Agenda and draft minutes

Council - Wednesday, 22nd January, 2020 7.00 pm

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Venue: Council Chamber, Bury Town Hall

Contact: Julie Gallagher  Democratic Services

Items
No. Item

C. 319

DECLARATIONS OF INTEREST

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

Minutes:

There were no declarations of interest.

C. 320

MINUTES OF THE COUNCIL pdf icon PDF 76 KB

To approve as a correct record the Minutes of the Meeting of the Council held on 11th September 2019.  (Copy Attached).

Minutes:

RESOLVED:

 

That the Minutes of the Meeting of Council held on 11 September 2019 be signed by the Mayor as a true and correct record.

 

C. 321

MAYORAL COMMUNICATIONS AND ANNOUNCEMENTS

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.

Minutes:

The Mayor was sad to report on the recent death of former Unsworth Councillor, Sylvia Mason. All Members of Council stood in silence as a tribute.

 

The Mayor congratulated Wilf Oldham, Ruth Lachs, Dorothy Wood and Gordon Carlson who had been recognised in the Queen’s New Year’s honours. Also Jim Hyndman who has been awarded the Benemerenti Medal from Pope Francis.

 

The Mayor thanked all those who supported the Mayoral Ball in December and provided an update on the work of his Mayoral Charities.

 

The Mayor reported that The Mayoress and himself, will be hosting a Burns Night on the evening of Thursday 30 January at Bury College in support of Mayoral Charities.

 

The Mayor reported to the Council the election of Councillor Dene Vernon for the Church Ward of the Borough.

 

C. 322

PUBLIC QUESTION TIME pdf icon PDF 76 KB

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.

Minutes:

Notice had been received of the following 11 questions:

 

No.

Issue

Questioner

Answered By

1.

Radcliffe Town Centre

Ms C Birchmore

Councillor D Jones

2.

Carbon Emission Target

Ms S Sollazzi

Councillor A Quinn

3.

Climate Emergency Resolution

Jim McDougall

Councillor A Quinn

4.

Climate Action Bury

Laura Chepner

Councillor A Quinn

5.

Commitment  to Full Ecological Ramifications

Michelle Phillips

Councillor A Quinn

6.

Citizens Assembly/Working Group

Adam Rose

Councillor A Quinn

7.

Climate & Ecological Issues Councillor

Nick Hubble

Councillor A Quinn

8.

New Built & Conversion Developments – Future Requirements

Joel Instone

Councillor A Quinn

9.

Nature Recovery Network

Lydia Instone

Councillor A Quinn

10.

Reduction & Assessment of use & type of Pesticides

Rachel Getliffe

Councillor A Quinn

11.

Education in Schools/Colleges Ecological & Environmental Facts

Judith Instone

Councillor A Quinn

 

C. 323

RECOMMENDATIONS OF CABINET AND COUNCIL COMMITTEES pdf icon PDF 444 KB

Committee/Date

Subject

     Recommendation

Cabinet – 11th December 2019

TREASURY MANAGEMENT STRATEGY MID YEAR REVIEW 2019/20

It is recommended that, in accordance with CIPFA’s Code of Practice on Treasury Management, the report be noted and forwarded for consideration and the next meeting of full Council due to be held on the 22nd January 2020

Licensing and Safety Panel – 9th January 2020

REVIEW OF VEHICLE SIGNAGE AND DRIVERS BADGE

1.           That the Council’s Policy relating to the size of the vehicle licence plate on the front of a licensed Hackney Carriage and Private Hire Vehicle be modified to reduce the size of the front plates.

2.          That the new sized plates be introduced for newly licensed vehicles and licence renewals, from April 2020.

3.That the current Council policy relating to the size requirements for identification badges for Hackney Carriage and Private Hire Vehicle remains

Licensing and Safety Panel – 9th January 2020

TESTING OF TINTED GLASS ON VEHICLES TO BE LICENSED AS HACKNEY CARRIAGES/PRIVATE HIRE VEHICLES

1.           That the Council’s Policy requirements relating to vehicle tints for rear windows on vehicles licensed as Hackney Carriages and Private Hire Vehicles be amended to provide that licensed vehicles may only have manufacturer’s factory fitted tints (“privacy glass”).

2.                That the new policy requirement be introduced for newly licensed vehicles only

Cabinet – 13th January 2020

 

MAYORALTY

That Councillor Pickstone be proposed as Mayor of the Borough for 2020/2021

 

Additional documents:

Minutes:

Meeting of the Cabinet held on 11 December 2019 – Treasury Management Strategy Mid Year Review 2019/2020

 

It was moved by Councillor O’Brien and seconded by Councillor D Jones and:-

           

RECOMMENDATION

 

That in accordance with CIPFA’s Code of Practice on Treasury Management, that the report be approved

 

Meeting of the Licensing and Safety Panel – 9th January 2020 – Review of vehicle Signage and Drivers Badges.

