11.1 – Safer Parking Across the Bradford District

 

Resolved –

 

Moved by: Councillor Alex Ross-Shaw

Seconded by: Councillor Abdul Jabar

 

Illegal parking is a growing concern for residents across the Bradford District, given the impact on safety for pedestrians and other road users and reducing traffic flow. This is especially a concern around schools, residential areas and busy high streets.

 

Council notes that:

 

·         Bradford Council has 36 full time Equivalent Civil Enforcement Officers.

 

·         A maximum of 29 Civil Enforcement Officers work at any given time targeting hot spots in every ward in the district.

 

·         A maximum of 12 Civil Enforcement Officers work on evenings & weekends. Other than Civil Enforcement officers, Bradford Council uses bus lane cameras & CCTV car to issue penalty charge notices.

 

·         Bradford Council issued 78,897 Penalty Charge Notices for parking in 2022.

 

·         Bradford Council issued 103,650 Penalty Charge Notices for parking in 2023.

 

·         Council has implemented a number of School Streets across the district - including in Royds, West Bowling, Girlington and Shipley - which close streets around schools to non-local traffic. A further two are planned in Canterbury and Lower Grange but it can be difficult for schools to allocate resources to manage the schemes locally. School streets complement our Schools 20mph programme that has been rolled out to over 50 schools across the district.

 

·         Our Clean Air Zone funding programme, Clean Air Schools, provides funding opportunities for schools to reduce traffic emissions and includes additional Environmental Enforcement officers with anti-Idling enforcement powers.

 

·         Council introduced new highway enforcement powers, including on yellow box junctions, as soon as it was legally able following changes to legislation coming into force in July 2023. The first sites where this was introduced were:

 

-       Godwin Street and Westgate, yellow box junction

-       Godwin Street and Sunbridge Road, yellow box junction

-       Great Horton Road, one-way system outside the Alhambra Theatre

-       Shipley Airedale Road and Leeds Road, no right turn restrictions in both directions

 

Council resolves to:

 

·         On a separate but related matter, to continue trialling yellow box highways enforcement, monitoring the progress of trial sites underway with the view to rolling it out further as resources allow.

 

·         To consider Red Routes on major transport schemes in development throughout the district.

 

·         Continue our roll-out of School Streets and encourage schools to work with us in implementing more across the district as funding allows.

 

·         Ask officers to provide a comprehensive briefing note to all Councillors outlining the existing powers available to deal with illegal parking, where the responsibility lies locally and the process members can follow to address illegal parking in their own wards.

 

·         Encourage members to work with their local Area Office and Ward Officers to identify any local issues in their ward, so the Area Office can instigate Days of Action including working with partners in West Yorkshire Police to tackle the problem.

 

To be actioned by: Strategic Director Place

 

11.2 – Problematic Pavement Parking

 

Resolved –

 

Moved by: Councillor Alex Ross-Shaw

Seconded by: Councillor Abdul Jabar

 

This Council notes:

 

·         The Highway Code advises vehicles “should not” park on the pavement. However, outside of London and Scotland, it is still legal

 

·         Pavement parking can pose a hazard to pedestrians, especially parents with pushchairs, people with sight loss, wheelchair users and other disabled people. These people are especially at risk as they can be forced into the road and faced with oncoming traffic that they cannot see

 

·         Pavements are not designed to take the weight of vehicles and so surfaces can become damaged or subside, presenting a further hazard for pedestrians, particularly those with disabilities

 

·         Local estate roads were not designed, and continue not to be designed, to allow sufficient width for vehicles to park on each side of the road whilst allowing other traffic to pass.

 

·         Planning policy for new housing developments tries to limit car ownership by reducing the number of off-street parking places well below the current level of car ownership meaning even new estates cannot accommodate modern car numbers.

 

·         Action to tackle pavement parking is currently problematic because:

-       The current legislation on nuisance pavement parking is confusing

-       The legal remedies available to tackle nuisance pavement parking are unsatisfactory

 

This Council also notes:

 

·         The Department for Transport’s ‘Pavement Parking: Options for Change’ consultation closed in November 2020 - but to date the outcome of this has not been published, despite many councils asking for this

 

·         Over 15,000 people took the time to respond to this consultation, demonstrating the level of public concern. They are still waiting for a response.

