The following disclosures in matters under consideration were received:

Member Question Time – Community Centres (Minute 89)

Councillor Imran Khan declared an interest in Question 7 relating to Community Centres given his employment in the voluntary sector and Councillor Khadim Hussain declared that he was on the Board of a Community Centre affected by the proposals.

Motion – Bradford Requests a Better Deal in the Schools National Funding Formula (Minute 91)

Councillors Akhtar, Amran, Greenwood, Peart, Ross-Shaw, M Slater, V Slater, Tait, Thirkill, Thornton and Townend declared an interest as either employed or having a relative employed at a school and those Members with a Disclosable Pecuniary Interest were advised by the City Solicitor to leave the meeting and not participate in the debate or the decision.

Motion - Social Care Funding Crisis (Minute 92)

Councillors Cooke and Duffy declared an interest given the connection with the housing sector as Council appointed Directors of Incommunities.

Unless otherwise indicated the disclosures were made on the basis of transparency and those Members remained in the meeting during consideration and voting on the items.

ACTION:       City Solicitor

Recommended –

That the minutes of the meeting held on 13 December 2016 be signed as a correct record (previously circulated).

(Adrian Tumber – 01274 432435)

Resolved -

That the minutes of the meeting held on 13 December 2016 be signed as a correct record.

Apologies for absence were received from Councillors Carmody, Imran Hussain, Ikram, Morris, N Pollard and Sajawal.

HER MAJESTY THE QUEEN’S NEW YEAR’S HONOURS LIST

The Lord Mayor had written, on behalf of the people of the district, to congratulate local people recognised by Her Majesty The Queen in her New Year’s Honours list. Dr Helen Jayne Livingstone, a specialist palliative care consultant at Airedale NHS Foundation Trust, had been made a Member of the Order of the British Empire in recognition of her services to end of life healthcare and Mrs Habidah Glass, a school volunteer at Clayton Village Primary School, was awarded the British Empire Medal for services to education.

BRITISH NATIONAL CYCLO CROSS CHAMPIONSHIPS

The Lord Mayor attended the British National Cyclo Cross championships, held in Peel Park, Bradford on 7 and 8 January 2017, an event supported by the Council’s Parks Service.  It was the second time the national championships had been hosted. Bradford winners were Tom Pidcock, who won the Junior title; Billy Harding who won the Under-23 National title and Chris Young who won the Senior Men 50 plus Championship.

LGBT HISTORY MONTH

February was LGBT History Month.  Along with local partners, Bradford Council had put together a month of entertainment, education and discussion in recognition of the District’s valued LGBT community.  Bradford is an LGBT- friendly city and one which constantly demonstrated ways in which differences can be celebrated.

There were no restricted documents.

Up to five requests for the Council to receive petitions can be considered in accordance with Standing Orders.  To date no requests have been received.

If any requests are received to consider petitions, in writing, by mid-day three working days before the meeting (Thursday), details will be circulated.

(Palbinder Sandhu – 01274 432269)

Ian Clough Hall, Baildon

Resolved –

That the petition be referred to the Executive.

ACTION:       City Solicitor (referral to Committee)

There were no questions from members of the public.

Resolved –

(1)       That Councillors Duffy and Mullaney be appointed to the Health and Social Care Overview and Scrutiny Committee in place of Councillors Bacon and Nazir and Councillor Aneela Ahmed be appointed as the Deputy Chair.

(2)       That Councillor Bacon be appointed to the Corporate Overview and Scrutiny Committee in place of Councillor Duffy.

ACTION:       City Solicitor           

A written report by the Leader of Council giving an update on key issues will be circulated before the start of the meeting.  There shall be a period of up to 15 minutes during which any Member of Council may ask the Leader of the Council (or a Member of the Council nominated by the Leader) a question on any matter arising out of the written report.

Council Document “S” details the verbal questions from Members to the Leader of Council and the answers given on the matters contained in the Leader of Council’s written report.

To deal with supplementary questions arising from the attached questions of which written notice has been given. 

Notes:

(i)         Answers to written questions shall be circulated at the commencement of the meeting.

(ii)        The Lord Mayor will have regard to the list of questions and the political composition of the Council in calling on Members to put their supplementary question to the Leader of Council and Portfolio Holders.

(iii)       A period of up to 30 minutes shall be available for supplementary questions to Members of the Executive. 

QUESTIONS TO MEMBERS OF THE EXECUTIVE

1.         Cllr Duffy

Many carers don’t actually recognise they are carers (as revealed in recent research by Carers UK) and therefore miss out on much needed support often to the detriment of their health and personal finances. What are we doing as a council to support people into identifying themselves as carers and therefore getting the support they deserve and need?

2.         Councillor Davies

Could the Portfolio Holder for Childrens’ Services describe how successful to date, the £660,000, ring-fenced over three years, provided to recruit and retain teachers across the district, has been?

3.         Councillor Griffiths 

Can the leader of the Council confirm that Bradford Council has continued to receive repayments on the loan made to Bradford Bulls in line with the agreement and when we expect the amount to be repaid in full?

4.         Councillor Love

Can the Portfolio Holder for Adult Services please update us on the current situation regarding the former Neville Grange Resource Centre site in Saltaire and give a timescale for work on building the much-needed facilities to commence there?

5.         Councillor  Dunbar

The number of private renters made homeless has more than trebled under the Conservative Government. Will the portfolio holder join me in condemning the Conservative Government for lack of action in protecting private renters in this district and across the country?

6.         Councillor Dunbar

Does the leader agree that rail fares going up by 27% since the Tories came to power clearly shows they are failing the economy and failing to appropriately invest in Britain?

