SALFORD CITY COUNCIL 17Th September, 2014 Meeting Commenced
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SALFORD CITY COUNCIL 17th September, 2014 Meeting commenced: 9.30 a.m. “ adjourned: 11.00 a.m. “ re-commenced: 11.15 a.m. “ ended: 12.30 p.m. PRESENT: Councillor Christine Hudson (Ceremonial Mayor) - in the Chair Mr Ian Stewart - City Mayor Councillors Howard Balkind Neil Blower, Paula Boshell, Adrian Brocklehurst, Tanya Burch, Eric Burgoyne, Val Burgoyne, Andy Cheetham, Christopher Clarkson, Stephen Coen, Jillian Collinson, Graham Compton, Peter Connor, Richard Critchley, Jim Dawson, Paul Dennett, John Ferguson, Jane Hamilton, Stephen Hesling, Bill Hinds, Ann-Marie Humphreys, Jimmy Hunt, David Jolley, Roger Jones, Joe Kean, Tracy Kelly, Jim King, David Lancaster, Bernard Lea, Iain Lindley, Charlie McIntyre, Ray Mashiter, Gena Merrett, John Merry, Margaret Morris, John Mullen, Michelle Mullen, Joe Murphy, Stephen Ord, Bernard Pennington, Sue Pugh, Gina Reynolds, Brendan Ryan, Pat Ryan, Lisa Stone, Les Turner, John Warmisham, Michael Wheeler, Peter Wheeler, George Wilson, and Ronnie Wilson 1. URGENT ITEMS OF WHICH THE CHAIR HAS BEEN NOTIFIED The Chair indicated that she had not been notified of any urgent items. 2. APOLOGIES FOR ABSENCE Apologies for absence were submitted on behalf of Councillors Derek Antrobus, Peter Dobbs, Sareda Dirir, Karen Garrido, Robin Garrido, John Walsh, Barry Warner and Paul Wilson. 3. DECLARATIONS OF INTEREST Councillor David Lancaster declared an interest in the item entitled Questions or Comments on the Discharge of Functions of Joint Authorities and Outside Bodies (as detailed in Minute 11 below) in that, he was a Trustee of the Lowry. 4. MINUTES OF PROCEEDINGS The minutes of the meeting held on 11th June, 2014, were approved as a correct record. R:status\admin\omin\councilm170914 5. RECEIPT OF PETITIONS/COMMUNICATIONS Councillor Iain Lindley submitted a petition on behalf of local residents, seeking a review of the give way system introduced on Old Clough Lane, Walkden. Councillor John Ferguson submitted a petition on behalf of local residents, asking that measures be put into place to prevent members of the traveller community parking on The Green, Clifton. 6. PUBLIC QUESTIONS The following question was received from a member of the public:- Mental Health Services in Salford Stephen Cullen asked:- “Why is Salford City Council in favour of reducing mental health beds, secure beds and community beds?” “What does the City Mayor think of the impact to service users?” Councillor Peter Connor, Assistant Mayor for Adult Services and Services for Older People said in response that in redesigning mental health services, there was a commitment to move such care away from a traditional hospital environment and instead provide 24/7 intensive support in users’ homes. Councillor Margaret Morris, Assistant Mayor for Health and Wellbeing, added, that the reduction in beds had not been significant. Work was also being done, in conjunction the Salford Clinical Commissioning Group (CCG) and the Greater Manchester West Mental Health NHS Foundation Trust, on preventative initiatives, which would in the long term reduce the need for this type of hospital based care. The City Mayor said the aim was to redesign and improve the service, with the focus wherever possible, on care being provided in local communities, with users in their own homes with their families, as they had expressed a preference for. 7. STATEMENT OF THE CITY MAYOR The City Mayor made a number of announcements, highlighted issues and reported on some of the key areas of work he had been involved with since the last meeting of the Council as follows:- (a) Jim Taylor was welcomed to his first City Council meeting following his appointment as City Director. (b) Thanks and best wishes were extended to Gani Martins, who was soon to be leaving the authority. Particular reference was made to the work Gani had been involved with, in improving child safeguarding in Salford. Councillor John Merry added his own personal thanks to Gani for the support she had R:status\admin\omin\councilm170914 provided to him in his role as Assistant City Mayor for Services to Children and Young People. (c) Councillor Pat Ryan was welcomed back following a recent illness. (d) David Herne was congratulated on his recent appointment as Director of Public Health. (e) He had attended the Salford Youth Awards Evening, which, together with the third annual Youth Day held on 12th August, 2014, provided a showcase for the many talented young people of the City, whose achievements and contribution to the community, often went unnoticed. Particular mention was made to Lauren Bullock, who had won the Contribution to the Arts Award. (f) He had spoken at the BT Global City Leader’s Summit, which looked at promoting economic growth at a time of austerity. The selection of Salford Quays as the venue for an event of such importance was a great honour and raised the profile of the City. (g) Various events