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)       notes the recent innovations and changes in how people are able to travel throughout Sheffield and believes that, under this Administration, travelling in the city is becoming more integrated and greener;

(b)       notes the recent success of the Ofo bikes, which are proving so popular that the innovative bike sharing scheme is now the country’s second largest outside of London;

(c)        notes that this Administration is investing £1.9 million to provide cleaner buses and bring them up to the E6 standard, which will in turn be one of the best standards set outside of London;

(d)       further notes that record investment in tackling air pollution in Sheffield is now underway with the beginnings of £1.3m investment from the “Early Measures Fund” to help transform the City’s air;

(e)       notes that the funding secured from the Early Measures Fund is a direct result of this Administration’s successful lobbying in order to meet the ambitious standards set out in its Air Quality Strategy;

(f)        notes that under this Administration, the Council will be making Sheffield’s largest ever investment in specific Air Quality Measures;

(g)       recalls the miserly £5,000 of investment for electric taxi leasing proposed by the Green Group in its budget amendments for 2017/18, and that this is in the sharpest possible contrast to the actions from this Administration who have secured around £500,000 to electrify and revolutionise Sheffield’s taxi fleet for the year ahead;

(h)       notes under this Administration we have seen the opening of the first new park and ride of recent years through IKEA and celebrates its popularity, convenience and environmental impact;

(i)         believes that the Better Bus funding agreement will make journeys quicker and more reliable and prioritise public transport;

(j)         notes that this Administration’s Clean Air strategy commits the Council to working alongside the city’s bus companies to improve the bus fleet and reduce emissions through replacement low-emission buses or re-powering vehicles with cleaner engine technology;

(k)        further notes that as part of the Clean Air Strategy the Administration is rolling out anti-idling zones outside schools, and other targeted locations, and is establishing 20mph speed limits across the city centre to make roads safer and to encourage more sustainable modes of travel such as cycling and walking;

(l)         notes the decisions last month by the Council’s Cabinet to invest £2.5m in cycle infrastructure and invest in new schemes for pedestrians;

(m)      highlights that the new Parking Strategy has put environment issues at its core, encouraging active modes of transport and, in addition, that attention should be drawn to the highly successful first ever “+1” scheme which encouraged public transport use in to the city centre in the weeks running up to Christmas;

(n)       believes that the new transport vision and strategy is likely to further revolutionise travel in the city, and is encouraged that this strategy will be going to Cabinet in the near future;

(o)       notes that a future Labour government would bring the railways back into public ownership  ...  view the full agenda text for item 5.

That this Council:

(a)       believes local communities do not want fracking in their area and that the locally elected Labour Administration have supported our communities’ ability to decide what the future of fracking should be in their areas, rather than having to endure the diktats from on high by an over-zealous Government;

(b)       supports the actions of local community groups, such as Sheffield Climate Alliance, Frack Free South Yorkshire and Mosborough Against Fracking in opposing the policy framework initiated by the Conservative and Liberal Democrat Coalition government in what this Council believed to be its wholly reckless and irresponsible dash for shale gas;

(c)        believes Britain urgently needs a renewable energy revolution and supports the position taken by the Labour Party calling on the Government to ban fracking, and focus on unlocking the jobs and growth that a low-carbon energy infrastructure can provide for our industry, workforce and communities; in contrast to the Conservative Party’s apparent fixation on shale gas - regardless of evidence, public opinion or the impacts this will have on local communities;

(d)       notes with bitter disappointment that the Government have recently announced a series of measures to support the development of shale gas extraction which are being imposed on local communities, local councils and local wishes, to force through changes at the behest of fracking companies;

(e)       notes that at present, decisions on shale gas exploration planning applications have a statutory time frame of 16 weeks, where an Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA) is required, and that the stated aim of the new measures from the Department for Business, Energy & Industrial Strategy is supposedly in order to meet these time frames;

(f)        believes, however, that all applications where an EIA is required already have significant central government provisions over performance - including Right of Appeal against timely non-determination, call-ins, and special measures designation, and therefore begs the question that with such powers already in place why does fracking require more?;

