Agenda and minutes

1.1

The Lord Mayor (Councillor Gail Smith) reported with sadness, the deaths of former Councillor Martin Brelsford who died on 6^th September 2021, and former Councillor and Alderman of the City, Mr Henry Sturrock, who died on 25^th June 2021.

1.2

The Lord Mayor reported details of the service provided to the Council by Mr. Sturrock, indicating that he had served on the Council from 1952 to 1974, and had been appointed as an Alderman of the city in 1970.  He was the last surviving Alderman of the city.

1.3

Members of the Council observed a minute’s silence in memory of former Councillors Brelsford and Sturrock, and this was followed by a tribute to former Councillor Sturrock given by Councillor Peter Price.

1.4

Time was allocated later in the meeting for Members to pay tribute to former Councillor Brelsford.

2.1

Apologies for absence were received from Councillors David Barker, Tony Damms, Peter Garbutt, Neale Gibson, Mazher Iqbal, Mary Lea, Vickie Priestley, Kaltum Rivers and Safiya Saeed.

3.1

There were no declarations of interest made by Members of the Council.

4.1

The Lord Mayor (Councillor Gail Smith) reported that five petitions and questions from five members of the public had been received prior to the published deadline for submission of petitions and questions for this meeting.  On four of the petitions, representations were to be made on behalf of the petitioners, and a fifth petition would be received in the absence of a speaker.  A question from another member of the public had been received immediately prior to the start of the meeting and, as chair of the meeting, the Lord Mayor had used her discretion and would permit the question to be asked.

4.2

Petitions

4.2.1

Petition Requesting A Meeting With The Housing Service To Discuss Criminal Damage To Vehicles On Brick Street

The Council received an electronic petition containing 63 signatures requesting a meeting with the Housing Service to discuss criminal damage to vehicles on Brick Street.

Representations on behalf of the petitioners were made by Carole Needham. Ms Needham stated that a number of tyres had been slashed on vehicles parked outside her home on Brick Street. She detailed a number of incidents in which cars were damaged around the area. She said that these incidents had been reported to South Yorkshire Police, and that on one occasion a suspect had been arrested but later released. She stated that residents did not feel able to provide witness statements due to fear of the suspected perpetrator. Ms Needham stated residents were concerned that these crimes could continue and increase in severity. She stated her belief that the perpetrator was a resident of nearby flats and said that the suspect had breached their tenancy agreement in carrying out these crimes. She asked that the Council intervene to prevent these incidents from continuing or worsening.

The Council referred the petition to Councillor Alison Teal (Executive Member for Sustainable Neighbourhoods, Wellbeing, Parks and Leisure). Councillor Teal thanked Ms Needham for bringing this petition and expressed her sympathy. Councillor Teal said she had reviewed Police reports, which suggested that bringing charges against the individual mentioned had been difficult as residents were reluctant to provide statements. Councillor Teal stated she understood residents’ hesitancy to provide such statements. She said that the Police had visited all of those whose vehicles were affected and had stepped up patrols in the area. She added that the Police were looking into setting up a mobile camera in order to obtain further evidence to secure a prosecution. Councillor Teal stated she would discuss these incidents with the Housing Team, and would refer to the tenancy guidance quoted by Ms Needham when doing so.

4.2.2

Petition Requesting The Closure Of The Gennel Between Horndean Road and Idsworth Road Due To Anti-Social Behaviour

The Council received a joint electronic and paper petition containing 57 signatures requesting that the Council close the gennel between Horndean Road and Idsworth Road due to anti-social behaviour.

Representations on behalf of petitioners were made by Salil Mahmood. Mr Mahmood stated that the gennel was  ...  view the full minutes text for item 4.

5.1

Urgent Business

There were no questions relating to urgent business under the provisions of Council Procedure Rule 16.6(ii).

5.2

Written Questions

A schedule of questions to Executive Members, submitted in accordance with Council Procedure Rule 16, and which contained written answers, was circulated.  Supplementary questions, under the provisions of Council Procedure Rule 16.4, were asked and were answered by the appropriate Executive Members until the expiry of the time limit for Members’ Questions (in accordance with Council Procedure Rule 16.7).

5.3

South Yorkshire Joint Authorities

Questions relating to the discharge of the functions of the South Yorkshire Joint Authorities for Fire and Rescue and Pensions (under the provisions of Council Procedure Rule 16.6i), were not able to be asked before the expiry of the time limit for Members’ Questions.

6.1

The Lord Mayor (Councillor Gail Smith) provided an opportunity for Members of the Council to pay tribute to former Councillor Martin Brelsford, who sadly had died on 6^th September 2021.

6.2

Former Councillor Brelsford had served as a Member of the Council from 1995 to 2011, representing the Stocksbridge and Upper Don Ward.  He was a member of the Cabinet in the Municipal Years 2000/01 & 2001/02, and served as Scrutiny Committee Chair in 2004/05 and again from 2008/09 to 2010/11.

