Agenda

To elect the Chair of the Council for the 2023-24 Civic Year

Following the election, the Chair will make the Declaration of Acceptance of Office and sign the Roll of Members as Chair.

To elect the Vice Chair of the Council for the 2023-24  Civic Year.

Following the election, the Vice Chair will make the Declaration of Acceptance of Office and sign the Roll of Members as Vice- Chair.

To confirm and sign the minutes of the meeting held on 22 March 2023.

Please declare any disclosable pecuniary interests or personal interests that you may have relating to any specific matters which may be discussed at the meeting.

Please see the briefing note, which does not accompany this agenda but will be circulated prior to the meeting.

Up to 30 minutes is allowed for this item.

To answer any written public questions about matters which are within the powers and duties of the County Council.

The closing date for receipt of questions was 10am on Monday, 15 May 2023.

However, questions that relate to reports on the agenda may be submitted up to 10am on Wednesday, 17 May 2023.

Please send questions to the Chief Executive marked for the attention of Stephen Bace (email stephen.bace@gloucestershire.gov.uk)

Questions received and proposed responses do not accompany this agenda but will be circulated prior to the meeting.

To consider the report of the Head of Democratic Services.

TO FOLLOW

Cllr Stephen Davies, Cabinet Member for Children’s Safeguarding and Early Years to present the Corporate Parenting report.

To receive any petitions from members without discussion

The Council’s Constitution provides for a maximum of two hours for debate on motions.  The time limit for member speeches is three minutes and the time limit for proposing a motion is five minutes.

In accordance with Procedural Rule 10.2 in Part 4 of the Council Constitution, the Chief Executive has prepared a short accompanying note for each motion in respect of any implications for climate change, resources, human rights and any other pertinent factors they may wish to include in accordance with the Council’s Policy Framework.

Gloucestershire biodiversity week

Proposed:  Cllr David Gray

Seconded:  Cllr Chloe Turner

 In 2019, this council declared a climate change emergency and committed to a carbon action plan. We believe that in addition to reducing our carbon outputs, ensuring the resilience of our ecosystem is essential to maintaining a healthy planet.

Council notes:

• Biodiversity is essential for keeping our county’s unique and beautiful wildlife healthy, sustainable, and productive.
• Biodiversity is relevant to many Council services and functions, such as planning, highways and land/property management.
• Tenants in our rural estates are already leading the way in ecological and biodiverse innovation.
• The new obligations given to the county council under the Environment Act 2021. Specifically:
  • The introduction of a Local Nature Recovery Strategy, for which the county council is the lead authority.
  • The requirement for a minimum of 10% biodiversity net gains from all new development from 2023.
• The county council is a member of Climate Leadership Gloucestershire which has identified biodiversity as well as food and farming as two of its strategic thematic priorities.

Therefore, Council resolves to:

• Pass a declaration recognising the importance of biodiversity and committing all council decisions to give the same level of consideration to biodiversity as carbon when determining environmental impacts.

• Call Cabinet to commit the Council to Hosting a Gloucestershire biodiversity week in which we can actively promote ways in which residents, schools, businesses and Parish and Town councils can get involved to help maintaining the biodiversity of our county.

We in turn commit to lead by example and follow good biodiversity practices when choosing our Highways Local schemes, supporting Parish and Town councils and other community groups. We also endeavour to pursue a biodiversity net gain on council land wherever possible, including opportunities for offsetting credits for supply to developers under the Gloucestershire Climate and Nature Fund. To emphasise the importance biodiversity in our corporate decision making, we will include ecological impact assessments alongside climate change implications assessments in cabinet reports.

Gloucestershire County Council to enshrine being a Care Leaver as a Protected Characteristic

Proposed: Cllr Rebecca Halifax

Seconder: Cllr Ben Evans

This Council Notes:

1. The Independent Review of Children’s Social Care, published in May 2022 (The “Macalister review”), recognised the often negative outcomes for people with care experience and recommended that the government should make ‘Care Experienced’ a protected characteristic.
2. That there is a range of barriers and discrimination care leavers can face throughout life, including but not limited to:
   1. 70% of people who have been in  ...  view the full agenda text for item 11.

Up to 45 minutes is allowed for this item.

To answer any written member questions about matters which are within the powers and duties of the County Council.

The closing date for receipt of questions was 10am on Monday, 15 May 2023.

However, questions that relate to reports on the agenda may be submitted up to 10am on Wednesday, 17 May 2023.

Please send questions to the Chief Executive marked for the attention of Stephen Bace (email stephen.bace@gloucestershire.gov.uk)

Questions received and proposed responses do not accompany this agenda but will be circulated prior to the meeting.

As background information, the Cabinet Decisions for the meeting held on 29 March 2023 can be found at:

https://glostext.gloucestershire.gov.uk/mgDelegatedDecisions.aspx?bcr=1&DM=117C

Cabinet Member Decision statements for the period 11 March 2023 to 5 May 2023 can be found at:

https://glostext.gloucestershire.gov.uk/mgDelegatedDecisions.aspx?XXR=0&&DR=11%2f03%2f2023-05%2f05%2f2023&ACT=Find&RP=0&K=0&V=0&DM=3&HD=0&DS=2&Next=true&NOW=11042023091053&META=mgdelegateddecisions

To appoint a member to the Severn Estuary Partnership.

To approve the calendar of meetings for 2024.