Agenda and minutes

(15 minutes for public questions and 25 minutes for Councillor questions)

The Mayor advised the meeting that the first item on the agenda in Open Council was Public Question Time.  The questions had been received from members of the public and would be taken in the order in which they had been received.  Council was advised that if the questioner was not present then the question would appear on the screen in the Council Chamber.

The following questions had been submitted:

1.       Question received from MetroMeerkat via Twitter:

“Over the last 6 years, with most budgets & services being cut, how has number of Oldham Councillors & their direct costs changed?”

Councillor Shah, Cabinet Member for Performance and Corporate Governance, responded that the number of Oldham Metropolitan Borough Councillors has remained at sixty for many years.  The Council had recently resolved that this was the appropriate number of councillors given the size of the population in the borough which ensure there was not democratic deficit.

The direct costs of councillors were the allowances which were paid to councillors.  The level of these allowances were recommended to the Council by an Independent Remuneration Panel.

2.       Question received from Martin Mathews via Twitter:

“What work’s being done with the regional schools commissioner to address the underperformance of secondary schools in Oldham?”

Councillor Akhtar, Cabinet Member for Education and Skills responded that the Local Authority worked closely with the new appointed Regional Schools Commissioner and with other partners in the school improvement process such as the Department for Education and OFSTED.  It was important to remember that many of the secondary schools across Oldham performed very well and that under achievement was not the norm in all secondary schools.  Where the local authority had concerns about maintained secondary schools there was a robust programme of support and intervention that was negotiated with schools.  Many of the good and outstanding schools undertook this work on the Council’s behalf, in some cases schools from outside the Borough were brokered in for specific support.  Where the local authority had concerns about an Academy, the regulations were clear, those concerns were brought to the attention of the Regional Schools Commissioner and it was for the Commissioner and DfE to take action for the improvement of academies.  As a local authority, positive relationships were sought with all academies in Oldham in the Council’s role as Champion of Excellence for all and believed that every school should be good or outstanding in the borough.  In most cases the relationships were strong and improvement was evident in academies.  However, in some cases where improvement was too slow, representations had been made to DfE and they were taking action.

3.       Question received from HackOldham via Twitter:

“How can we get Oldham Schools to engage with @STEMNET?  There are very few requests in the borough stemnet.org.uk”

Councillor Akhtar, Cabinet Member for Education and Skills responded that STEMNET linked with all 163 state funded secondary schools in Greater Manchester which included all Oldham Schools through the Manchester Museum of Science and Industry.  STEMNET had contacted STEM  ...  view the full minutes text for item 1.

Apologies were received from Councillors Azad, Hussain, Price and Sheldon.

RESOLVED that the minutes of the Council meeting held on 4^th November 2015 be approved as a correct record.

In accordance with the Code of Conduct, elected members declared the following interests:

Councillors Dean, Jabbar, McCann, Sykes  declared a personal interest in Item 15, Minutes of the Unity Partnership Board by virtue of their appointment to the Board; Councillors Dearden, Fielding, Roberts and Wrigglesworth declared a personal interest in Item 9, Budget Proposals, by virtue of their appointment to the Positive Steps Board;  Councillors G. Alexander, Chauhan, Harrison and McCann declared a personal interest in Items 9 and 15, Minutes of the Oldham Care and Support, by virtue of the appointment to the OCS Board. Councillors Dean, Jabbar and McCann declared a personal interest at Item 9 by virtue of their membership of the Joint Venture Unity Board. Councillor Gloster declared a disclosable pecuniary interest at Item 15, minutes of the Police and Crime Panel by virtue of his employment with Greater Manchester Police.  Councillors Mushtaq, Ball, Briggs, Hibbert, Chauhan, Ames, Judge, Cosgrove, A. Alexander, Qumer, Shah, G. Alexander, Rehman, and Moores declared a personal interest at Item 8 by virtue of their membership in Unite the Union.  Councillors Toor, Wrigglesworth, Salamat, Ali, Chadderton, Fielding and Jabbar declared a personal interest at Item 8 by virtue of their membership in UNISON.  Councillor Iqbal declared a personal interest at Item 8 by virtue of his membership of the CWU Union.  Councillor Williams declared a personal interest at Item 8 by virtue of his membership in the USDAW Union.  Councillors Stretton, S. Bashforth, M. Bashforth, Roberts, Shuttleworth, Dean, Ahmad, Akhtar, Larkin and Shah declared a personal interest at Item 8 by virtue of their membership in the GMB Union.  Councillors Dearden, Harrison, and McLaren declared a personal interest at Item 8 by virtue of their membership in the NUT.  Councillor Roberts declared a personal interest at Item 9 by virtue of her consultancy for the Family and Childcare Trust.  Councillor Garry declared a personal interest at Item 8 by virtue of her membership in ANGU Trade Union.  Councillor McLaren declared a personal interest at Item 8 by virtue of his membership in the League Managers Association (Retired).  Councillor Harkness declared a personal interest at Item 8 by virtue of his membership in VOICE the union.  Councillor Klonowski declared a personal interest at Item 8 by virtue of his membership in Prospects the Union.

