Agenda and minutes

Venue: Council Chamber, Civic Centre, Oldham, West Street, Oldham, OL1 1NL

Contact: Liz Drogan 

Items
No. Item

1.

To receive apologies for absence

Minutes:

Apologies were received from Councillors Dean, Hudson, Larkin and Sheldon.

2.

To order that the Minutes of the meeting of the Council held on 22nd May be signed as a correct record pdf icon PDF 228 KB

Minutes:

RESOLVED that the minutes of the Council meeting held on 22nd May 2019 be approved as a correct record.

3.

To receive declarations of interest in any matter to be determined at the meeting

Minutes:

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

 

Councillor M. Bashforth declared a personal interest in Item 8 by virtue of her appointment to the MioCare Board.

Councillor S. Bashforth declared a personal interest at Item 8 by virtue of his appointment to the MioCare Board.

Councillor Chauhan declared a personal interest in Item 8 by virtue of his appointment to the MioCare Board

Councillor Hamblett declared a personal interest in Item 8 by virtue of his appointment to the MioCare Board

Councillor Garry declared a pecuniary interest in Item 8 by virtue of her husband’s employment by Greater Manchester Police and a personal interest in Item 9, Motion 1.

Councillor C. Gloster declared a pecuniary interest in Item 8 by virtue of his employment by Greater Manchester Police and a personal interest in Item 9, Motion 1.

Councillor H. Gloster declared a pecuniary interest in Item 8 by virtue of her husband’s employment by Greater Manchester Police and a personal interest in Item 9, Motion 1.

Councillor Jabbar declared a personal interest in Item 9, Motion 1.

Councillor Mushtaq declared a personal interest in Item 9, Motion 1.

Councillor Haque declared a personal interest in Item 9, Motion 1.

Councillor F. Hussain declared a personal interest in Item 9, Motion 1.

Councillor Ahmad declared a personal interest in Item 9, Motion 1.

Councillor Ali declared a personal interest in Item 9, Motion 1.

Councillor Akhtar declared a personal interest in Item 9, Motion 1.

Councillor Salamat declared a personal interest in Item 9, Motion 1.

Councillor Malik declared a personal interest in Item 9, Motion 1.

Councillor Harkness declared a personal interest in Item 9, Motion 1.

Councillor Al-Hamdani declared a pecuniary interest in Item 10, Motion 3 by virtue of his employment.

Councillor Hamblett declared a personal interest in Item 9, Motion 1 by virtue of being an FCHO tenant.

Councillor Price declared a personal interest in Item 9, Motion 2.

Councillor Stretton declared a personal interest in Item 9, Motion 2 by virtue of her husband being over 75 years of age.

Councillor Ibrahim declared a personal interest in Item 9, Motion 1.

Councillor Taylor declared a personal interest in Item 9, Motion 1.

4.

To deal with matters which the Mayor considers to be urgent business

Minutes:

There were no items of urgent business.

5.

To receive communications relating to the business of the Council

Minutes:

There were no communications related to the business of Council.

6.

To receive and note petitions received relating to the business of the Council pdf icon PDF 22 KB

(time limit 20 minutes)

Minutes:

The Mayor advised that two petitions had been received for noting by Council:

 

Chief Executive

 

Reference 2019-09:  Petition for the Public to Regain Our Trust in Oldham Council (Boroughwide) received on 26 June 2019 with 1,135 signatures

 

People and Place

 

Reference 2019-08:  Petition regarding the 415 Bus Service (Chadderton Central Ward) received on 14 May 2019 with 174 signatures

 

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

 

7.

Youth Council

(time limit 20 minutes)

 

In the year up to March 2018, in a report by the Office for National Statistics’ (ONS), analysis of knife crime figures showed that the number of fatal stabbings in England and Wales was at its highest level since 1946.  With just less than 5,000 young people, aged 10 to 17, cautioned or convicted of a knife related crime and an 45% increase in the number of people, aged 16 to 24, that had been a victim of knife crime, it appears to be at epidemic levels. 

It must be mentioned as well that this is not a London based problem as suggested by some media.  Thankfully the report showed Oldham was not in the top ten when looking at numbers of homicides per 100,000 population, however, other North West areas were in the top 10 rankings of ‘worst place for killings.

