(time limit 30 minutes)
Motion 1
Councillor Arnott to MOVE and Councillor Byrne to SECOND the motion:
For Queen and Country
The Council notes that.
• Saying that you are proud to be British should not be a source of shame and there is nothing wrong with Patriotism or flying our national flag. It is one of many things that binds our society together.
• That the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland is in fact a unique bastion of freedom and that we should be proud of the outstanding role it has played across the world in education, art, culture, science, engineering and in exporting democracy and the rule of law.
• We all have heroes in our communities – whether they are historical or present day, and we should properly celebrate these individuals, and their contribution to our country.
This Council resolves that:
• The Chief Executive of Oldham Metropolitan Borough Council write to the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster and Minister for the Cabinet Office and Secretary of State for Education asking them to support Oldham Metropolitan Borough Council by providing support for schools to teach the national anthem, fly the Union Flag of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, display a portrait of HM Queen Elizabeth II and teach our islands’ history.
• Oldham Metropolitan Borough Council reaffirms its support for the sovereignty of the Union of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, Crown dependencies and United Kingdom Overseas Territories. • That the relevant cabinet member will request all schools in the Oldham Metropolitan Borough to: - Teach their children to sing the national anthem. - Fly the Union Flag all year round. - Display a portrait of HM Queen Elizabeth II in a prominent place in schools.
• That Oldham Metropolitan Borough Council display a proper and fitting portrait of HM Queen Elizabeth II (and any future sovereign) in a prominent place within the Council chamber and at the reception of Oldham Council along with our Union Flag of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland. –
• This Council rejects the phenomena known as ‘Cancel Culture’ and that it holds these truths to be self-evident, that of freedom of speech and democracy. Truths which must be cherished and defended
Motion 2
Councillor Kenyon to MOVE and Councillor Al-Hamdani to SECOND the motion:
Adopting ‘Permission Accomplished’ standards in planning
This Council:
Council believes that the ‘Permission Accomplished’ report represents an excellent opportunity to benchmark our local planning procedures, so they mirror the best practice recommendations outlined by TI-UK.
Council therefore resolves to:
Motion 3
Councillor Lancaster to MOVE and Councillor Woodvine to SECOND the motion:
South Pennines National Park
This Council notes that:
This Council resolves to:
Motion 4
Councillor Murphy to MOVE and Councillor H Gloster to SECOND the motion:
Government funding for our overlooked emergency services
Council notes that 9 September is annually marked as Emergency Services Day in the United Kingdom.
Council recognises, with pride and gratitude, the tremendous professionalism and commitment shown by our emergency services personnel (ambulance, fire, police and coastguard) day-in-day out, especially during the COVID-19 pandemic.
However, three of our essential emergency services currently remain almost completely unfunded by central government and largely run with financial support from the public by selfless and dedicated volunteers; these being the UK’s mountain and cave rescue services; air ambulance services; and the Royal National Lifeboat Institute (RNLI).
Many injured or ill residents and visitors to this borough have been beneficiaries of the services provided by the Oldham Mountain Rescue Team and North West Air Ambulance Service, and some residents will have also been assisted at sea by the RNLI, yet these services almost wholly rely upon public donations, which are uncertain, rather than having any guarantee of their costs being reimbursed by central government.
Council believes this is unfair, and that some government funding should be provided to guarantee these invaluable services a certain level of income every year.
Council resolves to ask the Chief Executive to:
· Write to the Chancellor of the Exchequer to request that the UK government provide annual funding to these services on an ongoing basis as a clear commitment in the 2022 March Budget.
· Copy in our three local MPs and the Mayor of Greater Manchester seeking their support.
Minutes:
Councillor Arnott MOVED and Councillor Byrne SECONDED the following MOTION:
Flying the Flag
The Council notes that.
• Saying that you are proud to be British should not be a source of shame and there is nothing wrong with Patriotism or flying our national flag. It is one of many things that binds our society together.
