Agenda and minutes

a)  The Lord Mayor informed Council that the following Councillors would not be seeking re-election to Council, said a few words in respect of each Councillor and thanked them for their work over the years on behalf of the Council:-

Councillor Denise Atkinson, MBE

Councillor Ben Chastney

Councillor Geoff Driver

Councillor Penny Ewens

Councillor Ronnie Feldman

Councillor Graham Kirkland

Councillor Matthew Lobley

Councillor Keith Parker

At the conclusion of this announcement, Councillor Stuart Golton informed Council that the Lord Mayor, Councillor Reverend Alan Taylor, would also not be seeking re-election to Council and he said a few words in respect of the Lord Mayor and thanked him for his work over the years on behalf of the Council.

Councillor Feldman thanked Council on behalf of the retiring Councillors for the kind words that had been said at this meeting.

b)  The Lord Mayor informed Council that, following the recent death of 6 soldiers in Afghanistan, he had written to the Commanding Officer of the Yorkshire Regiment expressing sympathy from Council and the citizens of Leeds, and Council stood in silent tribute.

It was moved by Councillor J Lewis, seconded by Councillor Lobley under Council Procedure Rule 22.1, that Procedure Rule 3.1 (time limits for business) be suspended to allow the business of the ordinary meeting to be extended by the duration of the Extraordinary meeting and

RESOLVED – That Council Procedure Rule 3.1 be suspended to allow the business of the ordinary meeting to be extended by 15 minutes.

To confirm the minutes of the Council Meeting held on 22^nd February 2012.  

It was moved by Councillor J Lewis, seconded by Councillor Lobley and

RESOLVED – That the minutes of the meeting held on 22^nd February 2012 be approved.

To receive any declarations of interest from Members

The Lord Mayor announced that a list of written declarations submitted by Members was on display in the ante-room, on deposit in the public galleries and had been circulated to each Member’s place in the Chamber.

Following an invitation to declare further individual interests, declarations in accordance with the Council’s Members’ Code of Conduct were made as follows:- 

a)  Councillor Cleasby declared a personal interest in deputation 4 as he, and a family member, were allotment holders (minute 104 refers).

b)  Councillor R Grahame declared a personal interest in minute 106 of this meeting as a Member of GMBATO.

c)  Members declared personal interests in minute 109 of this meeting as follows:-

d)  Councillor Varley declared a personal interest in minute 107 of this meeting as a Member of the Adult Health and Social Care Scrutiny Board and Morley Elderly Action.

e)  Members declared personal interests in minute 110 of this meeting as follows:-

f)  Members declared personal interests in minute 111 of this meeting as follows:-

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

There were no communications.

To receive deputations in accordance with Council Procedure Rule 10

Five deputations were admitted to the meeting and addressed Council, as follows:-

1)  Leeds Act Group in conjunction with ‘Stop The Traffik’ Organisation Regarding the role of communities and Local Authorities in stopping human trafficking.

2)  Leeds University Union Regarding the Council’s report on the impact of tuition fees in Leeds.

3)  Leeds Link Regarding the Health and Wellbeing Bill and its impact in Leeds.

4)  Leeds and District Gardeners’ Federation Regarding allotment provision in Leeds.

5)  Young People Regarding seeking a 20 mile per hour speed limit on Haven Chase, Cookridge.

RESOLVED – That the subject matter in respect of the deputations be referred to the Executive Board for consideration.

To deal with questions in accordance with Council Procedure Rule 11

Q1  Councillor A Carter to the Executive Member (Children’s Services):-

Will the Executive Board Member for Children’s Services tell me what steps are taken by the Local Education Authority to ensure that schools that receive poor Ofsted inspection results are able to achieve a rigorous recovery in teaching and learning standards and what measures are taken to strengthen school leadership teams?

The Executive Member (Children’s Services) replied.

Q2  Councillor Pryke to the Leader of Council:-

Would the Leader of Council explain what he meant when he told Council last month “whatever the national negotiations are, we should be determined to make sure that our low paid staff actually get the reward they deserve and not back away from it?”

The Leader of Council replied.

Q3  Councillor Lowe to the Leader of Council:-

Would the Leader of Council like to comment on the wording of the question that will appear on the mayoral referendum paper in May?

The Leader of Council replied.

Q4  Councillor D Blackburn to the Executive Member (Environmental Services):-

Will the Executive Member for Environmental Services update Council on Leeds City Council’s Free Insulation Scheme, Wrap Up Leeds?

The Executive Member (Environmental Services) replied.

Q5  Councillor Lyons to the Executive Member (Leisure):-

Please could the Executive Member for Leisure update Council on the fantastic events taking place in Leeds as part of the 2012 Olympic Games?

