Agenda item

(time limit 30 minutes)

 

Motion 1

Councillor Sykes to MOVE and Councillor Al-Hamdani to SECOND:

 

Making a Commitment to the UN Sustainable Development Goals.

Council welcomes the UK Government’s commitment to the delivery of the seventeen Sustainable Development Goals adopted by the world community at the United Nations in September 2015. The goals form part of the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development which seeks to eradicate extreme poverty, address inequality and injustice, and promote sustainable development and peace.

 

The goals are to: 

·         End poverty in all its forms everywhere

·         End hunger, achieve food security and improved nutrition and promote sustainable agriculture

·         Ensure healthy lives and promote well-being for all at all ages

·         Ensure inclusive and equitable quality education and promote lifelong learning opportunities for all

·         Achieve gender equality and empower all women and girls

·         Ensure availability and sustainable management of water and sanitation for all

·         Ensure access to affordable, reliable, sustainable and modern energy for all

·         Promote sustained, inclusive and sustainable economic growth, full and productive employment and decent work for all

·         Build resilient infrastructure, promote inclusive and sustainable industrialization and foster innovation

·         Reduce inequality within and among countries

·         Make cities and human settlements inclusive, safe, resilient and sustainable

·         Ensure sustainable consumption and production patterns

·         Take urgent action to combat climate change and its impacts

·         Conserve and sustainably use the oceans, seas and marine resources for sustainable development

·         Protect, restore and promote sustainable use of terrestrial ecosystems, sustainably manage forests, combat desertification, and halt and reverse land degradation and halt biodiversity loss

·         Promote peaceful and inclusive societies for sustainable development, provide access to justice for all and build effective, accountable and inclusive institutions at all levels

·         Strengthen the means of implementation and revitalise the Global Partnership for Sustainable Development

 

Wishing to replicate the UK Government’s position on the goals, this Council resolves to make a similar commitment to their delivery, as far as is practicable and within its power and resources, and calls upon the Health and Overview and Scrutiny Boards to identify the work that is already being done by the Council and its partners and what more can be done, and to present a report with its findings and recommendations to a future meeting of full Council.

 

Motion 2

Councillor Williamson to MOVE and Councillor Harkness to SECOND:

 

Restoring Government Funding for Brownfield Housing Development

Council notes that:

·         The Conservative Government in its white paper ‘Fixing our Broken Housing Market’ stated that more homes should be built ‘by maximising the contribution from brownfield sites’.

·         Brownfield sites suffer from significant contamination, whether below-ground or in a building’s construction, which is the result of previous industrial use as cotton mills; chemical and coal gas plants; coal mines; and dye works.

·         Decontaminating such sites is very expensive at an average cost of £250,000 per acre and this cost often renders housing developments unaffordable.

·         According to Department of Trade figures, approximately 1 million acres of brownfield sites are contaminated.

·         Much of this land is in Northern towns, like Oldham, a legacy of their industrial past.

·         In the Outline Housing Package agreed between the ten Greater Manchester authorities and the Conservative Government in 2017, a ‘land fund’ worth up to £50 million was pledged by central government to support the development of housing on brownfield sites by paying for the cost of remediation.

·         The Conservative Government has recently reneged on this pledge.

Council condemns the decision by the Conservative Government to withdraw its offer of the Outline Housing Package, which will make the delivery of new homes on brownfield sites unaffordable and force more development onto the Green Belt, a direct contradiction of the Government’s own stated policy.

 

Council resolves to ask the Chief Executive to:

 

·         Write to the Secretary of State for Communities and Housing urging the minister to restore the Outline Housing Package to fund the remediation of brownfield sites in Greater Manchester

·         Copy in our local MPs, the Mayor of Greater Manchester, the leaders of the other Greater Manchester local authorities and the Chair of the Local Government Association asking them for their support for Oldham’s position.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Motion 3

Councillor C Gloster to MOVE and Councillor Hamblett to SECOND:

 

Adopting the Fair Tax Declaration

Council notes that:

·         The 6 – 14 July 2019 is Fair Tax Week 2019.

·         Polling by the Institute for Business Ethics finds that corporate tax avoidance has, since 2013, been the clear number one concern of the British public in relation to business conduct.

·         It has been conservatively estimated that losses through just one form of tax avoidance, multinational profit-shifting, could be costing the UK some £7bn per annum in lost corporation tax revenues.

·         An estimated 15% of public contracts have been won by companies with links to tax havens.

·         6 in 10 members of the public believe that UK Government and Councils should examine the tax practices of such prospective contractors as part of the procurement process.

·         The Fair Tax Mark offers a means for businesses to demonstrate good tax conduct.

 

Council believes that, as a publicly-funded body and a major procurer of goods and services, it should demonstrate good tax conduct.