Councillor McMahon declared a pecuniary interest at Item 8 by virtue of his election sponsorship as a UNITE/GMB member.  He left the Chamber during this item and took no part in the voting thereon.

Councillor Qumer declared a pecuniary interest at Item 8 by virtue of his election sponsorship from trade unions.  He left the Chamber during this item and took no part in the voting thereon.

Councillor Larkin declared a pecuniary interest at Item 8 by virtue of his employment with USDAW.  He left the Chamber during this item and took no part in the voting thereon.

Councillor M. Bashforth declared a pecuniary interest at Item 9 by virtue of her employment in a secondary  ...  view the full minutes text for item 4.

There were no items of urgent business.

1.     The Mayor made reference to the recent deaths of Honorary Alderman Jack Armitage and Tony Adler.  Councillors Harrison, Sykes, Dean, Hibbert and Hudson spoke in remembrance of Alderman Armitage.  Councillors Hudson and Heffernan spoke in remembrance of Mr. Adler.

Council held a minute’s silence in memory of Honorary Alderman Jack Armitage and Tony Adler.

2.     The Mayor also made reference to the recent Parliamentary by-election for Oldham West and Royton whereby Councillor Jim McMahon had been duly elected.  On behalf of the Council he offered congratulations to Councillor McMahon on his election as MP.

The Mayor advised that one petition had been received for noting by Council:

Neighbourhoods and Cooperatives

Vehicle Plate Extension Request on behalf of Private Hire Firms and Private Hire Drivers (received 10^th November 2015 (391 signatures) (Ref 2015-23)

RESOLVED that the petition received since the last meeting of the Council be noted.

(time limit 15 minutes).

Motion 1

Councillor Chadderton to MOVE and Councillor S Bashforth to SECOND:

This Council notes with disappointment the passing of the Trade Union Bill at its second reading in parliament on 14 September 2015.
This Council believes that the Bill represents the most vicious attack on Trade Unions in over 30 years by introducing measures that will make it more difficult for employees to stand up for and defend their rights at work.
Amongst other things the passing of the Bill will introduce:
• The removal of the ability of public sector employees to have Trade Union subscriptions deducted from their salaries.
• A requirement for unions to notify police if they intend to discuss a strike on social media.
• A requirement for police to be notified 14 days in advance of a strike if striking workers intend to use placards or loudspeakers on a picket line.
• The appointment of a ‘picket supervisor’ for each picket who will be required to wear an armband and give their name and contact details to the police and their employer.
• A minimum turnout threshold of 50% in ballots for strike action.
This Council further notes that human rights groups Liberty, Amnesty International and the British Institute of Human Rights have all condemned the Bill as an attack on the basic right to protest.
The Chartered Institute of Personnel and Development has branded this law to be an 'outdated response that could have potentially counterproductive consequences'. 
In Oldham we recognise the importance of Trade Unions and the work they do representing their members. We have a good track record in employee relations such as collective agreement of single status work. We recognise the importance of liaising with our Trade Unions colleagues and of early engagement.

Council therefore resolves to:
• Ask the Chief Executive to write to the Secretary of State for Business,  Innovation and Skills, Sajid Javid MP on behalf of the Council setting out our opposition to the Bill.
• Ask the Chief Executive to write on behalf of the Council to our local MPs setting out our opposition to the Bill and requesting that they use all means available during the Committee stage of the Bill to prevent it from being enacted in its current form.

