Agenda and minutes

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

To receive the record of the proceedings of the ordinary meeting of the Council held on 5^th February 2014 and the special meeting of the Council held on 7^th March 2014, and to approve the accuracy thereof.

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.

That this Council:

(a)       notes that thousands of people from Somaliland live in Sheffield and recognise and appreciate the important contribution they make to the City and the close ties Sheffield has with Somaliland;

(b)       supports the Somaliland community in Sheffield and their campaign to have Somaliland recognised as a sovereign state and gain a seat in the UN, with reasons for recognition including:

(i)         the Somaliland government believes that recognition would entrench democracy in the Horn of Africa;

(ii)        recognising Somaliland will aim to strengthen cooperation in the fight against terrorism, extremism, piracy, illegal fishing, toxic dumping, and other serious crimes; and

(iii)       the marketing of Somaliland as a safe tourist destination, primarily cultural and eco-tourism could also emerge as an important segment of the Somaliland economy;

(c)        notes that since 1991 Somaliland have had a democratically elected Government and President, in this time there have been 4 elections and changes of president, it looks after international waters with no piracy, it has opposition parties and is not a recipient of international aid;

(d)       believes that recognition will help to bring about stability in Somaliland, creating a situation where people can live in peace and harmony with the support of the International Community, and that recognition would bring international banks, jobs and finance;

(e)       welcomes the support for this campaign by local MP’s Paul Blomfield and Clive Betts and the work they are doing with the Cross Party Somaliland Group and would encourage other local MP’s to also support this Group; and

(f)        calls upon the Government to recognise Somaliland as an independent state and to encourage other Governments around the world to do the same.

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

            http://sheffielddemocracy.moderngov.co.uk/ecCatDisplay.aspx?sch=doc&cat=13165&path=0)

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.

Report of the Chief Executive.

That this Council:

(a)       is concerned that the clustering of betting shops in or close to deprived communities is being driven by increasing revenue from fixed odds betting terminals (FOBT) rather than traditional over the counter betting and recognises that this is an issue facing Sheffield and many other towns and cities across the country;

(b)       believes that this has encouraged betting shop operators to open more than one premises in close proximity to one another;

(c)        is aware of the growing concern of many communities about the detrimental effect this is having on the diversity and character of UK high streets;

(d)       is alarmed that people can stake as much as £100 every 20 seconds on these machines;

(e)       is further concerned that the practice of single staffing in betting shops leaves staff vulnerable and deters them from intervening if customers suffer heavy losses;

(f)        further believes that local authorities should be able to establish a separate planning class for betting shops and that they should be given additional licensing powers to determine the number of FOBT machines within existing and proposed shops and to require that the machines are modified to slow the rate of play and to interrupt when people play for long periods; and

(g)       calls on the Government to put local people before the interests of the betting shop operators and give local authorities the powers they need to respond to concerns from their local communities and stop the proliferation of FOBT machines and betting shops.

That this Council: 

(a)       continues to support the priorities of the present Administration of focusing on jobs and being a business friendly Council;

(b)       welcomes the recent success of the city being named in the Financial Times' FDI Magazine's top 10 northern European cities for foreign direct investment and Breeze Investment recognising Sheffield as its ‘location of the year 2013’;

(c)        welcomes the Administration building on this momentum by announcing the creation of a Sheffield city centre investment fund for the Council to bring forward major regeneration projects in the city centre, including a new retail quarter, in an innovative partnership with private sector investment partners;

(d)       further welcomes existing business-focused policies from the present Administration to grow the local economy, particularly small and medium enterprises, through initiatives such as the Keep Sheffield Working Fund, which has funded:

(i)         RISE Graduate Programme

(ii)        Export Pilot Project

(iii)       Threshold Company Programme

(iv)       Summer Saturday’s

(v)        Business Loan Fund

(vi)       Work Programme Start Up Project

(e)       welcomes recent analysis that shows the Keep Sheffield Working Fund has:

(i)         supported over 90 businesses, due to increase to 130 by the end of December 2014;

(ii)        seen £740,000 invested into supporting business growth and job creation, of which £342,500 has been direct investment into small and medium sized enterprises (SMEs) to support companies' growth or export plans;

(iii)       supported companies to extend trade relationships to 17 different countries;

(iv)       levered in a further £2,110,000 funding from the initial £800,000 investment through partners and private sector match, and that this will increase to an estimated £2,300,000 by December 2015; and

(v)        seen the Fund on target to deliver 86 jobs over the course of the project's life;

(f)        therefore welcomes that a further £200,000 has been allocated to the Keep Sheffield Working Fund to continue supporting local businesses and economic development;

(g)       welcomes the work of the present Administration to continue to support Sheffield’s Events Programme, despite the unprecedented level of cuts that the Government is making to the Council’s budget, thereby making it increasingly difficult to support city centre vibrancy and the considerable economic benefits this brings;

(h)       welcomes the Sheffield Events Programme 2014 and recognises the estimated economic benefit of some of the events on the local economy including:

(i)            Sports events, including British Indoor Athletics, British University and College Sport Finals £4m

(ii)          World Snooker £1.9m

(iii)         Sheffield Doc Fest £1.2m

(iv)         Tramlines £443k

(v)          Off The Shelf £119k

(i)         welcomes the £270,000 cultural destinations funding from Arts Council England to improve the profile and economic impact of 5 key cultural events (Art Sheffield, Doc Fest, Off the Shelf, Tramlines and Festival of the Mind);

(j)         welcomes the current Administration's role, along with partners, in bringing the Tour de France to Sheffield this year and notes that this will bring significant benefits to the local economy both in 2014 and in years to come; and

(k)        resolves to continue to take proactive action to  ...  view the full agenda text for item 10.

