Agenda and minutes

Venue: Ponds Forge International Sports Centre, Sheaf Street, Sheffield, S1 2BP

Contact: Paul Robinson, Democratic Services  Email: paul.robinson@sheffield.gov.uk

Media

Items
No. Item

1.

Minute Silence - Deaths of Former Councillors Henry Sturrock and Martin Brelsford

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2.

Apologies for Absence

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3.

Declarations of Interest pdf icon PDF 129 KB

Members to declare any interests they have in the business to be considered at the meeting.

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4.

Public Questions and Petitions and Other Communications

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.

 

 

(NOTE: There is a time limit of one hour for the above item of business.  In accordance with the arrangements published on the Council’s website in relation to meetings of the Council held whilst social distancing and other public health safety measures still apply, questions/petitions are required to be submitted in writing, to committee@sheffield.gov.uk, by 9.00 a.m. on Monday 6th September.)

 

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5.

Members' Questions pdf icon PDF 1 MB

5.1      Questions relating to urgent business – Council Procedure Rule 16.6(ii).

 

5.2      Supplementary questions on written questions submitted at this meeting – Council Procedure Rule 16.4.

 

5.3      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)

 

 

 

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6.

Tributes to Former Councillor Martin Brelsford

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7.

Notice of Motion Regarding "Housing and the Local Plan" - Given by Councillor Martin Smith and to be seconded by Councillor Shaffaq Mohammed

That this Council:-

 

(a)      notes that the population of Sheffield is predicted to grow by approximately 90,000 over the next twenty years and a shortage of decent housing will have a profound effect on economic growth, social mobility and health;

 

(b)      agrees that Sheffield will require more than 40,000 new homes over the next 20 years;

 

(c)      agrees that the location, mix and affordability of that housing will have a huge impact on the future prosperity and quality of life for its citizens;

 

(d)      notes that the Local Plan has been in development since 2012, with delay after delay leaving Sheffield in a position where we will become increasingly defenceless against inappropriate development;

 

(e)      notes the overwhelming public response to the 2020 Issues & Options Consultation in favour of higher density, walkable neighbourhoods primarily focussed in and around the city centre and Attercliffe;

 

(f)       further notes that development in these locations are particularly sustainable due to excellent transport links and existing infrastructure, and with good opportunities for affordable and accessible housing;

 

(g)      agrees that it must listen to the people of Sheffield and commits to developing a Local Plan based on this spatial strategy; and

 

(h)      further commits to issuing the draft Local Plan for consultation within the next six months.

 

 

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8.

Notice of Motion Regarding "Investing in Early Years - Given by Councillor Jayne Dunn and to be seconded by Councillor Mick Rooney

That this Council:-

 

(a)      believes that the early years are critical for a child’s development and childcare is a fundamental building block of our economy and further believes that over the last decade, early years services have been neglected by the Government;

 

(b)      notes with concern the report ‘Closed Doors’ by Action for Children, which considered children’s centre usage between 2014/15 and 2017/18 and stated “Despite the importance of children’s centres to many families, their existence is under threat. Years of funding cuts have left councils with little choice but to reduce children’s centre budgets. As resources become increasingly stretched, a number of centres have closed. Many of those that remain have been forced to reduce the level of service on offer.”;

 

(c)      notes recent research which highlights that nationally over 1,000 Sure Start Centres have been lost since 2010 and believes that this is the legacy of the coalition government’s reckless austerity policies targeting cuts at children most in need, and in addition, notes that 12,000 early education and childcare providers have been lost since 2015 and 30,000 more early years providers are at risk of closure within a year;

 

(d)      is concerned that the sector has been disproportionately impacted by Covid-19 and believes that, although early years providers were relied upon to enable key workers to continue to work during the pandemic, they received insufficient financial protection;

 

(e)      welcomes that Sheffield City Council provided additional support for the publicly funded hours (over and above national guidance), however, believes that the Government failed early years providers providing little support for the paid provision;

 

(f)       is concerned that the insufficient increase in funding, historical underfunding, increasing costs and impact of Covid-19, means that early years’ providers in Sheffield will be faced with financial sustainability issues across the childcare sector and that it is also becoming increasingly difficult to recruit and retain staff due to the early years providers’ inability to pay competitive rates;

 

(g)      believes Sheffield continues to be underfunded as compared to other local authorities, with the disparity in Sheffield’s hourly Funded Early Learning (FEL) rate compared to other core cities, with Bristol receiving £5.69 an hour for three and four year olds, which is 21% higher than Sheffield’s rate of £4.71 per hour; Nottingham receives £5.06 per hour, Newcastle £5.05, Manchester £5.01, Leeds £4.95 and Birmingham £4.85, and only Liverpool receives less, at £4.69;

 

(h)      notes that Sheffield also receives a lower rate for two year olds at £5.36 per hour, compared to £5.59 in Bristol, £5.46 in Manchester, £5.40 in Birmingham, £5.39 in Nottingham and £5.38 in Liverpool, with Leeds and Manchester also receiving £5.36 per hour;

 

(i)       supports Sheffield trade unions in their petition to Government to significantly increase funding in Early Years, which states that the current levels of funding for early years education and care are insufficient to provide the high quality services young children in Sheffield deserve, and supports their call for:-

 

(i)       increased investment to ensure  ...  view the full agenda text for item 8.