 

·         Bradford Council responded to the consultation requesting the discretionary ability to apply greater powers to deal with pavement parking

 

·         From June 2016, all parking contraventions became the responsibility of the Local Council Authority's Civil Enforcement Officers (Traffic Wardens) - whilst Police have responsibility for and the ability to deal with nuisance / obstruction offences - where a vehicle is causing an obstruction

 

·         Surveys and polls repeatedly show overwhelming support for legislation to address pavement parking across England and Wales. Sustrans’ Walking and Cycling Index showed that 65% of residents supported the complete prohibition of pavement parking (while only 16% oppose it)

 

·         In some areas there is simply nowhere available for many of the cars to go, and therefore discretion is required in how to tackle the problem

 

·         Sustainable and strong public transport provides a long-term alternative to car ownership that can help minimise the impact in many areas

 

Council resolves to:

 

·         Take action on inconsiderate pavement parking wherever it is found in the district within existing legislation, powers and resource.

 

·         Ask the Chief Executive to write to the Secretary of State for Transport requesting that the Government’s response to the consultation now be published as promised

 

·         Ask officers to provide a comprehensive briefing note to all Councillors outlining the existing powers available to deal with pavement parking, where the responsibility lies locally and the process members can follow to address pavement parking in their own wards

 

·         Write to the Deputy Mayor for Policing and Crime to ask her to ensure that West Yorkshire Police are consistently using their powers to tackle nuisance / obstruction offences. Her response should be circulated to all councillors.

 

To be actioned by: Chief Executive/Strategic Director Place

 

11.3 – Banking Hubs

 

Resolved –

 

Moved by: Councillor Alex Ross-Shaw

Seconded by: Councillor Abdul Jabar

 

Council believes:

 

·         That access to face to face banking services and cash facilities is important for many of our residents, especially those who are vulnerable or digitally excluded, and for charities, small businesses and voluntary organisations.

 

·         That continuing Post Office and bank branch closures are making an already difficult situation progressively worse.

 

Council notes that:

 

·         The moves towards the provision of shared “Banking Hubs” to provide banking services for customers of all banks in locations where such services are absent or threatened.

 

·         That Banking Hubs have support across the political spectrum and from current and proposed regulatory changes and advice.

 

·         Shadow City Minister, Tulip Siddiq, announced Labour’s plan to quickly deliver 350 banking hubs to protect in-person banking services on Britain’s high streets meaning more people across the country will be able to access the services they need closer to home.

 

Council resolves:

 

·         To support the principle of Banking Hubs on our high streets and support residents who are lobbying for a banking hub in their community by making appropriate representations to LINK who are responsible for assessing the need.

 

·         Where relevant, to identify council assets that would be suitable as the locations of Banking Hubs, bearing in mind the Council’s legal obligation to obtain ‘best value’ from any disposals or leases.

 

To be actioned by: Strategic Director Corporate Resources/Strategic Director Place

 

11.4 – Cost of School Uniforms

 

Resolved –

 

Moved by: Councillor Imran Khan

Seconded by: Councillor Sue Duffy

 

That with the addition and deletion of the appropriate words, the motion be amended to read as follows:

 

Council notes that:

 

a) The cost of school uniforms can put an enormous strain on family budgets and can result in children not going to a school on grounds of the affordability of the uniform.

 

b) Having a uniform ready the night before school is one of the "top tips" for improving school attendance.

 

c) The Government has issued statutory guidance which seeks to make school uniform more affordable for families.

 

d) Research by the School wear Association shows the average cost of a school uniform, worn for around 175 days, has declined.

 

e) Not wearing the correct uniform can lead to sanction.

 

f) The most expensive items are the branded items of school clothing such as blazers, ties, trousers, skirts and physical education kit.

 

g) All schools receive Pupil Premium funding and many schools use this funding to support families with the cost of school uniforms.

 

h) Many schools already provide parents with non-logo alternatives so that they do not have to buy uniform with a logo on it, such as a school jumper or school shirt.

 

i) The majority of schools have played an important and valued role, alongside the council and other partners, in going above and beyond to support children and families through the pandemic and cost of living crisis.

 

j) That there are community and charity projects within the Bradford District that provide school uniform support

 

k) The Bradford District Credit Union is running a UniformSavers scheme, initially funded by the council and now by the West Yorkshire Combined Authority, in which parents pay £10 into a monthly savings account which is then topped up with a £100 payment from the scheme in August to supplement the parent’s savings to pay for their child’s school uniform.