That this Council:-

 (a)      believes that apprenticeships are one of the best ways to support young people in long-term careers;

(b)       is proud that Liberal Democrats have campaigned for better apprenticeships in Government and highlights that one of the first acts of this Government was to increase spending on apprenticeships by £250 million – a 50% increase on the previous Government’s commitments;

(c)        notes that under this Government the number of people starting apprenticeships in Sheffield has increased by 54%;

(d)       welcomes the latest announcements set out in the Budget, which will help to create another 100,000 apprenticeships, including the extension of the Apprenticeship Grants for Employers scheme;

(e)       is pleased that a radical apprenticeship programme forms part of the Sheffield City Deal pioneered by Nick Clegg MP and welcomes the further allocation of £5 million to support apprenticeships in Sheffield City Region through the Youth Contract;

(f)        expresses extreme concern at the Labour Party policy review paper which argued that Intermediate Apprenticeships (level two) are ‘of no value to either employers or learners’, and also claimed scrapping them ‘would minimise deadweight’;

(g)       notes that 3,200 young people in Sheffield are on level two apprenticeships and is appalled that Labour Party documents have branded these ‘deadweight’;

(h)       fears that under a Labour Government level two apprenticeships could be scrapped, resulting in the loss of almost 60% of apprenticeships in Sheffield; and

(i)         is committed to supporting young people into work, underlines the importance of apprenticeships and calls on Labour politicians to apologise for these crass and uninformed comments.

That this Council:-

(a)       believes that the recent budget proves that Sheffield people are worse off under the current government who are taking no action to deal with the cost-of-living crisis;

(b)       regrets that wages are down £1,600 a year since Nick Clegg MP became Deputy Prime Minister;

(c)        notes that the Office of Budget Responsibility have confirmed that people will be worse off in 2015 than they were in 2010 and energy bills are up by almost £300 since Nick Clegg MP became Deputy Prime Minister;

(d)       regrets the Government of which Nick Clegg MP is Deputy Prime Minister has overseen the slowest recovery for 100 years and acknowledges that Italy is the only G7 country to recover at a slower rate than the UK;

(e)       regrets that George Osborne MP has borrowed more since becoming Chancellor than Labour did in 13 years of Government

(f)        is alarmed that that the Government has forecast to borrow over £190 billion more than it initially planned;

(g)       completely condemns the decision taken by the Government, including the Deputy Prime Minister, to cut the top rate of tax for people earning over £150,000;

(h)       believes Sheffield needs a Labour Government which will:

(i)         freeze energy bills until 2017 and reform the broken energy market;

(ii)        put young people back to work, with a job the young unemployed have to take – paid for by a tax on bank bonuses;

(iii)       expand free childcare for working parents to 25 hours a week for 3 and 4 year olds;

(iv)       cut taxes for 24 million working people on middle and low incomes with a lower 10p starting rate of income tax;

(v)        cut business rates for small firms and a plan to get 200,000 homes built a year by 2020; and

(vi)       balance the books in a fairer way by reversing the £3 billion tax cut for people earning over £150,000;

(i)         specifically supports the policy of taxing bank bonuses to put young people back to work;

(j)         is appalled at the recent Conservative Party poster from the budget which states that “Cutting the Bingo Tax & Beer Duty: To help Hardworking People Do More Of The Things They Enjoy” and believes that this is just the latest example of how out of touch this Government is; and

(k)        believes this is reminiscent of reported comments by a Government minister three years ago that ‘‘We don’t want more people from Sheffield flying away on cheap holidays.”, and believes it is unbelievable that these ministers are only able to continue in Government because of the support of Nick Clegg MP.

That this Council:

(a)       notes that English cities have a proud tradition of independence, ambition and innovation, but that the ability of cities to act on their ambition is undermined by the high levels of central Government control over public finances, which is out of step with international comparisons and constrains their ability to drive economic growth or meet local need;

(b)       believes that major cities worldwide outperform their national economies, but that in England only the capital city is consistently able to achieve this;

(c)        confirms that there is robust international evidence to show that cities with more local control over funding and policy achieve better economic results;

(d)       regrets that English cities have control over a very small share of their funding when compared to their international counterparts, with direct control over as little as 5% of the taxes raised within them and restrictions on how funding can be spent;

(e)       believes that in order to drive national economic growth and to remain competitive on a global stage, cities require the freedom to invest in the levers of growth;

