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 meeting of the Council held on 3^rd September, 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.

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://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.

To receive the annual report of the Audit Committee on the work it has undertaken during 2013-14.

The Chair of the Committee (Councillor Ray Satur) will briefly introduce the report.

That this Council:

(a)       notes with concern reports by the Director of Public Health that poor air quality is estimated to cause 500 premature deaths in Sheffield each year (constituting approximately 10% of all deaths) by causing and exacerbating serious health conditions including cardiovascular and respiratory diseases and cancer;

(b)       regrets that levels of nitrogen oxides (NOx) in many parts of Sheffield continue to regularly exceed EU Limit Values instituted as part of the 2008 air pollution directive, and notes that the UK will be subject to financial penalties should these values continue to be exceeded from 2015;

(c)        thanks campaigners, community groups and residents for helping to highlight the scale of air pollution problems in Sheffield through Community Air Quality Monitoring and the creation of the Sheffield Air Map;

(d)       agrees with Public Health England’s assessment that local authorities have a responsibility to take a leading role in tackling poor air quality, particularly where it results primarily from motor vehicle emissions;

(e)       welcomes the steps that the Council has taken towards exploring options for reducing air pollution in Sheffield, including the adoption of the Air Quality Action Plan (AQAP) and the completion of the Low Emission Zone Feasibility Study;

(f)        recalls that the AQAP agreed in 2012 aimed to bring NOx levels down to EU Limit Values by 2015, and notes that it is now clear that this target will be missed;

(g)       understands that the scientific evidence suggests that any delays in implementation of the AQAP and Low Emission Zone will lead directly to preventable premature deaths in Sheffield;

(h)       therefore urges the Administration to proceed as quickly as possible with implementation of the AQAP and the creation of a Low Emission Zone;

(i)         regrets that a number of recent decisions have been taken that will be to the detriment of air quality in Sheffield;

(j)         will give air pollution and the associated health risks and premature deaths as much weighting as other factors in Council decision-making and strategic planning;

(k)        therefore recommends that officers include air quality impacts as a separate section in the ‘Implications’ section of all reports; and

(l)         encourages Members to attend the ‘Air Quality and Health in Sheffield’ conference on 17^th October, 2014.

That this Council:

(a)       acknowledges the many letters and emails received from members of the public regarding tax evasion;

(b)       acknowledges the petition and questions asked at Full Council on 2nd July, 2014 about excluding, from contracts, companies that have committed ‘grave misconduct’;

(c)        believes that local government can be a leader in promoting ethical procurement practices, which has been demonstrated by the Administration’s work on using the procurement process to expand take-up of the Living Wage in the city;

(d)       notes the ‘Procurement policy note 03/14: promoting tax compliance’;

(e)       notes that under the Public Contracts Regulations 2006, a public body may reject a bid where the organisation has ‘committed grave misconduct in the course of their business or profession’;

(f)        notes that the UN Human Rights Council endorsed Guiding Principles on Business and Human Rights for implementing the UN “Protect, Respect and Remedy” Framework on 16 June 2011, which provides a global standard for preventing and addressing the risk of adverse impacts on human rights linked to business activity;

(g)       notes that the ‘Fair Tax Mark’ is a useful way for organisations to provide an indication that they are accountable to stakeholders as well as shareholders when it comes to tax;

(h)       directs the Chief Executive to assess the ‘Procurement policy note 03/14: promoting tax compliance’, the Public Contracts Regulations 2006, the ‘Guiding Principles on Business and Human Rights for implementing the UN “Protect, Respect and Remedy” Framework’, the Social Value Act, and other relevant legislation;

(i)         directs the Chief Executive to produce a report as the basis for a draft policy for use as part of the procurement procedures of this Council which seeks to:

(i)         limit the opportunity in the Council’s procurement process for companies who avoid paying tax;

(ii)        consider the ways in which the ‘Fair Tax Mark’ may be included in the procurement process to encourage more ethical behaviour; and

(iii)       limit the opportunity in the Council’s procurement process for companies who commit grave misconduct;

(j)         requires that those who represent this Council when making decisions regarding investments that fund the pensions payable to past and present employees of this Authority take tax abuse into consideration when assessing the suitability of those companies in the shares of which such funds might be invested; and

(k)        directs that the Chief Executive present the report to the cross-party Overview and Scrutiny Management Committee for consideration.

