Agenda and minutes

Councillor Smith proposed and Councillor Tunnacliffe seconded the nomination of Councillor Russ McPherson as Mayor for the Municipal Year 2020/21.

 

Resolved (unanimously):

 

i.  Councillor Russ McPherson be elected for the Municipal Year 2020/21.

 

Councillor McPherson then made the statutory declaration of acceptance of the Office of Mayor.

 

Councillor Price proposed and Councillor Dalzell seconded the nomination of Councillor Alex Collis as Deputy Mayor for the Municipal Year 2020/21.

 

Resolved (unanimously):

 

i.  Councillor Alex Collis be elected for the Municipal Year 2020/21.

 

Councillor Collis then made the statutory declaration of acceptance of the Office of Deputy Mayor.

 

The minutes of the meetings held on the 13 and 25 February 2020 were confirmed as a correct record and signed by the Mayor.

 

 

 

Apologies were received from Councillors O’Reilly and Smart

 

The Mayor explained due to the current circumstances (COVID 19), the civic calendar was much reduced with the Sermon usually held this Sunday, Strawberry and Midsummer Fairs and the Mayor’s Day Out all cancelled.  The Mayor would be planning ahead for future engagements when it was safe to do so and Members would be informed.

Resolved (unanimously):

 

To appoint Councillors Gehring, Massey, Page-Croft and Thornburrow Bailiffs of the City for the Municipal Year 2020/21.

 

 

 

 

Resolved (unanimously):

  i.    To agree the number and size of committees, depart from proportionality on the Planning and Transport Scrutiny Committee and to note the nominations listed in the agenda and in the information pack, set out below in full:

 

Ordinary Committee 

 

 

Environment and Community Scrutiny Committee 8 (5 Labour + 3 Lib Dem)

Smart, Davies, Hadley, Collis, Barnett   Summerbell, Matthews, Payne   Alternates – O’Reilly, Sheil, McGerty, Gehring

 

 

Planning and Transport Scrutiny Committee 9 (5 Labour + 3 Lib Dem, 1 Independent)

Smart, Bird, Collis, Green, Baigent   Bick, Porrer, Chadwick   Hipkin   Alternates – McQueen, Lab TBC, Matthews

 

 

Housing Scrutiny Committee 8 (5 Labour + 3 Lib Dem)

Todd-Jones, Bird, Thittala, Hadley, Sheil   Martinelli, Porrer, McGerty   Alternates – Barnett, Smart, Cantrill, Page-Croft

 

Strategy and Resources Scrutiny Committee 6 (4 Labour + 2 Lib Dem)

Davey, Barnett, Green, Davies   Bick, Dalzell   Alternates – O’Reilly, Collis, Cantrill, Payne

 

Civic Affairs Committee 6 (4 Labour + 2 Lib Dem)

Sargeant, Thornburrow, Davey, O’Reilly   Dalzell, Chadwick   Alternate – Moore, Martinelli

 

 

Employment (Senior Officer) Committee 6 (4 Labour +2 Lib Dem)

Sargeant, Thornburrow, Herbert, Sheil   Bick, Porrer   Alternates - Massey, Dalzell

 

 

Licensing Committee 10 (6 Labour+ 4 Lib Dem)

Bird, Thittala, McQueen, Massey, Moore, McPherson, Lab TBC   Gehring, Pippas, Page-Croft, Summerbell   Alternates - Johnson, Cantrill

 

 

Planning Committee  8 (5 Labour+ 3 Lib Dem)

Smart, Baigent, Green, Thornburrow, McQueen   Tunnacliffe, Lord, Porrer   Alternates – Bird, Price, Page-Croft

 

Cambridge City Joint Area Committee (with County Council) 6 (4 Labour + 2 Lib Dem )

Sargeant, Smart, Massey, Robertson Martinelli,   Tunnacliffe   Alternates – Bird, McGerty

 

 

 

 