Q6  Councillor W Hyde to the Executive Member (Neighbourhoods, Housing and Regeneration):-

Will the Executive Board Member for Neighbourhoods and Housing please indicate which Traveller sites he is proposing to consult about in the Temple Newsam ward?

The Executive Member (Neighbourhoods, Housing and Regeneration) replied.

Q7  Councillor Matthews to the Executive Member (Neighbourhoods, Housing and Regeneration):-

Can the Executive Member for Neighbourhoods and Housing confirm how many calls were made to the out of hours noise nuisance service between October 2011 and February 2012?

The Executive Member (Neighbourhoods, Housing and Regeneration) replied.

Q8  Councillor Armitage to the Executive Member (Children’s Services):-

Please could the Executive Member for Children’s Services update Council on the progress of the foster carer recruitment plan?

The Executive Member (Children’s Services) replied.

Q9  Councillor A Blackburn to the Executive Member (Environmental Services):-

Bearing in mind comments made at the time of the announcement of the reduction of Feed In Tariffs, can the Executive Member for Environmental Services tell me what progress has been made in finding an alternative way of funding solar panels for domestic properties?

The Executive Member (Environmental Services) replied.

Q10  Councillor Renshaw to the Executive Member (Adult Health and Social Care):-

Will the Executive Member for Adult Health and Social Care please update Council on developments with the Council’s Reablement Service?

The Executive Member (Adult Health and Social Care) replied.

Q11  Councillor J Procter to the Executive Member (Development and the Economy):-

Will the Executive Board Member for City Development and the Economy inform the Council when he intends to make a decision on lowering the rents for traders at Kirkgate Market?

The Executive  ...  view the full minutes text for item 105.

To consider the report of the Chief Officer HR on recommendations of the General Purposes Committee in respect of the implementation of the 2012/13 Pay Policy Statement.

  K WAKEFIELD

It was moved by Councillor Wakefield, seconded by Councillor J Lewis and

RESOLVED – That the recommendations of the General Purposes Committee, as presented by the amended report of the Director of Resources, with regard to the implementation of the 2012/13 Pay Policy Statement, be approved.

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

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

Council Procedure Rule 4, providing for the winding up of business, was applied prior to all notified comments on the minutes having been debated.

The meeting was suspended at 5.10 pm and resumed at 5.40 pm.

During the debate on the minutes above, the Leader of Council and the Lord Mayor welcomed Mr Yang Shu’an, Chairman of the Chinese Olympic Committee, and his delegation, and Consul General Pan from the Consulate General of China and his associate to Leeds on behalf of Council and the citizens of Leeds.

‘This Council notes with concern that the ruling administration’s policy of providing more authorised Gypsy and Traveller sites in Leeds is taking place behind closed doors, without affording a chance for public scrutiny or debate in respect of its search for sites.

Council is also concerned that the ruling administration is using all its power and influence over Council officers to stop members of the opposition being able to debate site selection openly and in public.

1  Council calls on the administration to publicly release the site names being considered for a Gypsy and Traveller site, which currently amounts to nearly 90 in total.

2    Ensure full and meaningful consultation takes place on any plans to build more Travellers’ sites in Leeds, at each stage of the process; and

3    commits to holding local plebiscites in order to effectively gauge whether local communities near proposed sites are in favour of the proposals.

This Council further notes that there is a one party Labour working group who are considering site selection and calls on the ruling administration to stop this undemocratic working practice, on this key issue for residents in Leeds, by ensuring such working groups represent all Members of Council.

This Council urges the Government to follow the lead of the Government in the Republic of Ireland in making unauthorised encampments a criminal rather than a civil offence.’

J L CARTER

It was moved by Councillor J L Carter, seconded by Councillor J Procter that this Council notes with concern that the ruling administration’s policy of providing more authorised Gypsy and Traveller sites in Leeds is taking place behind closed doors, without affording a chance for public scrutiny or debate in respect of its search for sites.

Council is also concerned that the ruling administration is using all its power and influence over Council officers to stop members of the opposition being able to debate site selection openly and in public.

1  Council calls on the administration to publicly release the site names being considered for a Gypsy and Traveller site, which currently amounts to nearly 90 in total.

2  Ensure full and meaningful consultation takes place on any plans to build more Travellers’ sites in Leeds, at each stage of the process; and

3  commits to holding local plebiscites in order to effectively gauge whether local communities near proposed sites are in favour of the proposals.

This Council further notes that there is a one party Labour working group who are considering site selection and calls on the ruling administration to stop this undemocratic working practice, on this key issue for residents in Leeds, by ensuring such working groups represent all Members of Council.

