Agenda and draft minutes

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

2.   Councillor Bevan declared a personal interest in any item which related to staffing as his wife is an employee within a Bury School.

3.   Councillor Mallon declared a personal interest in any item which related to staffing as his wife is an employee within a Bury High School.   

4.   Councillor S Wright declared a personal interest in any item which related to staffing as his wife is an employee within a Bury School.

5.   Councillor R E Walker declared a personal interest in relation to Cabinet Question 7 as a member of the Re-Instate Bury Central Library Group.

6.   Councillor Quinn declared a personal interest in respect of the Cabinet Question 12 as his daughter is employed by the European Parliament.

7.   Councillor Shori declared a personal interest in any item which related to staffing as his partner is an employee of Bury Council.

8.   Councillor Fitzgerald declared a personal interest in Cabinet Question 3 as a non-Executive Director of Persona

9.   Councillor Fitzgerald declared a personal interest in the Leaders Statement and Cabinet Question Time, in relation to Capital Funding at Whitefield Primary School, as Chair of Governors

RESOLVED:

That the Minutes of the Meeting of Council held on 22 February 2017 be signed by the Mayor as a true and correct record.

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 paid tribute to Councillor Alan Matthews for his 38 years of service to Bury Council.

The Mayor reported that the Gallipoli Sunday Church Service would take place this coming Sunday, 23 April

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 the receipt of six written questions as set out below:

On inviting questions from members of the public present, the following issues were raised:-

Meeting of the Human Resources and Appeals Panel held on 10 March  2017 – Interim Arrangements

It was moved by Councillor Holt and seconded by Councillor Shori and it was:-                 

RESOLVED:

That Pat Jones-Greenhalgh be appointed as Interim Chief Executive.

Meeting of the Cabinet held on 12 April 2017 – Neighbourhood Engagement Framework

It was moved by Councillor Shori and seconded by Councillor McKay:-

1.  That the proposed framework for Neighbourhood Engagement and new framework for  investing grant funding in Neighbourhoods in Bury be adopted.

2.   That it be noted that the governance of the new framework would sit within Team Bury Wider Leadership Group, although annual reporting to Full Council would continue.

It was moved by Councillor Pickstone and seconded by Councillor D’Albert as an amendment:-

That consideration of this item be deferred until the Annual Meeting of the Council on 17 May 2017 to allow for further briefing and consultation with all Council Groups.

On being put, with 18 voting for and 26 voting against, and with the Mayor abstaining, the Mayor declared the amendment lost.

On being put, with 26 voting for, 3 voting against, and with 16 abstentions including the Mayor, the Mayor declared the recommendations carried.

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)       Written question (Notice given)

The Leader of the Council, Councillor Shori, 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:

Due to the lack of time to answer questions 18 to 46 inclusive, the Leader gave an undertaking that copies of those questions and responses will be circulated to all Councillors. The Leader also gave an undertaking to make these available on the Council Web Site.

(b)       Oral questions on Leader’s Speech and the work of the Cabinet since the last Council meeting (without Notice)

(A)        A report from the Council’s representative on the work of the GM Police and Crime Panel, Councillor Shori

(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

(a)        Councillor Shori, the Council’s representative on the Greater Manchester Police and Crime Panel gave a verbal report on the work of the Panel to all Members of the Council.

(b)        The following questions had been received in accordance with Council Procedure Rule 11.2.

Report attached.

It was moved by Councillor Shori and seconded by Councillor Holt and it was:-

RESOLVED:

That the Meetings Timetable for 2017/2018 be approved. 

Report from the Leader of the Council attached.

It was moved by Councillor Shori and seconded by Councillor Black and it was unanimously:-

RESOLVED:

1.   That Bury Council adopts the International Holocaust Remembrance Alliance working definition of Anti-Semitism.

2.   That Bury Hate Crime Forum encourage all 3^rd party Hate Crime Reporting Centres to also adopt the definition.

The following Notices of Motion have been received:-

(i)                                          Domestic abuse evidence letter fees-Scrap the fee campaign

Tackling domestic violence and abuse is a key priority for Bury Council. For many years, we have had, and continue to have, a zero tolerance approach.

Bury Council believes that it is everyone’s responsibility to stop domestic violence and abuse and it is our ambition that people treat one another with respect and compassion.

Yet between April 2014 and March 2015 domestic abuse incidents reported in Bury increased by 35%.

National statistics have not changed for decades- 2 women are killed every week in England and Wales by a current former partner. 1 in 4 women will experience domestic violence in their lifetimes.

Legal Aid is a lifeline for women in the city fleeing domestic abuse. It helps them to protect themselves, their children and secure their financial situation.  Yet due to government changes to the rules for women to qualify for legal aid they now need to provide a prescribed piece of evidence to prove they have been subjected to abuse.

