Agenda and minutes

1.1

Apologies for absence were received from Councillors Dawn Dale, Bernard Little, Abtisam Mohamed, Maroof Raouf and Paul Wood.

2.1

There were no items of business identified where resolutions may be moved to exclude the press and public.

3.1

There were no declarations of interest made by Members of the Council, and no Members declared an inability to vote on the setting of the Council Tax charge on the grounds of having Council Tax arrears of at least two months.

4.1

Lord Mayor’s Announcements

The Lord Mayor (Councillor Colin Ross) reported that a Lord Mayor’s Gala Ball, held the preceding Friday evening, had raised over £8,000 for the St Luke’s Hospice Charity, and he expressed his thanks to the large number of Council Members who had supported that event.

The Lord Mayor stated that, at the end of the Council meeting, he would be expressing thanks to Members of the Council who would not be seeking re-election at the forthcoming elections in May and would invite them to the Lord Mayor’s Parlour at the conclusion of the meeting.  He advised that he too would be retiring at those elections.

4.2

Petitions and Public Questions

The Lord Mayor (Councillor Colin Ross) reported that questions would be taken at the meeting from five members of the public.  He added that no ordinary petitions had been received, but a petition containing over 5,000 signatures would be debated at the end of this item of business, and that petition was referred to at item 5(b) on the agenda for the meeting.

4.3

Public Questions

4.3.1

Question from Abid Hussain

Question - The South Yorkshire Muslim Bereavement Trust (SYMBT) welcomes the Council’s efforts to develop a comprehensive city-wide Bereavement Strategy, including the provisions in fulfilling the special religious needs of the 50,000 strong Muslim communities. As the Council approves its Budget for 2024/25 today on 6th March and given the depletion of burial space within the city across all cemeteries, and in particular Shiregreen and City Road, could the Council provide a detailed position on what revenue and capital allocation has been set aside for advancing the development and implementation of the City-Wide Bereavement Strategy. Specifically, this should include the capital allocation in 24/25, 25/26, 26/27 and 27/28, which will be required to either acquire new sites or develop sites that are in Council ownership.

Mr. Hussain wished to thank Councillor Richard Williams and the Bereavement Services team for meeting with the Trust recently to discuss the issues raised in his questions relating to the depletion of burial sites in the city.  He stated that he looked forward to the continuation of that dialogue, and added that the Trust would also wish to discuss the serious issues recently reported regarding water retention at the Shiregreen cemetery site, which was of great concern to the community.

In response, Councillor Richard Williams (Chair of the Communities, Parks and Leisure Policy Committee) stated that if the Council did not act in this matter there would be a long-term issue with capacity, which was an issue common to many of the core cities.  He added that various meetings had recently taken place between Members, officers and community representatives, in order to find a way forward.  A Bereavement Strategy was being produced and would be at Committee stage by, at the latest, September 2024.  Additionally, Bereavement Services were working to identify new plots and a sum of money had been allocated to enable this work.  When new plots were  ...  view the full minutes text for item 4.

5.1

RESOLVED: On the motion of Councillor Bryan Lodge, seconded by Councillor Terry Fox, that, in accordance with Council Procedure Rule 9.1, the order of business as published on the Council Summons be altered by taking item 7 on the agenda (Revenue Budget and Capital Programme 2024-25) at this point in the proceedings.

5.2

RESOLVED: On the motion formally moved by Councillor Mary Lea, and formally seconded by Councillor Joe Otten, that, in accordance with Council Procedure Rules 4 (Suspension and Amendment of Council Procedure Rules) and 11 (Motions which may be moved without notice):-

(a) Council Procedure Rule 17.5 (Content and Length of Speeches) be suspended to change the time limit on the speeches of the mover of the motion from 3-minutes to 5-minutes and of the seconder of the motion and the movers and seconders of the amendments from 2-minutes to 5-minutes;

(b) Council Procedure Rule 17.6 (Time Limit for Debate) be suspended to remove the 25-minute time limit for the item of business;

(c) Council Procedure Rules 17.7 (Procedure for Debate) and 17.5 (Content and Length of Speeches) be suspended to allow the Leaders of the other two Groups in the Administration to speak immediately after the motion has been seconded and prior to the first amendment being moved, and to to change the time limit on their speeches from 2-minutes to 5-minutes; and

(c) Council Procedure Rule 17.8 (When a Member May Speak Again) be suspended to allow the four Members who will speak on the motion to also move or second an amendment, or otherwise to speak in the debate.

5.3

It was then moved by Councillor Zahira Naz, and seconded by Councillor Tom Hunt, that, as recommended by the Strategy and Resources Policy Committee at its meeting held on 21 February 2024, as relates to the City Council’s Revenue Budget and Capital Programme 2024/25, it is:-

RESOLVED: That this Council:-

(1)

requests the Director of Finance and Commercial Services to implement the City Council’s Revenue Budget and Capital Programme 2024/25 in accordance with the details set out in the reports on the Revenue Budget and Capital Programme now submitted;

(2)

approves the contents of the Capital Strategy and the specific projects included in the years 2024/25 to 2028/29;

(3)

notes that the block allocations are included within the programme for noting at this stage and detailed proposals will be brought back for separate Member approval as part of the monthly monitoring procedures;

(4)

approves the proposed Capital Programme for the 5 years to 2028/29 as per Section F of the Capital Strategy report;

(5)

after noting the joint report of the Chief Executive and the Director of Finance and Commercial Services now submitted on the Revenue Budget 2024/25, approves and adopts a net Revenue Budget for 2024/25 amounting to £543.815m, as set out in Appendix 4 of that report, as follows:-

Appendix 4

Restated
2023/24

Summary Revenue Budget

2024/25

£000

£000

Committee Budgets:

142,387

Adult Health and Social Care

149,903

35,617

Communities, Parks  ...  view the full minutes text for item 5.

6.1

RESOLVED UNANIMOUSLY: On the motion formally moved by Councillor Tom Hunt and formally seconded by Councillor Angela Argenzio, that, as recommended by the Strategy and Resources Policy Committee at its meeting held on 21^st February 2024, this Council approves the Council Plan, as set out in Appendix 1 of the Chief Executive’s report.

7.1

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

8.1

RESOLVED UNANIMOUSLY: On the motion formally moved by Councillor Martin Phipps and formally seconded by Councillor Paul Turpin, that Councillor Paul Turpin be appointed to fill a vacancy as a substitute member of the Economic Development and Skills Policy Committee.