Motion 2

Councillor Dearden to MOVE and Councillor Roberts to SECOND:

Oldham Council notes with concern the continuing conflicts in the Middle East and Africa which are driving the current refugee crisis, particularly people fleeing war and persecution from Syria, Afghanistan, Eritrea and Iraq. We welcome the Government’s commitment to provide asylum for 4,000 people this year from the Syrian refugee camps but believe that as a country the United Kingdom can do more. Oldham has provided sanctuary and a new start for traumatised refugees in the past and calls on the Government to support Oldham and other councils to do more now.

Oldham’s refugee community includes approximately 160 destitute asylum seekers currently supported by a network  ...  view the full agenda text for item 8.

The Mayor informed the meeting that there were two items of outstanding business from the previous meeting.

Motion 1

Councillor Chadderton MOVED and Councillor S. Bashforth SECONDED the following motion:

“This Council notes with disappointment the passing of the Trade Union Bill at its second reading in Parliament on 14 September 2015.

This Council believes that the Bill represents the most vicious attack on Trade Unions in over 30 years by introducing measures that will make it more difficult for employees to stand up for and defend their rights at work.

Amongst other things the passing of the Bill will introduced:

·       The removal of the ability of public sector employees to have Trade Union subscriptions deducted from their salaries.

·       A requirement for unions to notify police if they intend to discuss a strike on social media.

·       A requirement for police to be notified 14 days in advance of a strike if striking workers intend to use placards or loudspeakers on a picket line.

·       The appointment of a ‘picket supervisor’ for each picket who will be required to wear an armband and give their name and contact details to the police and their employer.

·       A minimum turnout threshold of 50% in ballots for strike action.

This Council further notes that further human rights groups Liberty, Amnesty International and the British Institute of Human Rights have all condemned the Bill as an attack on the basic right to protest.

The Chartered Institute of Personnel and Development has branded this law to be an ‘outdated response that could have potentially counterproductive consequences’. 

In Oldham we recognise the importance of Trade Unions and the work they do representing their members.  We have a good track record in employee relations such as collective agreement of single status work.  We recognise the importance of liaising with our Trade Unions colleagues and of early engagement. 

Council therefore resolves to:

·       Ask the Chief Executive to write to the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills, Sajid Javid MP, on behalf of the Council setting out our opposition to the Bill and requesting that they use all means available during the Committee stage of the Bill to prevent it from being enacted in its form.

·       Ask the Chief Executive to write on behalf of the Council to our local MPs setting out our opposition to the Bill and requesting that they use all means available during the Committee stage of the Bill to prevent it from being enacted in its current form.

AMENDMENT

Councillor Harkness MOVED and Councillor Sykes SECONDED the following amendment:

“Insert as a new second paragraph:

‘Council notes that the Conservatives sought to introduce similar legislation during the last Parliament and that this legislation was blocked at the onset because of opposition from the Liberal Democrats in the Coalition Government.’

Insert as a third bullet point at the end of the motion:

·       Ask the Chief Executive to write to the Leaders of the Labour and Liberal Democrat parties asking them to agree to repeal this  ...  view the full minutes text for item 8.

Consideration was given to a report of the Director of Finance which presented the detailed Tranche 2 budget reduction proposals for the financial year 2016/17.  The proposal included five of the Tranche 1 budget reduction proposals noted at the 4^th November 2015 Council meeting for which the consultation process had concluded and a formal decision could be made.  This was prior to the receipt of the Local Government Finance Settlement and other information which would impact on budget decisions.  Further detailed budget proposals would be presented to Council on 24 February 2016. 

These proposals built upon the work that had already been undertaken in previous financial years to address budget challenges and ensured continued financial stability for the Council.

Councillor McCann spoke in support of the Budget Proposals.

Councillor Akhtar spoke in support of the Budget Proposals.

Councillor Bates spoke on the Budget Proposals.

Councillor Sykes spoke in support of the Budget Proposals.

Councillor Mushtaq spoke in support of the Budget Proposals.