 

It was moved by Councillor Rafiq and seconded by Councillor Black:

 

RECOMMENDATION

 

1.         That the Council’s Policy relating to the size of the vehicle licence plate on the front of a licensed Hackney Carriage and Private Hire Vehicle be modified to reduce the size of the front plates.

 

2.         That the new sized plates be introduced for newly licensed vehicles and licence renewals, from April 2020.

 

3.         That the current Council policy relating to the size requirements for identification badges for Hackney Carriage and Private Hire Vehicle remains.

 

 

Meeting of the Licensing and Safety Panel – 9th January 2020 – Testing of Tinted Glass on Vehicles to be Licensed as Hackney Carriages/Private Hire Vehicles.

 

It was moved by Councillor Rafiq and seconded by Councillor Black:

 

RECOMMENDATION

 

1.          That the Council’s Policy requirements relating to vehicle tints for rear windows on vehicles licensed as Hackney Carriages and Private Hire Vehicles be amended to provide that licensed vehicles may only have manufacturer’s factory fitted tints (“privacy glass”).

 

2.          That the new policy requirement be introduced for newly licensed vehicles only.

 

 

Meeting of the Cabinet held on 13 January 2020 – Mayoralty 2020/2021

It was moved by Councillor David Jones and seconded by Councillor Nick Jones:

 

RECOMMENDATION

 

That Council note that Councillor Tim Pickstone has been proposed as Mayor of Bury for 2020/2021.

                                         

 

C. 324

POLLING DISTRICT AND POLLING PLACES REVIEW pdf icon PDF 85 KB

Report attached.

Additional documents:

Minutes:

It was moved by Councillor David Jones and seconded by Councillor Jane Black:

 

RECOMMENDATION

 

That the Review proposals for polling districts and polling places, as set out in Appendix A to this report is approved.

 

That Council agrees to delegate authority to the (Acting) Returning Officer to identify and approve the use of alternative suitable buildings that could be used as a polling place if necessary; and in the event that any approved polling place becomes unavailable for use on the date of the election.

C. 325

LOCAL SCHEME OF COUNCIL TAX SUPPORT pdf icon PDF 103 KB

Report attached.

Minutes:

It was moved by Councillor E O’Brien and seconded by Councillor David Jones:

       

RECOMMENDATION

 

That Council agrees that the Council Tax Support Scheme introduced with effect from 1st April 2018 is extended for the year 1st April 2020 to 31st March 2021 with the additional amendment as contained within the body of the report.

C. 326

NOTICES OF MOTION

The following Notices of Motion have been received:-

 

(i)                                         Islamophobia and Anti Semitism

 

“Bury Council is proud of its diversity, it is a huge asset and a source of great strength. A substantial proportion of its residents are Muslim, who are an integral part of its make-up, playing a huge role in all aspects of Bury’s life.

Bury Council has a strong history of promoting cohesion and welcoming people from all over the world. Its residents have always united and supported each other in the fight against racism and discrimination in all its forms, including adopting the IHRA definition of Anti-Semitism.

 

Data published by the Home Office in the annual report on hate crime 2017-18 shows that over half, 52%, of religious hate crime victims are Muslims. The terrorist attacks against the Al Noor Mosque and Linwood Islamic Centre in Christchurch, New Zealand and the Finsbury Park Mosque in Islington have highlighted the severe Islamophobic attacks that Muslim communities in the UK and around the world are faced with. The charity Tell Mama reported that in the week after the NZ attack killing 50 innocent worshippers, Islamophobic incidents increased by almost 600 per cent in the UK.

 

Bury Council also acknowledges that Islamophobia is not a recent phenomenon and that we must do more as a society to tackle this rising form of intolerance and persecution.

 

In light of this, Bury Council expresses its gratitude for the work done by the All-Party Parliamentary Group on British Muslims to produce a definition of Islamophobia.

 

This Council therefore welcomes, endorses and adopts the working APPG (All-Party Parliamentary Group) definition of Islamophobia, including all of its examples in full, cited as follows:

 

"ISLAMOPHOBIA IS ROOTED IN RACISM AND IS A TYPE OF RACISM THAT TARGETS EXPRESSIONS OF MUSLIMNESS OR PERCEIVED MUSLIMNESS."

 

Contemporary examples of Islamophobia in public life, the media, schools, the workplace, and in encounters between religions and non-religions in the public sphere could, considering the overall context, include, but are not limited to:

•      Calling for, aiding, instigating or justifying the killing or harming of Muslims in the name of a racist/fascist ideology, or an extremist view of religion.

•      Making mendacious, dehumanizing, demonizing, or stereotypical allegations about Muslims as such, or of Muslims as a collective group, such as, especially but not exclusively, conspiracies about Muslim entryism in politics, government or other societal institutions; the myth of Muslim identity having a unique propensity for terrorism and claims of a demographic ‘threat’ posed by Muslims or of a ‘Muslim takeover’.

•      Accusing Muslims as a group of being responsible for real or imagined wrongdoing committed by a single Muslim person or group of Muslim individuals, or even for acts committed by non-Muslims.