This Council urges the Government to follow the lead of the Government in the Republic of Ireland in making unauthorised encampments a criminal rather than a civil offence.

After the motion was moved and seconded, Councillor J Lewis, seconded by Councillor Nash, moved under provisions of Council Procedure Rule 22.1, that Council Procedure Rule 13.1 be suspended to allow the introduction of the amendment below in the name of Councillor Gruen.

Having received leave of Council, Councillor Gruen, seconded by Councillor Atha, moved the following motion:-

To delete all after ‘This Council’ and replace with:-

‘recognises that the £2m spent on legal and clean up costs related to unauthorised traveller encampments by the previous administration made no progress towards a lasting solution for the people of Leeds and was not a good use of taxpayers money.

It is acknowledged that a new approach is needed to alleviate the disruption that unauthorised encampments can cause for communities. Council places on record its thanks to the Scrutiny Board (Environment & Neighbourhoods) for their thorough investigation into this issue, and acknowledges their recommendation that additional permanent pitches be provided for ‘Leeds-based’ travellers.

Council encourages officers to complete their search of potential traveller sites, in line with criteria agreed by Executive Board, as swiftly and as thoroughly as possible. Council endorses the commitment to publicise the findings of this review once it is complete, along with the commitment to undertake comprehensive consultation before any planning application for a new site is submitted.

It is believed that the provision of additional sites, coupled with the strongest possible enforcement action against unauthorised encampments, will result in a reduction in the disruption that unauthorised sites cause Leeds residents. Council therefore offers its support  ...  view the full minutes text for item 109.

This Council recognises that local authorities must be empowered to shape and influence local economic growth, and welcomes the initial progress that has been made in Leeds.

Council supports ongoing engagement with the Government to secure appropriate devolvement of power and resources, enabling the development of much needed local and regional infrastructure, and delivering economic growth.

Council commits to exploring opportunities to work with public, private and voluntary sector organisations, recognising that strong local partnerships will be at the heart of initiatives that drive economic development in Leeds.

Council believes this will help ensure a sustainable, long-term future for our city and the delivery of jobs, training and apprenticeships for our residents.

G HYDE

Under the provisions of Council Procedure Rule 14.11, with the consent of the seconder, leave of Council was given to withdraw the motion in the name of Councillor G Hyde.

This Council believes that late night noise nuisance is a severe blight on the wellbeing of residents in many Leeds communities.

This Council believes that the decision of the Executive Member for Environment to stop recording the volume of calls that this service receives demonstrates that the current administration does not view late night noise nuisance as a priority.

Given the extreme concern expressed by residents about noise nuisance, this Council requests that the Chief Executive carry out an urgent review of the late night noise nuisance service with recommendations to be put to the Executive Board at a meeting in the near future.

J MATTHEWS

It was moved by Councillor Matthews, seconded by Councillor Bentley, that this Council believes that late night noise nuisance is a severe blight on the wellbeing of residents in many Leeds communities.

This Council believes that the decision of the Executive Member for Environment to stop recording the volume of calls that this service receives demonstrates that the current administration does not view late night noise nuisance as a priority.

Given the extreme concern expressed by residents about noise nuisance, this Council requests that the Chief Executive carry out an urgent review of the late night noise nuisance service with recommendations to be put to the Executive Board at a meeting in the near future.

After the motion was moved and seconded, Councillor J Lewis, seconded by Councillor Nash, moved under the provisions of Council Procedure Rule 22.1 that Council Procedure Rule 13.1 be suspended to allow the introduction of the amendment below in the name of Councillor Dobson.

Having received leave of Council, Councillor Dobson, seconded by Councillor Gruen, moved the following amendment:-

That this Council believes that late night noise nuisance is a severe blight on the wellbeing of residents in many Leeds communities.

Council acknowledges that the tackling of noise nuisance at night remains a key priority of this administration, a fact recognised by the decision of the Council to continue to fund the service in the face of the worst cuts imposed on the authority in living memory by Cllr Matthew’s LibDem/Tory coalition Government.

Council further recognises that the noise nuisance service inherited from the previous administration was not as effective as it could have been.  Therefore as part of the continued commitment of this administration to improve how noise nuisance is tackled in the future, a range of changes and improvements to the service have now been implemented following a thorough review.  Some of these changes include:-

·  Amalgamating noise nuisance within the anti-social behaviour team in order to provide a greater ‘one council’ response to cases.

·  Better access to tools from a civil and legal perspective to deal quicker and more effectively with cases.

·  Introduction of new telephony to improve response to customer and to provide greater intelligence on types and times of noise complaints.

·  Greater partnership working with key groups such as victim support, the police and fire services in order to provide greater support to the customer.

