The following Notices of Motion have been received:-
(i)
Tackling Dangerous Potholes in our Towns
and Villages
This Council notes:
1. The tragic death of Ramsbottom resident, Mr Roger Hamer
who lost his life last year when his bicycle hit a pothole on Bury
New Road in Ramsbottom.
2. The recent inquest verdict into the death of Mr Hamer. The jury
concluded that Mr Hamer probably hit a large pothole which caused
him to come off his bike in March 2016 and caused a fatal brain
injury.
3. The recent report in the Bury Times that Bury has more vehicles
damaged by potholes than any other Borough in Greater Manchester. A
total of 292 claims for damage to vehicles being made during the
period 2015/16.
4. The continued concern of Bury residents over the unsatisfactory
state of highways within the Borough and the prevalence of
dangerous potholes in our towns and villages.
This Council is committed to:
- Doing everything possible to improve the Council's highway
inspection and maintenance programme to ensure that it is fit for
purpose and has the confidence of local residents.
- Ensure that reports of potholes from residents are actioned at
the earliest opportunity to mitigate the danger they pose to
pedestrians, cyclists and motorists.
This Council therefore resolves to:
- Instruct the Cabinet Member for Environment to carry out a full
review of the Council's highway inspection and maintenance
programme to ensure it is delivering an efficient service in
tackling the blight of potholes and minimising the risks posed to
road users and pedestrians.
- Request the Cabinet Member for Environment complete the
aforementioned review prior to the next Full Meeting of Council on
the 29th November and report it's findings to Members at the said
meeting.
- Request the Cabinet Member for Environment consider the following
ways of improving residents' satisfaction with road maintenance
within the Borough as part of the review:
a. Better communication of achievements in reducing
accidents, pothole filling and maintaining roads, e.g through
social media, posters and local newspaper stories.
b. Greater clarity on decision-making by Highway Officers in
terms of residents having a better understanding of the timescale
for repairs.
c. Increased use of technology so that Inspectors can spend
more time assessing and commissioning repairs together with
checking the quality of work, and less time dealing with
correspondence or complaints.
d. Involving and encouraging both residents and Councillors
to report potholes and provide feedback on the quality of work and
length of time it has taken for repairs to be completed. To ensure
local satisfaction through feedback surveys, local forums and
volunteer "street champions”.
In the names of Councillors I Bevan, R Caserta, J Daly, I Gartside, D Gunther, M Hankey, J Harris, R Hodkinson, K Hussain, G Keeley, O Kersh, S Nuttall, I Schofield, D Silbiger, R Walker, and Y Wright
(ii) Count Them In Campaign.
This Council once more wishes to place on record its admiration for the courage, service and sacrifice of members of Her Majesty’s armed forces, past and present, during military conflicts, in countering terrorism and in carrying out peacekeeping and humanitarian duties.
This Council notes:
1. The obligations it owes to the Armed Forces community within the Bury MBC as enshrined in the Armed Forces Covenant; that the Armed Forces community should not face disadvantage in the provision of services and that special consideration is appropriate in some cases, especially for those who have given the most.
2. The absence of definitive and comprehensive statistics on the size or demographics of the Armed Forces community within Bury MBC. This includes serving Regular and Reserve personnel, veterans, and their families.
3. That the availability of such data would greatly assist the council, local partner agencies, the voluntary sector, and national Government in the planning and provision of services to address the unique needs of the Armed Forces community within Bury MBC.
This Council therefore resolves to:
1. Support and promote The Royal British Legion’s campaign ‘Count Them In’ to include a new topic in the 2021 census that concerns military service and membership of the Armed Forces community.
2. Urge elected members for this Authority to sign up as individual supporters to the ‘Count Them In’ campaign.
3. Ask the Cabinet Member with responsibility for the Community Covenant to write to the Secretary of State for Defence, The Rt. Hon Michael Fallon MP, setting out the Council’s position that we wish to see the UK Parliament approve a final census questionnaire in 2019, which includes questions concerning our Armed Forces community, for use in the 2021 Census.
4. Ask the Interim Chief Executive to write to the Borough’s two Members of Parliament asking them to also make representations on this matter to the Secretary of State for Defence.
In the names of Councillors M D’Albert; T Pickstone and S Wright
(iii) Make Fair Transitional State Pension Arrangements for Women Born in the 1950’s
Hundreds of thousands of women had significant pension changes
imposed on them by the Pension Act 1995 and 2011 with
little/no/personal notification of the changes. Some women had only
two years notice of a six year increase to their state pension
age.
Many women born in the 1950's are living in hardship. Retirement
plans have been shattered and discarded. Many of these women are
out of the labour market, caring for elderly relatives, providing
childcare for grandchildren. These women also suffer from age
discrimination in the workplace as they struggle to find
employment.
It is not the pension age that is in dispute, it is widely agreed
that men and women should retire at the same age. The issue is that
the rise in women's state pension age has been too rapid and
without sufficient notice, leaving women with little notice to make
alternative arrangements.
These women have worked hard, raised families and paid their tax
and national insurance .
This council calls upon the government to reconsider transitional
arrangements for women born on or after 6th April 1951, so that
women affected by these changes do not live in hardship and poverty
brought about by an unfair transition.
In the names of Councillors P Adams, N Bayley, J Black, S Briggs, R Cathcart, A Cummings, E FitzGerald, J Grimshaw, S Haroon, T Holt, M James, D Jones, J Kelly, S Kerrison, K Leach, A Mckay, J Mallon, E O’Brien, C Preston, A Quinn, R Shori, A Simpson, R Skillen, S Smith, Sarah Southworth, Susan Southworth, T Tariq, J Walker, S Walmsley and M Whitby.