One of the accepted forms of evidence is a letter from a GP. However, some GPS charge a fee - in some cases as much as £75 –to produce that letter.

NO GP should charge victims of domestic abuse for a letter they need to access legal aid. It’s immoral. And it has to stop.

Bury Council will:

1.           Support the “scrap the fee” campaign which was established by Tom Watson MP following a plea from Wythenshawe Safe Spots.

2.           Call on the government to scarp this unfair and unjust charge by bringing this service back under the NHS contract.

3.           Resolve to use its strengthened relationship with GPs through Health& Social Care Devolution to work with them to bring to bring about a “Manchester GPS pledge” to not charge for legal aid evidence letters in cases of domestic abuse.

4.           Work with the Greater Manchester Mayor to highlight this campaign across all 10 Greater Manchester Councils.

In the names of Councillors  P Adams, N Bayley, J Black, S Briggs, R Cathcart, M Connolly, A Cummings,  E FitzGerald, J Grimshaw, S Haroon T Holt, M James, D Jones, J Kelly, S Kerrison, J Lewis, A Mckay, J Mallon, A Matthews, E O’Brien, N Parnell, C Preston, A Quinn, R Shori, R Skillen, S Smith,  Sarah Southworth, Susan Southworth, T Tariq, J Walker, S Walmsley and M Whitby.

(ii)                                        Pavements are for People

This Council notes:

1     Pavement parking can pose a hazard to pedestrians, especially people with sight loss, parents with pushchairs, children, wheelchair users and other disabled people.

2     People with sight loss are especially at risk as they can be forced into the road and faced with oncoming traffic that they cannot see.

3     Pavements are not designed to take the weight of vehicles and so surfaces can become damaged or subside, presenting a further hazard for pedestrians, particularly those with disabilities.

4     Other avoidable pavement obstacles which can  ...  view the full agenda text for item C. 684

Three Notices of Motion had been received and set out in the Summons.

i)  Domestic abuse evidence letter fees-Scrap the fee campaign

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

Councillors  P Adams, N Bayley, J Black, S Briggs, R Cathcart, M Connolly, A Cummings,  E FitzGerald, J Grimshaw, S Haroon T Holt, M James, D Jones, J Kelly, S Kerrison, J Lewis, A Mckay, J Mallon, A Matthews, E O’Brien, N Parnell, C Preston, A Quinn, R Shori, R Skillen, S Smith,  Sarah Southworth, Susan Southworth, T Tariq, J Walker, S Walmsley and M Whitby.

It was moved by Councillor McKay  and seconded by Councillor Jones that :-

Tackling domestic violence and abuse is a key priority for Bury Council. For many years, we have had, and continue to have, a zero tolerance approach.

Bury Council believes that it is everyone’s responsibility to stop domestic violence and abuse and it is our ambition that people treat one another with respect and compassion.

Yet between April 2014 and March 2015 domestic abuse incidents reported in Bury increased by 35%.

National statistics have not changed for decades- 2 women are killed every week in England and Wales by a current former partner. 1 in 4 women will experience domestic violence in their lifetimes.

Legal Aid is a lifeline for women in the city fleeing domestic abuse. It helps them to protect themselves, their children and secure their financial situation.  Yet due to government changes to the rules for women to qualify for legal aid they now need to provide a prescribed piece of evidence to prove they have been subjected to abuse.

One of the accepted forms of evidence is a letter from a GP. However, some GPS charge a fee - in some cases as much as £75 –to produce that letter.

NO GP should charge victims of domestic abuse for a letter they need to access legal aid. It’s immoral. And it has to stop.

Bury Council will:

1.   Support the “scrap the fee” campaign which was established by Tom Watson MP following a plea from Wythenshawe Safe Spots.

2.   Call on the government to scrap this unfair and unjust charge by bringing this service back under the NHS contract.

3.   Resolve to use its strengthened relationship with GPs through Health& Social Care Devolution to work with them to bring to bring about a “Manchester GPS pledge” to not charge for legal aid evidence letters in cases of domestic abuse.

4.   Work with the Greater Manchester Mayor to highlight this campaign across all 10 Greater Manchester Councils.

On being put, with no one voting against and no one abstaining, the Mayor declared the motion carried unanimously 

ii)Pavements are for People

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

In the names of Councillors M D’Albert, T Pickstone and S Wright.

This Council notes:

1.   Pavement parking can pose a  ...  view the full minutes text for item C. 684

Report attached.

It was moved by Councillor Shori and seconded by Councillor Holt and it was:-

RESOLVED:

That the decisions taken under special urgency provisions in the last 3 months be noted.

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 questions received 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 5 published  since the last ordinary meeting of the Council, providing four clear working days’ notices has been given of the question.

Members are asked to bring to the meeting their copy of Digest 5

There were no written questions asked on the delegated decisions of the Committees or Scrutiny Committee contained in the Digest of Decisions 5 (2016/17).