•      Accusing Muslims as a group, or Muslim majority states, of inventing or exaggerating Islamophobia, ethnic cleansing or genocide perpetrated against Muslims.

•      Accusing Muslim citizens of being more loyal to the ‘Ummah’ (transnational Muslim community) or to their countries of origin, or to the alleged priorities  ...  view the full agenda text for item C. 326

Minutes:

(i)        Anti-Semitism and Islamophobia

 

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

 

Councillors J Black, S Briggs, R Cathcart, A Cummings, C Cummins, R Gold, J Grimshaw, M Hayes, S Haroon, T Holt, D Jones, K Leach, G McGill, C Morris, B Mortenson, E O’Brien, A Quinn, T Rafiq, A Simpson, L Smith, S Smith, Sarah Southworth, Susan Southworth, T Tariq, K Thomas, S Walmsley, C Walsh and M Whitby.

       

It was moved by Councillor Rafiq and seconded by Councillor Gold that:-

 

Bury Council is proud of its diversity, it is a huge asset and a source of great strength. A substantial proportion of its residents are Muslim, who are an integral part of its make-up, playing a huge role in all aspects of Bury’s life.

 

Bury Council has a strong history of promoting cohesion and welcoming people from all over the world. Its residents have always united and supported each other in the fight against racism and discrimination in all its forms, including adopting the IHRA definition of Anti-Semitism.

 

Data published by the Home Office in the annual report on hate crime 2017-18 shows that over half, 52%, of religious hate crime victims are Muslims. The terrorist attacks against the Al Noor Mosque and Linwood Islamic Centre in Christchurch, New Zealand and the Finsbury Park Mosque in Islington have highlighted the severe Islamophobic attacks that Muslim communities in the UK and around the world are faced with. The charity Tell Mama reported that in the week after the NZ attack killing 50 innocent worshippers, Islamophobic incidents increased by almost 600 per cent in the UK.

 

Bury Council also acknowledges that Islamophobia is not a recent phenomenon and that we must do more as a society to tackle this rising form of intolerance and persecution.

 

In light of this, Bury Council expresses its gratitude for the work done by the All-Party Parliamentary Group on British Muslims to produce a definition of Islamophobia.

 

This Council therefore welcomes, endorses and adopts the working APPG (All-Party Parliamentary Group) definition of Islamophobia, including all of its examples in full, cited as follows:

 

"ISLAMOPHOBIA IS ROOTED IN RACISM AND IS A TYPE OF RACISM THAT TARGETS EXPRESSIONS OF MUSLIMNESS OR PERCEIVED MUSLIMNESS."

 

Contemporary examples of Islamophobia in public life, the media, schools, the workplace, and in encounters between religions and non-religions in the public sphere could, considering the overall context, include, but are not limited to:

•      Calling for, aiding, instigating or justifying the killing or harming of Muslims in the name of a racist/fascist ideology, or an extremist view of religion.

•      Making mendacious, dehumanizing, demonizing, or stereotypical allegations about Muslims as such, or of Muslims as a collective group, such as, especially but not exclusively, conspiracies about Muslim entryism in politics, government or other societal institutions; the myth of Muslim identity having a unique propensity for terrorism and claims of a demographic ‘threat’ posed by Muslims or of a ‘Muslim takeover’.

•      Accusing  ...  view the full minutes text for item C. 326

C. 327

LEADER' STATEMENT AND CABINET QUESTION TIME pdf icon PDF 161 KB

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.

Minutes:

(a)   Written question (Notice given)

 

The Leader of the Council, Councillor D Jones, 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:                                

No.

Issue

Questioner

Answered by

1.

Free to use cash machines

Councillor S Wright

Councillor Briggs

2.

Bury 2030

Councillor Cathcart

Councillor Briggs

3.

Future Plans for Radcliffe

Councillor Cathcart

Councillor D Jones

4.

Progress 8 Figures

Councillor Hurst

Councillor Tariq

5.

Traffic Lights on Kay Brow

Councillor K Thomas

Councillor Quinn

 

Due to the lack of time to answer questions 6 to 30 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.

C. 328

JOINT AUTHORITIES - REPORT BY THE COUNCIL'S REPRESENTATIVE AND QUESTIONS pdf icon PDF 320 KB

(A)        A report from the Council’s representative on the work of Transport For Greater Manchester, Councillor Mortenson.

(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

Additional documents:

C. 329

COUNCIL MOTION TRACKER pdf icon PDF 41 KB

A report setting out progress in respect of Motions passed at the last meeting is attached.

 

C. 330

SCRUTINY REVIEW REPORTS AND SPECIFIC ITEMS "CALLED IN" BY SCRUTINY COMMITTEES

C. 331

QUESTIONS ON THE WORK OF OUTSIDE BODIES OR PARTNERSHIPS

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).

C. 332

DELEGATED DECISIONS OF THE COUNCIL COMMITTEES

Questions on the delegated decisions made by the Regulatory Committees and Scrutiny Committees contained in the Digest of Decision ** 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 **