can be properly done in-house, but under the present Government, and the Coalition government before them, this is often the only means of securing funding to improve and maintain Council services and that organisations are forced to, in the words of the Shadow Chancellor, the Rt. Hon John McDonnell MP, use the “only show in town” as a means of getting required funding from central government;

(j)         notes that, where possible, Council services are being brought back in-house, such as housing repairs, human resources, payroll and the 101 telephone service (ran with South Yorkshire Police);

(k)        reiterates that a Labour government would review all large government contracts outsourced and that it is vital that shareholders and creditors are not allowed to walk away with the rewards from profitable contracts while the taxpayer bails out loss-making parts of the business; and

(l)         supports the Rt. Hon.  ...  view the full minutes text for item 9.

10.1

It was formally moved by Councillor John Booker and formally seconded by Councillor Keith Davis, that this Council:-

(a)        notes that South Yorkshire Passenger Transport Executive uses Global Positioning System (GPS) technology and software, etc., to tell passengers where the bus is and inform the person at the bus stop how long they have to endure their wait there;

(b)        believes this Council should introduce a Ward trial where this type of system is applied to bin lorries, whereby customers could register their mobile phone with the advertised SCC number, and on bin collection day they would receive a text stating "your bin lorry is ten minutes away, please put your bin out for collection, today is green/black/blue/brown bin";

(c)        recognises that many people forget to put their bin out for collection; a black bin full of domestic waste that is not emptied on collection day will have waste up to a month old by the time of the next collection; and in summer months especially, this would be detrimental to public health;

(d)        believes that this would alleviate the amount of litter strewn around our streets resulting from bins being put out prematurely in inclement weather conditions;

(e)        notes the 'yield' of the rubbish/waste from the bin lorry, if weighed before and after the Ward trail, would prove if the scheme was successful and worth city-wide roll out;

(f)         further notes that Geo-tracking could replace mobile phone registration, if the number is registered from a home address, with linked postcode; and

(g)        states that the objective of this initiative is cost effective improvement in publichealth, and requests the Administration to assess its feasibility.

10.2

Whereupon, it was formally moved by Councillor Steve Wilson, and formally seconded by Councillor Denise Fox, as an amendment, that the Motion now submitted be amended by the deletion of all the words after the words “That this Council” and the addition of the following words:-

(a)        notes the many inherent flaws in the proposed motion, without even going into what a costly exercise such measures would cost;

(b)        notes that, as a very rough estimate, to fit all the Veolia vehicles in the fleet would need the system to be fitted, along with back up units that would need to be placed to hired vehicles that are used from time to time, therefore for the units and fitment alone would cost around £15,000;

(c)        further notes that whilst the cost of the actual system could not be properly estimated, the last minor change requested to be made to Veolia CRM system was in excess of £15k; the scheme would likely need someone to oversee the system, and that even part-time this would likely be £10k a year and there would also be administration set up costs of around £25k;

(d)        notes that, regardless of cost, waste collection crews do not follow a set route, unlike buses, therefore it is impossible to give a “10 minute warning” as the crew could be in  ...  view the full minutes text for item 10.

11.1

It was formally moved by Councillor Robert Murphy, and formally seconded by Councillor Douglas Johnson, that this Council:-

(a)       notes the recent application to the High Court by Sheffield City Council to commit Councillor Alison Teal, potentially to prison;

(b)       notes that the case was dismissed by the Court against Councillor Teal after the Judge agreed with Councillor Teal’s view of the facts and law;

(c)        is seriously concerned that a member of the opposition on this City Council was selected from a significantly larger group of protestors for the case;

(d)       believes that the nationwide bad publicity has brought severe reputational damage to the City Council and the City of Sheffield;

(e)       is seriously concerned that despite the Judge's findings, there has been no public apology, statement or investigation by the Administration;

(f)        calls for an independent enquiry into the conduct of members of the Administration and Council officers that led to this case being brought, the enquiry team being agreed by all groups represented on Sheffield City Council, and the findings made public; and

(g)        will ensure that the enquiry team will have access to all information requested.

