Meeting of the Council Meeting held in the Council Chamber, Town Hall on 30 June 2016 at 6.00 pm. PRESENT The Mayor (Councillor Chris Gordon) in the chair; Deputy Mayor (Councillor Lisa Walker); Councillors Geoff Abell, Malcolm Allan, Brian Bagnall, Sheila Bailey, Kenny Blair, Stuart Bodsworth, Laura Booth, Kate Butler, Anna Charles-Jones, Richard Coaton, Christine Corris, Stuart Corris, Dickie Davies, Tom Dowse, Roy Driver, Annette Finnie, Dean Fitzpatrick, Colin Foster, Alex Ganotis, Lord Goddard, Graham Greenhalgh, Tom Grundy, Yvonne Guariento, Paul Hadfield, Philip Harding, Daniel Hawthorne, Keith Holloway, Linda Holt, Sylvia Humphreys, Mark Hunter, Mike Hurleston, Susan Ingham, Oliver Johnstone, Julian Lewis-Booth, Syd Lloyd, Tom McGee, Wendy Meikle, Chris Murphy, Adrian Nottingham, John Pantall, Paul Porgess, Iain Roberts, Maureen Rowles, Lisa Smart, David Sedgwick, June Somekh, Andy Sorton, Charlie Stewart, John Taylor, Jon Twigge, Alanna Vine, Wendy Wild, David Wilson, Mark Weldon, Elise Wilson, John Wright and Suzanne Wyatt. 1. FORMALITIES AND ANNOUNCEMENTS (i) Minutes The Minutes (copies of which had been circulated) of the Annual Meeting of the Council held on 24 May 2016 were approved as a correct record and signed by the Mayor. (ii) Urgent Decisions No urgent decisions were reported. (iii) Mayor's Announcements The Mayor referred to recent events both at home and abroad which had involved the tragic and senseless loss of life. The Mayor reported that Jo Cox, the MP for Batley and Spen was killed in her constituency on 16 June 2016; that 49 people were killed and a further 53 injured during an attack in Orlando, Florida on 12 June 2016 and 41 people had been killed and more than 200 people injured in an attack at Istanbul Airport on 28 June 2016. The Mayor invited those present to stand in silence as a mark of respect to those who had lost their lives or who had been injured. The Mayor then reported that he had attended an event to celebrate Armed Forces Day on 25 June 2016 held on Castle Street in Edgeley. The Mayor further reported that an event to commemorate the centenary of the Battle of The Somme would be held at Stockport War Memorial on Friday, 1 July at 11.00 am. Council Meeting - 30 June 2016 Finally, the Mayor reported that a number of Stockport food and drink operators had received nominations for the Manchester Food & Drink Festival Awards this year including ‘Foodie Friday’ in the Market Place; the Magnet Public House, Wellington Road North; Indian Tiffin Room, Cheadle; Heaton Hops, Heaton Chapel; Brassica, Heaton Moor and Bakers Vaults, Stockport. (iv) Declarations of Interest Councillors and officers were invited to declare any interests which they had in any of the items on the Summons for the meeting. The following interests were declared:- Personal Interests Councillor Interest Stuart Bodsworth Summons Item 3(ii) – ‘Executive Business – Questions’ as an employee of the Environment Agency which was referred to as part of a question submitted under this item. Christine Corris Summons Item 6(iii) – ‘Motions - Armed Forces Community - and Stuart Corris Inclusion In 2021 Census’ as members of the Royal British Legion. Tom McGee Summons Item 3(ii) – ‘Executive Business – Questions’ as the Chair of the Governing Body of Aquinas College which was referred to as part of a question submitted under this item. Personal and Prejudicial Interests Councillor Interest Geoff Abell and Summons Item 7 – ‘Application to Establish Marple Neighbourhood Tom Dowse Area’ as a member of the Marple Neighbourhood Forum. Malcolm Allan and Summons Item 7 – ‘Application to Establish Marple Neighbourhood Sue Ingham Area’ as a member of the Marple Neighbourhood Forum Executive. Annette Finnie Summons Item 7 – ‘Application to Establish Marple Neighbourhood Area’ as a member of the Marple Civic Society. All those members declaring a personal and prejudicial interest left the meeting during the consideration of this item and took no part in the discussion or vote. 2. COMMUNITY ENGAGEMENT (i) Public Question Time Members of the public were invited to put questions to the Mayor and Councillors on matters within the powers and duties of the Council. Council Meeting - 30 June 2016 Four public questions were submitted as follows:- Relating to flooding on the Bosden Farm Estate in Offerton and why there had been a delay in securing skips for residents’ use. Councillor Booth responded that she had experienced difficulties in contacting Council officers responsible for co-ordinating the response to the flooding over the weekend concerned. It was commented that when the appropriate officer had spoken to her, it was stated that there was no authority to authorise the procurement of skips for residents’ use and it required