(time limit 30 minutes)
Motion 1
Councillor Blyth to MOVE and Councillor Sykes to SECOND:
This Council notes that:
Council resolves to:
Motion 2
Councillor Tuner to MOVE and Councillor Sykes to SECOND:
This Council notes with dismay that:
Council therefore resolves to:
Ø Investigate any reports, adverts in local papers or websites that offer puppies for sale in the area, alerting other local authorities and agencies, as appropriate.
Ø Find and prosecute puppy farmers and other unlicensed breeders.
· Support and promote on the Council’s website and in its publications:
Ø The Pup Aid campaign “Where’s Mum?”
Ø The Dogs Trust campaign against “battery farmed dogs”.
Ø The Kennel Club Assured Breeder scheme.
· Advise residents at public events, especially in the run up to Christmas, on best practice for buying puppies or dogs, encouraging them not to buy puppies or dogs from anyone selling in suspicious circumstances; to report such incidents immediately to the Council’s Animal Health and Welfare Service; and to consider purchasing puppies and dogs from rescue organisations or to support the work of the Cinnamon Trust and other re-homing services.
· Look as a local authority to adopt the model license conditions for dog breeding and boarding kennels published by the Chartered Institute of Environmental Health in January 2014.
· Look as a local authority to maintain our ban on the sale of puppies and kittens by pet shops in this Borough.
· Work with other social landlords in the Borough to include a ban on puppy farming in tenancy agreements.
· Ask the Chief Executive to write to the Government Minister responsible outlining the view of this Council that the Government should introduce the necessary legislation to:
Ø Make licensing for dog breeding more effective, to make the funds from licences available to local authorities to monitor the activities of dog breeders, and to impose stiffer financial and custodial penalties on dog breeders found to be operating illegally and without regard for animal welfare.
Ø Introduce greater consumer protection when a member of the public purchases a puppy or dog from a breeder or dealer
Ø Prohibit the licensing of pet shops or retail outlets to sell puppies or kittens where the mother is not present.
· Ask the Chief Executive to copy in the three Members of Parliament for this Borough with a request that they make similar representations to the Minister.
Motion 3
Councillor Gloster to MOVE and Councillor Blyth to SECOND:
This Council notes:
This Council believes that:
· The Government's plans threaten patient access to pharmacies and pharmacy services in the Metropolitan Borough of Oldham and that the recent announcements are causing uncertainty about future investment in pharmacy services
· Our local pharmacies are at risk of closure or being forced to cut services such as free delivery of prescription drugs, family planning advice and advice on medicines
· This will put more pressure on GPs and hospitals and impact social services and is at odds with the local Clinical Commissioning Group's desire to increase the use of pharmacists to ease pressure on GPs.
This Council resolves to:
· Request that the Chief Executive writes to the Secretary of State responsible calling for the Government to abandon these cuts, rather than just simply to postpone them, and to make a commitment to maintaining a fully-funded community pharmacy service
· Request that the Chief Executive also writes to the Borough’s three Members of Parliament and to the Chair of the NHS Oldham Clinical Commissioning Group asking them to make similar representations on this matter to the Secretary of State
Minutes:
Motion 1
Councillor Blyth MOVED and Councillor Sykes SECONDED the following motion:
“This Council notes that:
· Over many months, residents in this borough, particularly residents in Shaw and Crompton have experienced noise and disturbance from large agricultural tractors pulling large trailers containing spoil on public highways from early in the morning until late at night
· In addition, these vehicles are at times driven recklessly and at speed, posing a danger at danger to other road users and pedestrians
· If these tractors and trailers were HGV’s they would be covered by a commercial vehicle operator’s licence and other legislation that would control their environmental impact on local residents
· At present they are exempted from licensing requirements
· Council believes that tractors used for the purpose of road haulage should be covered by the same licensing requirements as apply to other goods vehicles.”
Councillor Steven Bashforth spoke in support of the motion.
Councillor Gloster spoke in support of the motion.
Councillor Shuttleworth spoke in support of the motion.
Councillor Blyth exercised his right of reply.
A vote was taken on the MOTION.
On being put to the vote, the MOTION was CARRIED UNANIMOUSLY.
RESOLVED that:
1. The Chief Executive be asked to write to the Secretary of State asking the Government to sponsor a change in the Goods Vehicle (Licensing of Operators) Act to make tractors used for this purpose subject to the same licensing and legislative requirements as apply to other goods vehicles.
2. The Chief Executive be asked to copy in the Local Government Association and the three Members of Parliament for this borough and request that they also make representations to the Secretary of State on this matter.