Councillor Dean spoke in support of the Budget Proposals.

Councillor McMahon exercised his right of reply and spoke in support of the Budget Proposals. 

On being put to the vote FIFTY-FIVE VOTES were cast IN FAVOUR of the MOTION with ONE VOTE AGAINST and NO ABSTENTIONS.  The MOTION was therefore CARRIED.

RESOLVED that:

1.  The Tranche 1 budget reduction proposals of £2.036m, for which all consultation stages had been completed as set out in Appendix 2 and detailed at Appendix 3, be approved.

2.  The Tranche 2 budget reduction proposals of £2.957m, for which all consultation stages had been completed as set out in Appendix 5 and detailed at Appendix 6, be approved.

3.  The Tranche 2 budget proposals of £1.094m for which the conclusion of consultation was yet to be concluded as set out in Appendix 7 and detailed at Appendix 8, be noted.

4.  The Tranche 1 budget reduction proposals of £1.343m for which not all the consultation stages had yet concluded and would be considered in the January / February cycle of budget meetings be noted.

5.  Consideration was given to the information contained within the Equality Impact Assessments included at Appendices 3, 6 and 8 which supported the Tranche 1 and 2 proposals for approval and Tranche 2 for noting.

6.  The budget reduction target may need to be revised dependent on the future Government funding and policy announcements which included the Provisional and Final Local Government Finance Settlements for 2016/17.

(time limit 20 minutes)

There is no Youth Council business to consider.

There were no items submitted by the Youth Council.

The Leader of the Opposition, Councillor Sykes, raised the following two questions:

Question 1 – Closure of Oldham Tax Office

“My first question tonight concerns the proposed closure of the Oldham HMRC Tax Office at Phoenix House on Union Street.

This move will represent a massive job loss for Oldham and a further blow to our Borough’s public sector, following on top of this Government’s proposal to close both of our court houses and the significant cuts in local government spending announced recently in the Chancellor’s Autumn Statement.

The Government is proposing to close dozens of other local HMRC tax offices and consolidate their operations in large regional offices in Manchester and twelve other cities across the regions.

Such a move makes no financial sense – Manchester’s office rentals are second only to London, whilst Oldham’s are well under half the price.

Public contact with HMRC is largely online or via email or the telephone, rather than by personal visit, therefore there is no need to locate these offices to busy and expensive, cities.  Rather common sense suggests that to save money this Government should attend choose to expand the Oldham operation into a new regional centre and migrate Civil Service jobs into our Borough.

Sites like Union Street (next to the Town Centre Metrolink stop) and Hollinwood Junction (adjacent to the motorway network and the Hollinwood tram stop) are easibly accessible for staff and could represent alternative affordable locations.

This is the approach taken in London where HMRC are regionalising to Croydon and Stratford, rather than central London.

Can I therefore ask the Leader if he will join me in writing to the Chancellor and the Head of HMRC offering to work with them to bring a new regional centre to Oldham and the many new jobs that will come with it?”

Councillor McMahon, Leader of the Council, responded that he was suspicious about who was acting in Oldham’s interest.  There had not been any discussions with Leaders in Greater Manchester about the court services being cut or about HMRC moving out of town.   There were people taking advantage of rationalisation under the cloak of austerity.  It made no sense to take prime office location in Manchester.  There had been no overview by Government and there was a need for a transparent assessment to be done. He agreed of the need to make a direct representation.  The Leader was happy to facilitate a meeting whether through his role as Council Leader or as one of the MPs.

Question 2 – Wilshaw Report

“For my second question, I would like to return to a subject on which I have consistently expressed concern – namely the education of the children of this Borough.

Like any parent, I place the education of my children up at the top of my personal priorities, so like many parents in this Borough I was extremely disappointed to hear that the Head of Ofsted, Sir Michael Wilshaw, recently announced that Oldham was one of sixteen authorities  ...  view the full minutes text for item 11.

(time limit 20 minutes):-

a) 19^th October 2015

b) 16^th November 2015

The Cabinet mintues for the meetings held on 19^th October 2015 and 16^th November 2015 and the draft minutes of the Cabinet (Budget) meeting held on 30^th November 2015 were submitted.