In our 2018 Make Your Mark consultation, 2,167 young people voted to ‘Put an End to Knife Crime’ as their number one issue that needs to be tackled in Oldham.  This was the top issue, coming higher than ending homelessness and equal pay for equal work.  Given this was voted for by our constituents we have made this a priority.  As such Oldham Youth Council wanted to dig deeper into this issue so used 10-forward surveys, going out into our communities to consult with young people to find out why they feel knife crime is an issue and what can be done to reduce it. 

Our surveys would suggest that most of Oldham’s young people do not carry bladed weapons, but 14% of respondents did admit to having carried a knife.  Half of these suggested they carried a knife for legitimate reasons, such as for Duke of Edinburgh Award or for eating their lunches, but the other half felt they needed it for protection.  If this result is suggestive of the numbers of young people carrying bladed weapons it would seem to be much higher than the number of young people cautioned or convicted, which represents less than 1% of the 10 to 17-year-old population.  The survey responses also showed that nearly 40% of young people knew someone who had carried a knife.  While this doesn’t give an indication of levels of knife crime it may suggest that young people who do carry knives or bladed weapons are happy to share this fact to brag or intimidate, which, may lead to more fear in young people and a need for protection that they assume a knife brings.

Those who don’t carry knives were concerned that they could be arrested and that they could be injured by carrying knives.  This would appear to show that current awareness and education is working for young people but probably only for those who wouldn’t pick up knives anyway.  We as Oldham Youth Council have pledged to work with local schools and Oldham Council to help develop that training to keep getting the message across but also try and  ...  view the full agenda text for item 7.

Minutes:

The Youth Council PROPOSED the following motion:

 

“In the Year up to March 2018, in a report by the Office for National Statistics’ (ONS), analysis of knife crime figures showed that the number of fatal stabbings in England and Wales was at its highest level since 1946.  With just less than 5,000 young people, aged 10 to 17, cautioned or convicted of a knife related crime and an 45% increase in the number of people, aged 16 to 24, that had been a victim of knife crime, it appears to be at epidemic levels.

It must be mentioned as well that this is not a London based problem as suggested by some media.  Thankfully the report showed Oldham was not in the top ten when looking at numbers of homicides per 100,000 population, however, other North West areas were in the top 10 rankings of ‘worst place for killings’.

In our 2018 Make Your Mark consultation, 2,167 young people voted to ‘Put an End to Knife Crime’ as their number one issues that needs to be tackled in Oldham.  This was the top issue, coming higher than ending homelessness and equal pay for equal work.  Given this was voted by our constituents we have made this a priority.  As such Oldham Youth Council wanted to dig deeper into this issue so used 10-forward survey, going out into our communities to consult with young people to find out why they feel knife crime is an issue and what can be done to reduce it.

Our surveys would suggest that most of Oldham’s young people do not carry bladed weapons, but 14% of respondents did admit to having carried a knife.  Half of these suggested they carried a knife for legitimate reasons, such as for Duke of Edinburgh Award or for eating their lunches, but the other half felt they needed it for protection.  If this result is suggestive of the numbers of young people carrying bladed weapons it would seem to be much higher than the number of young people cautioned or convicted, which represents less than 1% of the 10 to 17-year-old population.  The survey responses also showed that nearly 40% of young people knew someone who had carried a knife.  While this doesn’t give an indication of levels of knife crime it may suggest that young people who do carry knives or bladed weapons are happy to share this fact to brag or intimidate, which, may lead to more fear in young people and a need for protection that hey assume a knife brings.

Those who don’t carry knives were concerned that they could be arrested and that they could be injured by carrying knives.  This would appear to show that current awareness and education is working for young people but probably only for those who wouldn’t pick up knives anyway.  We as Oldham Youth Council have pledged to work with local schools and Oldham Council to help develop that training to keep getting the message across but  ...  view the full minutes text for item 7.

8.

