Oldham Borough Council Council Meeting Wednesday 7 November 2012 OLDHAM BOROUGH COUNCIL To: ALL MEMBERS OF OLDHAM BOROUGH COUNCIL, CIVIC CENTRE, OLDHAM Tuesday, 30 October 2012 You are hereby summoned to attend a meeting of the Council which will be held on Wednesday 7 November 2012 at 4.00 pm in the Council Chamber, Civic Centre, for the following purposes: 1 Honorary Alderman Ceremony A presentation will take place for Richard Knowles to honour his title of Honorary Alderman, as appointed by Council on 12 th September 2012, in accordance with Section 249(1) of the Local Government Act 1972, in recognition of his service and dedication to the local community as a Councillor for the Metropolitan Borough of Oldham. It is anticipated that the meeting will reconvene at 6.00pm or at a time thereafter declared by the Mayor Open Council 2 Questions to Cabinet Members from the public and Councillors on ward or district issues (20 minutes for public questions and 20 minutes for Councillor questions) Formal Council 3 To receive apologies for absence 4 To order that the Minutes of the meeting of the Council held on the 12th September 2012 be signed as a correct record (Pages 1 - 24) 5 To receive declarations of interest in any matter to be determined at the meeting 6 To deal with matters which the Mayor considers to be urgent business 7 To receive communications relating to the business of the Council 8 To receive and note petitions received relating to the business of the Council (time limit 20 minutes) No petitions received. 9 Outstanding Business from the previous meeting (time limit 15 minutes). There is no outstanding business. 10 The Leader's Annual Statement 11 Youth Council (time limit 20 minutes) Youth Council resolution for consideration at the Full council meeting – 7th November The Youth Council would like to ask Council to note their views on the costly and unsightly issue of Chewing Gum Disposal, In particular in the town centre and District centres of Oldham. There are three and a half billion pieces of Chewing gum that are irresponsibly disposed of every year in the UK. 80-90% of Chewing gum is not disposed of in any litter receptacle and it costs the British tax payer £150million each year to clean chewing gum off the streets. To help combat the cost of this in Oldham and improve the look of our streets the Youth Council feel we need to look at encouraging responsible disposal of Chewing gum. In researching solutions to this problem we have identified an ecological, attractive and effective solution – Gum Drop Bins. This small, round bins can be easily installed in town centres and offer an easy means to dispose of Chewing gum. The Gum drop Bins are made of recycled Chewing gum, and the Gumdrop along with its contents of used gum gets recycled to produce new gumdrop bins that are redistributed and the cycle begins again. This solution not only saves on the cost of cleaning up chewing gum, improves the cleanliness of our streets but reduces the growing strain on the environment. We would ask the council to note the Youth Councils view on this issue and to investigate the feasibility of providing this facility in Oldham. 12 Leader and Cabinet Question Time (time limit 30 minutes – maximum of 2 minutes per question and 2 minutes per response) 13 To note the Minutes of the meetings of the Cabinet held on the undermentioned dates, including the attached list of urgent key decisions taken since the last meeting of the Council, and to receive any questions or observations on any items within the Minutes from Members of the Council who are not Members of the Cabinet, and receive responses from Cabinet Members (Pages 25 - 50) (time limit 20 minutes) :- a) 3 rd September 2012 b) 17 th September 2012 c) 22 nd October 2012 e) Urgent Key decisions – None 14 Notice of Administration Business (time limit 30 minutes) 1. Councillor Jabbar to MOVE and Councillor J Harrison to SECOND This council expresses its deep concern about the Government’s announcement to offer councils in England a one off payment to fund a council tax freeze in 2013/14. By limiting the council tax freeze to one year only, it will mean the deficit the following year is increased by the same amount. This means that a £1million government grant next year in exchange for not increasing council tax will cost Oldham Council £1million year after year. This is equivalent to every district library closing its doors to finance the gap in funding. Savage cuts to the public sector have reached breaking point and the time for one off grants is long gone. If the government is serious about fully funding grants to enable councils to freeze council tax it should make the grant permanent. The matter is so serious that unless the government confirms a permanent increase in the grant to at least a level equivalent to inflation, this council and many others across the country