Agenda item

Business-Friendly Council (1)

It was moved by Councillor Leigh Bramall, seconded by Councillor Chris Rosling Josephs, that this Council:-

(a)       welcomes the recent Government award recognising Sheffield City Council as a ‘Best Council to do business with’ which was selected by a panel consisting of the Federation of Small Businesses, Confederation of British Industry, British Chambers of Commerce, Local Government Association, Cabinet Office, Department for Business Innovation and Skills and the Department for Communities and Local Government;

(b)       further welcomes that the award recognised work around the Streets Ahead contract, the biggest in the Council's history, where bidders were encouraged to use local suppliers in their sub-contracting arrangements which has been extremely successful and around 80% of sub-contractors are Small Medium Enterprises (SMEs) providing support on a variety of jobs;

(c)        confirms that the Council also ran events such as the Bidders Briefing with an open invitation to all local suppliers to attend giving them an opportunity to network with the market leaders in the highway maintenance sector;

(d)       welcomes other actions taken by the present Administration including providing free one-hour sessions for local businesses, filmed training sessions and put them on the internet, and filmed a 'how to' video on Council procurement and posted that online, filmed by a local digital media company;

(e)       welcomes that the present Administration are delivering on their commitment to be a business friendly council and welcomes initiatives to support local businesses including:

(i)            breaking down the barriers for SMEs to access the Regional Growth Fund;

(ii)          the RISE Graduate Scheme which supports local SMEs employ graduates;

(iii)         the export project supporting local SMEs in the export market;

(iv)       the Sheffield Apprenticeship Programme;

(v)        Skills Made Easy designed by Sheffield City Council, in partnership with the Local Enterprise Partnership (LEP), to put the purchasing power for training for the first time, in the hands of businesses in the Sheffield City Region (SCR);

(vi)       Business Summits;

(vii)      the small business loan fund;

(viii)     up to 50% reductions in off street parking charges;

(ix)       the Chapel Walk scheme;

(x)        the Digital Direction Programme; and

(xi)       securing a Start Up Loans for Young People, the only Council to have done so;

(f)        further welcomes the action of the present Administration of establishing the Keep Sheffield Working Fund, recognising the importance of supporting local businesses in the current challenging economic climate;

(g)       notes the national economic difficulties which have been created by the present Government’s economic mismanagement and notes that the International Monetary Fund have recently called on the Government to do more to promote economic growth;

(h)       acknowledges that the Government’s economic mismanagement, in addition to their decision to suspend the £12 million grant for the New Retail Quarter and the inaction of the previous Administration who presided over what this Council believes was three wasted years, has held back the development of the City Centre;

(i)         however, welcomes that the present Administration have taken a lead in securing the redevelopment of the Moor and the new market and secured the New Development Deal to help realise the new Retail Quarter and welcomes that the Council is working to secure the best outcome for Sheffield and the long-term success of the City;

(j)         welcomes the fact that the present Administration has taken a lead in pioneering a new approach to apprenticeships which allows us to tailor the apprenticeships offered to young people in our region to meet the needs of local businesses and growth sectors of our economy, which will help to create the high skilled, high wage economy our region needs;

(k)        further welcomes the development of the Sheffield City Region Infrastructure Fund, a Jessica Fund, and a Sheffield Investment Fund, led by the present Administration and City Region partners;

(l)         further welcomes the creation of the Combined Authority as a tool to bring jobs and investment to Sheffield City Region and regrets attempts from the main opposition group to block the submission for the creation of the Combined Authority which would have seen the Sheffield City Region fall behind other leading cities in creating jobs and growth;

(m)      recalls the failure of the previous Administration including their broken promise to provide £1 million of Council funding to support the previous Government’s Future Jobs Fund, which the present Government scrapped as one of their first actions in Government; and

(n)       recognises that at a time when the Government have categorically failed to take action to secure economic growth it is more important than ever to redouble efforts to grow the local economy and support job creation and resolves to continue being business friendly and to focus on jobs and to build on the recent recognition of the Council’s business friendly approach through the ‘Best Council to do business with’ award.

(Note: With the consent of the Council, and at the request of Councillor Leigh Bramall (the mover of the Motion), Paragraph (l) of the Motion, as included in the Summons, was altered by the addition of the words “the submission for” after the word “block”.)