Question Time pdf icon PDF 165 KB

a)    Public Questions (15 minutes)

 

b)    Question to Leader and Cabinet (30 minutes)

 

c)    Question on Cabinet Minutes (15 mins)

 

Cabinet Meeting

25th March 2019

Cabinet Meeting

15th April 2019

 

 

d)    Questions on Joint Arrangements/Partnerships (15 minutes)

 

Greater Manchester Combined Authority

1st March 2019

29th March 2019

31st May 2019

 

Greater Manchester Health and Care Board

8th March 2019

 

Police and Crime Panel

31st January 2019

 

National Park Authority

15th March 2019

24th May 2019

 

Health and Wellbeing Board

29th January 2019

26th March 2019

 

MioCare Board

14th January 2019

 

Oldham Leadership Board

17th January 2019

 

           

Additional documents:

Minutes:

a)         Public Questions

 

            The Mayor advised that the next item on the agenda was Public Question Time.  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 be read out by the Mayor.

 

The following questions had been submitted.

 

1.         Question received from Oldham Peace and Justice via email:

 

            “Since July 2007, Oldham based Ferranti Technologies Ltd has operated as a subsidiary of Elbit Systems, Israel’s largest military company.  It is based at Cairo House on Greenacres Road in Waterhead.  Elbit Systems UK has licences to export to Israel.

            Ferranti Technologies offers a wide range of products on its website, from Laser Guided Bombs, Sensors for Unmanned Aerial Systems, See Through Armour Headsets for use in Armoured Fighting Vehicles and Training simulators for Land, Sea and Air Combat, which are advertised as field proven, meaning battle tested, all with only 133 staff.

            Whilst we appreciate that Oldham Council has limited power in this area, Oldham Peach and Justice wish to ask:

·         Is the Council aware if Ferranti Technologies Ltd has supplied any of its wide range of weapons etc to Israel for use in attacks on Gaza or, in view of its limited staff, is Ferranti Technologies a platform for selling Elbit’s Israeli produced weapons, battle tested on Palestinians, in the UK and Europe?

·         The Council support and encourage the transfer of Ferranti jobs to similar work in green technologies as part of your creative Green campaigns thereby saving local jobs and utilising the skill sets and technical expertise developed by the Ferranti workforce.

·         The Council to back calls for an end to two way, UK-Israeli, weapons trade.”

 

Councillor Fielding, Leader of the Council and Cabinet Member for Economy and Enterprise responded that to his knowledge the Council was not aware if Ferranti Technologies Limited had supplied weapons to Israel or acted as a platform for the supply of Israeli weapons to the UK and Europe.  The Council would be prepared to use whatever influence and resources which could be afforded to support and encourage this and any other weapons firm to transfer to the manufacture of green technologies as a way of preserving the skilled jobs and putting those skills to an arguably better use.

 

2.         Question received from Peter Brown via email:

 

            “By virtue of the 1000+ public signatures will this Council accept the urgent need for change in which, when a member of the public makes a complaint against an elected councillor, no longer shall the elected councillor or this Council misuse and abuse the Data Protection Act to cover up the truth from the public.  This has only led to the allowing of lies, deceit, collusion, and cover up and a disregard by highly paid council officers in being honest, open, transparent which should be the fundamental principles of this Council.

            By what time scale can the public see a  ...  view the full minutes text for item 8.

9.

Notice of Administration Business

(time limit 30 minutes)

 

Motion 1

Abolition of Section 21 no fault evictions

 

Councillor Leach to MOVE and Councillor Fielding to SECOND:

This Council notes that:

  • no fault evictions, introduced under Section 21 of the 1988 Housing Act, allow landlords to evict tenants, without having to give a reason, once the term of the tenancy has expired;
  • 80% of England’s 11 million renters are on tenancies with fixed terms of six months or a year; after this period has ended, landlords can evict their tenants under Section 21 without cause;
  • research published by The Observer campaign group Generation Rent indicates that Section 21 evictions are now the single biggest cause of homelessness in England; and that
  • in 2017, the Scottish Government made tenancies indefinite and banned no-fault evictions under the terms of the Private Housing

(Tenancies) (Scotland) Act 2016.

 

This Council believes Abolishing Section 21 no-fault evictions:

  • would help to make renting more secure and communities more stable, improve standards and increase tenant confidence;
  • would further help to tackle homelessness, which should be a priority for government at all levels; and,
  • should happen as soon as practicably possible.

 

This Council therefore:

  • welcomes the UK Government announcement in April of plans to consult on new legislation to abolish Section 21 no-fault evictions in England; and
  • resolves to work with the Unfair Evictions Campaign led by Generation Rent, the New Economics Foundation and renters’ unions, to bring about the swift abolition of Section 21 no-fault evictions.

