Agenda and minutes

          To approve as a correct record the Minutes of the Meeting of the Council held on 11 December 2013 in Digest 7 (2013/2014)

RESOLVED:

That the minutes of the Meeting of the Council held on 11 December 2013 be signed by the Mayor as a true and correct record. 

Members of the Council are requested to declare any interests which they have in any items or issues before the Council for determination.

              1.  Councillor Connolly declared an interest in any item which related to staffing as his partner is an employee of Bury Council.

              2.  Councillor Jones declared an interest in any item which related to staffing as his wife is an employee of Bury Council.

To receive communications from the Mayor and any announcements by the Leader of the Council or the Chief Executive on matters of interest to the Council.

              The Mayor gave congratulations to the following who had been recognised in the Queen’s New Years Honours List:-

·            Yvonne Moore from Whitefield – British Empire Medal for services to the local community.

·            Michael Hymanson from Prestwich – MBE for charitable services to children and young adults with terminal or life threatening conditions.

·            David Kemp – Former Head of Music at Castlebrook High School and former Director of Music at Bury Parish Church – MBE for services to education.

·         Christopher Seddon – Director of a building company central to the building of the Borough’s two new hospices – MBE for services to the North West community and industry apprenticeships.

To answer questions from members of the public, notice of which has been given, on any matter relevant to the Council or its services to the community.   Up to 30 minutes will be set aside for this purpose.  If time permits, further questions will be invited from members of the public present.

              The Mayor reported that there had been six questions received as follows:-

A petition was handed in at the Council meeting on 11 December 2013 which       asked signatories to “say NO to the installation of a sculpture centre in Bury Central Library.”

As the petition contains in excess of 2,500 signatures from people who live, work or study in Bury, the petition organisers are entitled to have the petition debated at Council.          

          Under the petitions procedure, the petition organiser will be given 5 minutes to present the petition and then discussion amongst members takes place for a maximum of 15 minutes

              The Mayor reported that a petition had been handed in at the Council Meeting on 11 December 2013 which asked signatories to “say NO to the installation of a sculpture centre in Bury Central Library”.  As the petition contained in excess of 2,500 signatures from people who live, work or study in Bury, the petition is to be the subject of Council debate.

              It was further reported that the Council would decide how to respond to the petition at the meeting.  The options open to Members were:-

·         Recommend to Cabinet that the request made in the petition be agreed to;

·         Not to agree to the request made in the petition;

·         Refer the matter to the Cabinet for further consideration;

·         Commission further investigation into the matter by the Overview and Scrutiny Committee.

                   Sue Smith, the Petition organiser, asked Members to consider the following issues:-

·         The Petition demonstrated a significant level of opposition to the Sculpture Centre, containing just under 3,000 signatures.

·         When proposals on the future of the Library Service were put out for consultation, the proposal regarding the Sculpture Centre was not included.

·         There is concern at the level of stock which will no longer be on display.

·         There is concern that the experience of going to the Library to browse will not be as rewarding.

              There followed a debate by Members on the Petition.

              It was moved and seconded that the request made in the   Petition be not agreed to.

              The motion was put to the vote and with 34 voting for, 15 against and one abstention, it was declared carried.

It was reported that there were no recommendations for consideration.

To receive a Statement from the Leader of the Council on the work of the Cabinet and to answer written questions from Members of the Council to the Leader and Cabinet Members on any matter in relation to which the Council has powers or duties which affect the Borough, provided the necessary written notice has been given.

  Verbal questions on the work of the Cabinet since the last Council meeting           will be allowed subject to a limit of one question per Councillor.

(A)        A report by the Council’s Representative on the work of the Greater Manchester Fire and Rescue Authority, Councillor Matthews.

                             (B)     Questions (if any) on the work of the Joint Authorities to be               asked by Members of the Council for which the necessary                       notice has been given in           accordance with Council                               Procedure Rule 11.2.

Report attached.

              A report of the Chief Executive was submitted which presented the findings of the compulsory review of all polling districts and polling places in Bury.

              It was moved by Councillor Connolly and seconded by Councillor John Smith and it was:-

              Resolved:

              That the recommendations contained in the report following the compulsory review of polling districts and polling places in Bury be approved.

The following Notices of Motion have been received:-

1.  Council Tax

“This Council notes that times have been tough for many hard working people in our country since 2008. However, the UK economy is now growing faster than most major European economies.

This Council regrets the 3.7% hike in Council Tax that the current Labour administration placed on hard working people in our Borough earlier this year. It had a significant effect upon levels of disposable income and slowed down the economic recovery in Bury.

The recent announcement by the Coalition Government to help local authorities freeze the Council Tax for the 4th year running and also offer assistance in 2015/16 is to be welcomed by this Council.  Furthermore, the Government have also guaranteed that ongoing freeze grants will be put into the local government funding ‘base’.  This means that councils will not be penalised down the line for taking up the freeze.

Now that the economic recovery is in full swing, this Council needs to do all it can to ensure that the recovery is sustained in Bury.

Therefore, this Council resolves to at least freeze the level of Council Tax at the Budget Council on the 19^th February 2014.”

