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.

Apologies for Absence

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2.

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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3.

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 restrictions 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 14h June.)

 

 

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4.

Notice Of Motion Regarding "Making Sheffield Even Safer For All" - Given By Councillor Mary Lea And To Be Seconded By Councillor Sioned-Mair Richards

That this Council:-

 

(a)      acknowledges with sadness the abduction and murder of Sarah Everard who was walking home after a quiet evening out at a friend’s house in South London; this incident led to widespread anger among women, many of whom spoke out about their own experiences of harassment and abuse when simply going about their daily lives;

 

(b)      believes Sheffield to be one of the safest of the largest cities and that we want all our residents to feel safe going about their daily lives in our city and we want all women and girls to feel safe and protected in their own homes, exercising and playing in our green spaces and socialising in our city centre and local communities;

 

(c)      notes that the third round of bidding is now underway for the Government’s Safer Streets Fund, and that the bids are being asked to focus on safety and feelings of safety in public places, particularly for women and girls;

 

(d)      welcomes the work and petition of Our Bodies, Our Streets, a student-led campaign in Sheffield which aims to end street harassment and improve public safety for women and marginalised genders; Safer Parks After Dark, their current project, aims to ensure that public spaces are welcoming and safe from street harassment through demanding safety interventions and initiating dialogue about this in our local communities; and the campaign has had talks with council members and officers in Sheffield and also in Rotherham;

 

(e)      welcomes the detailed work that has been undertaken by the Campaign Group to identify current issues as well as potential solutions that could be developed and a call to action based on best practice identified from other areas in the UK and internationally;

 

(f)       resolves to consult and work with the Office of the Police & Crime Commissioner, businesses, community, student and voluntary groups, both in the city and other local authorities, to prepare a bid for funding based around the proposals brought forward by Our Bodies, Our Streets, including:-

 

(i)       improve lighting in parks and other open spaces; and

 

(ii)       learn from any examples of best practice in other areas and countries which would improve and increase outdoor safety in this city; and

 

(g)      asks for a report to be brought forward which considers how local action can be taken, working across partners, to address the full range of ideas brought forward in Our Bodies, Our Streets’ call to action, setting out the city’s approach to safety in public places, noting the wider issues raised by the campaign including:-

 

(i)       greater work to tackle the root cause; systematic change is needed to tackle the culture of misogyny and public sexual harassment in the UK;

 

(ii)       ensuring genuine community consultation with women and marginalised gender groups is placed at the heart of decision making;

 

(iii)      learning from cities who have pioneered inclusive gender design; and

 

(iv)      greater recording of data around lived experience to generate evidence that can inform decision making.  ...  view the full agenda text for item 4.

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5.

Members' Questions pdf icon PDF 3 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.

Notice Of Motion Regarding "Truth, Trust and Transparency" - Given By Councillor Shaffaq Mohammed And To Be Seconded By Councillor Barbara Masters

That this Council:-

 

(a)      believes that local government is at its best when it operates on the principles of truth, trust and transparency;

 

(b)      believes that the destruction of large numbers of healthy highway trees, the handling of the associated protests and the withholding of information has undermined public trust in the Council and that this trust must be rebuilt and restored;

 

(c)      believes that a necessary step to rebuilding this trust is to hold an inquiry to ascertain the facts and make recommendations, and specifically that such an inquiry:-

 

(i)       is fully held in public;

 

(ii)       is led by someone of the status of a retired judge, and who has a detailed understanding of public procurement;

 

(iii)      has access to all the council papers it requests; and

 

          (iv)      is able to question any council officers it believes appropriate;

 

(d)      recommends that the Cooperative Executive commission such an inquiry to commence by September 2021 at the latest;

 

(e)      calls on all current and past councillors and past council officers to co-operate with this inquiry;

 

(f)       calls on partners, specifically Amey and South Yorkshire Police, to co-operate with this inquiry; and

 

(g)      resolves to request the Cooperative Executive to publish the findings of this inquiry and act on its recommendations.

 

 

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7.

Notice Of Motion Regarding "Action on the Nature Emergency" - Given By Councillor Peter Garbutt And To Be Seconded By Councillor Angela Argenzio

That this Council:-

 

(a)      recognises our natural world is struggling from the impact of habitat degradation, urbanisation, consumerism, pollution, industrial agricultural and waste management practices and climate change – all contributing to widespread disruption to the survival and distribution of native species;

 

(b)      recognises and congratulates the excellent work by the Ecology Department, supported by the Parks and Countryside Service and partner organisations, being done on Species Specific Projects, as well as Landscape Projects, e.g. Urban Nature Parks and Nature Recovery Networks; and that, in addition, the Council defended the ecology of the Loxley River Valley by providing staff as key expert witnesses in a major planning inquiry, for the people of Sheffield;

 

