Agenda and minutes

(a)  The Lord Mayor welcomed members to this remote meeting of Full Council and also any members of the public who were joining the meeting.

(b)  The Lord Mayor reminded those present that the meeting was to be streamed live.

(c) The Lord Mayor informed Council that she had agreed to the circulation  of 2 late items

Item 6 – Recommendations of the Executive board regarding the Site Allocations Plan

Item 9 – Minutes of the Executive Board

(d)  The Lord Mayor informed Council that this would be the last Council meeting for a number of Councillors as they would not be seeking re-election to Council, and said a few words in respect of each Councillor and thanked them for their work over many years on behalf of the Council.

(e )The Lord Mayor also informed Council of the recent death of Peter Lorimer the former Leeds United footballer.

Council stood in silent tribute.

Councillors Lewis, Andrew Carter, Bentley, Finnigan, D Blackburn and M Dobson thanked all of the retiring members, members who had recently stood down and a member who had passed away and paid tribute to them for their hard work and service over many years.

Councillor Judith Blake

Councillor Neil Dawson

Councillor Peter Gruen

Councillor Mark Harrison

Councillor Christine Knight

Councillor Pat Latty

Carmel Hall

Eleanor Tunnicliffe

Angela Wenham

To approve the minutes of the Council Meeting held on 24^th February 2021.

It was moved by Councillor Dowson, seconded by Councillor Cohen and

RESOLVED – That the minutes of the meeting held on 24^th February 2021 be approved.

There were no declarations of interests.

To receive such communications as the Lord Mayor, the Leader,  Members of the Executive Board or the Chief Executive consider appropriate.

The Chief Executive informed Council that a response to a Council resolution in January on the International Campaign to Abolish Nuclear Weapons (ICAN) has been received from the Rt Hon. James Cleverly MP Minister of State for the Middle East and North Africa.

The response has previously been circulated to all Members of Council.

It was moved by Councillor Dowson, seconded by Councillor Cohen and

RESOLVED – That Council Procedure Rules 2.2 (e),(g), 3.3, 3.4, 11.1 (c ), 12.2 and 14.1 (b), (c), (d), (e ) & (f)  be suspended and agree that;

• all business other than White Papers be concluded by 4.15pm at which point there will be a scheduled break followed by White Papers.

• White Papers – for a maximum of 30 minutes per White Paper - speakers to have up to 3 minutes with each group having the opportunity to speak if required.

To consider the report of the Chief Officer Elections and Regulatory presenting  to Council the annual report of Entertainment Licensing and Taxi and Private Hire Licensing.

It was moved by Councillor Garner seconded by Councillor J Lewis and

RESOLVED – That the Licensing annual report be received.

To consider the report of the City Solicitor presenting to Full Council the annual report relating to matters within the Standards and Conduct Committee’s terms of reference.  Council Procedure Rule 2.2 (f) stipulates that the annual report of the committee must be referred to full Council for consideration; this being to support the duty of the Authority to promote and maintain high standards of conduct by Members and co-opted Members of the Council.

It was moved by Councillor Nash, seconded by Councillor Dowson and

RESOLVED - That the report of the City Solicitor be received and the matters set out in the annual report be noted.

To consider the report of the Director of City Development setting out recommendations from the Executive Board on 17^th March 2021 to Full Council in relation to the Submission of 39 Proposed Main Modifications to the Leeds Site Allocations Plan for reconsideration by the Secretary of State.

(Report to follow)

A report of the Director of City Development putting forward recommendations from the Executive Board that met on 17^th March 2021, in relation to the Submission of 39 Proposed Main Modifications to the Leeds Site Allocations Plan for reconsideration by the Secretary of State was moved by Councillor Hayden, seconded by Councillor Walshaw and asked Council to 

i)  Note the assessment of representations received in response to the consultation on the proposed Main Modifications and supporting documents;

ii)   Note the resolution and recommendations of Executive Board of 17^th March 2021;

(iii)  Approve the proposed 39 Main Modifications to the Remitted part of the Site Allocations Plan (in Appendix 1), the Sustainability Appraisal Addendum (in Appendix 2) and supporting material (detailed in paragraphs 1.2) be submitted to the Secretary of State, pursuant to Section 20 of the Planning and Compulsory Purchase Act 2004 as amended, for the purpose of Examination by an independent inspector;

(iv)   Invite the independent inspector appointed to hold the Public Examination, to make modifications to the Remitted part of the Site Allocations Plan, pursuant to Section 20 (7C) of the Planning and Compulsory Purchase Act 2004 as amended in order that it is sound and legally compliant;

(v)   Delegate authority to the Chief Planning Officer, in consultation with the Executive Member for Climate Change, Transport and Sustainable Development, to (a) approve the detail of any updates or corrections to the submission material and any further technical documents and supporting evidence required to be submitted for consideration at future hearing sessions, (b) continue discussions with key parties, including via statements of common ground and suggest to the Inspector any further Main Modifications, edits and consequential changes necessary to be made to the Remitted part of the Site Allocations Plan following Council approval, during the Examination and (c) prepare and give evidence in support of the Remitted part of the Site Allocations Plan.