That this Council:

(a)       acknowledges that today, 1^st October, has been designated by the United Nations as ‘Older Peoples Day’ and, in recognition of this, supports the National Pensioners Convention claim that older people are an asset not a burden to society;

(b)       welcomes that the main aim for the day is to be a celebration of the achievements and contributions that older people make to our society and the economy, and that Older People’s Day supports the campaign to challenge negative attitudes and outdated stereotypes;

(c)        shares the ambition of the present Administration to make Sheffield the best place in the UK to live, grow up and grow older and wants Sheffield to be the leading age friendly city in the UK; and

(d)       supports the framework ‘A City for All Ages: Making Sheffield a Great Place to Grow Older’ and will continue to work towards its implementation.

That this Council:

(a)       wishes to place on record its thanks to the outgoing Master Cutler and wholeheartedly welcomes his recent comments in The Sheffield Star (Thursday, 11th September) which point to a more balanced economic recovery taking place;

(b)       is heartened by his optimistic assessment on the future of manufacturing and in particular welcomes the series of gains he outlines, which include:

(i)         a long term plan to grow the manufacturing industry in the UK;

(ii)        tax relief on energy and innovation;

(iii)       the huge expansion of apprenticeships posts;

(iv)       support for the Advanced Manufacturing Centre, which has created a magnet for new businesses and helped to create thousands of new jobs; and

(v)        progress towards a more balanced economy; and

(c)        notes this record is in sharp contrast with the record of the previous Government, who oversaw a more rapid decline in the manufacturing industry than the Government of Margaret Thatcher, and welcomes the fact that we have a Government that finally ‘gets it’.

That this Council:

(a)       welcomes recent news that jobs have been created in Sheffield and supports the work of the present Administration to support private sector development and bring jobs to Sheffield;

(b)       welcomes a series of announcements including:

(i)         the expansion of XLN from London to Sheffield which will create 300 jobs in the city;

(ii)        the development of Kilner Way retail park which will create approximately 600 jobs in the city;

(iii)       the approval of the IKEA planning application which will create around 700 jobs in the city;

(iv)       the progress of the Factory of the Future which has also been given planning permission and notes that this development will put Sheffield at the forefront of hi-tech, advanced manufacturing and research and welcomes the collaborative work with the University of Sheffield to ensure the development of this project; and

(v)        the start of work to construct Sheffield's first Grade A office development since the recession, to further develop the city's attraction to the financial and business sector to broaden the city's economy and create jobs;

(c)        further notes this Administration's work to grow the city's small and medium enterprise (SME) business base and create jobs through a series of projects funded through the Keep Sheffield Working Fund, including:

(i)         the award winning RISE graduate internship project;

(ii)        a project to help SMEs begin exporting or export more; and

(iii)       a project to help SMEs with high growth potential to become bigger, better businesses employing more people;

(d)       further welcomes Chinese investors recently confirming they see Sheffield as a great place to invest on the announcement of new plans for a £60m Chinese-backed development on the edge of the city centre;

(e)       confirms that the Council has been actively engaged in facilitating many of these initiatives for a considerable period of time, and as such they represent positive developments secured in the face of the longest recession since the second world war, demonstrating this Administration's commitment to developing jobs and prosperity; and

(f)        confirms that the Council will continue to work proactively with the private and public sector to deliver more jobs and therefore calls on the main opposition group on the Council to stop talking the city down with its claims the Administration is anti-business.

That this Council:

(a)       calls upon all Sheffield MP’s to support the call to the Minister for Education to make  teaching of Personal, Social, Health and Economic (PSHE) education a mandatory part of the National Curriculum for all Schools in England and Wales;

(b)       believes that PSHE education makes a major contribution to schools’ statutory responsibilities to provide a curriculum that is broadly based, balanced and meets the needs of all pupils; under Section 78 of the Education Act 2002 and the Academies Act 2010 such a curriculum must:

(i)         promote the spiritual, moral, cultural, mental and physical development of pupils at the school and of society; and

(ii)        prepare pupils at the school for the opportunities, responsibilities and experiences of later life;