• That the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland is in fact a unique bastion of freedom and that we should be proud of the outstanding role it has played across the world in education, art, culture, science, engineering and in exporting democracy and the rule of law.
• We all have heroes in our communities – whether they are historical or present day, and we should properly celebrate these individuals, and their contribution to our country.
This Council resolves that:
• The Chief Executive of Oldham Metropolitan Borough Council write to the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster and Minister for the Cabinet Office and Secretary of State for Education asking them to support Oldham Metropolitan Borough Council by providing support for schools to teach the national anthem, fly the Union Flag of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, display a portrait of HM Queen Elizabeth II and teach our islands’ history.
• Oldham Metropolitan Borough Council reaffirms its support for the sovereignty of the Union of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, Crown dependencies and United Kingdom Overseas Territories.
• That the relevant cabinet member will request all schools in the Oldham Metropolitan Borough to:
- Teach their children to sing the national anthem.
- Fly the Union Flag all year round.
- Display a portrait of HM Queen Elizabeth II in a prominent place in schools.
• That Oldham Metropolitan Borough Council display a proper and fitting portrait of HM Queen Elizabeth II (and any future sovereign) in a prominent place within the Council chamber and at the reception of Oldham Council along with our Union Flag of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland.
• This Council rejects the phenomena known as ‘Cancel Culture’ and that it holds these truths to be self-evident, that of freedom of speech and democracy. Truths which must be cherished and defended.
Councillor Mushtaq spoke against the motion.
Councillor Al-Hamdani spoke against the motion.
Councillor Steve Bashforth spoke against the motion.
A recorded vote was requested and taken on the MOTION as follows:
|
COUNCILLOR |
|
COUNCILLOR |
|
|
Abid, Sahr |
FOR |
Ibrahim, Nyla |
AGAINST |
|
Ahmad, Riaz |
Apologies |
Iqbal, Javid |
|
|
Akhtar, Shoab |
AGAINST |
Islam, Mohammed Nazrul |
AGAINST |
|
Alexander, Ginny |
|
Jabbar MBE, Abdul |
AGAINST |
|
Al-Hamdani, Sam |
ABSTAIN |
Kenyon, Mark |
|
|
Ali, Mohon |
AGAINST |
Lancaster, Luke |
FOR |
|
Alyas, Mohammed |
AGAINST |
Leach, Valerie |
Apologies |
|
Arnott, Dave |
FOR |
Malik, Abdul |
AGAINST |
|
Bashforth, Marie |
AGAINST |
McLaren, Colin |
AGAINST |
|
Bashforth, Steven |
AGAINST |
Moores, Eddie |
AGAINST |
|
Birch, Ros |
AGAINST |
Murphy, Dave |
ABSTAIN |
|
Briggs, Norman |
Apologies |
Mushtaq, Shaid |
AGAINST |
|
Brownridge, Barbara |
AGAINST |
Phythian, Clint |
AGAINST |
|
Byrne, Pam |
FOR |
Phythian, Kyle |
AGAINST |
|
Chadderton, Amanda |
AGAINST |
Roberts, Hannah |
AGAINST |
|
Chauhan, Zahid |
AGAINST |
Salamat, Ali Aqeel |
AGAINST |
|
Cosgrove, Angela |
|
Shah, Arooj |
AGAINST |
|
Curley, Jamie |
FOR |
Sharp, Beth |
FOR |
|
Davis, Peter |
AGAINST |
Sheldon, Graham |
FOR |
|
Dean, Peter |
AGAINST |
Shuttleworth, Graham |
AGAINST |
|
Garry, Elaine |
AGAINST |
Stretton, Jean |
AGAINST |
|
Gloster, Chris |
ABSTAIN |
Surjan, Ruji Sapna |
AGAINST |
|
Gloster, Hazel |
ABSTAIN |
Sykes MBE, Howard |
ABSTAIN |
|
Goodwin, Chris |
AGAINST |
Taylor, Elaine |
AGAINST |
|
Hamblett, Louie |
ABSTAIN |
Toor, Yasmin |
AGAINST |
|
Hindle, Neil |
Apologies |
Wilkinson, Mark |
FOR |
|
Hobin, Brian |
FOR |
Williamson, Diane |
ABSTAIN |
|
Hulme, George |
AGAINST |
Williams, Steve |
AGAINST |
|
Hussain, Aftab |
Apologies |
Woodvine, Max |
FOR |
|
Hussain, Fida |
Apologies |
Harrison, Jennifer |
AGAINST |
On a recorded VOTE being taken, 10 VOTES were cast in FAVOUR of the MOTION with 35 VOTES cast AGAINST and 7 ABSTENTIONS. The MOTION was therefore LOST.