An amendment was moved by Councillor Andrew Carter, seconded by Councillor Collins

In Recommendation (iii), remove the words “39 Main Modifications” and replace with “Main Modifications 1 - 38”.

Insert new Recommendation (vi) to read as follows:

Notwithstanding Recommendation (ii) above, note that Council declines to approve proposed Main Modification 39 (MM39), concerning the proposed allocation of the Barrowby Lane, Manston site for general employment uses, being submitted to the Secretary of State for the purpose of examination; the effect of MM39 not being agreed will be that all 37 sites subject to the Court Order are deleted from the SAP as housing allocations, remain as green belt land, and are not allocated for any other purposes in the SAP.

The amendment in the name of Councillor Andrew Carter was declared lost and upon being put to the vote it was 

RESOLVED -

i)  To note the assessment of representations received in response to the consultation on the proposed Main Modifications and supporting documents;

ii)  To note the resolution and recommendations of Executive Board of 17^th March 2021;

(iii)  To approve  ...  view the full minutes text for item 88.

To consider the report of the City Solicitor setting out recommendations from the General Purposes Committee on 15 March 2021 to Full Council.

The report of the City Solicitor putting forward recommendations from the General Purposes Committee that met on 15^th March 2021, in relation to the Members' Code of Conduct and Complaint Procedure, and Council Procedure Rules was moved by Councillor Lewis, seconded by Councillor Dowson and

RESOLVED – That amendments to the Constitution as detailed in this report, and set out in the appendices attached, be approved with immediate effect:

a)  amendments to the Council Procedure Rules as shown at Appendix A of the report

b)  amendments to the Procedure for Considering Complaints Alleging a Failure to Comply with the Members’ Code of Conduct set out at Appendix B of the report

and, with effect from the Annual Council meeting:

c)  adopt the Councillor Code of Conduct as set out at Appendix C of the report;

To deal with executive questions in accordance with Council Procedure Rule 11.

Q1  Councillor Stephenson to the Executive Member (Learning, Skills and Employment):-

Will the Executive Member for Learning, Skills and Employment join me in congratulating The Gorse Academies Trust on its successful bid to run the Leeds Teaching School Hub; a prestigious opportunity to shape the future of teacher training in the city?

The Executive Member (Learning, Skills and Employment) replied.

At the conclusion of question time, the following questions remained unanswered and it was noted that, under the provisions of Council Procedure Rule 11.6, written answers would be sent to each Member of Council:-

Q2  Councillor Bentley to the Executive Member (Children, Families and Adult Social Care):-

Q3  Councillor Jenkins to the Leader of Council:-

Q4  Councillor Gettings to the Executive Member (Climate Change, Transport and Sustainable Development):-

Q5  Councillor Wray to the Executive Member (Communities):-

Q6  Councillor B Anderson to the Executive Member (Climate Change, Transport and Sustainable Development):-

Q7  Councillor Lay to the Leader of Council:-

Q8  Councillor Marshall-Katung to the Executive Member (Health and Wellbeing):-

Q9  Councillor Lennox to the Executive Member (Economy):-

Q10  Councillor Taylor to the Executive Member (Climate Change, Transport and Sustainable Development).

Q11  Councillor Downes to the Leader of Council.

Q12  Councillor Brooks to the Executive Member (Climate Change, Transport and Sustainable Development).

Q13  Councillor Heselwood to the Executive Member (Learning, Skills and Employment).

Q14  Councillor Buckley to the Leader of Council.

Q15  Councillor Bentley to the Executive Member (Climate Change, Transport and Sustainable Development).

Q16  Councillor Ragan to the Executive Member (Environment and Active Lifestyles).

Q17  Councillor Scopes to the Executive Member (Children, Families and Adult Social Care).

Q18  Councillor Wadsworth to the Executive Member (Environment and Active Lifestyles).

Q19  Councillor Bentley to the Executive Member (Climate Change, Transport and Sustainable Development).

Q20  Councillor C Anderson to the Executive Member (Health and Wellbeing).

Q21  Councillor Taylor to the Leader of Council.

Q22  Councillor Taylor to the Executive Member (Climate Change, Transport and Sustainable Development).