(c)      in addition, congratulates and thanks all Council departments and employees working on projects and measures that protect and support nature, such as Sustainable Urban Drainage System work on Grey To Green projects, as well as organisations in Sheffield more broadly for their work, such as Hunter's Bar Infant School for their work on their green wall;

 

(d)      declares a nature emergency;

 

(e)      commits to developing a comprehensive Nature Emergency Action Plan (NEAP) for Sheffield, in association with partner organisations;

 

(f)       resolves that the plan will look to connect initiatives and unify the Council’s approach to biodiversity through the NEAP;

 

(g)      requests the Climate Change, Economy and Development Transitional Committee develop the NEAP with input from all departments within the Council, and providing the opportunity for relevant external partner organisations, businesses and community stakeholders to input and collaborate on initiatives where there are benefits to doing so, for example, a wildlife corridor could affect several departments including Transport, Housing and Parks;

 

(h)      recognises that co-operation and communication is key to the success of the Nature Emergency Action Plan and that, from the planning stage to implementation, monitoring and protecting, it is important for the Council to lead initiatives which address the Nature Emergency and have widespread support from the public and local campaign groups;

 

(i)       acknowledges the likely challenges to projects within the NEAP from developers under the current national planning guidelines which severely constrain proper consideration of the Climate and Ecological Emergency, and for this reason, it is imperative that this Council develops robust policies in the Local Plan which can help to protect and enhance biodiversity; and

 

(j)       requests that the Administration ensures relevant staff and all elected members will receive training on biodiversity net gain (BNG) - a vital aspect of the new Environment Bill.

 

 

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8.

Notice Of Motion Regarding "Putting Sheffield First" - Given By Councillor Terry Fox And To Be Seconded By Councillor Julie Grocutt

That this Council:-

 

(a)      recognises the incredible efforts that all staff, partner organisations, voluntary sector, local businesses, community groups and the people of Sheffield have made to get the city through the past 18 months, and thanks everyone for their contribution;

 

(b)      notes that as the city moves out of lockdown, and continues to open up, it is essential that the Council takes action to secure the city’s recovery across a wide range of areas including support for jobs and the local economy, children and education, supporting people in financial hardship and the full reopening of Council services;

 

(c)      welcomes the plans to deliver on the following commitments:-

 

(i)       to introduce Local Area Committees, agreed by this Council in March, as a top priority, with the aim of establishing and embedding them within the Council, thus putting our communities at the heart of decision making and ensuring that Council services are responsive and accountable to the needs of our communities;

 

(ii)       delivering new investment in District Centres throughout the city to ensure their recovery and renewal, coupled with a wider programme of initiatives to support the re-opening of the city’s economy, such as the recently announced Summer in the Outdoor City Programme;

 

(iii)      investing in our young people through delivery of the Administration’s additional investment in youth services, following the service being brought back in house;

 

(iv)      implementing the recommendations set out in the Arup report to create a pathway to deliver the shared ambition for net zero;

 

(v)      introducing a new approach to community safety, with additional safer neighbourhood wardens; and

 

(vi)      appointing an independent person to conduct a local inquiry into the management of the street trees dispute;

 

(d)      believes that the overriding priority of the Council, and the city as a whole, should be to put Sheffield first and work in the interests of the city and its people and welcomes the commitment of the new Administration to always Put Sheffield First;

 

(e)      believes that to meet the challenges the city faces it is important for Councillors to work together and co-operate across the city and that this is the responsible thing to do to provide the effective leadership and stability that the city needs from the Council going forward; and

 

(f)       notes that the Council will now begin a transition into new governance arrangements following the result of the governance referendum and welcomes the Council’s plans to introduce transitional committees to facilitate this change in governance and believes that they will be an important part of piloting this new way of working and supporting the organisation to put in place the best possible arrangements to deliver for Sheffield, working in an open, inclusive and democratic way.

 

 

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9.

The Making of Broomhill, Broomfield, Endcliffe, Somerfield and Tapton (BBEST) Neighbourhood Plan pdf icon PDF 323 KB

To approve, with or without amendment, the recommendations in the report of the Executive Director, Place, published with this agenda, on the result of the BBEST Neighbourhood Plan Referendum and to outline the steps to be taken in consequence of its outcome.

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10.

Transition to a Committee System of Governance pdf icon PDF 195 KB

To approve, with or without amendment, the recommendations in the report (to follow) of the Director of Legal and Governance (Monitoring Officer) on the steps necessary for the establishment of a programme to enable the Council to transition to a Committee system of Governance from May 2022.

 

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11.

Updated Code Of Conduct For Members pdf icon PDF 154 KB

To approve, with or without amendment, the recommendations in the report of the Director of Legal and Governance (Monitoring Officer), published with this agenda, recommending the Council to adopt an updated Members Code of Conduct following agreement by the Audit and Standards Committee on 25th March 2021.

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12.

Representation, Delegated Authority and Related Issues pdf icon PDF 272 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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