To consider the notices of motions set out below:

 

12.1

 

Healthy Homes and Places

 

To be moved by: Councillor Matt Edwards

Seconded by: Councillor Martin Love

 

This Council notes:

 

·         The powerful evidence which demonstrates the link between people’s homes and their health, wellbeing and life chances.

·         That the COVID-19 emergency has reinforced the need for healthy environments which provide space for recreation, children’s play and walkable streets.

·         That well-designed homes that meet all our resident’ needs over their lifetimes can radically reduce costs to NHS and social care budgets.

·         That people have a basic right to live in environments free from unacceptable levels of air and noise pollution.

·         That homes must be affordable to heat

·         This is a climate emergency. Houses in the UK account for 30 per cent of the UK's total energy use, 27 per cent of UK carbon dioxide emissions and around 24 per cent of greenhouse gas emissions. It is therefore more important than ever that new houses are built to zero carbon standards.

·         That current government policy to deregulate planning is creating thousands of substandard homes through conversion of existing buildings into homes without planning permission.

 

This council also notes that these are the Healthy Homes Principles, as promoted by the Town and Country Planning Association:

 

·         all new homes must be safe in relation to the risk of fire;

·         all new homes must have, as a minimum, the liveable space required to meet the needs of people over their whole lifetimes, including adequate internal and external storage space;

·         all main living areas and bedrooms of a new dwelling must have access to natural light;

·         all new homes and their surroundings must be designed to be inclusive, accessible, and adaptable to suit the needs of all;

·         all new homes should be built within places that prioritise and provide access to sustainable transport and walkable services, including green infrastructure and play space;

·         all new homes must secure radical reductions in carbon emissions in line with the provisions of the Climate Change Act 2008;

·         all new homes must demonstrate how they will be resilient to a changing climate over their full lifetime;

·         all new homes must be built to design out crime and be secure;

·         all new homes must be free from unacceptable and intrusive noise and light pollution;

·         all new homes must not contribute to unsafe or illegal levels of indoor or ambient air pollution and must be built to minimise, and where possible eliminate, the harmful impacts of air pollution on human health and the environment, and;

·         all new homes must be designed to provide year-round thermal comfort for inhabitants.

 

This Council resolves to:

 

·         Strive to ensure that the principles of Healthy Homes and Places are met, in order to create the highest quality places for residents which will be a fitting legacy for future generations;

·         Review related policies, processes and procedures as part of current Local Plan review, and develop and adopt new policies, to ensure that all new development is in line with the Healthy Homes and Places Principles;

·         Make the Healthy Homes and Places principles an integral part of Council decision making on housing and planning; and

·         Ensure the next review of the corporate plan includes healthy homes and places as a priority.

 

12.2

 

Residents’ Parking Permit Reform

 

To be moved by: Councillor Peter Clarke

                                   

Seconded by: Councillor Mike Pollard

                                   

The Council notes:

 

·         That the current system of Resident’s Parking Permits is in parts not fit for purpose and has caused some residents significant anxiety, stress and concern.

·         The current system is cumbersome in certain situations and doesn’t provide simplicity for the individual needs of some residents.

·         Under the current system contractors or health care visitors etc are needlessly inconvenienced.

 

The Council resolves:

 

·         To increase support for those applying for permits, who do not have ready access to the internet, those who are infirm or who have a disability, including offering easy access to paper Parking Permits for residents and visitors.

·         To review the application system to make it easier for residents to apply and to simplify provision for contractors, health-carers and other visitors.

12.3

 

Home – school transport

 

To be proposed by: Councillor Kyle Green

                       

To be seconded by: Councillor Rebecca Poulsen

                                                                      

Council notes:

 

·         That there have been significant failings over a protracted period, in the Children’s Services that it provides.

·         Many families rely on home – school transport, with much of it provided via council contracts with taxi, private hire or Hackney Carriage companies.

·         Several of these contracts have been cancelled recently at short notice.

 

Council resolves:

 

·         To request that appropriate officers undertake an urgent review focussing on adherence with council safeguarding policies, by the providers of home – school transport and the measures taken by the Council to monitor this and provide a comprehensive report for the Executive Committee. To also examine whether changes to the Personal Transport Assistance Budget impacted on parental choice in relation to home – school provision.

·         To provide parents and guardians with a dedicated point of contact for raising any safeguarding concerns that they may have in relation to home – school transport.

 

12.4

 

Bradford – Britain’s biggest Levelling Up opportunity

 

To be moved by: Councillor Susan Hinchcliffe

 

Seconded by: Councillor Alex Ross-Shaw

 

Council notes:

 

Bradford is Britain’s biggest levelling up opportunity. We are a young, entrepreneurial and globally connected district, ripe with potential for exponential growth – subject to the right level of national investment to match our ambition. For the country to truly level up, it depends on Bradford levelling up.

 

We have a high quality, deliverable plan. At the heart of that plan is a new city centre through station on Northern Powerhouse Rail within the Southern Gateway – a vision for Britain’s largest clean growth development zone with over 1 million sq ft of work space.