Whereupon, it was moved by Councillor Ian Auckland, seconded by Councillor Andrew Sangar, as an amendment, that the Motion now submitted be amended by the deletion of existing paragraphs (c) to (n) and the addition of new paragraphs (c) to (j) as follows:-

(c)        regrets that this progress is now being jeopardised by a dangerous ‘anti-business’ message being projected by the Town Hall;

(d)       highlights the following decisions as examples of members of the ruling Group’s ‘anti-business’ rhetoric:

(i)         rejecting a proposal by NEXT to locate a new department store in Sheffield, which could have created 120 new jobs;

(ii)        a lukewarm reception to the proposal by IKEA to locate a new £60 million store within Sheffield, which could create 700 new jobs;

(iii)       a failure to progress the Sevenstones project, which would create 1,000 new jobs;

(iv)       a decision to hike parking permit fees for local businesses and increase city centre parking charges;

(v)        ignoring appeals from traders in Millhouses for additional parking over the Christmas period and opposing plans to re-introduce free Christmas parking in the city and district centres;

(vi)       refusing to hold further scrutiny into Sheffield City Airport, despite calls from small and medium sized businesses; and

(vii)      voting to ban ice cream vans more than 5 years old;

(e)       notes that this string of illogical decisions has damaged Sheffield and led to criticism of the Council from the Sheffield Chamber of Commerce and the South Yorkshire Federation of Small Businesses;

(f)        contrasts this to the record of the previous Administration who took Sheffield from the ‘worst place to do business in South Yorkshire’ to the best;

(g)       furthermore applauds the work of Liberal Democrats in Government to build a stronger economy in a fairer society, specifically those Government measures which will help build a stronger economy in Sheffield City Region, including:

(i)         signing the Sheffield City Region City Deal, a radical agreement and the boldest step a Government has taken to truly put the region in the driving seat for economic growth;

(ii)        confirming that Sheffield will be the location of a new High Speed Rail station;

(iii)       creating an enterprise zone for Sheffield City Region, which could produce as many as 12,000 new jobs;

(iv)       agreeing Tax Increment Financing powers, which should allow the Sevenstones development to proceed;

(v)        awarding £65 million to Sheffield City Region through the third round of the Government’s Regional Growth Fund, to support small and medium sized businesses;

(vi)       providing £9.9 million for the construction of Sheffield University Technical College, which will provide the next generation of Sheffielders with the skills the City requires;

(vii)      enabling Sheffield’s Streets Ahead project to proceed through a £1.2 billion contribution;

(viii)     investing millions of pounds in Sheffield’s buses, trams, trains and highways;

(ix)       investing millions of pounds to support construction and infrastructure through the New Homes Bonus and the Growing Places Fund; and

(x)        funding the Administration’s Chapel Walk project, with over £100,000 through the High Street Innovation Fund;

(h)       notes reports that last year, Yorkshire posted the biggest increase in the proportion of people working in the private sector of any English region, confirming the Government’s progress in re-balancing the British economy;

(i)         contrasts this with the previous Government who, in the opinion of Polly Toynbee, “kowtowed to wealth, glorified the City and put all the nation's economic eggs into one dangerous basket" and oversaw the continued decline of UK manufacturing; and

(j)         recommends that the Administration works immediately to shed their “anti-business” image and make Sheffield a genuinely business-friendly city.

(Note: With the consent of the Council, and at the request of Councillor Ian Auckland (the mover of the amendment), Paragraph (d) of the amendment, as included in the list of amendments, was altered by the addition of the words “members of” after the words “examples of”.)

On being put to the vote, the amendment was negatived.

After a right of reply from Councillor Leigh Bramall, the original Motion was put to the vote and carried, as follows:

RESOLVED: That this Council:-

(a)       welcomes the recent Government award recognising Sheffield City Council as a ‘Best Council to do business with’ which was selected by a panel consisting of the Federation of Small Businesses, Confederation of British Industry, British Chambers of Commerce, Local Government Association, Cabinet Office, Department for Business Innovation and Skills and the Department for Communities and Local Government;

(b)       further welcomes that the award recognised work around the Streets Ahead contract, the biggest in the Council's history, where bidders were encouraged to use local suppliers in their sub-contracting arrangements which has been extremely successful and around 80% of sub-contractors are Small Medium Enterprises (SMEs) providing support on a variety of jobs;