Cambridgeshire and Peterborough Combined Authority - 1 seat

Herbert   Alternate - Davey

 

 

Cambridgeshire and Peterborough Audit and Governance Committee 1 Labour + one alternate

Davey   Alternate – Price

 

 

Greater Cambridge Partnership Joint Assembly 3 (2 Labour + 1 Lib Dem)

Davey, Sargeant   Bick

 

 

Joint Development Control Committee - Cambridge Fringes 6 (4 Labour+ 2 Lib Dem)

Sargeant, Baigent, Thornburrow, Smart   Tunnacliffe, Matthews   Alternates – Price, Moore, Porrer, Page-Croft

 

Resolved (unanimously):

i.               To approve the Nominations for Committee Chairs and Vice-Chairs for Municipal Year 2020/21

 

	Chair	Vice Chair
Environment and Community Services	Smart	Davies
Planning and Transport	Todd-Jones	Bird (nb.Tenant/Leaseholder is Chair of Part 1 of the meeting)
Strategy & Resources	Davey	Barnett
Civic Affairs	Sargeant	Davey
Licensing	Bird	Thittala
Planning	Smart	Baigent
JDCC	Sargeant as Lead Cllr

 

 

 

 

 

 

Resolved (unanimously):

i.               To adopt the conventions for virtual meetings.

ii.             That the conventions are reviewed after one month of operation and that the Civic Affairs Committee is authorised to make any changes following the review and at any time until 7 May 2021 taking into account any advice from the Council’s Monitoring Officer.

 

A member of the public asked a question as set out below:

i.               He spoke as an individual, and not on behalf of anyone else or any organisation.

ii.             According to the Cambridgeshire County Council Constitution the County Council's Health Committee had delegated responsibility for the County Council's public health duty and was responsible for the review and scrutiny of the operation of health services in Cambridgeshire.

iii.            One member of the committee was a Cambridge City Councillor nominated by the City Council. Meeting proceedings and Cambridgeshire County Council papers indicated that a City Council nominee was not present at either the key 5th of May 2020 meeting which discussed the response to the covid-19 pandemic, and the papers also indicated there had been no Cambridge City Council nominee present at the committee for over a year.

iv.           Asked if this was accurate, and if so, for an explanation why representatives had not attended the meetings. Would the City Council would be represented at future meetings.

Councillor Massey responded:

i.               During these difficult times she had stayed up to date with all relevant information regarding COVID 19 and had worked with Health Leads at Addenbrooks and had supported health worker staff.

ii.             There were many meetings she attended, at multiple times throughout the week.

iii.            She thanked Councillor Martinelli who had been working on the frontline at Addenbrooks looking after COVID-19 patients.

iv.           She attended the Health Committee as a co-opted observer, not a full member of the committee as the City Council did not have a health remit.  Therefore, had no voting rights within the Committee. 

v.             Worked closely with the County Councillor Linda Jones and always discussed the agenda papers with her in advance if she needed to clarify any details.

vi.           She had attended every meeting that she was able to.  She had unfortunately had other council commitments which clashed with some of the meetings. There were many sub meetings which occurred outside of the Health Committee which she had attended.

Councillor Martinelli responded:

i.               He was the reserve member for the Committee and as Councillor Massey had outlined this was an observational role.

ii.             The question about non-attendance was reasonable. If Councillor Massey were unable to attend a meeting and he was told, he would step into that role.

iii.            Believed there had been a failure in communication as he had not been informed when Councillor Massey was unable to attend a meeting.

iv.           Given his professional background he felt able to contribute helpfully to the committee’s discussions. Would be happy to commit to go to the next meeting in July. He would attend future meetings when he was given notice that the lead member could not attend.