(f)        further believes that the current situation for cities leads to inefficient use of public money and missed opportunities for local reforms of the public sector and for national economic growth;

(g)       notes that together the Core Cities and London represent more than half of the national economy and almost half of the population;

(h)       believes that the devolution of financial freedoms would enable cities to be more competitive and would incentivise cities to drive growth, increase job creation, reduce dependency and improve lives;

(i)         welcomes that the Core Cities Group, London Councils and Mayor of London have jointly launched a City Centred campaign to call for decentralised fiscal reform, beginning with the devolution of property taxes, in order to enable cities to drive economic growth; and

(j)         resolves to endorse and support the City Centred Campaign and to continue to call for the devolution of increased fiscal controls to the Core Cities and London, starting with the implementation of the London Finance Commission recommendations.

That this Council:

(a)       stresses that a time when budgets are reducing the Administration need to work innovatively and find ways of doing things differently;

(b)       notes that there are clear financial benefits to be delivered from sharing services with other local authorities and highlights in particular:

(i)         the Tri-borough initiative in London which aims to save £40 million by 2015-16;

(ii)        the joint working of Cambridgeshire and Northamptonshire, which achieved savings of £3.79 million in its first full year; and

(iii)       the co-operation between Vale of White Horse and South Oxfordshire, which achieved staff savings of £3.9 million in the first two years of sharing services;

(c)        notes research from the Local Government Association that shows there are only fifteen shared services projects in Yorkshire & Humber compared to sixty-four in the East Midlands;

(d)       recalls the main opposition group’s budget amendment, which was signed off by finance officers with a modest savings target for shared services, but confirms that the potential for savings is far greater;

(e)       regrets that despite consistent calls from opposition councillors the current Administration have failed to deliver significant savings from additional shared services;

(f)        believes the current Administration simply prefer to blame someone else, rather than looking to more innovative ways of reducing costs; and

(g)       calls upon the Chief Executive to hold an immediate review into the potential for shared services, which will report back to this Council within three months.

That this Council:

(a)       deplores the cuts being imposed on Sheffield City Council by central government against a background of cuts to public services, job and benefits facing the city as a whole;

(b)       notes that extending the current Financial Transaction Tax (FTT) or “Robin Hood Tax” on shares to other asset clauses such as bonds and derivatives could raise £20bn of additional annual revenue in the UK;

(c)        believes that this could be used to offset cuts to public services and local authorities, including in Sheffield;

(d)       also believes that whilst extending the FTT would have a negligible effect on jobs in the city of London, investing the additional revenue elsewhere would see a significant increase in employment levels in other sectors and in other parts of the country;

(e)       notes that at least 11 European nations including France, Germany, Italy and Spain favour an extended FTT;

(f)        notes that nearly 50 councils have joined the campaign for an extended FTT;

(g)       therefore calls on the Government to work towards the implementation of an extended FTT by international agreement to ensure that all major financial centres are subject to the tax and that additional revenues are available for domestic public services and international development; and

(h)       directs that a copy of this motion be sent to the Prime Minister and Chancellor of the Exchequer.

That this Council:

(a)       notes that more than 32,000 signatures have been presented to the Council regarding the Administration’s disastrous review of library services;

(b)       confirms that under the Administration’s current plans sixteen community libraries remain under threat of closure;

(c)        believes the Administration’s attitude has been an insult to local campaigners with genuine concerns snubbed and simple questions ignored;

(d)       recognises that the Council need to make savings and do things differently but believes that local people have been clear that closing libraries is not the right way forward;

(e)       believes that every library deserves access to professional staff;

(f)        recalls the budget amendment of the main opposition group, which was signed off by Council finance officers, and identified sensible savings which, if implemented, would mean reductions in funding to the libraries service could be restored; and

(g)       urges the Administration to listen to local residents and re-think their plans for local libraries to ensure that no library is under threat of closure.

That this Council:

(a)       notes the latest announcement by First buses that fares will rise in the city by as much as 13%;

(b)       highlights that these changes come in the context of average profit margins for bus operators in South Yorkshire which are double those in London;

(c)        believes these hikes are unnecessary and unfair on many local residents, particularly hard working people who continue to struggle with finances;

(d)       holds this up as another example of the failure of the Sheffield Bus Partnership, which has delivered worse services for higher charges; and

(e)       believes the Administration should call time on their disastrous Bus Partnership and begin immediate work on developing Quality Contracts which will finally restore power to local people.

That this Council:

(a)       notes the Liberal Democrat policy of raising the income tax threshold from £6,475 to £10,000, to which the now-Prime Minister said “we cannot afford it”;

(b)       confirms that the Liberal Democrat plan for a £700 tax cut has been surpassed and an £800 tax cut for 27 million ordinary workers has been delivered, including for 195,000 people in Sheffield;

(c)        compares this tax cut for ordinary workers with the record of the Labour Party, who scrapped the 10p tax, and the priorities of the Conservative Party, who wanted more tax cuts for the wealthiest; and

(d)       commends Liberal Democrat action in Government, which is helping to build a stronger economy and a fairer society.