Members made the following observations:

1.       Councillor Murphy, Cabinet Meeting - 16 November 2015, page 431, Item 7 – Creation of Digital Enterprise Hub in Oldham Town Centre and he commented on the good direction taken and hoped for sufficient progress and that it was managed properly. 

Councillor McMahon responded that this had been developed by Oldhamers with O2 and Wyrea.  It was managed similarly to schemes in London and Madrid and was pleased to say that this was the only scheme in the UK outside London.

2.       Councillor Harkness, Cabinet meeting – 19 October 2015, page 426, Item 11 – Proposed Development of Replacement Saddleworth School – Allocation of Resources and he congratulated the Cabinet on the agreement of funding of additional works to the new school.

RESOLVED that:

1.     The minutes of the Cabinet meetings held on 19^th October 2015, 16^th November 2015 and 30^th November 2015 be noted.

2.     The observations and responses on the Cabinet minutes be noted.

(time limit 30 minutes)

Motion 1

Councillor Dearden to MOVE and Councillor Roberts to SECOND: 

Oldham Council notes with concern the continuing conflicts in the Middle East and Africa which are driving the current refugee crisis, particularly people fleeing war and persecution from Syria, Afghanistan, Eritrea and Iraq. We welcome the Government’s commitment to provide asylum for 4,000 people this year from the Syrian refugee camps but believe that as a country the United Kingdom can do more. Oldham has provided sanctuary and a new start for traumatised refugees in the past and calls on the Government to support Oldham and other councils to do more now.

Oldham’s refugee community includes approximately 160 destitute asylum seekers currently supported by a network of community organisations, friends, family and volunteers. Their position will be made worse by proposed reductions in financial support, particularly for women and children.

The Council welcomes the work done by individuals, community groups and religious groups in supporting asylum seekers and asks the Cabinet Member for Neighbourhoods to convene a meeting of those supporting refugees and Asylum Seekers in Oldham with the aim of developing an ongoing network and provide support to make the best use of all the work done already in the borough

The Council supports the efforts by AGMA to get a proper support system in place, including reviewing the role played by SERCO in administering asylum seeker support.

Oldham Council calls on the Government to put in place a properly funded and fair system including: fair allocation of refugees across the UK; long term funding for Councils; quick and accurate decision making about the status of refugees; better effort to support and integrate refugees (e.g. providing English as a Second Language teaching and investment in conversion of qualifications to UK standard); better administration of welfare benefits and investment in public services where needed.

Council also resolves to instruct the Chief Executive to:

Motion 2

Councillor Hibbert to MOVE and Councillor Fielding to SECOND:

This council notes that:

·       That the Housing and Planning Bill has been consulted on and will be debated in Parliament and, if passed, it would threaten the provision of affordable homes for rent and purchase by:

              Forcing 'high-value' council homes to be sold on the open market;

              Extending the right-to-buy to housing association tenants;

              Undermining section 106 requirements on private developers to provide affordable homes.

·       There is no commitment in the Bill that affordable homes will be replaced like-for-like in the local area.

·       That whilst measures to help first-time buyers are welcome, the 'starter homes' proposals in the Bill will be unaffordable to families and young people on ordinary incomes in most parts of the country; will not preserve the taxpayer investment;  ...  view the full agenda text for item 13.

Motion 1

Councillor Deaden MOVED and Councillor Roberts SECONDED the following motion:

“Oldham Council notes with concern the continuing conflicts in the Middle East and Africa which are driving the current refugee crisis, particularly people fleeing war and persecution from Syria, Afghanistan, Eritrea and Iraq. We welcome the Government’s commitment to provide asylum for 4,000 people this year from the Syrian refugee camps but believe that as a country the United Kingdom can do more. Oldham has provided sanctuary and a new start for traumatised refugees in the past and calls on the Government to support Oldham and other councils to do more now.

Oldham’s refugee community includes approximately 160 destitute asylum seekers currently supported by a network of community organisations, friends, family and volunteers. Their position will be made worse by proposed reductions in financial support, particularly for women and children.