6.3

Several Members of the Council spoke to pay tribute to him.

7.1

It was moved by Councillor Martin Smith, and seconded by Councillor Shaffaq Mohammed, that this Council:-

(a)      notes that the population of Sheffield is predicted to grow by approximately 90,000 over the next twenty years and a shortage of decent housing will have a profound effect on economic growth, social mobility and health;

(b)      agrees that Sheffield will require more than 40,000 new homes over the next 20 years;

(c)      agrees that the location, mix and affordability of that housing will have a huge impact on the future prosperity and quality of life for its citizens;

(d)      notes that the Local Plan has been in development since 2012, with delay after delay leaving Sheffield in a position where we will become increasingly defenceless against inappropriate development;

(e)      notes the overwhelming public response to the 2020 Issues & Options Consultation in favour of higher density, walkable neighbourhoods primarily focussed in and around the city centre and Attercliffe;

(f)       further notes that development in these locations are particularly sustainable due to excellent transport links and existing infrastructure, and with good opportunities for affordable and accessible housing;

(g)      agrees that it must listen to the people of Sheffield and commits to developing a Local Plan based on this spatial strategy; and

(h)      further commits to issuing the draft Local Plan for consultation within the next six months.

7.2

Whereupon, it was moved by Councillor Julie Grocutt, and seconded by Councillor Mark Jones, as an amendment, that the Motion now submitted be amended by the deletion of paragraphs (d) and (h), the re-lettering of original paragraphs (e) to (g) as new paragraphs (d) to (f), and the addition of new paragraphs (g) to (o) as follows:-

(g)      notes that due to the importance of protecting green spaces, the Council, under the previous Administration, undertook work to determine how the new homes in central Sheffield can be maximised - and following this work, Sheffield City Council produced a plan to meet the already high target of 40,000 new homes, whilst protecting the green belt;

(h)      reaffirms support for this approach, which would have delivered the correct number of homes for the city, whilst ensuring building in the right locations;

(i)       notes with real concern that cities in the North are now being forced by the Government to adhere to unrealistic house building targets, due to a U-turn which, we believe, was enacted to protect shires in the South;

(j)       notes that as a result of the Government’s U-turn, Sheffield will now face a 35% increase in its nationally determined targets for new housing delivery;

(k)      believes that these Government-imposed targets are not appropriate to the scale of need, and threaten Sheffield’s green belt, as well as undermining the good work undertaken by the Council in preparing a plan which would have provided enough homes and in the right locations;

(l)       notes that Sheffield City Council’s Planning Committee has rejected a number of planning applications on green spaces, including in Loxley Valley,  ...  view the full minutes text for item 7.

8.1

RESOLVED: On the motion of Councillor Dianne Hurst and seconded by Councillor Garry Weatherall, that, in accordance with Council Procedure Rule 9.1, the order of business as published on the Council Summons be altered by (a) taking item 9 (Notice of Motion Regarding “Investing In Early Yeas”) as the next item of business and (b) moving item 7 (Notice of Motion Regarding “’Right To Food’ – Working Together To Tackle Food Poverty In The City and To Develop A Local Food Access Plan”) to be taken after item 8 on the agenda.

8.2

It was moved by Councillor Jayne Dunn, and seconded by Councillor Mike Drabble, 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  ...  view the full minutes text for item 8.

9.1

It was formally moved by Councillor Douglas Johnson, and formally seconded by Councillor Christine Gilligan, that this Council:-

(a)      notes that in 2018, at COP24, the UK Government signed up to having ‘domestic institutional arrangements, public participation and engagement with local communities’ so localities can play their part in delivering the UK’s ‘Nationally Determined Contributions’ in the Paris Climate Agreement;

(b)      further notes that, in May 2021, the Rt. Hon. Alok Sharma MP, President of COP26, said collaboration would be a key objective of the climate summit - "Governments, business and civil society (sometimes called ‘non-state actors’ and including local government) need to work together to transform the ways we power our homes and businesses, grow our food, develop infrastructure and move ourselves and goods around";

(c)      believes that, despite these agreements and statements, there is still no formal relationship allowing joint partnership working between Local and National Government on climate action;

(d)      therefore resolves to add this Council’s voice to calls by the Local Government Association and the Association of Directors of Environment, Economy, Planning and Transport, and others, for a joint local and national government taskforce to plan action to reach ‘net zero’ emissions; such a partnership can set appropriate regulations, benchmarks and targets and create the much needed long-term funding mechanisms to enable local communities and economies to decarbonise whilst remaining resilient and sustainable; and

(e)      will therefore ask the Chief Executive to write to Alok Sharma MP, President for COP26, the Prime Minister, and the Leadership Board of the LGA, informing them of our support for a joint Local/National Government Climate Change Partnership Taskforce and asking for one to be established as soon as possible.

