Agenda and minutes

To receive the record of the proceedings of the meeting of the Council held on 4th September, 2013 and to approve the accuracy thereof

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, Integrated Transport and Pensions – Section 41 of the Local Government Act 1985 – Council Procedure Rule 16.6(i).

            (NB. Minutes of recent meetings of the three South Yorkshire Joint    Authorities have been made available to all Members of the Council via the following link https://meetings.sheffield.gov.uk/council-meetings/full-council)

Report of the Chief Executive.

That this Council:-

notes the following resolution passed by the Cabinet at its meeting held on 18th September, 2013, following its consideration of a report of the Executive Director, Resources on the Council’s Medium Term Financial Strategy 2014/15 to 2018/19 -

RESOLVED: That Cabinet:-

(a)       notes the forecast position for the next 5 years;

(b)       agrees the approach to business planning targets;

(c)        agrees to give consideration to reviewing the Council Tax Support Scheme for 2014/15 with decisions based on an assessment of the impact of the reductions made in 2013/14 and the other welfare reforms that have/are being introduced;

(d)       agrees that as part of the business planning process, any increases in specific grant are to be held corporately to assist in balancing the overall budget; and

(e)       refers the report to Full Council for consideration.

That this Council:-

(a)       notes the article in “The Star” newspaper dated 17th September 2013 entitled ‘Sheffield Council’s anger at £40m health funding cut’;

(b)       further notes that the article states ‘The NHS Sheffield Clinical Commissioning Group’s annual budget was set at £691m last year – but last week The Star reported that a proposed shake-up of the way funds are handed out would mean that is cut by 7.6 per cent, to just over £642m’;

(c)        wholeheartedly agrees with comments by the Council’s Chief Executive that “The NHS is giving more money to places like Bournemouth because of the pressure of having ageing populations. But this money is needed here, too. It’s the equivalent of the funding settlement for local government which has seen councils in the north and cities take larger cuts”;

(d)       is appalled, but not surprised, by the motivation of a Conservative Government taking money away from cities such as Sheffield to give to some of the healthiest, wealthiest areas of the country and believes this is just the latest example of the Deputy Prime Minister failing to stand up for Sheffield;

(e)       calls on the Government to immediately scrap this unfair funding redistribution;

(f)        is further concerned of increased pressures on NHS services which are already impacting on NHS budgets before they have been cut by the Government and this is being compounded by the Government’s A&E crisis;

(g)       regrets that more than 5,000 nursing jobs have been lost on this Government’s watch;

(h)       notes findings from a recent report to the Health Select Committee stating "Staffing levels in emergency departments are an area of considerable concern to the committee. They are not sufficient to meet demand, with only 17% of emergency departments managing to provide 16-hour consultant coverage during the working week”;

(i)         acknowledges that Government cuts to funding for social care are contributing to the increasing waiting lists, producing a false economy due to the costs of increased waiting lists, and notes the scathing headline of the Independent newspaper article dated 16th August, 2013 ‘NHS Waiting List at five year high as cost cutting reforms strike’ which outlines criticisms of the Government’s health policy from a leading health journal;

(j)         fully supports the recent comments by The Rt. Hon. Andy Burnham, MP, Shadow Secretary of State for Health, “There has been a massive increase in the numbers of people aged over 90 going into A&E by ambulance – up by over 100,000, an increase of 66 per cent - as £1.8 billion is cut from council care budgets. That is why Labour has said we would invest £1.2 billion of the NHS underspend, which Jeremy Hunt has handed back to the Treasury, over the next two years to ease the crisis in social care, tackling a root cause of the pressure on A&E. For older people this could make a huge difference by enabling them to stay in their own homes for longer and providing the  ...  view the full agenda text for item 10.

That this Council:-

(a)       recalls the 10,000 signature petition presented to this Council, which opposed the closure of community libraries;

(b)       notes with dismay the Administration’s plans, which could see sixteen community libraries closed;

(c)        believes these closures could be avoided if the Administration did not continue to waste money on costly pet projects and notes the main opposition group’s budget  amendment, which presented fully-costed measures to protect the libraries’ budget within 2013/14; and

(d)       opposes the Administration’s disastrous proposals.

That this Council:-

(a)       believes that the “Bedroom Tax” is a cruel and unfair measure hitting vulnerable people through no fault of their own and was introduced by the Conservative-led government, with support of the LibDems in government;

(b)       believes that the outcomes of the Liberal Democrat’s 2013 Conference demonstrates their Party’s indifference to the hardship caused by the Bedroom Tax;

(c)        welcomes the effective and broad-based campaign run by local Sheffield campaigners and activists against this most unfair tax;

(d)       reiterates in the strongest possible terms this Council’s opposition to the Bedroom Tax and warmly welcomes the commitment made by The Rt. Hon. Ed Miliband, MP, Leader of the Opposition, that a future Labour Government will repeal this unfair tax as part of the Labour Party’s concrete action to support families with the cost of living crisis;

(e)       further believes that this commitment is affordable as it is to be paid for without additional borrowing by reversing the current Government’s tax cut for hedge funds, unfair shares for rights scheme and tackling disguised employment in the construction industry; and

(f)        however, regrets that the Government’s failure to listen means Sheffield families are suffering today and resolves to write to the Deputy Prime Minister, who is the only local MP who supports this tax, urging him to take action to reverse this cruel and unfair measure now.