The Council welcomes the work done by individuals, community groups and religious groups in supporting asylum seekers and asks the Cabinet Member for Neighbourhoods to convene a meeting of those supporting refugees and Asylum Seekers in Oldham with the aim of developing an ongoing network and provide support to make the best use of all the work done already in the borough

The Council supports the efforts by AGMA to get a proper support system in place, including reviewing the role played by SERCO in administering asylum seeker support.

Oldham Council calls on the Government to put in place a properly funded and fair system including: fair allocation of refugees across the UK; long term funding for Councils; quick and accurate decision making about the status of refugees; better effort to support and integrate refugees (e.g. providing English as a Second Language teaching and investment in conversion of qualifications to UK standard); better administration of welfare benefits and investment in public services where needed.

Council also resolves to instruct the Chief Executive to:

1.              Write to the Local Government Association to enlist their support in improving support for Asylum Seekers

2.              Write to the  boroughs 3 MPs to inform them of the council’s position and request that they use whatever parliamentary means available to raise this matter with government”

AMENDMENT

Councillor Turner MOVED and Councillor Williamson SECONDED the following amendment:

“Insert at the end of the third paragraph a comma and then the following wording “including supporting humanitarian efforts initiated in this borough to alleviate the suffering and poverty of people living in conflict zones”.

Amended Motion to Read:

Oldham Council notes with concern the continuing conflicts in the Middle East and Africa which are driving the current refugee crisis, particularly people fleeing war and persecution from Syria, Afghanistan, Eritrea and Iraq. We welcome the Government’s commitment to provide asylum for 4,000 people this year from the Syrian refugee camps but believe that as a country the United Kingdom can do more. Oldham has provided sanctuary and a new start for traumatised refugees in the past and calls on the Government to support Oldham and other councils to  ...  view the full minutes text for item 13.

(time limit 30 minutes)

Motion 1

Councillor Williamson to MOVE and Councillor Gloster to SECOND:

Council notes that nine local authorities are currently working through partnership agreements with the NHS Blood and Transplant Service to increase the number of blood donors and / or registered organ donors among their staff and residents.

These agreements have included local authorities making a commitment to:

-        Promoting blood and organ donation through digital communication as well as hosting stalls at public events and publishing features in Council produced magazines

-        Recruiting staff volunteers to act as 'Donation Champions' to help spread the message of donation across the borough. The volunteers, who received special training, attend events and seek networking opportunities, promoting donation to target hard-to-reach groups

-        Providing venues free of charge to the service to take blood donations and free parking to donors whenever possible

This Council recognises the value of becoming a partner to the NHS Blood and Transplant Service in order to increase the number of staff and local residents signed up to be blood and organ donors.

Council therefore resolves to ask the Director of Public Health and the relevant Cabinet Member(s) to:

-        Work to secure such an agreement with the NHS Blood and Transplant Service

-        Ensure that the recruitment of ‘Donation Champions’ through the Council’s Employee Supported Volunteering programme form part of the agreement

-        Bring back a further report to Council on this matter reporting progress

Motion 2

Councillor Sykes to MOVE and Councillor Blyth to SECOND:

Council notes that:

·       Every 15 minutes, someone in the UK starts to lose their sight. 

·       According to data from the Royal National Institute for the Blind (the RNIB) there are approximately 6,000 people in Oldham living with some degree of sight loss, and this figure is expected to rise to nearly 9,000 by 2030.

·       Obstacles in the public realm such as:

Ø  Inaccessible crossings;

Ø  Vehicles parking on pavements;

Ø  Advertising boards (A-boards);

Ø  Street and cafe furniture;

Ø  Wheeled bins and refuse bags; and

Ø  Overgrown shrubs and trees, and overhanging branches

impede access and mobility, and represent hazards, for the two million people in the UK who suffer from sight loss.

·       In a Royal National Institute for the Blindsurvey conducted in 2014 nearly every respondent with sight loss reported that they had collided with an obstacle in the street within the previous three months, and a third of people reported injury as a result.

Council therefore welcomes the 'Who Put That There!' campaign by the Royal National Institute for the Blind and endorses the call to local authorities to engage with blind and partially sighted people in their area to develop a Street Charter to remove obstacles and hazards from the public realm.