 

Council believes:

 

a) The cost of buying a school uniform should never be a barrier to learning or attendance.

 

b) Schools should make their uniforms more affordable by reducing the number of branded items to no more than two and ensuring most items can be bought from high street retailers.

 

c) Adherence to the school uniform statutory guidance should form part of the OFSTED Inspection.

 

d) Parents, Carers and Pupils should have the ‘right of appeal’ to the Department for Education should school uniform policy fail to comply with the guidance.

 

Council resolves to:

 

Support the #CutTheCost campaign by the Children’s Society and support the Portfolio Holder for Education, Employment and Skills to write to the Secretary of State for Education requesting that she amends the guidance as follows:

 

a) Reduce the number of branded school uniform items to no more than two

 

b) Include adherence to the statutory guidance on the cost of school uniform as part of the OFSTED framework

 

c) Fund schools sufficiently so that they can ensure that all parents of children on Free Schools Meals are able to access a fully subsidised uniform annually and that an enhanced Pupil Premium Grant may be used to off-set this cost.

 

d) Ensure that Parents, Carers and Pupils have the right of appeal to the Department for Education should a school’s uniform policy fail to comply with the guidance.

 

To be actioned by: Strategic Director Children’s Services/Portfolio Holder for Education, Employment and Skills

 

11.5 – Anti-social use of Vehicles

 

Resolved –

 

Moved by: Councillor Julie Glentworth

Seconded by: Councillor Paul Sullivan

 

Council notes that:

 

·         Operation Steerside has been a resounding success, resulting in the seizure of over 2300 vehicles, the issuing of 11,500 fixed penalty notices and 520 arrests.

 

·         Despite this, areas within Bradford District consistently rank high amongst the parts of the country with the most uninsured drivers.

 

·         Despite previous motions to council regarding the anti-social use of motor vehicles, including off-road vehicles and the illegal use of electric scooters, some elected members continue to receive large numbers of complaints from residents, regarding issues including illegally loud exhaust pipes, road racing and absolute disregard for other motorists, particularly motorcyclists and also pedestrians and cyclists.

 

·         The anti-social use of vehicles is not spread uniformly across the district, with the quality of the lives of residents of urban areas such as Keighley and the City being more blighted than in rural areas.

 

·         An increase in patrols took place to highlight five years of Operation Steerside.

 

Council resolves:

 

·         To request that the Chief Executive task appropriate officers to continue the good work with partners such as West Yorkshire Police and undertake a consultation exercise with residents to identify key problem spots and further effective mitigation and alleviation measures.

 

·         To request that the Corporate Overview & Scrutiny Committee review the findings.

 

To be actioned by: Chief Executive/Strategic Director Place/Interim Director of Legal and Governance

 

11.6 – Care Leaver Covenant

 

Moved by: Cllr Sue Duffy

Seconded by: Cllr Sarah Ferriby

 

As councillors, employees and partners we all have a Corporate Parenting responsibility for ensuring that we provide the best possible outcomes for Children and Young People in the care of the Local Authority, and this includes our young people who are in the process of leaving care and becoming independent.

 

The young people who are leaving our care have the right to expect the support that any good parent would provide to their children as they move forward into adulthood.

 

As sons and daughters or as parents ourselves, we have relied on the support of our families as we have navigated independence. Can you imagine what it must be like to be alone with no one to turn to? It is our duty as corporate parents to ensure our care leavers receive the best possible support to fulfil their potential and lead productive and stable lives.

 

We already provide a good level of support to our Care Leavers:

·         Free gym membership.

·         Exemption from Council Tax up to 25 years of age.

·         Care Leavers as a Protected Characteristic.

·         Home set up support.

·         Staying Put provision.

 

But we can always do more. We believe that through demonstrating our commitment to the Care Leaver Covenant this will enable us to work proactively with our partners to encourage their sign up to the covenant and through our collective work further develop our support to our young care leavers to ensure that:

 

·         Care leavers are better prepared and supported to live independently.

 

·         Care leavers have improved access to employment, education and training.

 

·         Care leavers experience stability in their lives and feel safe and secure.

 

·         Care leavers have improved access to health and emotional support.

 

·         Care leavers achieve financial stability.