Finally, this Council offers its gratitude to members of the noise nuisance team for their tremendous hard work and dedication in often very challenging and difficult circumstances.

The amendment in the name of Councillor Dobson was carried and, upon being put as the substantive motion, it was

RESOLVED – That this Council believes that late night noise nuisance is a severe blight on the wellbeing of residents in many Leeds communities.

Council acknowledges that the tackling of noise nuisance at night remains a key priority of this administration, a fact recognised by the decision of the Council to continue to fund the service in the  ...  view the full minutes text for item 111.

This Council believes that cycling is an extremely efficient form of transport which is good for health and the environment.

This Council notes with concern that the number of cyclists killed on Britain’s roads rose by 7 per cent between 2009 and 2010 and that a disproportionate number of cycling accidents involve vans and lorries.

This Council supports successive Governments’ commitment to encourage the use of bikes and reduce the number of cyclist-related accidents

This Council supports The Times’ ‘Cities fit for Cycling’ campaign; and calls on the Chief Executive to write to the Government calling for further action to improve cycling infrastructure and reduce the number of casualties on our roads.

R DOWNES

It was moved by Councillor Downes, seconded by Councillor Illingworth, and

RESOLVED – That this Council believes that cycling is an extremely efficient form of transport which is good for health and the environment.

This Council notes with concern that the number of cyclists killed on Britain’s roads rose by 7 per cent between 2009 and 2010 and that a disproportionate number of cycling accidents involve vans and lorries.

This Council supports successive Governments’ commitment to encourage the use of bikes and reduce the number of cyclist-related accidents

This Council supports The Times’ ‘Cities fit for Cycling’ campaign; and calls on the Chief Executive to write to the Government calling for further action to improve cycling infrastructure and reduce the number of casualties on our roads.

This Council recognises the successful regeneration of Leeds city centre over the past 20 years creating a more attractive and safer environment, leading to substantial job creation.

This Council particularly notes the emergence of businesses catering for Leeds lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender communities in the Lower Briggate area.

Council believes that recognising this area as the city’s gay quarter will encourage further investment and the creation of jobs as well as creating a tolerant and safe environment for all.

This Council therefore supports the campaign to officially recognise this area as the Leeds Gay Quarter and requests that officers bring a report to the Executive Board detailing how this will be achieved.

S GOLTON

It was moved by Councillor Golton, seconded by Councillor Matthews, that this Council recognises the successful regeneration of Leeds city centre over the past 20 years creating a more attractive and safer environment, leading to substantial job creation.

This Council particularly notes the emergence of businesses catering for Leeds lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender communities in the Lower Briggate area.

Council believes that recognising this area as the city’s gay quarter will encourage further investment and the creation of jobs as well as creating a tolerant and safe environment for all.

This Council therefore supports the campaign to officially recognise this area as the Leeds Gay Quarter and requests that officers bring a report to the Executive Board detailing how this will be achieved.

An amendment was moved by Councillor Wakefield, seconded by Councillor J Lewis, that this Council recognises the successful regeneration of Leeds city centre over the past 20 years creating a more attractive and safer environment, leading to substantial job creation.

This Council particularly notes the emergence of businesses catering for Leeds lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender communities in the Lower Briggate area’

Delete all after ‘Lower Briggate area’ and replace with:-

‘and further notes that for the first time Stonewall has placed the Council in the Top 50 employers in their Workplace Equality Index. 

Council believes that recognising the contribution of the LGBT community to the success of Leeds and aiming to be an LGBT friendly city will encourage further investment and the creation of jobs as well as creating a tolerant and safe environment for all in the City Centre and across the whole district. 

This Council requests that officers bring a report to the Executive Board detailing how this will be achieved.

The amended motion would read:-

‘This Council recognises the successful regeneration of Leeds city centre over the past 20 years creating a more attractive and safer environment, leading to substantial job creation.

This Council particularly notes the emergence of businesses catering for Leeds lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender communities in the Lower Briggate area and further notes that for the first time Stonewall has placed the Council in the Top 50 employers in their Workplace Equality Index.

Council believes that recognising the contribution of the LGBT community to the success of Leeds and aiming to be an LGBT friendly city will encourage further investment and the creation of jobs as well as creating a tolerant and safe environment for all in the City Centre and across the whole district. 

This Council requests that officers bring a report to the Executive Board detailing how this will be achieved.’

A second amendment was moved by Councillor Lamb, seconded by Councillor Lobley, to delete all after ‘substantial job creation’ and replace with:-

‘This Council celebrates the fact that Leeds is a tolerant, diverse and inclusive city, but believes that it is against the spirit of this to segregate certain communities to specific parts of the city.’

Amended motion would read:-

‘This Council recognises  ...  view the full minutes text for item 113.