(c)        notes that the statutory duties of Maintained schools also includes:

(i)         promoting children and young people’s wellbeing (Wellbeing is defined in the Children Act 2004 as the promotion of physical and mental health; emotional wellbeing; social and economic wellbeing; education, training and recreation; recognition of the contribution made by children to society; and protection from harm and neglect.); and

(ii)        promoting community cohesion (Education and Inspections Act 2006; Education Act 2002);

(d)       believes that PSHE education cannot and should not exist in isolation; it must be part of a whole school approach, and that the relationship between PSHE education provision and school ethos is hugely important;

(e)       notes that PSHE education can be defined as a planned programme of learning through which children and young people acquire the knowledge, understanding and skills they need to manage their lives, now and in the future;

(f)        believes that as part of a whole school approach, PSHE education develops the qualities and attributes pupils need to thrive as individuals, family members and members of society; and

(g)       calls upon the Minister of State for Education to make the teaching of PSHE a mandatory part of the National Curriculum.

That this Council:

(a)       recognises that the provision of a nutritious meal at midday is an important step in increasing the educational attainment of pupils;

(b)       therefore warmly welcomes the provision of Free School Meals for all infant pupils, introduced by the Government on the initiative of the Deputy Prime Minister and Sheffield MP Nick Clegg;

(c)        is delighted that the provision of Free School Meals has successfully rolled out in Sheffield, with all Sheffield schools offering a meal and 92.5% of schools being able to prepare a meal on site thanks to the £1.5m investment spent on upgraded facilities;

(d)       places on record its thanks to all the staff involved whose hard work made the successful roll out of Free School Meals possible;

(e)       is delighted that this initiative has led to the creation of 130 new jobs and saves local families, on average, £400 a year per child; and

(f)        supports the Liberal Democrat policy of extending free school meals to all primary school pupils.

That this Council:-

(a)       supports the petition to extend the M92 bus service to run to Grenoside Crematorium, and believes that this extended route would benefit community transport and passengers alike as it would be used far more;

(b)       recognises that not everyone has their own transport, and therefore many people have to spend quite a considerable amount of money on taxis or ask people for lifts and on occasions may indeed have to physically resort to walking the long distance to the Crematorium from both Halifax Road (Salt Box Lane) and Skew Hill Lane;

(c)        notes that currently the only bus service that caters for the area of the Crematorium is the M92 which stops at Main Street, Grenoside;

(d)       is concerned that both the elderly and people with mobility issues are having to walk from Main Street up to the Crematorium, a distance of approximately 1 mile, up a very steep gradient, and that the highway is dangerous after the location of the Cow and Calf Public House, as there are no footpaths on either side of the roadway, there is no street lighting, and there is a feeling of isolation as it opens up to fields and countryside, all of which is of great concern to public safety;

(e)       recognises the danger to pedestrians of having to walk along the narrow roadway, and at times having to face fast moving traffic which is compounded during winter and dark nights;

(f)        supports people in their grief to be independent and not have to rely on other people for lifts; not only do people visit the Crematorium for funerals but also like to take flowers to show their respect for loved ones lost;

(g)       is disappointed that South Yorkshire Passenger Transport Executive have not heeded public calls to provide a safe extended bus service to Grenoside Crematorium that the people of Sheffield would more than appreciate; and

(h)       directs that a copy of this motion be forwarded to the South Yorkshire Passenger Transport Executive.

That this Council:

(a)       welcomes the decision of the people of Scotland to remain part of the UK and believes that this is in the best interests of the UK as a whole and congratulates the Scottish people on the very large turnout;

(b)       notes the assurances made by the leaders of the three main UK parties to give further powers to the Scottish Parliament and further  notes that these have led to renewed debate on devolution in other areas of the UK, including the English regions;

(c)        believes that powers should be exercised at the most appropriate level, and that this demands devolution within the UK, co-operation within the European Union and that the United Kingdom should continue;

(d)       welcomes the IPPR (Institute for Public Policy Research) North report 'Decentralisation Decade', the Deputy Prime Minister's Northern Futures project, the City Deals and Growth Deals; and

(e)       believes that for devolution to work, elected politicians must take responsibility for their own decisions.