Q23  Councillor B Anderson to the Executive Member (Environment and Active Lifestyles).

Q24  Councillor B Anderson to the Executive Member (Environment and Active Lifestyles).

Q25  Councillor Taylor to the Executive Member (Environment and Active Lifestyles).

Q26  Councillor B Anderson to the Executive Member (Climate Change, Transport and Sustainable Development).

Q27  Councillor Robinson to the Executive Member (Environment and Active Lifestyles).

Q28  Councillor Taylor to the Executive Member (Environment and Active Lifestyles).

To receive the minutes in accordance with Council Procedure Rule 2.2(i).

It was moved by Councillor Lewis, seconded by Councillor Dowson that the minutes be received in accordance with Council Procedure Rule 2.2(i).

RESOLVED – That the minutes be received in accordance with Council Procedure Rule 2.2(i).

At the conclusion of this item Council adjourned from 16.17 to 16.30

This Council is concerned by recent reports from DEFRA suggesting that since 2012 fly-tipping incidents nationally and in Leeds have risen at an alarming rate.

This Council believes that a major contributing factor to this problem is the insistence by the ruling administration in Leeds that residents should not only pay extra Council Tax but also have to pay for disposal of inert and bulky waste.

Whilst the most recent figures show a reduction in fly-tipping incidents from a peak in 2018/19, the total number remains high compared to other Local Authorities. Analysis of the DEFRA statistics shows that in 2012/13, well before charges for inert waste were introduced, fly-tipping incidents in Leeds stood at 2,977. The latest data for 2019/20 shows this has risen 776% to 26,079 incidents, while fly-tipping on Council land has risen 699% over the same period.  Where Leeds comes in the rankings in the years between 2017/18 and 2019/20 is also cause for concern: Leeds has ranked 1^st, 1^st and 3^rd in the DEFRA numbers for the highest number by Local Authority of total fly-tipping incidents, and 1^st, 1^st and 2^nd for the number of incidents on Council land. 

Of further concern, is the almost halving of prosecutions over the same period, from 15 in 2012/13 to just 8 in 2019/20, representing 0.03% of all fly-tipping incidents in Leeds for the year.

This Council believes that the ruling administration has presided over a fly-tipping crisis in this city, a crisis that affects inner city areas to a greater extent and a crisis that needs to be urgently addressed.

As a starting point, this Council calls for an immediate end to charging for bulky and inert waste in Leeds and for a report to be brought to Executive Board at the earliest opportunity setting out a zero-tolerance approach to how fly-tipping can be tackled in our city and offenders brought before the courts.

It was moved by Councillor Amanda Carter, seconded by Councillor Taylor that 

this Council is concerned by recent reports from DEFRA suggesting that since 2012 fly-tipping incidents nationally and in Leeds have risen at an alarming rate.

This Council believes that a major contributing factor to this problem is the insistence by the ruling administration in Leeds that residents should not only pay extra Council Tax but also have to pay for disposal of inert and bulky waste.

Whilst the most recent figures show a reduction in fly-tipping incidents from a peak in 2018/19, the total number remains high compared to other Local Authorities. Analysis of the DEFRA statistics shows that in 2012/13, well before charges for inert waste were introduced, fly-tipping incidents in Leeds stood at 2,977. The latest data for 2019/20 shows this has risen 776% to 26,079 incidents, while fly-tipping on Council land has risen 699% over the same period.  Where Leeds comes in the rankings in the years between 2017/18 and 2019/20 is also cause for concern: Leeds has ranked 1^st, 1^st and 3^rd in the DEFRA numbers for the highest number by Local Authority of total fly-tipping incidents, and 1^st, 1^st and 2^nd for the number of incidents on Council land. 

Of further concern, is the almost halving of prosecutions over the same period, from 15 in 2012/13 to just 8 in 2019/20, representing 0.03% of all fly-tipping incidents in Leeds for the year.

This Council believes that the ruling administration has presided over a fly-tipping crisis in this city, a crisis that affects inner city areas to a greater extent and a crisis that needs to be urgently addressed.

As a starting point, this Council calls for an immediate end to charging for bulky and inert waste in Leeds and for a report to be brought to Executive Board at the earliest opportunity setting out a zero-tolerance approach to how fly-tipping can be tackled in our city and offenders brought before the courts.

An amendment was moved by Councillor Rafique, seconded by Councillor Ragan

 Delete All after “This Council” and replace with:

““does not tolerate any form of waste crime and calls for all perpetrators to be pursued with legal action.

“Council thanks all workers in Environmental Services for ensuring waste collections and street cleaning in Leeds have continued during the pandemic, despite the significant impact of shielding and self-isolation on workers in the service.