The member of the public made the following supplementary points:

i.               Sought confirmation that the City Council had not been represented on the Health Committee for a whole year.

ii.             Asked whether the current nominees whether they should be re-appointed following their lack of attendance in the previous year. 

iii.            The process needed to be improved so that the reserve member was aware when needed to attend a meeting. 

iv.           Noted that absences were without apologies. The meetings were a huge opportunely and noted that although members could not vote they could still participate in the meeting.

v.             Commented that the representatives could co-ordinate as they both had key roles at Addenbrookes, Councillor Massey as member of the Governing Body and Councillor Martinelli who had been working at Addenbrooks recently.

vi.           City Council representation on the committee would be useful during the pandemic.

Councillor Massey responded:

i.               She usually had to travel throughout the county to attend many meetings. More meetings were being held virtually due to the pandemic which meant that councillors did not need to travel around the county as much, and could attend meetings they might not have been able to in the past.

ii.             There were many sub-committee meetings that she had attended and she had stayed in contact with Liz Robin to keep abreast of all the relevant matters relevant to the city.

Councillor Martinelli responded:

        i.              Processes needed to be refined as this was an unusual arrangement whereby the lead representative was from the leading group and the reserve member was from the opposition group. As a result of the pandemic there had been more cross-party collaboration.  This needed to continue so that where possible the City Council was represented at future meetings.

 

 

1) Councillor Porrer to the Executive Councillor for Planning Policy and Open Spaces

Can the Executive Councillor confirm that they still are unhappy with the use of pesticides and herbicides within the city?

 

The Executive Councillor responded that she was unhappy that pesticides and herbicides continued to be used in some places in the city. She was happy that the City Council had changed what they did with their land and continued to exert influence on others where they had no direct control. By stopping the use of herbicides for weed control in our open spaces, Cambridge was in the top 2% of local authorities who had moved away from the use of pesticides.

 

2) Councillor Baigent to the Executive Councillor for Transport and Community Safety

What are your priorities for pro cycling and walking interventions during the epidemic that it is the County Council’s responsibility to lead on and deliver?

 

The Executive Councillor responded the responsibility for supporting the city’s response to the recovery of COVID-19 was a collective one involving all tiers of government, local businesses, residents and the wider community.  The key immediate priority for Cambridge was the safe reopening of the city centre, in accordance with the government’s road map and associated guidance, which could be confusing. The work was being led by a task group chaired by the City Council and involving the County Council, the Greater Cambridge Partnership, Cambridge Business Improvement Bid, the Police and Stagecoach.

 

The task group had already completed an initial city centre street audit to identify highway safety management risks, issues such as narrow pavements and passageways and the anticipated visitor footfall and customer queuing needs.  The results were being used to develop a city centre recovery plan to ensure that short, medium and long-term measures could be put in place to enable the city centre to safely open for business. 

 

3) Councillor Price to the Executive Councillor for Planning Policy and Open Spaces

What lies behind the very large number of comments submitted to the recent consultation on the new Local Plan?

 

The Executive Councillor responded that the large number of responses (which totalled over 7000 responses) received was due to the focussed consultation and level of interest in the consultation.  There was also a successful engagement strategy assisted by ward councillors who had helped with local presentations on the Local Plan consultation.

 

4) Councillor Hadley to the Executive Councillor for Planning and Open Spaces

Would you like to congratulate King's College for their decision to plant a wildflower meadow on the chapel lawn this summer, with the consequent benefits to the City's biodiversity?

 

The Executive Councillor responded that she would like to thank Kings College and other landowners for what they had done. The City Council had done a lot on the land that it looked after, and wanted everyone to contribute to and support our pollinators.

 

5) Councillor Summerbell to the Executive Councillor for Planning Policy and Open Spaces

Given the need to ensure Green growth as we emerge from the Covid19 pandemic, will the Cllr support be requiring Passivhaus standards for all new properties in Cambridge?

 

The Executive Councillor responded that promoting green growth was a priority before the pandemic and remained a priority. The adopted Cambridge Local Plan already required energy efficiency standards beyond current building regulations. This issue would be looked at again as part of the new Greater Cambridge Local Plan.