(c)        confirms that the Council also ran events such as the Bidders Briefing with an open invitation to all local suppliers to attend giving them an opportunity to network with the market leaders in the highway maintenance sector;

(d)       welcomes other actions taken by the present Administration including providing free one-hour sessions for local businesses, filmed training sessions and put them on the internet, and filmed a 'how to' video on Council procurement and posted that online, filmed by a local digital media company;

(e)       welcomes that the present Administration are delivering on their commitment to be a business friendly council and welcomes initiatives to support local businesses including:

(i)            breaking down the barriers for SMEs to access the Regional Growth Fund;

(ii)          the RISE Graduate Scheme which supports local SMEs employ graduates;

(iii)         the export project supporting local SMEs in the export market;

(iv)       the Sheffield Apprenticeship Programme;

(v)        Skills Made Easy designed by Sheffield City Council, in partnership with the Local Enterprise Partnership (LEP), to put the purchasing power for training for the first time, in the hands of businesses in the Sheffield City Region (SCR);

(vi)       Business Summits;

(vii)      the small business loan fund;

(viii)     up to 50% reductions in off street parking charges;

(ix)       the Chapel Walk scheme;

(x)        the Digital Direction Programme; and

(xi)       securing a Start Up Loans for Young People, the only Council to have done so;

(f)        further welcomes the action of the present Administration of establishing the Keep Sheffield Working Fund, recognising the importance of supporting local businesses in the current challenging economic climate;

(g)       notes the national economic difficulties which have been created by the present Government’s economic mismanagement and notes that the International Monetary Fund have recently called on the Government to do more to promote economic growth;

(h)       acknowledges that the Government’s economic mismanagement, in addition to their decision to suspend the £12 million grant for the New Retail Quarter and the inaction of the previous Administration who presided over what this Council believes was three wasted years, has held back the development of the City Centre;

(i)         however, welcomes that the present Administration have taken a lead in securing the redevelopment of the Moor and the new market and secured the New Development Deal to help realise the new Retail Quarter and welcomes that the Council is working to secure the best outcome for Sheffield and the long-term success of the City;

(j)         welcomes the fact that the present Administration has taken a lead in pioneering a new approach to apprenticeships which allows us to tailor the apprenticeships offered to young people in our region to meet the needs of local businesses and growth sectors of our economy, which will help to create the high skilled, high wage economy our region needs;

(k)        further welcomes the development of the Sheffield City Region Infrastructure Fund, a Jessica Fund, and a Sheffield Investment Fund, led by the present Administration and City Region partners;

(l)         further welcomes the creation of the Combined Authority as a tool to bring jobs and investment to Sheffield City Region and regrets attempts from the main opposition group to block the creation of the Combined Authority which would have seen the Sheffield City Region fall behind other leading cities in creating jobs and growth;

(m)      recalls the failure of the previous Administration including their broken promise to provide £1 million of Council funding to support the previous Government’s Future Jobs Fund, which the present Government scrapped as one of their first actions in Government; and

(n)       recognises that at a time when the Government have categorically failed to take action to secure economic growth it is more important than ever to redouble efforts to grow the local economy and support job creation and resolves to continue being business friendly and to focus on jobs and to build on the recent recognition of the Council’s business friendly approach through the ‘Best Council to do business with’ award.

The votes on the Motion were ordered to be recorded and were as follows:-

For Paragraphs (a) (c) (d) (f) (g) (h) and (n) of the Motion (52)

-

The Deputy Lord Mayor (Cllr Peter Rippon) and Councillors John Robson, Jack Scott, Roy Munn, Clive Skelton, Ian Saunders, Chris Rosling-Josephs, Helen Mirfin-Boukouris, Bryan Lodge, Denise Fox, Karen McGowan, Jayne Dunn, Stuart Wattam, Jackie Drayton, Ibrar Hussain, Talib Hussain, Robert Murphy, Mohammed Maroof, Geoff Smith, Mary Lea, Harry Harpham, Mazher Iqbal, Joyce Wright, Steven Wilson, Garry Weatherall, Sheila Constance, Chris Weldon, Alan Law, Steve Jones, Tim Rippon, Cate McDonald, George Lindars-Hammond, Janet Bragg, Pat Midgley, Terry Fox, Anthony Downing, David BarkerLynn Rooney, John Campbell, Martin Lawton, Sioned-Mair Richards, Peter Price, Leigh Bramall, Gill Furniss, Richard Crowther, Neale Gibson, Nikki Sharpe, Ben Curran, Adam Hurst, Jackie Satur, Mick Rooney and Ray Satur.