further contact through the Chief Executive to ensure that skips were provided. Relating to flooding on the Bosden Farm Estate in Offerton and why the Council had only offered £100 to residents whereas other local authorities had provided grants of up to £500. Councillor Meikle responded that she did not consider that this disparity was fair, but that the grant provided by the Council had been funded by Forever Manchester which was a community foundation fund. In other areas, central government had provided the funding for grants in excess of this amount which had not been forthcoming on this occasion. Relating to alcohol advertising and whether removing such advertising from hoardings in the vicinity of schools was tokenistic when alcohol advertising was prevalent during major sporting events on television and whether improvements in education would produce better results. Councillor McGee responded that there were already restrictions on alcohol advertising around television programmes which were designed for children but that sporting events were not covered by this provision due to the mixed nature of the audience. It was further stated that the origins of the motion on the Summons relating to alcohol advertising near schools and colleges was a presentation made by young people to the Children & Young People Scrutiny Committee expressing concerns that they had that Stockport had one of the highest rates of hospital admissions for alcohol related disease for children under eighteen. It was consequently important to reduce the exposure of young people to such advertising. Councillor Elise Wilson replied that reducing the exposure of young people to alcohol advertising was a campaign brought to the Council’s attention by young people and the motion was the latest step in this campaign. Relating to why Councillor Driver had voted to close Reddish Baths which had been a valued community asset in Reddish. Councillor Driver replied that the decision to close Reddish Baths had been taken by the Executive in 2008 and had been supported by him. (ii) Petitions and Presentations There were no petitions presented to the meeting. Council Meeting - 30 June 2016 Police and Crime Commissioner for Greater Manchester Tony Lloyd (Interim Mayor and Police and Crime Commissioner for Greater Manchester) attended the meeting to address the Council in relation to his role as Interim Mayor and the work of the Police and Crime Commissioner which was followed by questions from Councillors. At the conclusion of the item, the Mayor expressed thanks to Tony Lloyd for his attendance and presentation. (iii) Joint Authorities (a) Section 41 Spokespersons The Mayor reported that under Section 41 of the Local Government Act 1985, the following councillors had been nominated by the bodies indicated to answer questions relating to the discharge of functions of joint authorities for the Municipal Year 2016/17:- Greater Manchester Fire and Rescue Authority - Councillor Walter Brett Greater Manchester Waste Disposal Authority - Councillor Roy Driver Questions There were no questions in relation to the business of the Greater Manchester Fire and Rescue Authority or the Greater Manchester Waste Disposal Authority. (b) Greater Manchester Police and Crime Panel RESOLVED – That Councillor Alex Ganotis be appointed to answer questions in relation to the business of the Greater Manchester Police and Crime Panel. Questions There were no questions in relation to the business of the Greater Manchester Police and Crime Panel. (c) Greater Manchester Combined Authority RESOLVED – That the following councillors be appointed to answer questions in relation to the discharge of the functions of the Greater Manchester Combined Authority and the Transport for Greater Manchester Committee:- Greater Manchester Combined Authority - Councillor Alex Ganotis Transport for Greater Manchester Committee - Councillor John Taylor Questions There were no questions in relation to the business of the Greater Manchester Combined Authority or the Transport for Greater Manchester Committee. Council Meeting - 30 June 2016 (d) GMCA/AGMA Scrutiny Pool There were no questions on the business of the GMCA/AGMA Scrutiny Pool. 3. LEADER'S REPORT AND EXECUTIVE QUESTION TIME (i) Executive Business The Leader of the Council (Policy, Finance & Devolution) (Councillor Alex Ganotis) thanked the Council for his appointment as Leader of the Council and welcomed those councillors that had recently been elected to the Council. It was then reported he had requested that a review be undertaken on the use of the Council’s reserves to evaluate whether they struck the right balance between the risk to the Council and the demands on the Council’s budget. It was also stated that there had been a £3.9 million