11.2

Whereupon, it was formally moved by Councillor Jack Scott, and formally seconded by Councillor Mick Rooney, as an amendment, that the Motion now submitted be amended by the deletion of all the words after the words “That this Council” and the addition of the following words:-

(a)        notes that Sheffield City Council was successful in its applications to the court in issuing civil injunctions against Messrs Calvin Payne and Dave Dillner, Councillor Alison Teal and “persons unknown”;

(b)        reiterates that any decisions to pursue potential breaches of the injunction are made completely independently of Members and that the impartiality of the legal process and the courts must be respected;

(c)        notes the mover and seconder of this motion have been informed on several occasions that the legal action against Councillor Teal was not political, but an independent decision, and asks Councillors to stop making allegations which are categorically untrue, and notes that Councillors have already been informed of this by the Chief Executive and the Monitoring Officer;

(d)        further notes that no Councillor is above the law and that this Council opposes the illegal entry of safety zones to prevent work from happening;          

(e)        notes that this Administration has always respected the right to peacefully protest, but when someone enters the safety zone their action is no longer legal as it prevents work from being safely carried out, and that by entering the safety zone a trespasser is putting the potential safety of themselves, staff and other protestors and bystanders at substantial risk;

(f)         believes that public safety is of paramount importance and, as reaffirmed and agreed by the High Court, it is a breach of the injunction and therefore unlawful for protestors to enter the safety zone and prevent work from being safely carried out;

(g)        believes that the reported intimidation tactics being used by protestors  ...  view the full minutes text for item 11.

12.1

It was formally moved by Councillor Alison Teal, and formally seconded by Councillor Douglas Johnson, that this Council:-

(a)       believes that the city of Sheffield should take pride in its heritage;

(b)       believes it is important to create a legacy to celebrate and commemorate Sheffield’s campaign for women’s suffrage, with the founding of the Female Political Association in 1851;

(c)        expresses a view that a cross-party steering group of councillors, community and university members be formed to develop proposals on suitable options to create a worthy legacy;

(d)       notes that a number of UK cities already successfully bid for funding to mark the centenary of the Representation of the People Act 1918 this year, and there is still time to apply for some Women’s Vote Centenary Grant Scheme funding from the Government Equalities Office;

(e)       notes that Sheffield has a rightful opportunity to develop a lasting legacy to attract visitors and scholars to the city, as the place of the UK’s founding organisation for the political struggle for women’s suffrage;

(f)        notes possible legacies could include a wide range of ambitious projects such as a home for a centre for Women’s History, to smaller scale provision of a PhD scholarship with a women’s studies focus; and

(g)       requests that a steering group be established without delay to take advantage of current funding opportunities.

12.2

Whereupon, it was formally moved by Councillor Gail Smith, and formally seconded by Councillor Sue Auckland, as an amendment, that the Motion now submitted be amended by:-

13.1

It was formally moved by Councillor Alison Teal, and formally seconded by Councillor Douglas Johnson, that this Council:-

(a)       notes that, last year, around 75 young people (aged 16 or over) left the care of Sheffield City Council and began the difficult transition out of care and into adulthood;

(b)       further notes that a 2016 report by The Children’s Society found that when care leavers move into independent accommodation they begin to manage their own budget fully for the first time and can find this extremely challenging, often with no family to support them and insufficient financial education;

(c)        further notes research from The Centre for Social Justice, which found that over half (57%) of young people leaving care have difficulty managing their money and avoiding debt when leaving care;

(d)       believes that as national welfare cuts are removing financial support and the national strategy on care leavers is inadequate, care leavers are a particularly vulnerable group for Council Tax debt;

(e)        notes that Sheffield City Council has statutory corporate parenting responsibilities towards young people up to the age of 25 who have left care;

14.1

RESOLVED: On the Motion of Councillor Peter Rippon, seconded by Councillor Michelle Cook, that the minutes of the meeting of the Council held on 3^rd January 2018 be approved as a true and accurate record.

15.1

RESOLVED: On the Motion of Councillor Peter Rippon, seconded by Councillor Michelle Cook, that:-

(a) approval be given to the following change to the memberships of Committees, Boards, etc.:-

(b) the appointment of Councillor Tony Downing as a Director of the River Stewardship Company, be confirmed; and

(c) representatives be appointed to serve on other bodies as follows:-