 

Motion 2

Calling on the Government to fund free TV licences for all over 75s

 

Councillor Stretton to MOVE and Councillor G Hulme to MOVE:

This Council notes that the government has withdrawn funding from the BBC which has hitherto covered the cost of free TV Licences for all pensioners over the age of 75.  The government shifted the responsibility for deciding whether the free TV License should continue to be available to all pensioners and, if so, how it would be funded to the BBC in 2015.  The BBC have announced that after the end of June next year the free TV licence will only be available to households where there is a pensioner over the age of 75 who is in receipt of Pension Credits.

 

This Council also notes the recent Joseph Rowntree Foundation report that says one in 6 pensioners are living in poverty and pensioner poverty is rising. Furthermore, in the most recent government statistics for take up of pension credits (2016 -2017) only 6 out of 10 pensioners who were entitled to the benefit claimed it and only 64 per cent of the total amount of Pension Credit that could have been claimed was claimed.

 

This Council believes it is clear that the cost of a TV Licence at £154.50 will be prohibitive for many and as a result many pensioners will be without the benefit of TV.

 

This Council calls upon the Government to reinstate the funding to the BBC to enable the retention of the free colour TV  ...  view the full agenda text for item 9.

Minutes:

Motion 1 – Abolition of Section 21 No Fault Evictions

 

Councillor Leach MOVED and Councillor Fielding SECONDED the following motion:

 

“This Council notes that:

·         No fault evictions introduced under Section 21 of the 1988 Housing Act, allow landlords to evict tenants, without having to give a reason, once the term of the tenancy has expired;

·         80% of England’s 11 million renters are on tenancies with fixed terms of six months or a year; after this period has ended, landlords can evict their tenants under Section 21 without cause;

·         Research published by The Observer campaign group Generation Rent indicates that Section 21 evictions are now the single biggest cause of homelessness in England; and that

·         In 2017, the Scottish Government made tenancies indefinite and banned no-fault evictions under the terms of the Private Housing (Tenancies) (Scotland) Act 2016.

This Council believes Abolishing Section 21 no-fault evictions:

·         Would help to make renting more secure and communities more stable, improve standards and increase tenant confidence;

·         Would further help to tackle homelessness, which should be a priority for government at all levels; and

·         Should happen as soon as practicably possible.

The Council therefore:

·         Welcomes the UK Government announcement in April of plans to consult on new legislation to abolish Section 21 no-fault evictions in England; and

·         Resolves to work with the Unfair Evictions Campaign led by Generation Rent, the New Economics Foundation and renters’ unions, to bring about the swift abolition of Section 21 no-fault evictions.”

 

Councillor Al-Hamdani spoke in support of the Motion.

Councillor Harkness spoke in support of the Motion.

Councillor Curley spoke in support of the Motion.

Councillor Chadderton spoke in support of the Motion.

Councillor Judd spoke in support of the Motion.

Councillor Roberts spoke in support of the Motion.

 

Councillor Leach exercised her right of reply.

 

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

 

RESOLVED that:

 

1.         The UK Government announcement of plans to consult on new legislation to abolish Section 21 no-fault evictions in England be welcomed.

2.         The Council resolved to work with the Unfair Evictions Campaign led by Generation Rent, the New Economics Foundation and renters’ union to bring about the swift abolition of Section 21 no-fault evictions.

 

Motion 2 – Calling on the Government to Fund Free TV Licences for all over 75s

 

Councillor Stretton MOVED and Councillor Hulme SECONDED the following MOTION:

“This Council notes that the government has withdrawn funding from the BBC which has hitherto covered the cost of free TV Licences for all pensioners over the age of 75.  The government shifted the responsibility for deciding whether the free TV License should continue to be available to all pensioners and, if so, how it would be funded to the BBC in 2015.  The BBC have announced that after the end of June next year the free TV Licence will only be available to households where there is a pensioner over the age of 75 who is in receipt of Pension Credits.

This Council also notes the recent  ...  view the full minutes text for item 9.

10.

Notice of Opposition Business

(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  ...  view the full agenda text for item 10.

Minutes:

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  ...  view the full minutes text for item 10.

