Agenda item

7.1

It was moved by Councillor Tom Hunt, and seconded by Councillor Fran Belbin, that this Council:- 

(a)       notes the hugely positive recent developments in our city, including:-

(i)         the exciting proposals for the Cole Brothers building;

(ii)        the ongoing progress with the Heart of the City developments; improvements to Fargate; pedestrianisation of Division Street and the planning permission to transform Castlegate;

(iii)       over £100m to be invested in Sheffield’s leisure and entertainment venues;

(iv)       the development agreement for Attercliffe Waterside which will see the creation of a new low-carbon neighbourhood with 1000 homes;

(v)        the creation of the Sheffield Policy Campus which will further develop Sheffield as a leading centre for policy making in Britain; and

(vi)       the two fantastic promotions for Sheffield United and Sheffield Wednesday;

(b)       notes new developments that will help to improve the lives of people in Sheffield:-

(i)         the launch of Family Hubs, one-stop shops supporting families, children and young people to have the best start in life; and

(ii)        Sheffield being chosen to be part of a new five-year project which will support early intervention work to prevent homelessness;

(c)        believes that:-

(i)         Sheffield is changing for the better and will continue getting better still; and

(ii)        it is time to talk Sheffield up – not talk it down;

(d)       further believes that:- 

(i)         the Council’s Future Sheffield programme will deliver a modern council with a culture founded on trust and openness, with greater connection to our communities, where staff are engaged and where equality and diversity are celebrated; and

(ii)        the City Goals is a great initiative that will provide a set of goals, shaped by residents, and shared with our partners, that will guide the future of Sheffield; and

(e)       resolves to:-

(i)         serve the people of Sheffield;

(ii)        work collaboratively through our committees and with our partners to continue to:- 

(A)     help people with the cost-of-living crisis;

(B)     fix our public transport and make it easier to get around our city;

(C)     secure new investment in the city;

(D)     ensure that public money is always spent wisely;

(E)     invest in our neighbourhoods and devolve power to communities;

(F)     tackle the climate emergency; and

(G)     ensure that politics in Sheffield is conducted in a competent, open and inclusive way; and

(iii)       always be guided by our values: people are at the heart of what we do; openness and honesty are important to us, and together we get things done.

7.1.1

(NOTE: With the agreement of the Council and at the request of the Lord Mayor (Councillor Colin Ross) on behalf of the mover of the Motion (Councillor Tom Hunt), the Motion as published on the agenda was altered by the removal of the words “serve the people of Sheffield” at the end of sub-paragraph (e)(iii) of the Motion, which were a duplication of the words already used in sub-paragraph (e)(i) of the Motion and had been repeated by mistake due to a processing error.)

7.2

Whereupon, it was moved by Councillor Shaffaq Mohammed, and seconded by Councillor Andrew Sangar, as an amendment, that the Motion now submitted be amended by:-

1.         the deletion of paragraphs (c) and (d);

2.         the addition of new paragraphs (c) to (e) as follows:-

(c)        believes however, that the above developments will only be successful if they are subject to robust scrutiny;

(d)       restates the findings from the Lowcock Inquiry which states that during the street tree dispute a ‘bunker mentality’ developed within the Council, with a culture that was ‘unreceptive to external views […] and prone to group think’;

(e)       believes that within the Council Chamber, the role of elected members is not only to ‘talk Sheffield up’ but to act as a ‘critical friend’ to officers, external partners, and each other, to ensure better, more well-rounded decisions are made; and

3.         the re-lettering of the original paragraph (e) as a new paragraph (f).

7.3

It was then moved by Councillor Brian Holmshaw, and seconded by Councillor Christine Gilligan Kubo, as an amendment, that the Motion now submitted be amended by:-

1.         the addition of a new paragraph (a) as follows, and the re-lettering of original paragraphs (a) to (e) as new paragraphs (b) to (f):-

(a)       thanks the voters of Sheffield for turning out at the May 2023 elections and taking part in the democratic exercise of their vote;

2.         the addition of a new paragraph (g) as follows:-

(g)       believes that our city is best served with all parties co-operating under No Overall Control, where councillors from all groups have to work together in the modern committee system in Sheffield’s best interests.