 

Therefore, the Council resolves to:

 

·         Sign up to the Care Leaver Covenant

 

·         Work with our Children in Care and Care experienced young people to develop opportunities to ensure all of the above are further developed

 

·         Work with our partners to enable the development of the Care Leavers support offer across departments and organisations

 

·         Ensure the inclusion of the Care Leaver Covenant in our social value contracting.

 

To be actioned by:  Strategic Director Children’s Services and all other Strategic Directors and Directors

 

 

11.7 – Delivering for the people of the Bradford District

 

Resolved –

 

Moved by: Cllr Susan Hinchcliffe

Seconded by: Cllr Imran Khan

 

Council notes that:

 

Bradford district is a place of opportunity at the heart of the North. Our district has immense potential. Because of our financial challenges, it’s vital that we also continue to work with Government to create economic growth for our district. Together with our residents, businesses and partner organisations we will achieve great things in the coming year. The regeneration of the district is gathering pace. This will bring new jobs and opportunities.

 

In the past year, working with partners, amongst other achievements we have also:

·         Secured a Government commitment for a new city centre train station to get Bradford on the mainline

·         Delivered Grade A office space at One City Park with an anchor tenant announced

·         Begun delivery of key Towns Fund schemes in Keighley and Shipley

·         Become one of only three Strategic Place Partnerships in the UK to develop plans for high quality new housing with Homes England

 

In the next year the Bradford District will build on this regeneration progress and:

 

·         Open landmark regeneration schemes ahead of being UK City of Culture 2025 – attracting an influx of visitors and investment into the district

 

·         Host Yorkshire Day in Bradford on 1st August 2025 – following in the footsteps of Keighley’s successful hosting in 2022

 

·         Complete the once-in-a-generation transformation of a cleaner, greener city centre

 

·         Deliver significant investments with partners in Keighley and Shipley

 

·         Showcase the opportunities the whole district offers to investors at UKREIFF 2024.

 

All the while implementing our plan to achieve financial sustainability as an effective and efficient council for our residents and lobbying Government for fairer funding for councils.

 

Council resolves to:

 

·         Mandate the Chief Executive and the officer team to develop a continuous and robust cycle of transformation and budget management

 

·         Support the Children’s Trust to achieve the success that we all want to see for the children of the district

 

·         Continue to lobby government for a fair and sustainable funding deal that matches the level of need and opportunity we represent

 

·         Support the City of Culture Trust to deliver an outstanding year for the whole nation in 2025

 

·         Task the Strategic Director of Place to work with the business community on a growth plan to develop the next generation of quality jobs

 

·         Work at pace with the Department for Transport and West Yorkshire Combined Authority to deliver our new station, mass transit and transport connectivity ambitions.

 

To be actioned by: Chief Executive/Strategic Director Children’s Services/Strategic Director Place/Strategic Director Corporate Resources/Strategic Director Health and Wellbeing/Director of Finance

 

11.8 – Bradford Council calls for end to violence, making way for Peace

 

Resolved –

 

Moved by: Councillor Susan Hinchcliffe

Seconded by: Councillor Imran Khan

 

Council notes that:

 

1)    The clear will of Bradford Council, expressed at the 12th December Full Council meeting, to support the Labour Group motion entitled “This Council calls for an immediate and lasting ceasefire in Gaza.” This detailed 27 resolutions including:

 

-       Demanding an immediate and permanent ceasefire

-       Release of all hostages

-       Advocating for a two state solution with a safe and secure Israel and a safe and secure Palestine

-       The immediate recognition of an independent and viable State of Palestine as part of the two-state solution.

-       Condemnation of the collective punishment of Palestinian civilians by the Israeli Government which has meant 1.9 million people have been displaced. Condemnation of the terrorist attacks by Hamas against civilians in Israel

-       Immediate, urgent, humanitarian aid to Gazans and funding to help them restore water, food, electricity and homes

-       That the UK Government takes steps to ensure that arms and military equipment either designed or built in whole or in part in the UK is not used in acts that amount to war crimes under international law.

-       Reaffirmation that those responsible for crimes and war crimes under international law must be held accountable through whatever means possible

-       Reaffirmation that the taking of civilian hostages is a war crime.

 

2)     Since then the International Court of Justice delivered an interim ruling in January in response to the application of the Convention on the Prevention and Punishment of the Crime of Genocide in the Gaza Strip.

3)    Pramila Patten, the UN's Special Representative on Sexual Violence in Conflict, has recently produced a report which has stated her team had "found clear and convincing information that sexual violence, including rape, sexualised torture, cruel, inhuman and degrading treatment" had been committed against hostages.