had been held as part of Armed Forces Week which had commenced on 23rd June, 2014 and marked with a flag raising ceremony. (h) He had attended the official opening of Scanlon Lane in Pendleton, which was named after Albert Scanlon, the former Manchester United football player who had survived the Munich Air Disaster in 1958 and been a Salford resident until his death in 2009. (i) He had visited Harrop Fold School, Little Hulton and paid tribute to staff, pupils and the board of governors, the latter chaired by Councillor Bernard Pennington, all of whom had worked together to ensure the ongoing improvement of standards and achievements at the school. (j) He had visited the Morson Group, whose head offices are in Eccles and had received the 2012 Queen’s Award for Enterprise in the category of International Trade. The Morson Group are a leading global provider of technology-driven engineering, from concept design to project implementation and brought high paid and high quality employment opportunities to Salford. (k) He had attended the opening of Vimto Gardens development off Chapel Street, Salford. (l) A ceremony had been held to unveil a plaque at 77 Duchy Road, Irlams o’ th’Height, the former home of writer Shelagh Delaney and most noted as the author of “A Taste of Honey”. More events were planned to celebrate her life and work, as part of the inaugural Shelagh Delaney Day on 25th November, 2014. Connected with this, Salix Homes had also created The Shelagh Delaney Creativity Star, which would be awarded annually to a group, or individual, from Salford, who have shown exceptional creative talent and innovation. R:status\admin\omin\councilm170914 (m) Manchester and Cheshire Construction Limited had held the official reopening of their refurbished offices on Oldfield Road, Salford. They had also been awarded the City Mayor’s Charter Mark for Employment, the first private company in the City to do so. (n) Commented that the City Council’s Audit and Accounts Committee, at its meeting held on 27th August, 2014, had considered the report of the Monitoring Officer, following the internal audit investigation into the circumstances around the decision taken to meet match day costs in relation to Salford Red Devils RLFC’s use of the AJ Bell Stadium. All the recommendations of this report, around the strengthening of governance procedures, had been accepted by the Committee and would be implemented. The independent District Auditor had also reviewed the report and endorsed its findings, as well as indicating there were no matters which were of a public interest requiring further investigation. (o) The fourth International Conference on Building Resilience had been held at MediaCityUK, Salford Quays, between 9th and 11th September, 2014. A total of 31 cities had been represented at this prestigious event and the selection of Salford to host it, was another demonstration of the City’s standing both nationally and internationally. 8. GENERAL QUESTIONS AND COMMENTS TO THE CITY MAYOR AND ASSISTANT MAYORS Q1. Councillor Gena Merrett, Assistant Mayor for Housing and Environment, commented that, she, along with Councillor Derek Antrobus, had attended the Salford Strategic Flood Forum, which had formed part of the wider International Conference on Building Resilience, referred to earlier by the City Mayor. She said Salford hosting this event, was an excellent showcase for the City and paid tribute to the foresight of the City Council to invest in what had once been a derelict area of the City in economic decline, to transform it into the vibrant Salford Quays which existed today. Q2. Councillor Margaret Morris, Assistant Mayor for Health and Wellbeing, expressed thanks to employees who had been involved with the various events staged to mark Armed Forces Week. She added similar appreciation to staff from the Youth Service who had organised events for the annual Youth Day. Q3. Councillor Les Turner referred to the meeting of the Audit and Accounts Committee held on 27th August, 2014 and particularly that, the City Mayor had not attended this. He commented that he felt the findings of the report considered by the Committee were damaging to the City Council, showing a failure to conduct matters in a transparent way and was something the City Mayor should accept responsibility for. He continued by saying that he was not happy with the outcomes agreed by the Committee and felt there was a need for an independent public inquiry on the dealings of the City Council in relation to the AJ Bell Stadium. R:status\admin\omin\councilm170914 The City Mayor replied that it would have been inappropriate for him to have attended the meeting, as the Audit and Accounts Committee were specifically considering the report detailing the internal audit investigation. He continued by saying the report, the recommendations of which had been accepted by the Committee, had concluded there had been no wrong doing with regard to the decision taken to meet Salford Red Devils RLFC’s match day costs.