Open
C.82
DECLARATIONS OF INTEREST
1. Councillor Rothwell declared a personal interest in Minute 88(A), Notice of Motion (Six Town Housing), as he is a Council Tenant. 2. Councillor Garner declared a personal interest following reference to the suspension of a Prestwich Primary Head, during the debate on Six Town Housing, as her husband is Chair of Governors of the school referred to.
C.83
MINUTES OF THE COUNCIL
RESOLVED: That the Minutes of the meeting of the Council held on 18 May 2010 be confirmed as a correct record and signed by the Mayor.
C.84
MAYORAL COMMUNICATIONS AND ANNOUNCEMENTS
The Worshipful the Mayor informed Members of the recent admission to hospital of Councillor John Smith, who was making satisfactory progress. The Council wished Councillor Smith well for a speedy recovery. The Mayor also reported that on 4 July 2010, he and the Mayoress would be attending a mass to mark their election to office at St Maries R C Church, Manchester Road, Bury.
C.85
PUBLIC QUESTION TIME
Written notice had been given for questions from the following members of the public:- 1. Mr G Berg Mrs J Moran Mrs F Gregory Mrs V Powell Mr S Jones Mr S Hamilton Suspension of the Board of Six Town Housing and appointment of Interim Board. Councillor Hankey 2. Mr A Wentworth Hiring of the Longfield Suite, Prestwich Councillor Hankey
C.86
RECOMMENDATIONS OF THE CABINET AND COUNCIL COMMITTEES
The Mayor reported that there were no recommendations coming forward from the Cabinet Members and Council Committees for consideration at this meeting.
C.87
LEADERS STATEMENT AND LEADERS QUESTION TIME
(a) Written questions (four clear days notice given) The Leader of the Council, Councillor Bibby, made a statement on the work undertaken by him since the date of the last Council meeting. The Leader and the relevant Cabinet Members answered questions raised by Councillors on the following issues:- 1.Senior Officers Pay and percentage increases through National Pay Awards and Review. Councillor Isherwood Councillor Gartside 2. Development of a Business Plan for the Longfield Suite, Prestwich. Councillor S Wright Councillor Hankey 3.1.Impact of public expenditure cuts. 2.Communication to Council employees Councillor Holt Councillor Gartside 4. Publicising Key Decisions. Councillor Baum Councillor Bibby 5. Expenditure incurred on Equal Pay. Councillor Lewis Councillor Gartside 6. Local Area Partnership and Community Development Grants. Councillor Garner Councillor Creswell 7. Local Area Partnership and Community Development Grants. Councillor Shori Councillor Creswell 8. Public expenditure and engagement of Trade Unions, Third Sector and other partners. Councillor Baum Councillor Gartside 9. Consideration of Public Question Time at Council by Democratic Arrangements Forum. Councillor Rothwell Councillor Bibby 10. Refreshing of Local Area Plans. Councillor Vic DAlbert Councillor Creswell 11. Longfield Suite, Prestwich - Car Parking. Councillor Quinn Councillor Gunther 12. Drinkwater Park, Prestwich. Councillor OHanlon Councillor Gunther 13.Longfield Suite, Prestwich - Future Use. Councillor Quinn Councillor Hankey 14.Events taking place in Heaton Park. Councillor Garner Councillor Gunther 15. The Councils carbon obligation. Councillor Boden Councillor Gunther 16. Bulk Waste Removal and Fly Tipping. Councillor Walmsley Councillor Gunther 17. Arrangements for waste paper collection. Councillor Matthews Councillor Gunther Due to the lack of time to answer questions 11 to 17 inclusive, the Leader gave an undertaking that copies of the answers to those questions will be circulated to all Councillors. (b) Oral Questions on the work of the Leader and Cabinet Members since the last Council meeting (without Notice) 18. Improvement of Heaton Park Metrolink Station. Councillor Walker Councillor Bibby 19. Removal of free school swimming. Councillor Holt Councillor Bibby 20. Availability of Cabinet Member Decisions. Councillor Isherwood Councillor Bibby 21.Free Swimming for disabled - Radcliffe. Councillor Quinn Councillor Bibby 22.Re-opening of Blackburn Street, Radcliffe. Councillor Hurst Councillor Gunther 23.Use of County Courts, Bury. Councillor Ahmed/Bigg Councillor Bibby 24. Provision for road repairs. Councillor OHanlon Councillor Bibby 25.Salary of Chief Executive and future staffing issues. Councillor Shori Councillor Bibby 26. Secondary School Provision in Radcliffe. Councillor Parnell Councillor Bibby 27. Provision of bus stop near Primary Care Centre in Radcliffe. Councillor Rothwell Councillor Bibby 28.Radcliffe Civic Suite - Usage. Councillor Davison Councillor Bibby 29.Toilets at Bury Interchange. Councillor Gunther Councillor Bibby
C.88
NOTICES OF MOTION
Two Notices of Motion have been received in accordance with Council Procedure Rule 12:- (A) SIX TOWN HOUSING The following Motion had been received and set out in the Summons:- It was moved by Councillor Boden and seconded by Councillor Holt that:- This Council is extremely concerned at the way in which the Board of Six Town Housing was dismissed. We are particularly concerned that there was no reference in the correspondence about this action to the participation in the decision by any Elected Member of this Council. This appears to be an abrogation of the democratic rights of Councillors which we believe must be challenged in the interest of democracy in Bury. We, therefore, resolve that the Board of Six Town Housing including tenants and independent Members be reinstated with immediate effect. In the names of Councillors A Audin, K Audin, D Boden, D Cassidy, S Costello, A Cummings, J Grimshaw, T Holt, A Isherwood, J Lewis, A Matthews, N Parnell, A Quinn, R Shori, T Tariq and S Walmsley. (Following advice the word recommended was substituted for resolved in Paragraph 4). An amendment was moved by Councillor Garner and seconded by Councillor Baum that:- This Council is extremely