“Council notes that recorded fly-tipping incidents have increased nationally by 36.5% since 2012/13 and continued to increase last year.

“Council notes that despite the continuing increases nationally, fly-tipping in Leeds has reduced since April 2019.

“Council calls on the Government to increase funding for councils to enable more enforcement against waste crime and calls for a report to be brought to Executive Board at the earliest opportunity to set out the council’s zero tolerance approach to tackling waste crime.”

A second amendment was moved by Councillor Golton, seconded by Councillor  ...  view the full minutes text for item 92.

This Council thanks all key workers in Leeds for their work during the pandemic and believes they all deserve a pay rise and to be treated with respect at work.

It was moved by Councillor Garner, seconded by Councillor Hayden that 

this Council thanks all key workers in Leeds for their work during the pandemic and believes they all deserve a pay rise and to be treated with respect at work.

An amendment was moved by Councillor Bentley, seconded by Councillor Lay

Remove all after “pandemic” and replace with:

”including the 37 Police Community Support Officers who were defunded by the Council and the Police and Crime Commissioner, and believes they all deserve to be treated with respect.

The Council further thanks workers in the NHS for their outstanding achievement in vaccinating over 26 million people in little more than three months and calls on the Government to honour its pledge to award nurses a pay rise of at least  2.1%.” 

The amended motion will read

This Council thanks all key workers in Leeds for their work during the pandemic including the 37 Police Community Support Officers who were defunded by the Council and the Police and Crime Commissioner, and believes they all deserve to be treated with respect.

The Council further thanks workers in the NHS for their outstanding achievement in vaccinating over 26 million people in little more than three months and calls on the Government to honour its pledge to award nurses a pay rise of at least 2.1%.” 

A second amendment was moved by Councillor Smith, seconded by Councillor Firth

Add the following additional sentence after the existing motion:

“Council believes that the Leeds Teaching Hospitals Trust, on behalf of all those health and social care providers who have fought against Covid-19, should be offered the Freedom of the City of Leeds.”

Motion would read:

“This Council thanks all key workers in Leeds for their work during the pandemic and believes they all deserve a pay rise and to be treated with respect at work.

“Council believes that the Leeds Teaching Hospitals Trust, on behalf of all those health and social care providers who have fought against Covid-19, should be offered the Freedom of the City of Leeds.”

The amendments in the name of Councillor Bentley and Councillor Smith were declared lost and upon being put to the vote it was

RESOLVED – That this Council thanks all key workers in Leeds for their work during the pandemic and believes they all deserve a pay rise and to be treated with respect at work.

This Council supports Fair Votes for All.

It was moved by Councillor Lay, seconded by Councillor Downes that this Council supports Fair Votes for All.

An amendment was moved by Councillor Robinson, seconded by Councillor Lamb

Delete all after “This Council” and replace with:

“commits to honouring the results of elections.”

A second amendment was moved by Councillor Lewis, seconded by Councillor Smart

Delete all after “This Council supports” and replace with:

“an all-party national review of the current electoral system including measures to increase turnout.”

The amendment in the name of Councillor Robinson was declared lost, the amendment in the name of Councillor Lewis was declared carried and upon being put to the vote it was

RESOLVED – That this Council supports an all-party national review of the current electoral system including measures to increase turnout.

A recorded vote was requested on the vote on the substantive Motion in the name of Councillor Lewis and the result was as follows;

YES – 71

Akhtar, Almas, Arif, Bithell, Blake, Brooks, Carlill, Charlwood, Coupar, Cunningham, Dawson, Dowson, Drinkwater, Dye, Gabriel, Garner, Garthwaite, Goddard, P Grahame, Groves, C Gruen, P Gruen, Hamilton, Harland, Hayden, Heselwood, Hussain, Illingworth, Iqbal, Jenkins, Khan, Knight, Lennox, Lewis, Marshall-Katung, McKenna, Midgley, Mulherin, Nash, Pryor, Rafique, Ragan, Renshaw, Ritchie, Scopes, Shahzad, Sharpe, Smart, Truswell, Venner, Walshaw and Wray.

Bentley, Campbell, Chapman, Downes, Golton, Howley and Lay.

Elliott, Finnigan, Gettings, Hutchison and Kidger.

Dobson, Field and McCormack

A Blackburn, D Blackburn and Forsaith

R Grahame.

NO - 22

B Anderson, C Anderson, Buckley, Amanda Carter, Andrew Carter, Cohen, Collins, Firth, Flynn, Harrand, Harrington, M Harrison, Lamb, G Latty, P Latty, Richards, Robinson, Seary, Smith, Stephenson, J Taylor and Wadsworth.

ABSTAIN - 0