11.

Update on Actions from Council pdf icon PDF 102 KB

Additional documents:

Minutes:

Consideration was given to a 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 update on Actions from Council be noted.

12.

Revision to the Council's NJC grading structure following the 2019 NJC Green Book pay award pdf icon PDF 199 KB

Additional documents:

Minutes:

Councillor Jabbar MOVED and Councillor C. Gloster seconded a report regarding the revision to the Council’s NJC grading structure following the 2019 NJC Green Book Pay Award.  The 2019 NJC Green Book pay award has, as part of the settlement, realigned the national pay spine to ensure future compliance with the National Minimum / Living Wage and to even the spaces out between the cash value of each spinal column point.  As Oldham Council is a member of the Local Government Association (LGA), the Council was bound by the outcome of negotiated agreements between the national unions and the LGA employers’ side.  The Council was now obliged to meet employees’ contractual requirements to review the local NJC grading structure to be able to comply with these national provisions.

 

The Council developed proposals to revise the local NJC grading structure and opened negotiations with local and regional trades union officers.  Following those negotiations, amendments were made to the original proposals to secure an ‘in-principle’ collective agreement deemed to be acceptable to both parties, subject to the agreement of union members and full Council.  The amendment were presented to Council for a decision on adoption of the amendments to the NJC grading structure.

 

RESOLVED that the revised NJC grading structure for staff on Green Book terms and conditions, as outlined at Appendix 2 of the report, with an effective implementation date of 1st April 2019 be adopted.

13.

Constitutional Amendments and Members Allowances pdf icon PDF 148 KB

Report to follow

Additional documents:

Minutes:

Consideration was given to a report of the Director of Legal Services which presented proposed changes and amendments to the Council’s Constitution.

 

The proposed changes and amendments related to references to Deputy Chief Executive generic delegations to include Strategic Directors (apart from specific delegations to the Deputy Chief Executive’s relevant portfolio), Councillors Annual Reports be submitted to Full Council in March every year for noting and specific delegations to the Strategic Director of Commissioning.

 

The report also referred to an amendment to the Petitions Protocol which removed reference to District Executives and replaced with District Lead / Coordinator and Deputy Chief Executive / Strategic Director.

 

The report requested the reinstatement of the allowance for transport duties.  The Transport for Greater Manchester Committee (soon to be constituted as ‘The Greater Manchester Transport Committee’) allowance would be subject to future decisions as the allowance was an agreement between GMA and each district council of Greater Manchester.  Pending a future decision, it was recommended that the previous arrangement continued (i.e. an allowance of £4,069) and that it be enabled to be claimed notwithstanding if a member was already in receipt of a Special Responsibility Allowance.

 

Options/Alternatives

Option 1 – Approve the recommendations subject to agreement of other reports on the agenda.

Option 2 – Do not approve the recommendations and provide alternatives to the proposals.

 

RESOLVED that:

1.       The proposed amendments / changes to the Constitution as detailed in the report be approved.

2.       Any future changes to the Specific Officer Functions be delegated to the Monitoring Officer and report to the next available Council.

 

14.

Housing Strategy pdf icon PDF 185 KB

Additional documents:

Minutes:

Councillor Roberts MOVED and Councillor Fielding SECONDED a report which presented an updated Housing Strategy.  The previous Housing Strategy (2015 – 2018) was approved by Cabinet in April 2015.  It was a three-year document and reflected the key housing challenges and opportunities facing Oldham at that time.  Good practice dictated that housing strategies were reviewed every five years and no longer than every seven years.  In addition, the local authority had a statutory responsibility which was usually articulated through the periodic publications of a housing strategy and housing stock conditions surveys.

 

Oldham has a diverse housing market which stretched out from the town centre surrounded by inner ring of high density and compact terraced housing neighbourhoods which were increasingly areas of regeneration priority to out suburbs, semi-rural parish standalone settlements and dispersed rural settlements within green belt and countryside.