concerned at the events, which have led to the Board of Six Town Housing being dismissed. We, therefore recommend that the appointment of a new Board of Six Town Housing comprising tenants, councillors and independent members be undertaken as soon as practicable, at least by the AGM of Six Town Housing in November 2010. We further recommend that an All-Party Group be established to review the events that led up to the dismissal of the Board, and to consider any changes that need to be made to ensure strong governance for Six Town Housing. The amendment on being put, and with agreement from the mover to the deletion in Paragraph 3 of an All-Party Group and the substitution of the three Group Leaders, 29 members voted for, 16 against and with the Mayor abstaining, was declared carried. The substantive motion on being put, 29 members voted for, none against and 17 abstaining, was declared carried. (B) PUBLIC EXPENDITURE The following Motion had been received and set out in the Summons:- It was moved by Councillor V DAlbert and seconded by Councillor Baum that:- This Council notes: 1.The unsustainable high levels of public debt and budget deficit that the country has been left in by the previous Government. 2.That the Government has announced significant cuts to public spending which include £1.6 Billion cuts to local government finances, and that more reductions are expected to follow. This Council therefore believes that it is imperative that urgent and immediate action is taken to address the impact on Bury Council and the services it provides, in particular; 1.To identify and highlight how best to protect statutory services 2.To identify and highlight how best to protect other frontline services 3.To ensure that other non-frontline but necessary services or administration can continue to provide an effective and efficient service to the authority. 4.To protect as many jobs as possible. 5.To work with partners in the city region and across the North West to safeguard the local and regional economy. 6.Work with our MPs and neighbouring authorities to ensure a fair deal for the region and sub-region in any grant reductions. This Council therefore resolves that the discussions and decisions relating to these budgetary challenges will take place in an open and transparent manner, including: 1.Welcoming the establishment of the All-Party Overview Working Group on the budget to look into these issues in greater depth. 2.Ensuring that proper scrutiny of any decisions takes place, through the Internal Scrutiny Committee or as appropriate. 3.That ways are found to involve and inform the public in the important decisions about services in the Borough. 4.That all members of Council are kept informed and briefed throughout the process of current savings and discussions for the 2011-2012 Council Budget. In the names of Councillors R Baum, M DAlbert, V DAlbert, W Davison, A Garner, D OHanlon, T Pickstone and S Wright. An amendment was moved by Councillor A Isherwood and seconded by Councillor T Holt that: This Council notes: That the Con/Dem Coalition Government has announced significant cuts to public spending which include £1.6 Billion cuts to local government finances, and that more reductions are expected to follow. This Council believes that it is imperative that urgent and immediate action is taken to address the impact on Bury Council and the services it provides, in particular; 1. To identify and highlight how best to protect statutory services 2. To identify and highlight how best to protect other frontline services 3. To ensure that other non-frontline but necessary services or administration can continue to provide an effective and efficient service to the authority 4. To protect as many jobs as possible 5. To work with partners in the city region and across the North West to safeguard the local, regional and national economy and prevent the country from sliding back into a double dip recession 6. To demand our MPs lobby the Con/Dem Coalition to ensure a fair deal for the Region and Sub-Region. This Council therefore resolves that the discussions and decisions relating to these budgetary challenges will take place in an open and transparent manner, including: 1. Welcoming the establishment of the all-Party Overview Working Group on the budget to look into these issues in greater depth 2. Ensuring that proper scrutiny of any decisions takes place, through the Internal Scrutiny Committee or as appropriate. 3. That ways are found to involve and inform the public, the Trade Unions and the voluntary organisations in the important decisions about services in the Borough 4. That all members of Council are kept informed and briefed throughout the process of current savings and discussions for the 2011-2012 Council Budget. The amendment on being put 16 voted for, 29 against with the Mayor abstaining, was declared lost. The original motion on being put 45 voted for, none against with the Mayor abstaining was declared carried. At this stage in the proceedings the Mayor informed Members that it being 10.20pm, he would call upon the Leader to move the Closure Motion in accordance with Council Procedure Rule 9. The Leader moved and it was:- RESOLVED: That the whole of the remaining business before the Council be approved. NOTE: There were no Scrutiny Review Reports and Specific Items Called-In by Scrutiny Committees; there were no questions on the work of outside bodies or partnerships; and there were no questions on delegated decisions of Council Committees. Questions asked of Joint Authority representatives would be circulated subsequently. The following reports were duly noted/approved following the Closure Motion: Bury Council Petition Arrangements Contracts Procedure Rules Standards Committee Annual Report for 2009/2010 Bury LDF Core Strategy Local Area Partnerships Annual Report for 2009/2010 Bury Plan 2010/2013