 

Climate change was identified as one of the big themes of the new Greater Cambridge Local Plan. A study had been commissioned to see how net zero carbon could be achieved to inform the Local Plan.

 

Passivhaus’ could be part of that solution but this only dealt with energy use in buildings with operational emissions whereas net zero carbon applied to all aspects of new buildings including how they were constructed and construction related emissions. The study would look at the range of approaches to get to net zero carbon.

 

Sustainability was so much more than just the fabric of buildings or passivhaus standards or utilising new technologies. It was about the assessment of the whole life of a building, understanding the energy used to remove an existing building and services, how adaptations could be carried out and what happened to all the building components when the building was no longer required. While she did support the use of passivhaus’ where it could make a difference the broader context had to be considered. 

 

6) Councillor Dalzell to the Executive Councillor for Transport and Community Safety

 

Following a County Council resolution earlier this month which seeks to implement temporary road layout changes to encourage active travel, does the Executive Councillor agree that now would be a good time to reconvene the Cycling and Pedestrian Steering Group which has not met since 2017?

 

The Executive Councillor responded that the Cycling and Pedestrian Steering Group was made up of Councillors who had an interest in cycling and walking. The group’s membership included herself as the Executive Councillor and supporting officers from the council who had responsibility for cycling and walking. 

 

The aim of the group was to raise the profile of cycling and walking by greater member participation in the planning and implementation of cycle and pedestrian schemes and the promotion of cycling and walking in Cambridge.

 

With the current focus on the value of active travel including cycling and walking in the city and the wider communities response to the impact of COVID-19 there was a need to look at these issues even more closely, perhaps through a Sub-Committee.

 

The disbanding of the Cambridge Joint Area Committee left a hole and there were opportunities coming out of this epidemic which meant a forum for discussion with the right stakeholders was required and there were plans in place for this.

 

7) Councillor Chadwick to the Executive Councillor for Planning Policy and Open Spaces

I was concerned to hear about the plans to convert the former NIAB

offices in Castle ward into tiny flats without any planning oversight and am glad the executive Councillor shares these concerns. Will the Executive Councillor commit to working cross party on this issue and ensure the ward Councillors are involved in any relevant discussions?

 

The Executive Councillor responded that she would ensure that ward councillors were involved even though options for action was limited. The provision of quality housing for the people of Cambridge was also a crisis and demanded that they all worked together, she would work with Councillor Chadwick to respond to the issue.

 

8) Councillor Thittala to the Executive Councillor for Communities

Can the Executive Councillor brief us on what is being done to address food poverty in Cambridge during the Covid-19 crisis.

 

The Executive Councillor responded that the COVID-19 crisis had not created food poverty within the city, the Council were part of the Food Poverty Alliance, which had proved invaluable at this time. This was also why the council had committed support via grant funding and supported holiday lunches

 

As part of the Food Poverty Alliance, Cambridge Sustainable Food had done amazing work to support food poverty; by cooking and delivering meals in larger hubs and working with local groups who had set up mini hubs around the city. She estimated that about 15 tonnes of food had been given out, which volunteers had prepared by putting in over 1000 voluntary hours. In that week alone 1500 portions of food had been given out by lunchtime deliveries. 

 

The council had provided financial and staff support but this was a team effort with external groups, charities and businesses. She wanted to keep this work going but needed the help of the whole city.  Donations of food, time, facilities, and money was needed. She asked those who had gardens or allotments to grow a row for the food hubs. She wanted to thank all those who had contributed.

 

9) Councillor Massey to the Leader

What is your view on the abolition of the Cambridge Joint Area Transport Committee, and protecting the interests of city residents including in increasing cycling and walking in Cambridge?

 

The Executive Councillor responded that the City Council was surprised and disappointed that the right of residents, groups and councillors to have meetings about Cambridge transport issues was being removed by the County Council. 

 

The County Council was moving to Alconbury and he noted that the Cambridgeshire and Peterborough Combined Authority Mayor had described Alconbury as having inadequate public transport and that he was now planning to move away from that location.