In the names of Councillors I Bevan, R Caserta, J Daly, I Gartside, D Gunther,

M Hankey, K Hussain, S Nuttall, B Vincent, R Walker, J Walton and Y Wright

2.  Homophobic Bullying

“This Council believes it is vital to capitalise on the good work already undertaken in raising the issue of homophobic bullying, particularly with regard to young people.

According to the University of Cambridge research for Stonewall in The School Report (2012), 55% of young gay and bisexual people have experienced homophobic bullying in schools and 95% have experienced homophobic language. This Council believes that as community leaders and school governors we should commit ourselves to challenging  this.

As an employer we have taken great strides in addressing homophobic bullying but there is still a great deal of work to be done. For instance, all councillors should sign up to be Straight Allies. We should, as governors discuss with our schools what steps need to be taken to combat this unacceptable state of affairs.”

In the names of Councillors A Audin, K Audin, M Bailey, D Bailey, N Bayley, J Black, P Bury, G Campbell, S Carter, D M Cassidy, J Columbine, M Connolly, A J Cummings, E FitzGerald L Fitzwalter, J Frith, J Grimshaw, S Haroon, P Heneghan, T Holt, A Isherwood, M A James, D Jones, J S Lewis, A K Matthews, N A Parnell, A Quinn, K Rothwell, R Shori, A Simpson, S Smith, J Smith, S Southworth, T Tariq and S Walmsley.

              Two Notices of Motion have been received in accordance with Council Procedure Rule 12:-

              1.   Council Tax

              A motion had been received and set out in the Summons in the names of:-

              Councillors I Bevan, R Caserta, J Daly, I Gartside, D Gunther, M Hankey, K Hussain, S Nuttall, B Vincent, R Walker, J Walton and Y Wright.

              It was moved by Councillor Gartside and seconded by Councillor Daly:

“This Council notes that times have been tough for many hard working people in our country since 2008. However, the UK economy is now growing faster than most major European economies.

This Council regrets the 3.7% hike in Council Tax that the current Labour administration placed on hard working people in our Borough earlier this year. It had a significant effect upon levels of disposable income and slowed down the economic recovery in Bury.

The recent announcement by the Coalition Government to help local authorities freeze the Council Tax for the 4th year running and also offer assistance in 2015/16 is to be welcomed by this Council.  Furthermore, the Government have also guaranteed that ongoing freeze grants will be put into the local government funding ‘base’.  This means that councils will not be penalised down the line for taking up the freeze.

Now that the economic recovery is in full swing, this Council needs to do all it can to ensure that the recovery is sustained in Bury.

Therefore, this Council resolves to at least freeze the level of Council Tax at the Budget Council on the 19 February 2014.”

It was moved and seconded that the question be now put.  With 34 voting for, 15 against and one abstention the procedural motion was declared carried.

Prior to the vote on the motion, in excess of the required eight Councillors requested that voting be recorded to show how each member cast their vote, in accordance with Council Procedure Rule 17.5.

The result of the vote was as follows:-

For the Motion:

              Councillors Bevan, Caserta, Daly, Gartside, Gunther, Hankey, Hussain, Nuttall, O’Hanlon, Pickstone, Vincent, Walker, Walton, Wiseman and Wright.

Against the Motion:

Councillors A Audin, K Audin, D Bailey, M Bailey, N Bayley, Black, Bury, Campbell, Carter, Cassidy, Connolly, Cummings, FitzGerald, Fitzwalter, Frith, Grimshaw, Haroon, Heneghan, Holt, Isherwood, James, Jones, Lewis, Matthews, Parnell, Quinn, Rothwell, Shori, Simpson, J Smith, S Smith, Southworth, Tariq and Walmsley.

              Abstaining from the Vote:

              The Worshipful the Mayor.

              The Mayor declared the Motion lost.

              2.   Homophobic Bullying 

              A motion has been received and set out in the Summons in the names of:-

Councillors A Audin, K Audin, D Bailey, M Bailey, N Bayley, J Black, P Bury, G Campbell, S Carter, D M Cassidy, M Connolly, A J Cummings, E FitzGerald, L Fitzwalter, J Frith, J Grimshaw, S Haroon, P Heneghan, T Holt, A Isherwood, M A James, D Jones, J S Lewis, A K Matthews, N A Parnell, A Quinn, K Rothwell, R Shori,  ...  view the full minutes text for item C. 716

There were no Scrutiny Review Reports or specific items “called in” by the Overview and Scrutiny Committee to be considered at this Council meeting.

Questions on the work of outside bodies or partnerships on which the Council is represented to be asked by Members of the Council (if any).

There were no written questions on the work of the outside bodies or partnerships on which the Council is represented, submitted in accordance with Council Procedure Rule 11.2.

Questions on the delegated decisions made by the Regulatory Committees and Scrutiny Committees contained in the Digest of Decisions 7 (2013/14) published since the last ordinary meeting of the Council, providing four clear working days’ notice has been given of the question. 

Members are asked to bring to the meeting their copy of Digest 7 (2013/14)

              There were no written questions asked on the delegated decisions of the Committees or Scrutiny Committee contained in the Digest of Decisions 7
(2013-2014).