That this Council:-

(a)       welcomes the Summer Saturdays’ initiative which ran throughout the summer and saw Sheffield city centre host a series of events and activities designed to bring families into the city centre to stay, play, relax and enjoy the shops, entertainment and food and drink;  

(b)       further welcomes the support for the event through investment from the Keep Sheffield Working fund to boost the city centre and pro-actively support businesses in the current climate;

(c)        notes that the Sheffield by the Sea initiative has again proved very popular and was put on at no cost to the Council and thanks all partners who provide support enabling these events;

(d)       welcomes other activity in the City to support the city centre such as The Star newspaper’s Summer of Love drive;

(e)       welcomes the wider programme of events and community festivals that add to the vibrancy of the City; and

(f)        resolves to continue to support city centre retail and requests officers to report to Cabinet with further proposals to support the city centre economy.

That this Council:-

(a)       praises the excellent MADE festival for entrepreneurs, which has brought an estimated £500,000 to the City;

(b)       notes with disappointment reports that the scope of the festival has been reduced in 2013;

(c)        regrets that the reported failure to deliver a festival of similar scale has led to further criticism of the Council as ‘anti-business’;

(d)       recalls that this latest criticism follows a string of dressing-downs by business groups and business leaders;

(e)       calls upon the Administration to drop its ‘anti-business’ rhetoric that is driving jobs and investment away from Sheffield; and

(f)        hopes that the MADE events to be held in 2013 will be a success and recommends that the festival returns to full strength in 2014.  

That this Council:-

(a)       remembers the resolution it passed in October 2012 requesting officers to bring forward a report to Cabinet dealing with the benefits and resource implications of using the Sustainable Communities Act;

(b)       thanks Sheffield for Democracy for providing the Cabinet Member and relevant officer with details of a simple and inexpensive method  for consulting with local people  about possible proposals and for offering assistance to organise any public meetings;

(c)        welcomes the recent campaign  by Local Works, the national organisation which has promoted the adoption and use of the Sustainable Communities Act, to use it to call for a levy on large supermarkets;

(d)       notes that under the proposal, local authorities would be given the power to introduce a local levy of 8.5% on large retail outlets in their area with a ratable value of over £500,000 and that the revenue would be used to promote local economic activity, local services and facilities, community wellbeing and environmental protection;

(e)       notes that in Sheffield this would apply to 60 retail outlets (half of which are in Meadowhall) and raise in excess of £6million per year;

(f)        notes that similar measures have been introduced in Northern Ireland and Scotland without adversely affecting inward investment or the local economy;

(g)       welcomes the support for this measure by local authorities across the country and by the Shadow Minister for Communities and Local Government;

(h)       notes that the South and East Yorkshire branch of the Federation of Small Businesses also endorses the campaign; and

(i)         therefore urges the Cabinet Member and officers to expedite the Cabinet report requested in October 2012 so that the Sustainable Communities Act can be used to consult on the supermarket levy proposal as soon as possible.

That this Council:-

(a)       recalls the regrettable decision to close Don Valley Stadium;

(b)       reminds Members that the plan to delay closure, proposed by the main opposition group, would have actually saved the Council money in the 2013/14 financial year;

(c)        recalls the pledge of the Cabinet Member for Culture, Sport and Leisure that alternative facilities would be improved to required standards by the time Don Valley closed;

(d)       yet notes with concern the disparaging comments by members of the Sheffield athletics community regarding Woodbourn Road;

(e)       furthermore, highlights the difficulty of the Sheffield Eagles to find a new home in the City and expresses dismay that the team may be forced out of Sheffield;

(f)        welcomes the campaign to take community control of the Stadium and urges the Administration to provide assistance to community campaigners; and

(g)       requests the Cabinet Member to present an urgent plan to enable the demolition of the Stadium to be delayed until all outstanding issues are addressed.

That this Council:-

(a)       recalls the pledge of previous Labour Administrations that the cost to Council-tax payers of the Park Hill refurbishment would not extend beyond paying the wages of Council staff working on the project;

(b)       notes with dismay the decisions of the current Administration to agree more than £2.8 million of Council spend at Park Hill;

(c)        notes with concern statements from the developer that they are “discussing funding” with the Council on future development of the site;

(d)       furthermore, highlights comments in a Cabinet paper agreed in August 2013 that stated: “There is a risk to delivering the full scope of major schemes such as Park Hill … This could result in schemes ‘stalling’, leading to increased costs”;

(e)       believes these comments are of particular concern given the current Administration’s decision to allow wide-reaching agreements to be signed-off behind closed doors; and

(f)        recommends that no further funding is agreed for this political vanity project at a time when every penny counts and funds need to be directed to vital front-line services.