 

He was committed to continuing a forum linked to the Planning and Transport Committee where residents could raise issues.

 

He praised the County Council as they had reallocated bus lanes to cycling and had come up with a list of schemes which was still waiting for Government funding and noted an opportunity here including schemes being progressed by the Greater Cambridge Partnership. 

 

The commitment of the County Council to clean the air in the city could be found through their Climate Change Strategy which included switching to electric vehicles and making taxis and buses cleaner. A forum was needed in the city to discuss transport issues; he wanted to persuade county officers to support it.

 

10) Councillor Matthews to the Executive Councillor for Climate

Change, Environment and City Centre

Just as the government looks set to enable full open-air market trading to resume, could the Executive Councillor confirm that the council intends to keep our city centre market open next week, despite council statements made to traders that it may have to be closed?

 

The Executive Councillor responded that there were no plans to close the market and in fact the market had been kept open during the crisis. Every trader who wanted to and was eligible (ie: those who sold food and the bikes stores) were able to trade.

 

The guidance from Government that markets should be able to open caused concern because of the layout of the market, as it would not be possible to have every trader trading as they had done previously.  This was something which was being investigated. The top priority of the council was maintaining the safety of residents, traders and visitors to the city.  The market would need to be managed so that it was safe for everybody.

 

The following oral questions were tabled but owing to the expiry of the period of time permitted, were not covered during the meeting. The Mayor asked Executive Councillors if a written response could be provided to those questions that had not been covered. This crisis had made the needs so much more visible and the need was growing as people sought help for the first time.

 

11) Councillor Gehring to the Leader

Many of my constituents are very concerned about a Brexit cliff-edge on 31 December 2020 when the transition period ends. How can the City prepare?

12) Councillor Davey to the Executive Councillor for Housing

Can the Executive Councillor provide an update to Council on

construction work that is continuing – despite coronavirus – in building new council homes?

13) Councillor Bick to the Executive Councillor for Climate Change, Environment and City Centre

With retail businesses targeted to re-open from next month, we can

expect the combination of customer queues outside shops and a

generally increased footfall along the city centre streets. In order

to respect the priority of preventing the spread of Covid-19 and keeping people safe through social distancing on our easily crowded narrow pavements, would the Executive Councillor agree to a simple decision that would remove unnecessary, moveable obstacles that create pinch points by introducing a general suspension of all advertising ‘A' Boards on pavements until this crisis is over?

14) Councillor Page-Croft to the Executive Councillor for Climate Change, Environment and City Centre

Please could the Executive update us on clinical waste collection from households during Covid-19 pandemic.

15) Councillor Sargeant to the Leader

What is latest position on future funding for the Greater Cambridge

Partnership, and their delivery of major schemes to improve public

transport, cycling and walking?

16) Councillor Cantrill to the Executive Councillor for Housing

For some time many people have been calling for the city council to offer a bed every night for rough sleepers in Cambridge. The Government’s instruction to the council to house all rough sleepers in the city at the beginning of the crisis was welcomed. However, it is clear that since the end of March, an increasing number of rough sleepers are returning to the streets. What steps has the exec cllr taken to minimise this trend and what action is the exec cllr taking to support those individuals who have started rough sleeping again?

17) Councillor Bird to the Executive Councillor for Housing

Does the Executive Councillor agree that the proposed project of

installing new ‘pod’ Housing First homes across the city will be an

important aid in tackling homelessness and rough sleeping in

Cambridge?

18) Councillor Payne to the Executive Councillor for Communities

Does the Executive Councillor agree with me that the work done by the mutual aid groups across the city is worthy of great praise?

19) Councillor Pippas to the Executive Councillor for Finance and Resources

Does the Executive Councillor consider the national government's

support for businesses during the pandemic to have been adequate to meet the needs of all Cambridge businesses?