3. The Chief Executive be asked to write to the Chief Executive of the Driver & Vehicle Standards Agency asking for any assistance they can provide in carrying out road side checks to make sure operators in Oldham are operating safe and road worthy vehicles.
4. A meeting be convened for Shaw & Crompton and Royton Councillors.
Motion 2
Councillor Turner MOVED and Councillor Sykes SECONDED the following motion:
“This Council notes with dismay that:
· Puppy farming (unlicensed dog breeding) is rife in the UK with only 1 in 10 puppies bred by licensed breeders.
· The Government has yet to act upon the challenge issued one year ago today by Liberal Democrat Defra Spokesperson, Baroness Kate Parminter, to outlaw puppy farming.
· The Government has yet to bring forward the necessary legislation to prohibit the sale of puppies and kittens from pet shops where the mother is not present.
Councillor Bates spoke in support of the motion.
Councillor Fida Hussain MOVED and Councillor Jabbar SECONDED the MOTION be put to the vote.
Councillor Turner exercised her right of reply.
A vote was taken on the MOTION.
On being put to the vote, the MOTION was CARRIED UNANIMOUSLY.
RESOLVED that:
1. Council work in partnership with the RSPCA and other animal welfare agencies to:
· Investigate any reports, adverts in local papers or websites that offer puppies for sale in the area, alerting other local authorities and agencies, as appropriate.
· Find and prosecute puppy farmers and other unlicensed breeders.
2. Council support and promote on the Council’s website and it is publications:
· The Pup Aid campaign ‘Where’s Mum?’
· The Dogs Trust Campaign against ‘battery farmed dogs’
· The Kennel Club Assured Breeder scheme.
3. Residents be advised at public events, especially in the run up to Christmas, on best practice for buying puppies or dogs, encouraging them not to buy puppies or dogs from anyone selling in suspicious circumstances; to report such incidents immediately to the Council’s Animal Health and Welfare Service; and to consider purchasing puppies and dogs from rescue organisations or to support the work of the Cinnamon Trust and other re-homing services.
4. The local authority look to adopt the model license conditions for dog breeding and boarding kennels published by the Chartered Institute of Environmental Health in January 2014.
5. The local authority look to maintain our ban on the sale of puppies and kittens by pet shops in this Borough.
6. The Council work with other social landlords in the Borough to include a ban on puppy farming in tenancy agreements.
7. The Chief Executive be asked to write to the Government Minister responsible outlining the view of this Council that the Government should introduce the necessary legislation to:
· Make licensing for dog breeding more effective, to make the funds from licences available to local authorities to monitor the activities of dog breeders, and to impose stiffer financial and custodial penalties on dog breeders found to be operating illegally and without regard for animal welfare.
· Introduce greater consumer protection when a member of the public purchases a puppy or dog from a breeder or dealer.
· Prohibit the licensing of pet shops or retail outlets to sell puppies or kittens where the mother is not present.
8. The Chief Executive be asked to copy in the three Members of Parliament for this Borough with a request that they make similar representations to the Minister.
At this point in the meeting, the Mayor advised that the time limit for this item had expired.
Motion 3
Councillor Gloster MOVED and Councillor Blyth SECONDED the following motion:
“This Council notes:
· The £170million reduction in NHS funding for community pharmacies announced on December 17th 2015 which could put many out of business.
· The announcement made by the Government on September 5th 2016 of the delay to the cuts which were generally due to be introduced in October 2016
· The scrapping of plans to introduce a ‘hub and spoke’ model for community pharmacies
This Council believes that:
· The Government’s plans threaten patient access to pharmacies and pharmacy services in the Metropolitan Borough of Oldham and that the recent announcements are causing uncertainty about future investment in pharmacy services
· Our local pharmacies are at risk of closure or being forced to cut services such as free delivery of prescription drugs, family planning advice and advice on medicines
· This will put more pressure on GPs and hospitals and impact social services and is at odds with the local Clinical Commissioning Group’s desire to increase the use of pharmacists to ease pressure on GPs.
Councillor Gloster MOVED and Councillor Blyth SECONDED the motion be put to the vote.
Councillor Gloster did not exercise his right of reply.
A vote was taken on the MOTION.
On being put to the vote, the MOTION was CARRIED UNANIMOUSLY.
RESOLVED that:
1. The Chief Executive be requested to write to the Secretary of State responsible calling for the Government to abandon these cuts, rather than just simply to postpone them, and to make a commitment to maintaining a fully-funded community pharmacy service
2. The Chief Executive also be requested to write to the Borough’s three Members of Parliament and to the Chair of the NHS Oldham Clinical Commissioning Group asking them to make similar representations on this matter to the Secretary of State.