 

A new Bradford city centre rail station has the potential to deliver 27,000 jobs and £30bn in economic benefits to the district over the next decade, whilst bringing 6.7 million people and an area of over £167bn of annual economic output to within a 35-minute journey of central Bradford.

 

The Prime Minister and his government have repeatedly promised to deliver Northern Powerhouse Rail in full, in line with our vision.  The Government’s Integrated Rail Plan (IRP) downgraded the PM’s original ambition to line upgrades.

 

Bradford cannot take ‘no’ for an answer. We will hold government to account to deliver on its promises to the people and businesses of our district.

 

Our Mayor, Tracy Brabin, as well as other Mayors and Leaders from across the Country and across the political divide have spoken up for Bradford and agree with us that we should be a stop on NPR.

 

Council resolves to:

 

Continue the delivery of our ambitious vision for the district’s transformational growth, which includes plans for a city centre stop on Northern Powerhouse Rail.

 

Proceed with the Bradford Development Framework as well as the sister development frameworks for our four principal towns, Keighley, Ilkley, Shipley and Bingley. This will create a framework for unlocking the development, clean growth and decarbonisation opportunities across the district.

 

Continue delivery of our district’s ambitious regeneration schemes and our plans for greater economic development as part of our vision to become Britain’s leading clean growth city, which would be accelerated by the new city centre station.

 

Council calls on government to:

 

Hear the voice of the North – its people, businesses and leaders across the political spectrum – and urgently reconsider the Integrated Rail Plan.

 

Deliver on its promise to build the new line for Northern Powerhouse Rail – including a new Bradford city centre through-station to accelerate the massive regeneration benefits the district needs

 

Work with us in Bradford and regionally to achieve our objectives of levelling up and ensure that the people of our district can have the same great opportunities to fulfil their potential as anyone else in the country.

 

12.5

 

Gambling

 

To be moved by: Councillor Sarah Ferriby

 

Seconded by: Councillor David Green

 

The Council notes that over the past 18 months Corporate Overview & Scrutiny Committee has looked into the issue of gambling-related harm as part of an informal review process.

 

Whilst we note that much of the gambling industry is regulated at a national level we also note that there is more that we can do to address the issue of gambling-related harm at a regional and local level. We therefore make recommendations to the Government via our MPs regarding national policy as well as making recommendations for action at a local level. Whilst the date of the formal national call for evidence in the gambling review has expired we feel that it is important that our district’s MPs are aware of the views of the Council.

 

We therefore ask the Executive to instruct the Chief Executive to write to the District MPs and relevant Minister requesting that consideration be given to the following recommendations as part of the ongoing review of national regulations:

 

      i.        The Government should publish a White Paper setting out its next steps by the end of the year.

 

     ii.        Gambling should be considered a public health issue. Current approaches targeting affected individuals substantially underestimate the harms of gambling. Public health approaches to reduce harms related to gambling should encompass a range of population based approaches supported by regulation, legislation and funding.

 

    iii.        Consider a mandatory levy to fund prevention and treatment of gambling-related harm and independent research into the issue. Funding must be spent independently of the companies and exclusively focused on reducing gambling related harm.

 

   iv.        The Government amend the definition of gaming in section 6 of the Gambling Act 2005 to regulate loot boxes as gambling.

 

    v.        To end all gambling advertising, sponsorship and promotion including bonus inducements and VIP schemes; and any exposure of gambling products likely to be viewed by children.

 

   vi.        All new gambling products to be licensed and classified according to a series of harm indicators

 

  vii.        Introduce limits/caps for online betting, and measures to reduce stakes and speed of play

 

 viii.        To consider a national membership scheme for those wishing to gamble in person or online.

 

   ix.        Simplify and improve self-exclusion schemes and measures from gambling premises and online sites, enforcing industry adherence and protecting gamblers from harm.

 

Locally the committee asks that the council and its partners:

 

a.    Carries out further work to establish the nature and level of gambling at elevated risk in the district, and use its links across Yorkshire and the Humber to develop data and insights on gambling-related harm.

 

b.    Works across Yorkshire and the Humber to produce training and information materials for frontline services to improve the identification of gambling-related harm for those who come into contact with agencies such as social services, mental health and the police.

 

c.    Uses local mechanisms to communicate the reality of gambling activity and related harms (including lived experience), and amplifies regional messaging to raise awareness, reduce stigma and encourage early help-seeking for those directly affected by gambling and affected others

 

d.    Establish an officer group on reducing gambling-related harms aligned with the Directors of Public Health, Yorkshire and the Humber and the NHS Gambling Addiction Centre in Leeds

 

e.    Promote the educational tools that are available to schools and other organisations to engage and raise awareness of gambling-related harm with young people, and use these as a basis for developing programmes that meet the needs of our community and add to local insight

 

f.     Work with community groups and workplaces to address gambling-related harms, particularly with at-risk groups.

 

g.    Collaborate to develop a public health approach to gambling-related harm across Yorkshire and the Humber, to support local plans self-exclusion, planning, licensing and education.