7.4

After contributions from five other Members, and following a right of reply from Councillor Tom Hunt, the amendment moved by Councillor Shaffaq Mohammed was put to the vote and was carried in part.  Part 1 of the amendment was lost and Parts 2 and 3 of the amendment were carried.

7.4.1

(NOTE: The result of the vote was FOR - 70 Members; AGAINST - 0 Members; ABSTENTIONS – 0 Members.  Although the Labour Group and Green Group members voted for, they voted against Part 1 of the amendment.)

7.5

The amendment moved by Councillor Brian Holmshaw was then put to the vote and was carried.

7.5.1

(NOTE: The result of the vote was FOR - 70 Members; AGAINST - 0 Members; ABSTENTIONS – 0 Members.  Although the Labour Group members voted for, they voted against Part 2 of the amendment.)

7.6

The original Motion, as amended, was then put as a Substantive Motion in the following form and carried:-

RESOLVED: That this Council:-

(a)       thanks the voters of Sheffield for turning out at the May 2023 elections and taking part in the democratic exercise of their vote;

(b)       notes the hugely positive recent developments in our city, including:-

(i)         the exciting proposals for the Cole Brothers building;

(ii)        the ongoing progress with the Heart of the City developments; improvements to Fargate; pedestrianisation of Division Street and the planning permission to transform Castlegate;

(iii)       over £100m to be invested in Sheffield’s leisure and entertainment venues;

(iv)       the development agreement for Attercliffe Waterside which will see the creation of a new low-carbon neighbourhood with 1000 homes;

(v)        the creation of the Sheffield Policy Campus which will further develop Sheffield as a leading centre for policy making in Britain; and

(vi)       the two fantastic promotions for Sheffield United and Sheffield Wednesday;

(c)        notes new developments that will help to improve the lives of people in Sheffield:-

(i)         the launch of Family Hubs, one-stop shops supporting families, children and young people to have the best start in life; and

(ii)        Sheffield being chosen to be part of a new five-year project which will support early intervention work to prevent homelessness;

(d)       believes however, that the above developments will only be successful if they are subject to robust scrutiny;

(e)       restates the findings from the Lowcock Inquiry which states that during the street tree dispute a ‘bunker mentality’ developed within the Council, with a culture that was ‘unreceptive to external views […] and prone to group think’;

(f)        believes that within the Council Chamber, the role of elected members is not only to ‘talk Sheffield up’ but to act as a ‘critical friend’ to officers, external partners, and each other, to ensure better, more well-rounded decisions are made;

(g)       believes that:-

(i)         Sheffield is changing for the better and will continue getting better still; and

(ii)        it is time to talk Sheffield up – not talk it down;

(h)       further believes that:-

(i)         the Council’s Future Sheffield programme will deliver a modern council with a culture founded on trust and openness, with greater connection to our communities, where staff are engaged and where equality and diversity are celebrated; and

(ii)        the City Goals is a great initiative that will provide a set of goals, shaped by residents, and shared with our partners, that will guide the future of Sheffield;

(i)         resolves to:-

(i)         serve the people of Sheffield;

(ii)        work collaboratively through our committees and with our partners to continue to:-

(A)    help people with the cost-of-living crisis;

(B)    fix our public transport and make it easier to get around our city;

(C)    secure new investment in the city;

(D)    ensure that public money is always spent wisely;

(E)    invest in our neighbourhoods and devolve power to communities;

(F)     tackle the climate emergency; and

(G)    ensure that politics in Sheffield is conducted in a competent, open and inclusive way; and

(iii)       always be guided by our values: people are at the heart of what we do; openness and honesty are important to us, and together we get things done; and

(j)         believes that our city is best served with all parties co-operating under No Overall Control, where councillors from all groups have to work together in the modern committee system in Sheffield’s best interests.

7.6.1

(NOTE: The result of the vote was FOR - 72 Members; AGAINST - 0 Members; ABSTENTIONS – 0 Members.  Although Labour Group Members voted for, they voted against paragraph (j) of the Substantive Motion.  Although Liberal Democrat Group Members and Councillor Lewis Chinchen voted for, they abstained from voting on paragraph (g) of the Substantive Motion.)