 

There had been significant changes in the local housing market and the service operating model since the last housing strategy was refreshed which included devolution with agreement to meting housing targets through a Greater Manchester spatial planning process, new burdens in national planning methodologies and standards which dictated the need for a completely new approach as to how statutory planning and housing responsibilities were met.  The new Housing Strategy would complement our existing homelessness strategy, linked to the 30-year Housing Revenue Account business plan and set out the evidence base for the development of the new Local Plan.  The new Housing Strategy also responded to the travel of direction towards working in a new integrated health and social care service cluster model being driven by Oldham Cares.  The Housing Strategy pick up one if its key themes on the key function housing played in supporting health and social care integration and wider public service reform.

 

A key objective of the development of a new housing strategy had been to reset the housing delivery governance framework that could start to tackle the challenges identified in the evidence base and help meet the opportunities to achieve the housing priority themes acknowledged over the short, medium and long-term.  The accompanying delivery plan sought to begin to start to locate housing and place shaping at the heard of Oldham’s collective vision for the Borough.

 

The new Housing Strategy would:

 

·         Enable the Council to determine priorities in each district or local housing market area as defined by the LHNA evidence base;

·         Inform bids for both public and private funding to support the development of new homes in Oldham;

·         Support the Council and its partners to make more informed People and Place making decisions about the targeting and future integrated commissioning priorities under, for example, the Integrated Care Organisation (Oldham Cares) and underpin external funding bids to support investment in existing housing services and stock in Oldham.

·         Enable the Council to focus and develop new policies and ways of working that better fit the operating environment.

·         Inform the Council to progress its energy conservation work and to satisfy the Council’s obligations under the Home Energy Conservation Act  ...  view the full minutes text for item 14.

15.

Climate Change and Green Oldham pdf icon PDF 832 KB

Minutes:

Councillor Jabbar MOVED and Councillor Fielding SECONDED a report which provided an update on Oldham’s progress on tackling climate change and other environmental issues over the last few years and the Council’s ongoing commitments to the agenda as well as the benefits the activities brought to Oldham residents and businesses.

 

The report set out Oldham’s achievements over the past few years and the commitment to continue to make sure that Oldham was a leading local authority area on climate change and the environment, for the benefit of residents, businesses and future generations.

 

The borough was on target to meet the 2020 target for a 48% cut in emissions on a 1990 baseline.  The Council’s performance in cutting the carbon emissions associated with its estate had been good.  The report also highlighted renewal energy generation, community energy programmes, waste, recycling & enforcement, transport, housing, ‘Green and Blue Infrastructure’, Alexandra Park Eco-Centre and Northern Roots and the Green Oldham Strategy.

 

Councillor Ball spoke in support of the report.

Councillor C. Gloster spoke in support of the report.

Councillor Murphy spoke in support of the report.

Councillor Judd spoke in support of the report.

Councillor Williams spoke in support of the report.

Councillor Ur-Rehman spoke in support of the report.

 

Councillor Jabbar exercised his right of reply.

 

RESOLVED that:

 

1.         The progress Oldham had made to date in tackling climate change and other environmental issues be noted.

2.         Oldham’s leadership role at Greater Manchester level and more widely be noted.

3.         The Council’s continuing commitment to action on climate change and the environment and the ambitions for the future be noted.

 

16.

AGMA Constitution pdf icon PDF 89 KB

Additional documents:

Minutes:

Consideration was given to a report which informed members that the AGMA Executive Board had agreed a number of amendments to the AGMA Constitution following a review by the GMCA Monitoring Officer.  The main revisions were requested to reflect the change in GM Transport Governance arrangements.  Following the making of the Transport Order, districts, GMCA and the Mayor had agreed to establish a new GM Transport Committee as a joint committee of the 10 districts, the GMCA and the Mayor and to enter into a new Operating Agreement. 

 

In addition, the number of substitute members had been reduced to 1 member and it was suggested that this be the same substitute as appointed to the GMCA. 

 

Furthermore, the range of functions carried out by AGMA had significantly reduced due to the increase in the functions of the GMCA since 2017 by way of new Statutory Orders.  Work related to a number of functions was now undertaken within the GMCA and, where relevant, commended to the Greater Manchester constituent councils by the GMCA.

 

RESOLVED that:

1.       The amendments agreed by AGMA Executive Board and GMCA  to the AGMA Constitution be noted.

2.       The revised AGMA Constitution as attached at Appendix 1 to the report be agreed.

3.       the appointment of Councillor Shah as the substitute member for the AGMA Executive Board be agreed.