Agenda item

1.         the addition of new paragraphs (e) and (f) as follows, and the re-lettering of original paragraphs (e) to (g) as new paragraphs (g) to (i):-

(e)       expresses disappointment that Sheffield City Council, though invited to apply for the Centenary City Fund, as a city with significant suffrage history, failed to meet the deadline and missed out on a share of the £1.2million fund allocated to the seven cities who applied;

(f)        expresses disappointment at what this Council regards as the unrealistic time frames and shambolic organisation applied to the small grant applications available via the Women’s Vote Centenary Grant Scheme;

2.         the addition of new paragraphs (j) and (k) as follows:-

(j)         requests that the Government Equalities Office (GEO) reopens the Women’s Vote Centenary Grant Scheme for applications for small grants by community groups to help fund centenary celebrations; and

(k)        asks officers to investigate other sources of funding available to celebrate Sheffield’s history of women’s suffrage.

12.3

It was then formally moved by Councillor Julie Dore, and formally seconded by Councillor Mary Lea, 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 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 Guy Opperman MP, Parliamentary Under Secretary of State for Pensions and Financial Inclusion, 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;

(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;

(l)         notes that Sheffield City Council is working closely with its partners to bid for the Women’s Vote Centenary Grant Scheme, and that, together, we are also looking at other funding opportunities that may be available;

(m)      further notes that a website ran by the Council and its partners will be launched to co-ordinate events across the city celebrating the campaign for women’s suffrage and the historic role of Sheffield in the struggle for women’s rights and equality;

(n)       notes the strong legacy of Sheffield women in the campaign for equal rights and that Labour and Co-Operative Party Councillor, Eleanor Barton (Attercliffe ward), was one of the first women to be elected to public office anywhere in the UK in 1919; and

(o)       opposes comments by Liberal Democrat MP, Jo Swinson, calling for a statue of Margaret Thatcher in Westminster and believes this demonstrates the ignorance of the Lib Dem’s to all the lives and communities that were destroyed by the Thatcher government in the 1980s and notes that whilst the Liberal Democrats campaign for statues of Margaret Thatcher, Labour are putting up statues to celebrate Sheffield women of steel.

12.3.1

(NOTE: With the agreement of the Council and at the request of the mover of the amendment (Councillor Julie Dore), the amendment as circulated at the meeting and published with the agenda, was altered by the substitution, in paragraph (h), of the words “Guy Opperman MP, Parliamentary Under Secretary of State for Pensions and Financial Inclusion” for the words “Richard Harrington MP, Parliamentary Under Secretary of State for Pensions”.)

12.4

The amendment moved by Councillor Gail Smith was put to the vote and was negatived.

12.5

The amendment moved by Councillor Julie Dore, as altered, was then put to the vote and was carried.

12.5.1

(NOTE: Councillors Bob Pullin, Adam Hanrahan, Joe Otten, Colin Ross, Martin Smith, Roger Davison, Shaffaq Mohammed, Sue Alston, Andrew Sangar, Cliff Woodcraft, Ian Auckland, Sue Auckland, Steve Ayris, Gail Smith, David Baker and Vickie Priestley voted for paragraphs (a) to (h), (j) and (l) to (n) of the amendment and voted against paragraphs (i), (k) and (o) of the amendment, and asked for this to be recorded.)

12.6

The original Motion, as amended, was then put as a Substantive Motion in the following form and carried:-

RESOLVED: 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 Guy Opperman MP, Parliamentary Under Secretary of State for Pensions and Financial Inclusion, 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;

(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;

(l)         notes that Sheffield City Council is working closely with its partners to bid for the Women’s Vote Centenary Grant Scheme, and that, together, we are also looking at other funding opportunities that may be available;

(m)      further notes that a website ran by the Council and its partners will be launched to co-ordinate events across the city celebrating the campaign for women’s suffrage and the historic role of Sheffield in the struggle for women’s rights and equality;

(n)       notes the strong legacy of Sheffield women in the campaign for equal rights and that Labour and Co-Operative Party Councillor, Eleanor Barton (Attercliffe ward), was one of the first women to be elected to public office anywhere in the UK in 1919; and

(o)       opposes comments by Liberal Democrat MP, Jo Swinson, calling for a statue of Margaret Thatcher in Westminster and believes this demonstrates the ignorance of the Lib Dem’s to all the lives and communities that were destroyed by the Thatcher government in the 1980s and notes that whilst the Liberal Democrats campaign for statues of Margaret Thatcher, Labour are putting up statues to celebrate Sheffield women of steel.

12.6.1

(NOTE: 1. Councillors Bob Pullin, Adam Hanrahan, Joe Otten, Colin Ross, Martin Smith, Roger Davison, Shaffaq Mohammed, Sue Alston, Andrew Sangar, Cliff Woodcraft, Ian Auckland, Sue Auckland, Steve Ayris, Gail Smith, David Baker and Vickie Priestley voted for paragraphs (a) to (h), (j) and (l) to (n) of the Substantive Motion and voted against paragraphs (i), (k) and (o) of the Substantive Motion, and asked for this to be recorded; and

2. Councillors Douglas Johnson, Robert Murphy and Alison Teal voted for paragraphs (a) to (h) and (l) to (n) of the Substantive Motion and abstained from voting on paragraphs (i), (j), (k) and (o) of the Substantive Motion, and asked for this to be recorded.)