Against Paragraphs (a) (c) (d) (f) (g) (h) and (n) of the Motion (17)

-

Councillors Simon Clement-Jones, Shaffaq Mohammed, Rob Frost, Sylvia Anginotti, Colin Ross, Joe Otten, Keith Hill, Penny Baker, Diana Stimely, Sue Alston, Andrew Sangar, Denise Reaney, Ian Auckland, Bob McCann, Anders Hanson,David Baker and Trevor Bagshaw.

Abstained on Paragraphs (a) (c) (d) (f) (g) (h) and (n) of the Motion (0)

-

Nil.

For Paragraphs (b), (e), (i), (l), (m) of the Motion (51)

-

The Deputy Lord Mayor (Cllr Peter Rippon) and Councillors John Robson, Jack Scott, Roy Munn, Clive Skelton, Ian Saunders, Chris Rosling-Josephs, Helen Mirfin-Boukouris, Bryan Lodge, Denise Fox, Karen McGowan, Jayne Dunn, Stuart Wattam, Jackie Drayton, Ibrar Hussain, Talib Hussain, Mohammed Maroof, Geoff Smith, Mary Lea, Harry Harpham, Mazher Iqbal, Joyce Wright, Steven Wilson, Garry Weatherall, Sheila Constance, Chris Weldon, Alan Law, Steve Jones, Tim Rippon, Cate McDonald, George Lindars-Hammond, Janet Bragg, Pat Midgley, Terry Fox, Anthony Downing, David Barker, Lynn Rooney, John Campbell, Martin Lawton, Sioned-Mair Richards, Peter Price, Leigh Bramall, Gill Furniss, Richard Crowther, Neale Gibson, Nikki Sharpe, Ben Curran, Adam Hurst, Jackie Satur, Mick Rooney and Ray Satur.

Against Paragraphs (b), (e), (i), (l), (m) of the Motion (17)

-

Councillors Simon Clement-Jones, Shaffaq Mohammed, Rob Frost, Sylvia Anginotti, Colin Ross, Joe Otten, Keith Hill, Penny Baker, Diana Stimely, Sue Alston, Andrew Sangar, Denise Reaney, Ian Auckland, Bob McCann, Anders Hanson,David Baker and Trevor Bagshaw.

Abstained on Paragraphs (b), (e), (i), (l), (m) of the Motion (1)

-

Councillor Robert Murphy.

For Paragraphs (j) and (k) of the Motion (69)

-

The Deputy Lord Mayor (Cllr Peter Rippon) and Councillors John Robson, Jack Scott, Roy Munn, Simon Clement-Jones, Clive Skelton, Ian Saunders, Chris Rosling-Josephs, Helen Mirfin-Boukouris, Bryan Lodge, Denise Fox, Karen McGowan, Jayne Dunn, Stuart Wattam, Shaffaq Mohammed, Jackie Drayton, Ibrar Hussain, Talib Hussain, Robert Murphy, Mohammed Maroof, Rob Frost, Geoff Smith, Sylvia Anginotti, Mary Lea, Harry Harpham, Mazher Iqbal, Colin Ross, Joe Otten, Keith Hill, Joyce Wright, Steven Wilson, Garry Weatherall, Penny Baker, Diana Stimely, Sheila Constance, Chris Weldon, Alan Law, Sue Alston, Andrew Sangar, Steve Jones, Tim Rippon, Cate McDonald, Denise Reaney, Ian Auckland, Bob McCann, George Lindars-Hammond, Janet Bragg, Pat Midgley, Terry Fox, Anthony Downing, David Barker, Anders Hanson, Lynn Rooney, John Campbell, Martin Lawton, Sioned-Mair Richards, Peter Price, Leigh Bramall, Gill Furniss, David Baker, Richard Crowther, Neale Gibson, Nikki Sharpe, Ben Curran, Adam Hurst, Trevor Bagshaw, Jackie Satur, Mick Rooney and Ray Satur.

Against Paragraphs (j) and (k) of the Motion (0)

-

Nil.

Abstained on Paragraphs (j) and (k) of the Motion (0)

-

Nil.