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.

There were no declarations of interest.

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

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.

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 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.

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.

Notice had been received of the following 11 questions:

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 – 9^th 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 – 9^th 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.

Report attached.

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.

Report attached.

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 1^st April 2020 to 31^st March 2021 with the additional amendment as contained within the body of the report.

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

(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

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 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:                                

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.

(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

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

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).

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 **