Council therefore resolves to ask the Overview and Scrutiny Board to convene a workshop with representatives from the Royal National Institute for the Blind, blind and partially sighted people living in this borough, and their local representative bodies, and highways and planning  ...  view the full agenda text for item 14.

Motion 1

Councillor Williamson MOVED and Councillor Gloster SECONDED the following motion:

Council notes that nine local authorities are currently working through partnership agreements with the NHS Blood and Transplant Service to increase the number of blood donors and / or registered organ donors among their staff and residents.

These agreements have included local authorities making a commitment to:

-        Promoting blood and organ donation through digital communication as well as hosting stalls at public events and publishing features in Council produced magazines

-        Recruiting staff volunteers to act as 'Donation Champions' to help spread the message of donation across the borough. The volunteers, who received special training, attend events and seek networking opportunities, promoting donation to target hard-to-reach groups

-        Providing venues free of charge to the service to take blood donations and free parking to donors whenever possible

This Council recognises the value of becoming a partner to the NHS Blood and Transplant Service in order to increase the number of staff and local residents signed up to be blood and organ donors.

Council therefore resolves to ask the Director of Public Health and the relevant Cabinet Member(s) to:

-        Work to secure such an agreement with the NHS Blood and Transplant Service

-        Ensure that the recruitment of ‘Donation Champions’ through the Council’s Employee Supported Volunteering programme form part of the agreement

-        Bring back a further report to Council on this matter reporting progress

AMENDMENT

Councillor Wrigglesworth MOVED and Councillor Fielding SECONDED the following AMENDMENT:

“Delete:

Council therefore resolves to ask the Director of Public Health and relevant Cabinet Members to:    Work to secure such an agreement with the NHS Blood and transplant Services

 Ensure that the recruitment of “Donation Champion” through the Council’s Employee Supported Volunteering Programme form part of the agreement

Bring back a further report to Council on this matter reporting progress.

Insert:  Council therefore resolves to refer the issue to the Overview and Scrutiny Board for consideration.

Motion 1 to then read:

Council notes that nine local authorities are currently working through partnership agreements with the NHS Blood and transplant Services to increase the number of blood donors and /or registered organ donors among their staff and residents.

These agreements have included local authorities making a commitment to:

-        Promoting blood and organ donation through digital communication as well as hosting stalls at public events and publishing features in Council produced magazines.

-        Recruiting staff volunteers to act as “Donation Champions” to help spread the message of donation across the borough. The volunteers who received special training, attend events and seek networking opportunities, promoting donation to target hard-to-reach groups.

-        Providing venues free of charge to the services to take blood donations and free parking to donors whenever possible.

This Council recognises the value of becoming a partner to the NHS Blood and Transplant Services in order to increase the number of staff and local residents signed up to be blood and organ donors.

Council therefore resolves to refer the issue to  ...  view the full minutes text for item 14.

(time limit 8 minutes):-

The minutes of the Joint Authorities were submitted as follows:

Transport for Greater Manchester                    11^th September 2015

Greater Manchester Combined Authority          25^th September 2015

                                                                      30^th October 2015

Joint GMCA/AGMA Executive                          25^th September 2015

                                                                      30^th October 2015

Police and Crime Panel                                    26^th June 2015

                                                                      25^th September 2015

National Park Authority                                    18^th September 2015

                                                                      2^nd October 2015

Greater Manchester Fire and Rescue

Authority                                                         15^th October 2015

There were no questions or observations.

RESOLVED that the minutes of the Joint Authorities as detailed in the report be noted.

(time limit 7 minutes)

Minutes of Partnership Meetings were submitted as follows:

Unity Partnership Board                                   2^nd September 2015

Health and Wellbeing Board                             15^th September 2015

Oldham Care and Support                               5^th October 2015

There were no questions or observations.

RESOLVED that the minutes of the Partnerships as detailed in the report be noted.

Consideration was given to a report which noted the outcome of the hearing undertaken by the Standards Hearing Sub-Committee in respect of a complaint against Councillor Bates.

The Standards Hearing Sub-Committee had resolved to report its findings to Council and also recommended to Council that Councillor Bates be censured.

Councillor Chadderton as the Chair of the Standards Sub-Committee MOVED the report and Councillor Williams SECONDED.