Motion 2
Councillor Kenyon MOVED and Councillor Al-Hamdani SECONDED the following MOTION:
Adopting ‘Permission Accomplished’ standards in planning
This Council:
· Believes that confidence in the planning process is undermined in circumstances where the public, elected members and professionals are convinced, or simply perceive, that pre-determined bias exists, that the process is not fully transparent, or worse, that corrupt practices prevail.
· Commits that Oldham follow best practice standards in planning to provide reassurance to all parties that the process has integrity, impartiality and is transparent.
· Notes that Transparency International UK (TI-UK), part of the world’s leading non-governmental anti-corruption organisation, published a report ‘Permission Accomplished’ in July 2020 identifying best practice.
Council believes that the ‘Permission Accomplished’ report represents an excellent opportunity to benchmark our local planning procedures, so they mirror the best practice recommendations outlined by TI-UK.
Council therefore resolves to:
· Ask the Overview and Scrutiny Board to establish a task-and-finish group of senior planning and legal officers, all party representation from the Planning Committee, and a representative from TI-UK, to examine the report and identify the best practice that should be adopted in Oldham.
· Ask the Overview and Scrutiny Board to bring their report and recommendations to a future meeting of Council for adoption.
Councillor Dean spoke against the motion.
Councillor S Bashforth spoke against the motion.
Councillor Kenyon exercised his right of reply.
On being put to the vote, the MOTION was LOST.
Motion 3
The Council AGREED to the WITHDRAWAL of this MOTION.
Motion 4
Councillor Murphy MOVED and Councillor H Gloster SECONDED the following MOTION:
Government funding for our overlooked emergency services
Council notes that 9 September is annually marked as Emergency Services Day in the United Kingdom.
Council recognises, with pride and gratitude, the tremendous professionalism and commitment shown by our emergency services personnel (ambulance, fire, police and coastguard) day-in-day out, especially during the COVID-19 pandemic.
However, three of our essential emergency services currently remain almost completely unfunded by central government and largely run with financial support from the public by selfless and dedicated volunteers; these being the UK’s mountain and cave rescue services; air ambulance services; and the Royal National Lifeboat Institute (RNLI).
any injured or ill residents and visitors to this borough have been beneficiaries of the services provided by the Oldham Mountain Rescue Team and North West Air Ambulance Service, and some residents will have also been assisted at sea by the RNLI, yet these services almost wholly rely upon public donations, which are uncertain, rather than having any guarantee of their costs being reimbursed by central government.
Council believes this is unfair, and that some government funding should be provided to guarantee these invaluable services a certain level of income every year.
Council resolves to ask the Chief Executive to:
· Write to the Chancellor of the Exchequer to request that the UK government provide annual funding to these services on an ongoing basis as a clear commitment in the 2022 March Budget.
· Copy in our three local MPs and the Mayor of Greater Manchester seeking their support.
On being put to the vote, the MOTION was CARRIED.
RESOLVED that the Chief Executive be asked to:
· Write to the Chancellor of the Exchequer to request that the UK government provide annual funding to these services on an ongoing basis as a clear commitment in the 2022 March Budget.
· Copy in our three local MPs and the Mayor of Greater Manchester seeking their support.