9.2

Whereupon, it was formally moved by Councillor Mark Jones, and formally seconded by Councillor Mike Chaplin, as an amendment, that the Motion now submitted be amended by the addition of new paragraphs (f) to (o) as follows:-

(f)       believes that the Government needs to get serious about their supposed ‘levelling-up’ agenda and support local authorities, by delivering regional investment banks – to support councils in creating jobs and building the energy and transport infrastructure we so desperately need;

(g)      notes that the Council has always sought to work with government in delivering positive action in tackling the climate emergency, and protecting against its adverse effects;

(h)      notes, for instance, the multi-million-pound investment in flood defences, and that this Council is building today for tomorrow’s changed climate, and that the Council’s long-term plan is needed to deliver Natural Flood Measures, but these measures will need investment to maintain and develop, and calls on the Government to support us with substantially more investment in delivering this;

(i)       believes that the Government needs to implement radical waste management strategies and that for too long they have failed to act on this issue, when they should be supporting councils to kick start new clean industrial sectors - reclaiming and retaining energy at every step of a product’s life cycle;  ...  view the full minutes text for item 9.

10.1

It was formally moved by Councillor Ruth Milsom, and formally seconded by Councillor Sophie Wilson, that this Council:-

(a)      recognises that we are seeing a crisis of food poverty borne out of political choices and systemic failings from successive governments since austerity began;

(b)      believes that food poverty should never be seen as inevitable, and notes that from 1997 to 2010 poverty reduced significantly (for instance the Institute for Fiscal Studies notes that the number of children in relative poverty fell by over 1.1 million from 1997-2010), showing that with sufficient political willpower these issues can be tackled;

(c)      notes that after a decade of government-imposed austerity, child poverty and food hunger has increased significantly, and led to a precarious situation for many, even before the pandemic struck;

(d)      believes that the pandemic has exacerbated problems and pushed more people into food poverty, with perhaps the worst yet to come, and though it is hard to quantify the extent of food poverty in Sheffield we know the following:-

(i)       around 24,000 children are currently eligible for Free School Meals and therefore at risk of going hungry during the school holidays, with this number rising; and

(ii)       according to data collected by Voluntary Action Sheffield from 19 food banks, between 13th April 2020 and 8th June 2020 the number of households supported increased by just over 92% from 1144 to 2202 households; it is well acknowledged that this does not represent the full picture of emergency food aid during this time – and shows supply, not level of need, which could be much higher;

(e)      condemns the Government for the £20 per week cut to Universal Credit, which will come into effect from 6th October 2021, noting the following:-

(i)       universal credit is claimed by more than 5.5 million households across the UK;

(ii)       the Joseph Rowntree Foundation - a charity which researches poverty - states millions of households will face an income loss equivalent to £1,040 a year;

(iii)      the charity Citizens Advice has warned that a third of people on Universal Credit will end up in debt due to the reduction, which will inevitably lead to more people being reliant on food banks; and

(iv)      the 5-week wait for Universal Credit impacts people’s ability to pay bills and buy food, and believes that this wait is wholly unjustifiable and should be scrapped;

(f)       notes that the cross-party Overview and Scrutiny Management Committee established a working group to look at the Council’s response to Food Poverty in Sheffield, and that this first phase looked at the Council’s strategic role in relation to food poverty, and with organisations working in this space on food projects;

(g)      believes that all recommendations from the Food Poverty Working Group’s report should be adopted in full;

(h)      believes that, as noted in the Scrutiny Committee’s report, tackling food poverty requires a citywide effort, across the Council and public services, the VCF, communities and business, with a long term, structural approach  ...  view the full minutes text for item 10.

11.1

RESOLVED: On the motion of Councillor Dianne Hurst, seconded by Councillor Garry Weatherall, that the minutes of the special meeting of the Council held on 18^th March 2021, the ordinary meeting of the Council held on 31^st March 2021 the annual meeting of the Council held on 19^th May 2021, be approved as true and accurate records.

12.1

RESOLVED: On the Motion of Councillor Dianne Hurst, seconded by Councillor Garry Weatherall, that:-

(a) it be noted that, in accordance with the authority given by the City Council at its annual meeting held on 19th May 2021, the Chief Executive had authorised the following appointments, with effect from the dates shown:-

Peak District National Park Authority

-

Councillor Safiya Saeed to replace Councillor Moya O’Rourke, with effect from 5^th July 2021.

Local Area Chairs Group

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Councillor Bernard Little to replace Councillor Ruth Mersereau, with effect from 7^th July 2021.

Sheffield City Trust (Observer)

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Councillor Cate McDonald to fill a vacancy, with effect from 19^th July 2021.

(b) Councillor Brian Holmshaw be appointed to serve on the Allotments Advisory Group, filling a vacancy.