Agenda item

8.1

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

(a)      notes that this Administration has repeatedly refused to disclose specific details of the Highways PFI contract signed in 2012;

(b)     notes that this Administration has repeatedly put out statements that:-

(i)       trees are only felled as a last resort;

(ii)      trees are only felled in accordance with the 6 Ds criteria: i.e. if they are dead, dying, diseased, dangerous, damaging footpaths, private property or roads, or ‘discriminatory’; and

(iii)      there are no targets to fell trees;

(c)      notes that the Council’s refusal to release part of the contract was found to be unlawful by the Information Commissioner, who ordered that these parts of the contract be released;

(d)      notes that the newly-released extracts from the contract show that there was a contractual requirement for Amey to replace highway trees “at a rate of not less than 200 per year”;

(e)      further notes that it is a contractual requirement for Amey to replace 17,500 highway trees by the end of the 25-year contract;

(f)       believes that the Administration’s statements set out above are incompatible with these contractual requirements;

(g)      therefore asks the Administration to admit that those statements were untrue; and

(h)     resolves that this Council has no confidence in the present Administration to tell the truth.

8.2

Whereupon, it was formally moved by Councillor Peter Price, and formally seconded by Councillor Bryan Lodge, 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 Administration has repeatedly confirmed the intention to publically disclose of non-commercially sensitive parts of the Streets Ahead contract, despite the fact this involved considerable Council resources and, due to the length of the contract, took a considerable time to do so;

(b)      notes that within the recently released performance standards in the Streets-Ahead contract, there was reference to Sheffield City Council having the right to ask Amey to replace up to 17,500 street trees over the duration of the 25 year contract;

(c)      notes that, whilst this figure may initially appear alarming, this figure is in no way a fixed target that Amey must replace but, in fact, gives the Council the option to replace this number within the agreed contract price without any extra cost to the Council or taxpayers;

(d)      believes that this Administration has been clear on this point and that opposition parties have seized on this figure and misrepresented the facts and spread fear into certain Sheffield neighbourhoods that thousands more trees are going to be felled unnecessarily in order to fulfil a contract arrangement, and regrets, with anger, the opportunism by which these opposition groups have circulated this untruth;

(e)      notes that the Council will have sanctioned the replacement of around 6,000 trees during the first five years of the contract (known as the Core Investment Period) and this period has now ended, though difficulties have remained in removing the last 200 trees earmarked for felling;

(f)       notes that, beyond the initial Core Investment Period, it is very difficult to estimate the total number of trees that need replacing over the remaining twenty years of the contract as, for example, a disease outbreak amongst a specific species could vary the numbers significantly, however, this Administration has consistently stated that the best estimate of the number of trees to be replaced over the full life of the contract will be the 6000 as already replaced during the Core Investment Period followed by an estimated 200 trees a year;

(g)      reaffirms, again, that the Council is not removing healthy trees because there is a set quota to be adhered to, and a tree is only marked for replacement if it is dead, dying, diseased, dangerous, damaging (footpaths, private property or roads) or discriminatory (meaning the tree creates difficulty for elderly, disabled and partially-sighted people when using the footpath);

(h)      notes that the Council’s explanation has been vindicated by the High Court on both occasions and that the legality of the works, and the contract, is not under legal contention despite being consistently called into question erroneously by opposition members;

(i)       contends that before the Streets Ahead work commenced, street trees were being felled every year and often with no replacement, whereas now, because of the Streets Ahead contract, this Administration is guaranteeing a sustainable street tree stock for the city and, ultimately, there will be more street trees in Sheffield at the end of the contract than when it began;

(j)       notes that this Administration remains consistent in the estimate that 6,000 trees would be felled in the first five years, as has been the case, and that over the next 20 years the best estimate is that another 200 trees a year will need replacing, and that the Council has made no secret of this fact – issuing numerous press releases and statements stating this previously;

(k)      notes the many successes of the Streets Ahead programme, often overlooked, such as:-

(i)       we have ensured that Sheffield is the only city in the country to replace every single street light with LED lighting (64,000 lamps), saving energy and a massive contribution to our environment;

(ii)      we have re-laid over 1,450 miles of pavements, making it so much better for our elderly, disabled, partially sighted and pram pushers;

(iii)      we have re-laid over 693 miles of road; and

(iv)     we have replaced 3,200 gullies and drains and improved 300 bridges and structures; and

(l)       notes that outside of the Streets Ahead programme, Sheffield City Council has planted another 50,000 trees across the City, and we now have around 4 million trees within Sheffield, making us the greenest, most tree covered city in the UK.