(g)       contends that the emphasis and support for all types of planning applications should be a government priority, including addressing the long standing delays in the planning inspectorate, and, furthermore, as delays in the Planning Inspectorate system are a big problem on all fronts, believes it is likely that other schemes, such as prioritising housing and strategic infrastructure planning, will suffer delays if fracking is given special and preferential treatment;

(h)       believes that giving fracking special treatment will be counter-productive as it will reinforce public concerns that government wants to press on with fracking regardless of public opinion or evidence on the potential environmental and health impacts;

(i)         believes that the Government’s measures appear to be a toxic combination of caving into the fracking industry and reinforcing existing bad policy, which will set a dangerous precedent in taking away local decision making on planning decisions;

(j)         contends that it is scandalous to take away local decision making powers and put it in the hands of government ministers and that such a change will likely see  ...  view the full agenda text for item 6.

That this Council:

(a)       thanks everyone involved in the running of this year's local elections and thanks the people of Sheffield for exercising their right to vote;

(b)       notes that this Council moved to a strong leader and cabinet model of governance under provisions within the Local Government Act 2000 introduced by the Rt. Hon. Tony Blair’s government, and believes that recently it has been clear that there is a disconnect between the Executive and backbench councillors at this Council;

(c)        notes that under the powers of the Localism Act 2011, Sheffield City Council has the ability to move from the current system of strong leader and cabinet to a committee system of governance;

(d)       notes that since the Localism Act 2011 came into law a number of councils have chosen to move to a committee system and more are considering the change;

(e)       notes that when the Liberal Democrats were in control of Sheffield City Council, the Localism Act had not yet come into law and therefore were unable to use its powers to change the council structure at the time;

(f)        notes that even Labour councillors have called in decisions made by their own Cabinet and Cabinet Members, for example, the executive decisions made on the development of Central Library and Mount Pleasant;

(g)       believes that, currently, too many decisions that affect local people are not transparent and are made away from public scrutiny, and introducing a committee system would mean that decision making would be more transparent and help to restore public confidence in Sheffield City Council;

(h)       resolves to investigate a switch to a committee system which would give more control of decision making to all elected councillors and not just a selected few; allowing local communities a more direct path to decisions made about their futures; and

(i)         believes that there is a better, different way for a city council to operate and that this motion demonstrates that it is possible, even in difficult times, to be responsive and work with local people.

That this Council:

(a)       notes the world-wide scourge of modern society consuming and disposing of large amounts of single-use plastic;

(b)       notes the recent analysis of public health data by the Local Government Association showing that one in 25 school children aged 10 or 11 are severely obese;

(c)        notes that tooth decay in children is a strong indicator of inequality and has a serious adverse effect on childhood health and life chances, leading to school absence and unnecessary surgery;

(d)       notes that Green Group councillors asked for the Healthier Communities and Adult Social Care Scrutiny and Policy Development Committee to look at the issue of dental health in 2017;

(e)       notes that the Green Group budget amendment in 2018 included a proposal to introduce drinking water fountains in the city centre and major parks, helping to improve health and reduce consumption of disposable plastics; and

(f)        therefore welcomes the introduction of new publicly accessible drinking fountains in Sheffield City Centre.

Report of the Chief Executive.

To receive the record of the proceedings of the ordinary meeting of the Council held on 28^th March, and the annual meeting of the Council held on 16^th May 2018, 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.

NOTE: At an appropriate point in the meeting, to be determined by the Lord Mayor (Councillor Magid Magid) and expected to take place between 3.30pm and 4.00pm, a comfort break of 10-15 minutes will be provided.  During the break, a short talk will be given in the Council Chamber from Hassun El Zafar entitled “What Is This Thing Called Science” – further details are provided below.

Hassun El Zafar – What Is This Thing Called Science?!

Remember those old pesky science lessons in school? The ones where you have to memorise equations of big words you still don't know? Or burn something for no apparent reason?

Hassun El Zafar is a science educator from Sheffield.  He'll be presenting an exciting alternative creative view of what science lessons should be like, starting from the question, what is this thing called science?