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9.

Notice of Motion Regarding "A Partnership between Local Government and National Government to tackle Climate Change" - Given by Councillor Douglas Johnson and to be seconded by Councillor Christine Gilligan

That this Council:-

 

(a)      notes that in 2018, at COP24, the UK Government signed up to having ‘domestic institutional arrangements, public participation and engagement with local communities’ so localities can play their part in delivering the UK’s ‘Nationally Determined Contributions’ in the Paris Climate Agreement;

 

(b)      further notes that, in May 2021, the Rt. Hon. Alok Sharma MP, President of COP26, said collaboration would be a key objective of the climate summit - "Governments, business and civil society (sometimes called ‘non-state actors’ and including local government) need to work together to transform the ways we power our homes and businesses, grow our food, develop infrastructure and move ourselves and goods around";

 

(c)      believes that, despite these agreements and statements, there is still no formal relationship allowing joint partnership working between Local and National Government on climate action;

 

(d)      therefore resolves to add this Council’s voice to calls by the Local Government Association and the Association of Directors of Environment, Economy, Planning and Transport, and others, for a joint local and national government taskforce to plan action to reach ‘net zero’ emissions; such a partnership can set appropriate regulations, benchmarks and targets and create the much needed long-term funding mechanisms to enable local communities and economies to decarbonise whilst remaining resilient and sustainable; and

 

(e)      will therefore ask the Chief Executive to write to Alok Sharma MP, President for COP26, the Prime Minister, and the Leadership Board of the LGA, informing them of our support for a joint Local/National Government Climate Change Partnership Taskforce and asking for one to be established as soon as possible.

 

 

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10.

Notice of Motion Regarding "'Right to food' - Working together to tackle food poverty in the city, and to develop a Local Food Access Plan" - Given by Councillor Ruth Milsom and to be seconded by Councillor Sophie Wilson

That this Council:-

 

(a)      recognises that we are seeing a crisis of food poverty borne out of political choices and systemic failings from successive governments since austerity began;

 

(b)      believes that food poverty should never be seen as inevitable, and notes that from 1997 to 2010 poverty reduced significantly (for instance the Institute for Fiscal Studies notes that the number of children in relative poverty fell by over 1.1 million from 1997-2010), showing that with sufficient political willpower these issues can be tackled;

 

(c)      notes that after a decade of government-imposed austerity, child poverty and food hunger has increased significantly, and led to a precarious situation for many, even before the pandemic struck;

 

(d)      believes that the pandemic has exacerbated problems and pushed more people into food poverty, with perhaps the worst yet to come, and though it is hard to quantify the extent of food poverty in Sheffield we know the following:-

 

(i)       around 24,000 children are currently eligible for Free School Meals and therefore at risk of going hungry during the school holidays, with this number rising; and

 

(ii)       according to data collected by Voluntary Action Sheffield from 19 food banks, between 13th April 2020 and 8th June 2020 the number of households supported increased by just over 92% from 1144 to 2202 households; it is well acknowledged that this does not represent the full picture of emergency food aid during this time – and shows supply, not level of need, which could be much higher;

 

(e)      condemns the Government for the £20 per week cut to Universal Credit, which will come into effect from 6th October 2021, noting the following:-

 

(i)       universal credit is claimed by more than 5.5 million households across the UK;

 

(ii)       the Joseph Rowntree Foundation - a charity which researches poverty - states millions of households will face an income loss equivalent to £1,040 a year;

 

(iii)      the charity Citizens Advice has warned that a third of people on Universal Credit will end up in debt due to the reduction, which will inevitably lead to more people being reliant on food banks; and

 

(iv)      the 5-week wait for Universal Credit impacts people’s ability to pay bills and buy food, and believes that this wait is wholly unjustifiable and should be scrapped;

 

(f)       notes that the cross-party Overview and Scrutiny Management Committee established a working group to look at the Council’s response to Food Poverty in Sheffield, and that this first phase looked at the Council’s strategic role in relation to food poverty, and with organisations working in this space on food projects;

 

(g)      believes that all recommendations from the Food Poverty Working Group’s report should be adopted in full;

 

(h)      believes that, as noted in the Scrutiny Committee’s report, tackling food poverty requires a citywide effort, across the Council and public services, the VCF, communities and business, with a long term, structural approach to find lasting solutions and that, as such, the Council should adopt a Local Food Access  ...  view the full agenda text for item 10.

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11.

Minutes Of Previous Council Meetings pdf icon PDF 189 KB

To receive the record of the proceedings of the special meeting of the Council held on 18th March 2021, the ordinary meeting of the Council held on 31st March 2021 and the Annual Meeting of the Council held on 19th May 2021, and to approve the accuracy thereof.

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12.

Representation, Delegated Authority and Related Issues pdf icon PDF 183 KB

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.

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