Local democracy

Agenda, decisions and minutes

Venue: Committee Room 1 - City Hall, Bradford

Contact: Jill Bell / Yusuf Patel 

Items
No. Item

126.

DISCLOSURES OF INTEREST

(Members Code of Conduct - Part 4A of the Constitution)

 

To receive disclosures of interests from members and co-opted members on matters to be considered at the meeting. The disclosure must include the nature of the interest.

 

An interest must also be disclosed in the meeting when it becomes apparent to the member during the meeting.

 

Notes:

 

(1)       Members may remain in the meeting and take part fully in discussion and voting unless the interest is a disclosable pecuniary interest or an interest which the Member feels would call into question their compliance with the wider principles set out in the Code of Conduct.  Disclosable pecuniary interests relate to the Member concerned or their spouse/partner.

 

(2)       Members in arrears of Council Tax by more than two months must not vote in decisions on, or which might affect, budget calculations, and must disclose at the meeting that this restriction applies to them.  A failure to comply with these requirements is a criminal offence under section 106 of the Local Government Finance Act 1992. 

 

(3)       Members are also welcome to disclose interests which are not disclosable pecuniary interests but which they consider should be made in the interest of clarity.

 

(4)       Officers must disclose interests in accordance with Council Standing Order 44.

 

Minutes:

 

In the interest of transparency Councillor Imran Khan stated that he was based at Grange Interlink, one of the 5 Area Hubs that had been set up during the current pandemic.

 

ACTION: City Solicitor

 

127.

INSPECTION OF REPORTS AND BACKGROUND PAPERS

(Access to Information Procedure Rules – Part 3B of the Constitution)

 

Reports and background papers for agenda items may be inspected by contacting the person shown after each agenda item.  Certain reports and background papers may be restricted. 

 

Any request to remove the restriction on a report or background paper should be made to the relevant Strategic Director or Assistant Director whose name is shown on the front page of the report. 

 

If that request is refused, there is a right of appeal to this meeting. 

 

Please contact the officer shown below in advance of the meeting if you wish to appeal. 

 

(Jill Bell / Yusuf Patel - 01274 434580 434579)

Minutes:

There were no appeals submitted by the public to review decisions to restrict
documents.

 

LEADER OF COUNCIL & CORPORATE

(Councillor Hinchcliffe)

128.

BUILDING A BETTER FUTURE: LIVING WITH COVID 19 AND LAYING THE FOUNDATIONS FOR A BETTER FUTURE pdf icon PDF 1 MB

The Chief Executive will submit a report (Document “BQ”) which follows the report to Executive on the 30th April 2020 and outlines the action taken since then to support the District through the COVID 19 pandemic and the next steps we intend to take including action to support a period of time living with the virus and to lay the foundations for a better future.

 

Recommended –

 

It is recommended that:

(1)       Executive note the content of the report and the wide ranging activity undertaken by the Council and its partners since 30 April to address the crisis, support the District through lockdown and develop action plans for the easing of lockdown measures.

(2)       The priorities for the next six months as outlined in paragraphs 5.3 to 5.10 and in Appendix C to Document “BQ”are approved.

(3)       The framework for medium and longer term planning as outlined in paragraphs 5.12 to 5.21 to Document “BQ” is approved.

(4)       That the Chief Executive is instructed to ensure that the Quarter 1         Financial Position Statement to be reported to the July 2020 meeting of the Executive includes a programme of investment proposals that may be necessary to support adaptation to life with COVID 19 and to lay the foundations for a better future.

Overview and Scrutiny Committee: Corporate

 

(Nigel Smith -  7582103578 / Philip Witcherley - 07970 684889)

 

Minutes:

The Chief Executive submitted a report (Document “BQ”) which followed the report to Executive on the 30th April 2020 and outlined the action taken since then to support the district through the COVID 19 pandemic and the next steps the Council intended to take, including action to support a period of time living with the virus and to lay the foundations for a better future.

 

The Leader stated that she received daily briefings from Public Health on how people in the district were coping with the Covid pandemic, to press 494 people had died in the district as a result of contracting the virus.  In the midst of this, the community was effectively in lockdown and many families were having to greave the loss of a loved one in very challenging circumstances, and to this end preserving life was the main priority. It was therefore important to maintain the restrictions in order to safeguard life.

 

The Leader added that this was a wide ranging report, with an element of future planning taking a central role as we try and move forward as a district. To this end we were entering a very difficult period, and rethinking our priorities was a crucial element in this, as was planning for the next five years; and therefore a report at the July meeting of the Executive will outline the next steps in more detail.

 

The Chief Executive echoed the sentiments expressed by the Leader and stated that although it was sober assessment in terms of where we were, foundations needed to be laid in terms of the district’s recovery; and as the easing of restrictions continued, we have to acknowledge that the virus has not disappeared and we had to find a new way on how we can live with the virus in our midst.

 

The Chief Executive added that the investment proposals would be brought before the Executive in July, and to this end the Council was working closely with its partners both at WYCA, the local resilience forum as well as the community and voluntary sectors to support people in the district, and the volume of activities being undertaken were detailed in the report.

 

In the next 6 months implementing track and trace was a crucial element of the next phase, identifying infection rates and isolating appropriately, so effective implementation of this was crucial for the recovery phase.  To this end the Council would be working with its partners, including those in the retail sector, so that the opening up of this and other sectors is safe and seamless.

 

As a result of the pandemic, the impacts felt locally were real, with an increase in the levels of unemployment, domestic violence cases and the impact on education, as well as the disproportionate impact of the virus on the black and minority ethnic communities.

 

Financial help had been received from Government, however the Council was projecting an overspend, and it was important that financial assistance from Government was meaningful  ...  view the full minutes text for item 128.