will be excluded from the scheme simply because it is not sustainable nor is it in the long term interests of our residents. The council also notes with concern that the government has placed a limit of 2% on the increase in council tax without a referendum, if a council chose not to take advantage of the current freeze grant offer. This council resolves to: 1. Support the Local Government Association (LGA) in lobbying government to fully fund the council tax freeze grant on a permanent basis and to at least a level equivalent to the rate of inflation, including submitting evidence on the impact on council services in Oldham if the Government keeps to its current plan. 2. Instruct the Chief Executive to write to the Secretary of State outlining the councils position and requesting urgent clarification on this matter, countersigned by the leaders of all political parties represented on Oldham Council (also copied to the LGA). 3. Enlist the support of the three MPs representing Oldham on this unfair proposal by the Government. 2. Councillor Williams to MOVE and Councillor Judge to SECOND This Council welcomes the campaign of Greater Manchester Fire and Rescue Authority (GMFRA), in partnership with the other Metropolitan Fire & Rescue Authorities, against the unfairness applied to the Government's Formula for the distribution of grant. The distribution of government funding, through the Formula, now favours Shire Fire & Rescue Authorities and Combined Fire Authorities, and protects London, at the expense of the urban/regional cities. Between 2011 and 2013, GMFRA, West Midlands, Merseyside, South Yorkshire, West Yorkshire and Tyne & Wear Metropolitan Authorities will shoulder around 80% of the cuts compared to the rest of the Fire Services across the country. Shires, Combined Authorities and London between them will shoulder Just short of 20%. Indeed, six of these Fire Authorities have perversely seen grant increases in the last two years. GMFRA are certain that, if the Formula Grant is not re-adJusted to ensure greater fairness, Greater Manchester will be faced with further damaging cuts, further significant reduction of firefighters, further significant fewer fire appliances, and potentially closures of fire stations. This level of cuts will also have serious consequences for the delivery of Fire & Rescue services for the people of Oldham and Greater Manchester and impact on the resilience of the infrastructure of Greater Manchester. This Council, therefore, calls on the Government to ensure everyone 'shares the pain of austerity' and introduces a fairer Grant Formula model for GMFRA and other Metropolitan Fire & Rescue Authorities elsewhere. 3. Councillor Dean to MOVE and Councillor Dearden to SECOND This Council opposes the Government’s Welfare Reforms, which will have a devastating effect on the people of Oldham by reducing income for the poorest in our society to below subsistence level. This Council condemns the significant reduction in support for working families and for people with disabilities. This Council is concerned that the introduction of Universal Credit is ill thought out and is being introduced without any appropriate safeguards or adequate technical structures in place to help support families affected or to deliver the benefit to the people of Oldham. The Council intends to: - Write to the three Oldham MPs to express our concerns about the introduction of the Universal Credit, asking them to voice their concerns to Parliament - Write to the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, Ian Duncan Smith, outlining the devastating effects this change in benefits will have on the poorest people of Oldham. - Request the Chief Executive of Oldham Council prepare a detailed report outlining what action the Council can take to help support the most vulnerable, through programmes of advice, help with budget setting and counselling to help those affected through the changes in the benefit system. 15 Notice of Opposition Business (time limit 30 minutes) 1. Councillor Thompson to MOVE and Councillor Williamson to SECOND This council notes with concern: a) The recent announcement by the government of the proposal to relax certain planning laws relating to housing. b) That this announcement includes the intention to allow extensions of up to eight metres to be permitted development and the proposal to waive rules and existing commitments on affordable housing from proposed housing developments in certain circumstances. This council believes that: 1. The current planning laws are not the reason for a failure to proceed with existing approved housing developments. 2. These proposals go against the spirit of the Localism Act 2011 which encourages more local control of planning policies. 3. These proposals ignore local democracy, will fail to protect local communities and will encourage more neighbourhood disputes.