Council therefore resolves to sign the Councils for Fair Tax Declaration, and furthermore to lead by example and demonstrate good practice in our tax conduct, right across our activities, by:

·         Ensuring contractors implement IR35 robustly and pay any due employment taxes.

·         Shunning the use of offshore vehicles for the purchase of land and property, especially where this leads to reduced payments of stamp duty.

·         Undertaking due diligence to ensure that not-for-profit structures are not being used inappropriately as an artificial device to reduce the payment of tax and business rates. 

·         Ensuring that there is clarity on the ultimate beneficial ownership of suppliers and their consolidated profit & loss position, given that a lack of clarity could be strong indicators of poor financial probity and weak financial standing.

·         Promoting Fair Tax Mark certification to local businesses, our contractors and in any business in which we have a significant stake and where corporation tax is due.

·         Supporting local Fair Tax Week events and celebrating the tax contribution made by responsible businesses.

·         Supporting calls for urgent reform of EU and UK law to enable municipalities to revise their procurement policies and better penalise poor tax conduct and reward good tax conduct.

 

 

 

Motion 1 – Making a Commitment to the UN Sustainable Development Goals

 

Councillor Sykes MOVED and Councillor Al-Hamdani SECONDED the following MOTION:

“Council welcomes the UK Government’s commitment to the delivery of the seventeen Sustainable Development Goals adopted by the world community at the United Nations in September 2015.  The goals form part of the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development which seeks to eradicate extreme poverty, address inequality and injustice, and promote sustainable development and peace.

The goals are to:

·       End poverty in all its forms everywhere

·       End hunger, achieve food security and improved nutrition and promote sustainable agriculture

·       Ensure healthy lives and promote well-being for all ages

·       Ensure inclusive and equitable quality education and promote lifelong learning opportunities for all

·       Achieve gender equality and empower all women and girls

·       Ensure availability and sustainable management of water and sanitation for all

·       Ensure access to affordable, reliable and sustainable economic growth, full and productive employment and decent work for all

·       Build resilient infrastructure, promote inclusive and sustainable industrialization and foster innovation

·       Reduce inequality within and among countries

·       Make cities and human settlements inclusive, safe, resilient and sustainable

·       Ensure sustainable consumption and production patterns

·       Take urgent action to combat climate change and its impacts

·       Conserve and sustainably use the oceans, seas and marine resources for sustainable development

·       Protect, restore and promote sustainable use of terrestrial ecosystems, sustainably manage forests, combat desertification, and halt and reverse land degradation and halt biodiversity loss

·       Promote peaceful and inclusive societies for sustainable development, provide access to justice for all and build effective, accountable and inclusive institutions at all levels

·       Strengthen the means of implementation and revitalise the Global Partnership for Sustainable Development

Wishing to replicate the UK Government’s position on the goals, this Council resolves to make a similar commitment to their delivery, as far as is practicable and within its power and resources, and calls upon the Health and Overview and Scrutiny Boards to identify the work that is already being done by the Council and its partners and what more can be done, and to present a report with its finding and recommendations to a future meeting of full Council.”

 

Councillor Judd spoke in support of the Motion.

Councillor Ball spoke in support of the Motion.

Councillor Jabbar spoke in support of the Motion.

Councillor Murphy spoke in support of the Motion.

Councillor Fielding spoke in support of the Motion.

Councillor  Shah spoke in support of the Motion.

 

Councillor Sykes exercised his right of reply.

 

On being put to the vote, the MOTION was CARRIED UNANIMOUSLY.

 

RESOLVED that the Council, wishing to replicate the UK Government’s position on the goals to make a similar commitment to their delivery, as far as was practicable and within its power and resources, called upon the Health and Overview and Scrutiny Boards to identify the work that was already being done by the Council and its partners and what more could be done and to present a report with its findings and recommendations to a future meeting of full Council.

 

Motion 2 – Restoring Government Funding for Brownfield Housing Development

 

The Chief Executive had been notified that Councillor Williamson had to leave the meeting and was unable to Move the Motion and notice had been given that Councillor Harkness would Move the Motion in her absence and Councillor Sykes would Second the Motion which was AGREED.

 

Councillor Harkness MOVED and Councillor Sykes SECONDED the following MOTION:

“Council notes that:

·       The Conservative Government in its white paper ‘Fixing our Broken Housing Market’ stated that more homes should be build by ‘maximising the contribution from brownfield sites.’

·       Brownfield sites suffer from significant contamination, whether below-ground or in a building’s construction, which is the result of previous industrial use as cotton mills; chemical and coal gas plants; coal mines; and dye works.

·       Decontaminating such sites is very expensive at an average cost of £250,000 per acre and this cost often renders housing developments unaffordable.