20) Councillor McQueen to the Executive Councillor for Planning Policy and Open Spaces

Would you join with me in thanking the people of Cambridge for taking time to go out and water newly-planted trees during the lockdown period when it has been harder for the Open Spaces team to get out and to their normal job?

21) Councillor Davies to the Executive Councillor for Finance and Resources

What are the council’s priorities for Cambridge economic recovery and the creation of replacement jobs?

22) Councillor McGerty to the Executive Councillor for Planning Policy and Open Spaces

Could the Executive Councillor provide an update on progress for

delivery of the new Nightingale Recreation Ground Pavilion?

23) Councillor Barnett to the Executive Councillor for Councillor for Communities

In the light of the increased pressures on the charity sector at the

moment, what is the Council doing to support our local charities and

voluntary groups?

24) Councillor Martinelli to the Executive Councillor for Housing

Is the Executive Councillor happy with the progress of safety-critical

repairs and maintenance of the Council's housing stock?

 

Secondary questions

1) Councillor Bird to Executive Councillor for Planning Policy and Opens Spaces

What is your view about the 2013 Government Permitted Development powers that enable developers in Cambridge to avoid the need for planning applications for office to flats conversions?

 

The Council puts on record its thanks to all our staff for their outstanding response and leadership on the city’s response to the Coronavirus epidemic, for maintaining quality Council services and protecting both public health and Cambridge people who need support.

 

We thank our local hospitals and the NHS, our partner councils and organisations, and key workers delivering essential services across Cambridge, and local charities and volunteer networks for all the work underway to support Cambridge residents through this crisis, and for the joint delivery being planned to address future challenges as lockdown eases.

Resolved (by 39 votes to 0):

 

The Council puts on record its thanks to all our staff for their outstanding response and leadership on the city’s response to the Coronavirus epidemic, for maintaining quality Council services and protecting both public health and Cambridge people who need support.

 

We thank our local hospitals and the NHS, our partner councils and organisations, and key workers delivering essential services across Cambridge, and local charities and volunteer networks for all the work underway to support Cambridge residents through this crisis, and for the joint delivery being planned to address future challenges as lockdown eases.

 

Council recognises as a substantial achievement the accommodation of well over 100 rough sleepers in response to the public health priority of preventing people sleeping out during the Covid lockdown. It thanks the council officers, our commissioned services and charities and churches who have enabled this.

 

Council sees this achievement as creating an opportunity for longer term change. It resolves to do everything reasonably within its power and influence to avoid the tragic outcome of individuals who have been accommodated going back to live on the streets after the Covid emergency is over, and to maintain the same lead in this mission that it has adopted during the crisis so far.

 

Council notes that significant funding has been received from government to address this issue, but that much of this is short term and does not enable the longer-term planning and commitment that is needed. As well as pressing government for this to be changed, council requests the Executive Councillor  to consider the extent to which this funding could be underwritten out of its own resources.

 

Council also notes that mental ill-health and addiction to drugs and alcohol continue to make it hard for many entrenched rough sleepers to sustain housing even when available, and that overcoming these obstacles would be greatly assisted by improved pathways to services provided by partners in health and adult social care. It asks the Chief Executive to share a copy of this motion with the heads of these other organisations, requesting a review of how access to services can be improved.

 

Councillor Bick proposed and Councillor Martinelli seconded the following motion:

 

Council recognises as a substantial achievement the accommodation of well over 100 rough sleepers in response to the public health priority of preventing people sleeping out during the Covid lockdown. It thanks the council officers, our commissioned services and charities and churches who have enabled this.

 

Council sees this achievement as creating an opportunity for longer term change. It resolves to do everything reasonably within its power and influence to avoid the tragic outcome of individuals who have been accommodated going back to live on the streets after the Covid emergency is over, and to maintain the same lead in this mission that it has adopted during the crisis so far.

 

Council notes that significant funding has been received from government to address this issue, but that much of this is short term and does not enable the longer-term planning and commitment that is needed. As well as pressing government for this to be changed, council requests the Executive Councillor to consider the extent to which this funding could be underwritten out of its own resources.

