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

Additional documents:

Minutes:

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.

Additional documents:

Minutes:

3.

Public Questions and Petitions and Other Communications

(a)      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 5th July.)

 

 

(b)      Petition Requiring Debate

 

The Council’s Petitions Scheme requires that a petition containing over 5,000 signatures be the subject of debate at the Council meeting.  A qualifying petition has been received as follows:-

 

          Petition

 

To debate an electronic petition containing over 6,400 signatures (of which more than 5,160 are from individuals who live, work or study in Sheffield) asking Sheffield City Council to stop using Glyphosate.  The online petition - Sheffield City Council, stop using Glyphosate | 38 Degrees - includes further information.

 

 

Additional documents:

Minutes:

4.

Members' Questions pdf icon PDF 2 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)

 

 

 

Additional documents:

Minutes:

5.

Urgent Item of Business - Notice of Motion Regarding GP Services

Additional documents:

Minutes:

6.

Notice of Motion Regarding "The City Centre" - Given By Councillor Martin Smith And To Be Seconded By Councillor Mohammed Mahroof

That this Council:-

 

(a)      recognises that a thriving city centre is vitally important for the economic and social future of Sheffield because it supports jobs, attracts inward investment and provides a focus for the cultural life of Sheffield;

 

(b)      notes that the Covid pandemic has had a devastating impact on the city centre, with decreasing footfall and a significant increase in retail closures;

 

(c)      is concerned that the permanent closure of the John Lewis store will  deliver another long-term blow to the city centre;

 

(d)      notes that only 6 months after the then Cabinet Member for Business & Investment announced that a £3m deal had secured the John Lewis store in the city centre, the Company proposed its closure;

 

(e)      believes that due to eight wasted years by the previous Labour administration, the city centre has become too dependent on the fortunes and decisions of large national retailers, at the expense of local, independent businesses;

 

(f)       notes that, despite numerous commitments given by the previous Administration to either refurbish or relocate the Central Library and that the building is “it’s top priority for the Council’s cultural capital investment”, there is still no long-term plan for the Graves building;

 

(g)      notes that prime land at Sheaf Square has now been unused for 15 years, while the provision for taxis at the railway station continues to be poor and obstructive to other vehicles;

 

(h)      notes that recent changes to road layouts, relocation of bus stops, the closure of a major car park and measures to accommodate social distancing during the pandemic, have made it more difficult for people to access some parts of the city centre;

 

(i)       notes that last summer the Council announced it was working on a new strategy for the central area of Sheffield; and

 

(j)       therefore requests the Administration to:-

 

(i)             commit to publishing the new strategy for the central area of Sheffield within the next 3 months;

 

(ii)            commit to improving access for people to travel into and around the city centre; and

 

(iii)          commit to publishing a timeline to upgrade temporary bus stop facilities, introduced following the closure of Pinstone Street to bus services, to the equivalent City Centre “gold” standard.

 

 

Additional documents:

Minutes:

7.

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 co-operation agreement between the Labour and Green Groups, as set out below:-

 

          “This Agreement is dated 19 May 2021 and is made between the Labour and Green political groups elected as Members of Sheffield City Council.  This is an agreement for the 2021/22 municipal year and will therefore come to an end at the AGM in May 2022 unless extended by agreement of both parties.

 

          This Agreement has been drawn up following detailed discussions between the two groups. The Green and Labour Groups acknowledge that no party has an overall majority on Sheffield City Council and this requires a new way of working to be established between the parties.

 

          Both groups are committed to working in an open, inclusive and democratic way and ensuring the Council has stability and effective leadership.  In order to support this and reflecting the decision of the people of Sheffield in the governance referendum, a politically proportionate transition committee model has been introduced and will be piloted to enable a new way of working in the Council which will facilitate the transition to the committee system.

 

          Both parties will support the appointment of Terry Fox as Leader of the Council, Julie Grocutt as Deputy Leader of the Council and the appointment of five Labour and three Green Executive Members (designed to represent political proportionality). Whilst the Liberal Democrats declined to join the Executive, if they were to reconsider this decision, then they will get three seats, two to be offered by Labour and one offered by the Greens.

