Agenda item

7.1

It was moved by Councillor Jackie Drayton, and seconded by Councillor Dawn Dale, that this Council:-

(a)       notes the recent Stonewall Gold Champion Award given to the Council for LGBT+ services for Children & Young People’s Services in the first Stonewall CYPS Champion Award, scoring a remarkable 128 out of a possible 130 points;

(b)       notes that in early 2019, Stonewall replaced its Education Champions Programme and the Education Equality Index with a Children and Young People’s Programme which has been designed to give a holistic overview of services working with young people up to the age of 18;

(c)        further notes that Sheffield is one of only two local authorities to have featured in the Top Ten of every Stonewall Education Equality Index since 2011;

(d)       believes that everything possible must be done to support young LGBT+ people and notes the following national research which denotes the struggles faced by many:-

(i)         84% of transgender young people have self-harmed; for lesbian, gay and bisexual young people who are not transgender, 61% have self-harmed;

(ii)        45% of transgender young people have attempted to take their own life; for lesbian, gay and bisexual young people who are not transgender, 22% have attempted to take their own life;

(iii)       just 40% of lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender young people have an adult at home they can talk to about being LGBT; and

(iv)       half of LGBT+ pupils hear homophobic slurs 'frequently' or 'often' at school and have reported being bullied at school;

(e)       believes that these problems must be not be shied away from and welcomes the submission to Stonewall, that resulted in the Gold Award, for demonstrating the work in tackling these issues and showcasing the wide range of work from staff in People’s Portfolio, our key partners SAYiT, the LGBT+ Youth Group for Sheffield and Learn Sheffield that supports equality and inclusion of LGBT+ young people in Sheffield;

(f)        notes that the Council has also been credited as  one of the top ten local authorities for tackling anti-LGBT+ bullying and celebrating difference in schools by lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender equality charity, Stonewall, in its annual Education Equality Index;

(g)       further notes that Sheffield Council was also named one of the most inclusive employers in Britain in Stonewall’s Top 100 Employers list for 2019;

(h)       reaffirms this Council’s commitment to promoting equality and diversity within the organisation and across the city, and notes the Education Index is an important way of measuring our progress on LGBT+ equality in the workplace and in our schools;

(i)         believes that the Council is right in its vision for Sheffield to be the fairest city in Britain, where all people feel included regardless of their age, race, gender, sexuality or ability, and that whilst we have come a long way, it is essential this success is built on so that everyone feels accepted in our city;

(j)         notes that Sheffield’s Children and Young People Services are building on the award winning support for young LGBT+ people, and have won numerous awards for their improved services, and notes that in October, the Council and Sheffield Children’s 0-19 Health Visiting Services both achieved UNICEF’s Baby Friendly Initiative Gold Award, in recognition of the outstanding services provided to pregnant and new mums in the city;

(k)        further notes that this award made Sheffield City Council the first standalone local authority in the country to have its Children and Family Services recognised with the Gold Award, and credit must go to the fantastic staff for making this possible; 

(l)         further notes that under this Council, Sheffield’s Family Centres and Sheffield Children’s 0-19 Health Visiting Services have put the Baby Friendly Initiative into practice to create a focus on helping parents to develop close and loving relationships with their baby;

(m)      highlights that the services have also been praised by UNICEF for their commitment to supporting parents who chose to bottle feed and for promoting successful breastfeeding - with breastfeeding rates in Sheffield  the highest in Yorkshire and Humber with nearly 80 per cent of new mothers breastfeeding their babies in the first few days;

(n)       believes this is a fantastic achievement and Council and NHS staff should be proud of their work in attaining this recognition and that, further, the Gold Award is the highest standard in UNICEF’s Baby Friendly Initiative and requires services to work together to prove that the right leadership, culture and monitoring is in place to ensure that the initiative is sustainable in the long term; and

(o)       believes that these are important developments, and perhaps even more remarkable given the decade of austerity inflicted on the city by successive governments, but that there should be no complacency and that the Council must strive to even do even better.

7.2

Whereupon it was moved by Councillor Joe Otten, and seconded by Councillor Tim Huggan, as an amendment, that the Motion now submitted be amended by the addition of a new paragraph (i) as follows, and the re-lettering of original paragraphs (i) to (o) as new paragraphs (j) to (p):-

(i)         calls for LGBT+ inclusive education to be mandatory in all schools in Sheffield;

7.3

It was then moved by Councillor Angela Argenzio, and seconded by Councillor Paul Turpin, as an amendment, that the Motion now submitted be amended by the addition of new paragraphs (p) to (s) as follows:-

(p)       notes that Sunday 1st December was World AIDS day; a day to unite in the fight against HIV, to show support for people living with HIV, and to commemorate those who have died from an AIDS-related illness;

(q)       notes that 4,453 people in the UK were diagnosed with HIV last year and that 1 in 5 people living with HIV say that they have needed help with loneliness, and that three quarters of people who report loneliness and isolation say they haven’t been able to find help;

(r)        notes that undetectable = untransmittable, with 20 years of evidence demonstrating that HIV treatment is highly effective in reducing the transmission of HIV and that people living with HIV with an undetectable viral load cannot transmit HIV sexually; and

(s)        believes that LGBTIQA+ “conversion therapies” which aim to change a person’s sexual orientation or to suppress a person’s gender identity are harmful, dangerous, and fundamentally immoral, and that diversity should be celebrated.

7.4

After contributions from three other Members, and following a right of reply from Councillor Jackie Drayton, the amendment moved by Councillor Joe Otten was put to the vote and was carried.

7.5

The amendment moved by Councillor Angela Argenzio was then put to the vote and was carried on the basis that the four new paragraphs were to be additional paragraphs to the Substantive Motion.

7.6

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