4)    World leaders have failed to end the horror and to bring about an immediate and lasting ceasefire.

5)    Islamophobic and antisemitic language used over recent weeks by senior national politicians in the UK is damaging our country and its cohesion.

 

Council resolves to:

 

Call on the international community to:

 

·         Demand an immediate lasting ceasefire now – the death toll now stands at 31,000 people, 21,000 of them children and women.

 

·         Condemn the killing of civilians.

 

·         Press for the immediate release of all the hostages immediately and unconditionally.

 

·         Condemn sexual violence as a weapon of intimidation, whoever commits it. This is a war crime.

 

·         Make sure that a ground offensive by the Israeli military on Rafah, now the largest refugee camp in the world, DOES NOT HAPPEN. Most of those in the camp are women and children and over one million people are starving. Any ground invasion will be utterly unsustainable for human life. If they do not die from violence, they will die from hunger and disease.

 

·         Reflect that Ramadan is a time when people are encouraged to feed those who have nothing. The international community has a moral obligation to get food to the people in Rafah before they starve.

 

·         Demand that food, aid, water, shelter and safety be delivered into Rafah by whatever route possible – by sea, through Egypt – they need to be saved from starvation.

 

·         Prevent famine. Thousands of pregnant women in Gaza are suffering from malnourishment and dehydration, and are therefore being denied basic medical rights.

 

·         Condemn any attempts to attack Rafah and the 1.4 million people seeking refuge there.

 

·         Condemn the shootings that have overwhelmed aid trucks. People are desperate for food; they shouldn’t have to risk their lives to get it.

 

·         Condemn the Israeli Defence Force for blocking the delivery of food aid by the World Food Programme its first attempt in two weeks to bring food aid to northern Gaza.

 

·         Provide immediate, unhindered, humanitarian support that people can access safely.

 

·         Reaffirm support for a viable and independent state of Palestine as part of the two state solution and condemn Netanyahu for standing in the way of the two state solution which is the only path to peace.

 

·         Support the principles set out in the EDM motion in the House of Commons, entitled International Court of Justice ruling on Gaza and the UK’s duties under the Genocide Convention, which “notes the ruling of the International Court of Justice (ICJ) on 26 January 2024, which found that it is plausible that Israel’s ongoing attacks on the Palestinian people in Gaza are in breach of the Genocide Convention” and calls on the UK Government to support the provisional measures ordered by the court. Furthermore, in this EDM, act on the ICJ provisional measures, including ordering the Israeli Government and its military to prevent acts against Palestinians in Gaza prohibited by Article II of the Genocide Convention, such as killings of Palestinians in Gaza, as well as ordering the Israeli Government to prevent and punish incitement to genocide and to enable the provision of urgently needed basic services and humanitarian assistance to the people of Gaza; and supporting the ICJ call for the immediate and unconditional release of the hostages

 

·         Insist Israel take stronger action and put a stop to settler violence in the West Bank. Too often, we see commitments made and undertakings given, but not followed through.

 

·         Condemn the decision to permit another 3,500 housing units as part of an illegal settlement in the West Bank. Demand the Israeli government to revoke these.

 

In Bradford district:

 

·         We condemn the violence witnessed at a fast food shop in Bradford. Such an attack against a business is disgraceful. Such intimidation and bullying has no place here in Bradford district.

 

·         We condemn those who use islamophobic or antisemitic language and tropes. Bradford does not tolerate such Culture Wars and we must condemn those who seek to divide us.

 

·         We remember that words can wound. Councillors may not be international peace negotiators but we have a responsibility in our community of Bradford district to treat everyone with respect.

 

·         Recommit ourselves as a City of Sanctuary to demonstrate whoever you are, wherever you are from, you will always find a welcome here in Bradford.

 

·         Encourage our young people to consider studies in Peace at Bradford University so they can be the new peacebuilders in a fractured world where our generation has so badly failed.

 

·         Fly the Peace Flag at City Hall to demonstrate that everyone in Bradford wants the international community to tirelessly strive for Peace.

 

·         Remember that at this time of year in particular with Ramadan (c11th March) Easter Sunday (31st March) and Passover (beginning 22nd April) we should respect all our faith communities and support them in their prayers for an immediate end to conflict and lasting peace.