Councillor Williamson spoke on the report.

Councillor McMahon spoke on the report.

On being put to the vote FORTY-THREE were cast IN FAVOUR of the MOTION with NO VOTES AGAINST and TWELVE ABSTENTIONS.  The MOTION was therefore CARRIED.

RESOLVED that:

1.               the findings of the Standards Hearing Sub-Committee be noted.

2.               Councillor Bates be censured.

Consideration was given to a report of the Director of Legal Services which sought approval of the nomination to receive the Civic Appreciate Award, in recognition of service and dedication to the local community.  The Oldham Deputy Lieutenants Committee had nominated and Group Leaders have recommended that Mrs. Freda Millet received this award.

RESOLVED that:

1.               Freda Millet be the agreed nomination to receive the Civic Appreciation Award 2016.

2.               The ceremony for the award would take place at the Council meeting of 23^rd March 2016.

Consideration was given to report for the adoption of the Statement of Community Involvement (SCU) as Council policy.  The SCI set out how the Council would involve the community in the preparation and the revision of Local Plan documents and the consideration of planning applications.  The Planning and Compulsory Purchase Act 2004 required local planning authorities prepare an SCI.  The SCI also formed part of the Local Plan. 

Oldham Council first adopted its SCI in April 2007.  It was then reviewed in 2010 which took account of changes to the national planning guidance published in the Planning Policy Statement 12 in 2008.  Since then there had been further changes to national planning guidance and it was appropriate that the SCI be reviewed to reflect those changes.  In addition, the ten Greater Manchester authorities had agreed to produce a joint Greater Manchester Spatial Framework Plan Document (GMSF).  This SCI set out how the community and other stakeholders would be involved in the preparation of the joint GMSF.

RESOLVED that the Statement of Community Involvement be adopted as Council policy.

Consideration was given to a report which outlined the revised Gambling Policy.  The Gambling Act 2005 created a new system of licensing and regulation for commercial gambling.  The act gave local authorities new and extended responsibilities for licensing premises for gambling and associated permissions.

The current policy had been adopted in January 2012 and had to be reviewed every three years.  The policy proposed amendments since the policy was last approved which were outlined in the report.  A number of changes had been made to the Operator’s Licence Conditions and Codes of Practice by the Gambling Commission which had been reflected in the review.

RESOLVED that the Gambling Policy be adopted from January 2016.

Consideration was given to the report of the Oldham Fairness Commission which had been published in March 2015.  The Oldham Fairness Commission had been set up in July 2013 to identify and address contributions to local inequalities in education, employment and income and to define action which addressed these issues through local partners and beyond.  The Commission had brought together a range of evidence and expert witnesses which investigated inequalities under four themes which were education, employment, income and between different population groups.

In respect of the Commission’s recommendations, the current activity underway to tackle issues of fairness was recognised within the report and commitment remained to ensure that focus was on getting a fair deal for Oldham residents.  The recent refresh of the Council’s Corporate Plan, which had been approved in May 2015, restated the commitment to a number of areas outlined by the Commission.

The importance of partnership working was highlighted in the reduction of inequalities.  The current work being done through the Oldham Leadership Board an the partnership clusters was recognised and instrumental in taking forward work aimed at the achievement of shared priorities. 

There were a number of national policy and system issues the Council asked the Chair of the Fairness Commission, Debbie Abrahams MP, to take up with Government which were:

1.               The Council asks the Government to ensure Welfare to Work Programmes do more to close the gap in areas of high deprivation.

2.               The Council asks the Government to review skills funding and consider the impact that the current funding arrangements are having in deprived areas.

3.               This Council would ask Government to review the data it collects and work with local authorities to construct a dataset which will enable councils to develop targeted help to those most in need.

4.               The Council asked Debbie Abrahams MP to write to the Prudential Regulatory Authority (PRA) to highlight the difficulties that some of these changes will present and the threat that they may pose to the availability of finance to those most in need.

RESOLVED that the formal response to the report of the Oldham Fairness Commission be approved.

Consideration was given to the report of the Director of Legal Services which informed members of actions that had been taken following previous Council meetings and provided feedback on other issues raised at the meeting.

RESOLVED that the report be noted.