 

Council also notes that mental ill-health and addiction to drugs and alcohol continue to make it hard for many entrenched rough sleepers to sustain housing even when available, and that overcoming these obstacles would be greatly assisted by improved pathways to services provided by partners in health and adult social care. It asks the Chief Executive to share a copy of this motion with the heads of these other organisations, requesting a review of how access to services can be improved.

 

Councillor Johnson proposed and Councillor Ashton seconded the following amendment (deleted text struck through and additional text underlined):

 

Council recognises as a substantial achievement the accommodation of well over 100 rough sleepers in response to the public health priority of preventing people sleeping out during the Covid lockdown. It thanks the council officers, our commissioned services and charities and churches who have enabled this.

 

 

Council sees this achievement as creating an opportunity for longer term change. It resolves to do everything reasonably within its power and influence to avoid the tragic outcome of individuals who have been accommodated going back to live on the streets after the Covid emergency is over, for example by making available housing First units and other housing options following assessment of needs, and to maintain the same lead in this mission that it has adopted during the crisis so far.

 

Council notes the importance of government funding during this crisis in complementing its own General Fund annual expenditure of £7million on housing and homelessness. The Council commits to meeting the additional costs of supporting rough sleepers while the pandemic persists. However, that significant funding has been received from government to address this issue, but that much of this government funding – before and during the Covid emergency - is usually short term and does not enable, in some cases, the longer-term planning and commitment that is needed. As well as pressing government for this to be changed, council requests the Executive Councillor to consider the extent to which this funding could be underwritten out of its own resources. Given that the government has a stated objective of ending rough sleeping in the UK by the end of the current Parliament, even appointing a ministerial post for that task, this Council calls for a new national financial settlement for local authorities that fully recognises the strategic and critical role we can play in achieving that objective.  

 

Council also notes that mental ill-health and addiction to drugs and alcohol continue to make it hard for many entrenched rough sleepers to sustain housing even when available, and that overcoming these obstacles would be greatly assisted by improved pathways to services provided by partners in health and adult social care. It asks the Chief Executive to share a copy of this motion with the heads of these other organisations, inviting their cooperation with the council’s forthcoming homelessness strategy review which will consider requesting a review of how access to services can be improved. 

 

This amendment was carried by 39 votes to 0.

 

Resolved (by 39 votes to 0):

 

Council recognises as a substantial achievement the accommodation of well over 100 rough sleepers in response to the public health priority of preventing people sleeping out during the Covid lockdown. It thanks the council officers, our commissioned services and charities and churches who have enabled this.

 

Council sees this achievement as creating an opportunity for longer term change. It resolves to do everything reasonably within its power and influence to avoid the tragic outcome of individuals who have been accommodated going back to live on the streets after the Covid emergency is over, for example by making available Housing First units and other housing options following an assessment of needs, and to maintain the same lead in this mission that it has adopted during the crisis so far.

 

Council notes the importance of government funding during this crisis in complementing its own General Fund annual expenditure of £7 million on housing and homelessness. The Council commits to meeting the additional costs of supporting rough sleepers while the pandemic persists. However, much government funding – before and during the Covid emergency – is usually short-term and does not enable, in some cases, the longer-term planning and commitment that is needed. Given that the government has a stated objective of ending rough sleeping in the UK by the end of the current Parliament, even appointing a ministerial post for that task, this Council calls for a new national financial settlement for local authorities that fully recognises the strategic and critical role we can play in achieving that objective.

 

Council also notes that mental ill-health and addiction to drugs and alcohol continue to make it hard for many entrenched rough sleepers to sustain housing even when available, and that overcoming these obstacles would be greatly assisted by improved pathways to services Page 36 Page 36 provided by partners in health and adult social care. It asks the Chief Executive to share a copy of this motion with the heads of these other organisations, inviting their cooperation with the council’s forthcoming homelessness strategy review, which will consider how access to services can be improved.