·       According to Department of Trade figures, approximately 1 million acres of brownfield sites are contaminated

·       Much of this land is in Northern towns, like Oldham, a legacy of their industrial past. 

·       In the Outline Housing Package agreed between the ten Greater Manchester authorities and the Conservative Government in 2017, a ‘land fund’ worth up to £50 million was pledged by central government to support the development of housing on brownfield sites by paying for the cost of remediation.

·       The Conservative Government has recently reneged on this pledge.

Council condemns the decision by the Conservative Government to withdraw its offer of the Outline Housing Package, which will make the delivery of new homes on brownfield sites unaffordable and force more development onto the Green Belt, a direct contradiction of the Government’s own stated policy.

Council resolves to ask the Chief Executive to:

·       Write to the Secretary of State for Communities and Housing urging the minister to restore the Outline Housing Package to fund the remediation of brownfield sites in Greater Manchester.

·       Copy in our local MPs, the Mayor of Greater Manchester, the leaders of the other Greater Manchester local authorities and the Chair of the Local Government Association asking them for the support for Oldham’s position.”

 

Councillor Harkness did not exercise his right of reply.

 

On being put to the vote, the MOTION was CARRIED UNANIMOUSLY.

 

RESOLVED that the Chief Executive be asked to:

 

1.       Write to the Secretary of State for Communities and Housing urging the minister to restore the Outline Housing Package to fund the remediation of brownfield sites in Greater Manchester.

2.       Copy in the borough’s local MPs, the Mayor of Greater Manchester, the leaders of the other Greater Manchester local authorities and the Chair of the Local Government Association asking them for their support for Oldham’s position.

 

Motion 3 – Adopting the Fair Tax Declaration

Councillor C. Gloster and Councillor Hamblett SECONDED the following MOTION:

“Council notes that:

·       6 – 14 July 2019 is Fair Tax Week 2019.

·       Polling by the Institute for Business Ethics finds that corporate tax avoidance has, since 2013, been the clear number one concern for the British public in relation to business conduct.

·       It has been conservatively estimated that losses through just one form of tax avoidance, multinational profit-shifting, could be costing the UK some £7bn per annum in lost corporation tax revenues.

·       An estimated 15% of public contracts have been won by companies with links to tax havens.

·       6 in 10 members of the public believe that UK Government and Councils should examine the tax practices of such prospective contractors as part of the procurement process.

·       The Fair Tax Mark offers a means for business to demonstrate good tax conduct.

Council believes that, as a publicly-funded body and a major procurer of goods and services, it should demonstrate good tax conduct.

Council therefore resolves to sign the Councils for Fair Tax Declaration, and furthermore to lead by example and demonstrate good practice in our tax conduct, right across our activities, by:

·       Ensuring contractors implement IR35 robustly and pay any due employment taxes.

·       Shunning the use of offshore vehicles for the purchase of land and property, especially where this leads to reduced payments of stamp duty.

·       Undertaking due diligence to ensure that not-for-profit structures are not being used inappropriately as an artificial device to reduce the payment of tax and business rates.

·       Ensuring that there is clarity on the ultimate beneficial ownership of suppliers and their consolidated profit & loss position, given that a lack of clarity could be strong indicators of poor financial probity and weak financial standing.

·       Promoting Fair Tax Mark certification to local businesses, our contractors and in any business in which we have a significant stake and where corporation tax is due. 

·       Supporting local Fair Tax Week events and celebrating the tax contribution made by responsible businesses.

·       Supporting Calls for urgent reform of EU and UK law to enable municipalities to revise their procurement policies and better penalise poor tax conduct and reward good tax conduct.

 

 

On being put to the vote, the MOTION was CARRIED UNANIMOUSLY.

 

RESOLVED that the Council for Fair Tax Declaration be signed, and furthermore the Council lead by example and demonstrate good in our tax conduct right across our activities by:

·       Ensuring contractors implement IR35 robustly and pay any due employment taxes.

·       Shunning the use of offshore vehicles for the purchase of land and property, especially where this leads to reduced payments of stamp duty.

·       Due diligence being undertaken to ensure that not-for-profit structures were not being used inappropriately as an artificial device to reduce the payment of tax and business rates.

·       Clarity be ensured on the ultimate beneficial ownership of suppliers and their consolidated profit & loss position, given that a lack of clarity could be strong indicators of poor financial probity and weak financial standing.

·       Fair Tax Mark certification be promoted to local businesses, our contractors and in any business in which we have a significant stake and where corporate tax was due.

·       Local Fair Tax Events be supported and the tax contribution made by responsible businesses be celebrated.

·       Calls for urgent reforms of EU and UK law be supported to enable municipalities to revise their procurement policies and better penalise poor tax conduct and reward good tax conduct.