7.         Councillor Miller

Can the Leader of the Council provide colleagues with indication of which Community Centres are at greatest risk of closure in the near future?

8.         Councillor Thirkill

What are the policies and procedures of the council to monitor and enforce against persons, builders, businesses or householders burning waste plastics and other materials on sites or at business premises which causes pollution?

9.         Councillor Warburton

The council has just been awarded £1.6m through the Innovation Fund. Can the Leader confirm the amounts that other local authorities were awarded and how we plan to use the funds?

10.       Councillor Mike Pollard

At the time of posing this question, it is appreciated that the Core Strategy Development Plan is subject to a temporary Ministerial Holding Direction, but would the Portfolio Holder for Regeneration, Planning & Transport, please outline what is envisaged for the specific furtherance of Policy BD1 Criterion B (2) in  ...  view the full agenda text for item 89.

Council Document “T” details the questions from Members to the Leader of Council and Portfolio Holders and the answers given.

A motion was moved by Councillor Cooke.

An amendment,as set out in the resolution below, moved by Councillor Hinchcliffe was carried.

Resolved –

This Council welcomes the Government’s recently published response to Sir Eric Pickles’ review, entitled, “A Democracy that Works for Everyone:  A Clear and Secure Democracy” which seeks to improve the integrity and robustness of the electoral system in the UK. 

It also notes that Bradford is included as one of 18 pilots which includes places as far apart as Peterborough and Woking.  These pilots are expected to take place in May 2018 Local Elections.

Council resolves to:

·         Work with the Cabinet Office and Electoral Commission to ensure that the ID requirement is widely advertised among the electorate.

·         Use the pilot as an opportunity to publicise voting and get more people voting in Bradford in local council elections.

·         Press the Cabinet Office to ensure details and funding is made available to pilot local authorities as soon as possible to make sure that good preparations can be made well in advance.

Congratulate the police for all the good work they have done in ensuring free and fair elections in Bradford in previous years and continue our good working partnership with them, ensuring all Bradfordians feel confident to vote according to their will.

ACTION:       Director Corporate Services/City Solicitor

A motion,as set out in the resolution below, moved by Councillor Imran Khan was carried.

Amendments moved by Councillor Cooke and Councillor Ward were defeated.

Resolved –

This Council notes the second stage of the Government consultation on the National Funding Formula for schools. This will hit the budget of every school in Bradford District. We are greatly concerned it could have a major detrimental impact on the education of our children who are the future of this district. The new formula could also result in significant job losses in Bradford schools.

This is a cut in education spend in Bradford District at a time when schools are just starting to turn round and improve their performance. This is a huge distraction from accelerating the performance in education that Bradford needs.

The Government should change the National Funding Formula so that it takes into account:

·         The additional needs of a large metropolitan district

·         Rising real term costs

·         The drop in funding for early years already announced.

This Council resolves to:

·         Ask the Government to account for growth in demand of additional SEN in this district.

·         Instruct council officers to make strong representations on this issue as part of the consultation process.

·         Ask each of the District’s five MPs to make their views known on this to the Secretary of State for Education.

ACTION:       Chief Executive/Strategic Director Children’s Services

A motion was moved by Councillor Val Slater.

An amendment, as set out in the resolution below, was moved by Councillor Hinchcliffe and was carried.

Resolved –

(1)       Council supports national efforts by the Local Government Association and Parliamentary Select Committees to secure cross-party agreement on future funding for social care and that local government leaders should be part of that review process.

(2)       Council believes that the use of Council Tax as the primary funding mechanism is inequitable to areas like Bradford which starts from a lower Council tax base.

Council resolves:

(1)       To reflect the emerging national cross-party consensus on this issue, the Leader of Council and Leader of Opposition to seek an urgent meeting with the Secretary of State for Health to raise Bradford’s concerns about the sustainability of social care funding.

(2)       To continue working with health colleagues to improve the interface of health and social care.

(3)       To start the implementation, together with all our partners, of the current plans across health, social care and housing for the long term care infrastructure needed to meet Bradford’s future needs.

ACTION:       Leader of Council/Leader of the Conservative Group/Strategic Director Health and Wellbeing/Strategic Director Adult Services/ Strategic Director Place

A motion, as set out in the resolution below, was moved by Councillor Dodds and was carried.

Resolved –

This Council notes that:

The International Day of Zero Tolerance for Female Genital mutilation (FGM) takes place annually on 6th February. This is a UN-sponsored day to raise awareness of this issue as part of efforts to bring FGM to an end throughout the world.

FGM refers to altering or injuring the female genitalia for non-medical reasons.

This is an extreme form of abuse, it is a violation of the human rights of girls and women, it can lead to long term physical and emotional trauma and it is a criminal act.

Council officers and colleagues in the health service and the voluntary sector already work to monitor and combat FGM, but by supporting the international zero tolerance campaign we can help raise awareness of this safeguarding issue and build on the hard work already done in the district to put a stop to FGM.

Bradford Council, the Safeguarding Adults board, the Bradford Safeguarding Children Board and its partners stands firmly against FGM and resolves to:

·         Support the International Day of Zero Tolerance against FGM

·         Continue to work closely together to fulfil our shared responsibility to safeguard and protect local women and girls against FGM

·         Continue to work with all partner organisations including the voluntary sector to raise awareness about this issue and make it clear that any form of FGM is not acceptable.

ACTION:       Chief Executive/Strategic Director Health and Wellbeing/Strategic Director Adult Services/Strategic Director Children’s Services