 

 

 

Council notes the request of the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government on 13^th May for planning authorities to enable work on construction sites outside currently approved hours.

 

Council recognises the contribution of the construction industry to the exit from the Covid lockdown and the priority for its workforce to maintain social distancing, but it expresses concern about the potential implications for residents surrounding construction sites.

For the period the Secretary of State’s request is in force, Council calls on the Shared Director of Planning to apply existing powers delegated to him within our constitution so that for all development within the city boundary he:

·      includes consultation with relevant ward councillors in his considerations before determining whether to refer applications for variations in conditions relating to hours of construction to the Planning Committee or the Joint Development Control Committee

·      consults relevant ward councillors before deciding not to enforce against construction work occurring outside approved hours, where this would normally have taken place.  

 

https://www.parliament.uk/business/publications/written-questions-answers-statements/written-statement/Commons/2020-05-13/HCWS234/  

 

 

Councillor Payne proposed and Councillor Summerbell seconded the following motion:

 

Council notes the request of the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government on 13th May for planning authorities to enable work on construction sites outside currently approved hours.

 

Council recognises the contribution of the construction industry to the exit from the Covid lockdown and the priority for its workforce to maintain social distancing, but it expresses concern about the potential implications for residents surrounding construction sites.

 

For the period the Secretary of State’s request is in force, Council calls on the Shared Director of Planning to apply existing powers delegated to him within our constitution so that for all development within the city boundary he:

 

·      includes consultation with relevant ward councillors in his considerations before determining whether to refer applications for variations in conditions relating to hours of construction to the Planning Committee or the Joint Development Control Committee

 

·      consults relevant ward councillors before deciding not to enforce against construction work occurring outside approved hours, where this would normally have taken place.

 

Councillor Thornburrow proposed and Councillor Sargeant seconded the following amendment (deleted text struck through and additional text underlined):

 

Council notes the request of the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government on 13^th May for planning authorities to enable work on construction sites outside currently approved hours.

 

Council recognises the contribution of the construction industry to the exit from the Covid lockdown and the priority for its workforce to maintain social distancing, but it expresses concern about the potential implications for residents surrounding construction sites.

For the period the Secretary of State’s request is in force, Council thanks calls on the Shared Director of Planning to for apply existing powers delegated to him within our constitution by so that for all development within the city boundary he:

·      includes consultation with relevant ward councillors in his considerations before determining whether to refer applications for variations in conditions relating to hours of construction to the Planning Committee or the Joint Development Control Committee

·      consults relevant ward councillors before deciding not to enforce against construction work occurring outside approved hours, where this would normally have taken place.

·      responding to the request from the Secretary of State by preparing a protocol to ensure that planning department can react quickly and efficiently to requests from contractors to extend their working hours.

 

·      responding to requests for extensions to working hours within one week of the new temporary order and consulting ward councillors during this process.

 

https://www.parliament.uk/business/publications/written-questions-answers-statements/written-statement/Commons/2020-05-13/HCWS234/  

 

This amendment was carried (by 39 votes to 0).

 

Resolved (by 39 votes to 0):

 

Council notes the request of the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government on 13th May for planning authorities to enable work on construction sites outside currently approved hours. Council recognises the contribution of the construction industry to the exit from the Covid lockdown and the priority for its workforce to maintain social distancing, but it expresses concern about the potential implications for residents surrounding construction sites. Council thanks the Shared Director of Planning for applying existing powers delegated to him within our constitution by:

· responding to the request from the Secretary of State by preparing a protocol to ensure that planning department can react quickly and efficiently to requests from contractors to extend their working hours.

· responding to requests for extensions to working hours within one week of the new temporary order and consulting ward councillors during this process

 

https://www.parliament.uk/business/publications/written-questions-answers-statements/written-statement/Commons/2020-05-13/HCWS234/  

 

 

Members were asked to note the written questions and answers that had been placed in the information pack and published on the city council’s website.