Agenda

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

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.

To approve as a correct record the Minutes of the last Meetings of the Council held on 17^th July 2024. (Copy attached).

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.

Report of the Cabinet Member for Finance and Transformation attached.

A report from the Executive Director (Operations) is attached.

To receive a report 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, Cabinet Members and Chair of a Committee 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. (30 minutes)

A member may ask a verbal question of the Leader, any Member of the Cabinet or Chair of a Committee about any matter on the Council agenda and which the Council has powers or duties or which affects the Borough.  Only one verbal question per Councillor. (20 minutes)

(A)         A combined authority update report is attached, for information

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

The following Notices of Motion have been received:-

(i)             Community Safety, Cohesion and Resilience.

This Council expresses its deepest sympathy with the families affected by the tragic events in Southport on 29^th July. Our thoughts remain with the community there and our praise goes to the public and frontline emergency services who responded on the day and have since, to aid the recovery.

The exploitative criminal disorder that followed, exacerbated by false information online, led to widespread criminality, far right extremism, racism and Islamophobia. There is no place for this in our society and this Council utterly condemns it.

Thankfully we escaped direct civil unrest in Bury, though we were at risk and so on high alert throughout and since. As a result, there has been real harm done to some of our communities; our refugees and asylum seekers, and particularly our Muslim community, who understandably feel a heightened sense of anxiety, fear and vulnerability.

This Council welcomes the immediate intervention of the Government, who ensured a robust response to get the criminality under control and who supported the local and national Police to make prompt arrests so the courts could deliver swift justice.

We also welcome the support from the Home Office who provided immediate security, particularly at Muslim places of worship and community centres. The Council and our two constituency MPs, worked rapidly with mosque and community leaders on their Home Office applications, and all who applied received protection and most of them within 24 hours of submission. This offered an immediate sense of reassurance to those attending prayers and community events.

This Council recognises that the damage caused by the extremist groups is real and will be long lasting and we must now turn our attention to the long term safety and security of our communities, and healing the anxiety and distress caused.

Bury is a proudly tolerant and diverse place and we thank everyone in the borough who spoke up against the criminality and called out racism wherever it manifested itself.

It is clear we need to prioritise inclusion, cohesion and safety to rebuild the confidence of those targeted, so they can live and work peacefully in our town without the anxiety of being targeted because of the colour of their skin.

This Council therefore resolves to:

• Build on our response work by collaborating with our faith and community leaders to build greater resilience and strength
• Participate fully in the Greater Manchester recovery coordination activity, recognising the fluidity of communities across administrative borders, whilst reflecting specifics of Bury’s neighbourhoods
• Collaborate with faith and community leaders and MPs to support future applications to the Home Office security protection fund
• Revisit our LET’S Do It! strategy, alongside the Community Safety Partnership Plan, to refresh our priorities by co-developing with our communities and build a ‘Stronger Together’ community strategy for Bury
• Foster and facilitate opportunities for social interactions that allow the development of tolerance and trust to develop a shared sense of pride and place in Bury
• Ensure  ...  view the full agenda text for item 9.

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

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).