8.3

It was then formally moved by Councillor Colin Ross, and formally seconded by Councillor Steve Ayris, as an amendment, that the Motion now submitted be amended by the addition of new paragraphs (a) to (e) as follows, and the re-lettering of original paragraphs (a) to (h) as new paragraphs (f) to (m):-

(a)      believes that trust, truth and transparency are the bedrock of good governance;

(b)      believes that a lack of openness erodes confidence and trust in local government and agrees with the Leader of Rotherham Council that “you can’t be accountable without being transparent”;

(c)      agrees with the Chair of the Housing, Communities and Local Government (Commons Select) Committee and former leader of Sheffield City Council, Clive Betts MP, that a council’s organisational culture is the most significant factor in whether scrutiny is effective, and that commercial confidentiality should not be used as an excuse to inhibit scrutiny;

(d)      notes that Sheffield was known as ‘pothole city’ and roads were in desperate need of repair and resurfacing and welcomed the central government grant to resolve this;

(e)      however, believes that the PFI contract with Amey has been mismanaged, leading to unacceptable delays in works and poor quality of repairs;

8.4

The amendment moved by Councillor Peter Price was put to the vote and was carried.

8.5

The amendment moved by Councillor Colin Ross was then put to the vote and was negatived, with the exception of the proposed new paragraphs (a) and (b), which were carried.

8.5.1

(NOTE: The Deputy Lord Mayor (Councillor Magid Magid) and Councillors Douglas Johnson, Robert Murphy and Alison Teal voted for paragraphs (a), (b), (c) and (e) and abstained from voting on paragraph (d) of the amendment, and asked for this to be recorded.)

8.6

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

RESOLVED: That this Council:-

(a)      believes that trust, truth and transparency are the bedrock of good governance;

(b)      believes that a lack of openness erodes confidence and trust in local government and agrees with the Leader of Rotherham Council that “you can’t be accountable without being transparent”;

(c)      notes that this Administration has repeatedly confirmed the intention to publically disclose of non-commercially sensitive parts of the Streets Ahead contract, despite the fact this involved considerable Council resources and, due to the length of the contract, took a considerable time to do so;

(d)      notes that within the recently released performance standards in the Streets-Ahead contract, there was reference to Sheffield City Council having the right to ask Amey to replace up to 17,500 street trees over the duration of the 25 year contract;

(e)      notes that, whilst this figure may initially appear alarming, this figure is in no way a fixed target that Amey must replace but, in fact, gives the Council the option to replace this number within the agreed contract price without any extra cost to the Council or taxpayers;

(f)       believes that this Administration has been clear on this point and that opposition parties have seized on this figure and misrepresented the facts and spread fear into certain Sheffield neighbourhoods that thousands more trees are going to be felled unnecessarily in order to fulfil a contract arrangement, and regrets, with anger, the opportunism by which these opposition groups have circulated this untruth;

(g)      notes that the Council will have sanctioned the replacement of around 6,000 trees during the first five years of the contract (known as the Core Investment Period) and this period has now ended, though difficulties have remained in removing the last 200 trees earmarked for felling;

(h)      notes that, beyond the initial Core Investment Period, it is very difficult to estimate the total number of trees that need replacing over the remaining twenty years of the contract as, for example, a disease outbreak amongst a specific species could vary the numbers significantly, however, this Administration has consistently stated that the best estimate of the number of trees to be replaced over the full life of the contract will be the 6000 as already replaced during the Core Investment Period followed by an estimated 200 trees a year;

(i)       reaffirms, again, that the Council is not removing healthy trees because there is a set quota to be adhered to, and a tree is only marked for replacement if it is dead, dying, diseased, dangerous, damaging (footpaths, private property or roads) or discriminatory (meaning the tree creates difficulty for elderly, disabled and partially-sighted people when using the footpath);

(j)       notes that the Council’s explanation has been vindicated by the High Court on both occasions and that the legality of the works, and the contract, is not under legal contention despite being consistently called into question erroneously by opposition members;

(k)      contends that before the Streets Ahead work commenced, street trees were being felled every year and often with no replacement, whereas now, because of the Streets Ahead contract, this Administration is guaranteeing a sustainable street tree stock for the city and, ultimately, there will be more street trees in Sheffield at the end of the contract than when it began;

(l)       notes that this Administration remains consistent in the estimate that 6,000 trees would be felled in the first five years, as has been the case, and that over the next 20 years the best estimate is that another 200 trees a year will need replacing, and that the Council has made no secret of this fact – issuing numerous press releases and statements stating this previously;

(m)     notes the many successes of the Streets Ahead programme, often overlooked, such as:-

(i)       we have ensured that Sheffield is the only city in the country to replace every single street light with LED lighting (64,000 lamps), saving energy and a massive contribution to our environment;

(ii)      we have re-laid over 1,450 miles of pavements, making it so much better for our elderly, disabled, partially sighted and pram pushers;

(iii)      we have re-laid over 693 miles of road; and

(iv)     we have replaced 3,200 gullies and drains and improved 300 bridges and structures; and

(n)      notes that outside of the Streets Ahead programme, Sheffield City Council has planted another 50,000 trees across the City, and we now have around 4 million trees within Sheffield, making us the greenest, most tree covered city in the UK.

8.6.1

(NOTE: Councillors Andy Nash, Richard Shaw, Adam Hanrahan, Joe Otten, Colin Ross, Martin Smith, Roger Davison, Shaffaq Mohammed, Sue Alston, Andrew Sangar, Ian Auckland, Steve Ayris, Gail Smith, David Baker and Penny Baker voted for paragraphs (a) and (b) and against paragraphs (c) to (n) of the Substantive Motion, and asked for this to be recorded.)