 

          Both parties will work together in the interests of Sheffield.  In order to secure the city’s recovery we will:-

 

(i)       implement the new Local Area Committees, giving power back to our communities;

 

(ii)       introduce a new approach to community safety with additional safer neighbourhood wardens;

 

(iii)      provide additional investment in our young people;

 

(iv)      support the recovery of our district centres;

 

(v)      implement the recommendations in the Arup report dated 19 March to create a pathway to deliver the shared ambition for net zero; and

 

(vi)      appoint an independent person to conduct a local non-statutory inquiry into the management of the street trees dispute.

 

Both parties agree:-

 

(i)       a commitment to deal with each other fairly and honestly;

 

(ii)       to recognise that this is a new way of working that has not been experienced in Sheffield before;

 

(iii)      to recognise that all  ...  view the full agenda text for item 7.

Additional documents:

Minutes:

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; and

 

(i)       calls on the Government to address this disparity and provide Sheffield with a fair funding deal in addition to the additional investment needed to ensure every child can recover the learning and social development lost in the pandemic and has the chance to reach their full potential.

 

 

Additional documents:

Minutes:

9.

Notice of Motion Regarding "The Circular Economy" - Given By Councillor Tim Huggan And To Be Seconded By Councillor Andrew Sangar

That this Council:-

 

(a)      believes that with the right support, Sheffield businesses have the opportunity to be leaders in green and sustainable technology;

 

(b)      believes successful local councils of the future will be those which adopt the ‘circular economy’ approach, which designs out waste, is regenerative by design and is powered by renewable energy; at its heart is the idea of reducing resource use through well-developed local plan policies that embeds reusing resources and materials that are in circulation in the economy and recycling as a last resort, which will help us meet our sustainable development goals;

 

(c)      believes a prime example of this is the EU ‘right to repair’ legislation which requires manufacturers to design longer lasting products and make spare parts readily available in a push to reduce waste and increase opportunities for small businesses in the after-sales support sector;

 

(d)      believes that Sheffield must have a huge and positive role to play in the transition to a circular economy;

 

(e)      notes that Sheffield has a recycling rate for household waste of 30.7% which is well below the highest performing English local authority, Three Rivers, of nearly 65%; and a radical improvement in the City’s recycling rate will therefore require the collection and recycling of food waste;

 

(f)       also notes that food waste is a hugely important economic and environmental issue for the country, with more than 600 tonnes thrown away by Sheffield households each year; and

 

(g)      therefore resolves to:-

 

(i)       publish the results of the consultation with local universities, charities and Ellen MacArthur Foundation Knowledge Partner organisations, that have experience of delivering circular economy projects with businesses and local authorities, as resolved at the Council meeting in December 2019;

 

(ii)       support the introduction of local deposit return and refill schemes for all food and drinks containers;

 

(iii)      make ‘evidence of environmental improvement’ a requirement for all businesses and organisations seeking grant funding or any other form of financial support from the Council;

 

(iv)      instruct the Executive Director, Place, to carry out a full study that quantifies the potential benefits of the circular economy approach to the city and report back to full Council within six months;

 

(v)      use best practice in conjunction with councils across the UK and beyond, to define a metric for progress made in the transition to circular economy;

 

(vi)      explore measuring food waste in all Council premises and support measures to communicate the importance of reducing food waste;

 

(vii)     develop proposals to introduce a pilot scheme for the collection of food waste from households to identify the issues and opportunities in a wider roll-out across the whole city, with the intention to roll out domestic food waste collection across the city to produce biogas energy via anaerobic digestion as soon as is practicable;

 

(viii)    support local businesses to transition to closed loop systems and eco-design approaches using the RESolve framework, with an emphasis on production of products that can last several lifecycles, that are easily repaired and are designed for  ...  view the full agenda text for item 9.

Additional documents:

Minutes:

10.

Representation, Delegated Authority and Related Issues pdf icon PDF 237 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.

Additional documents:

Minutes: