The Council’s Constitution provides for a maximum of two hours for debate on motions. At the end of the two hour period, those members who have already indicated their intention to speak on the motion being debated at that time will be allowed to speak, the mover of the motion will be asked to sum-up and the vote will be taken.
The following motions were received by the closing date of 5 September 2017:
Motion 797 – Care staff and the National Minimum Wage
Proposed by Cllr Jack Williams
Seconded by Cllr Iain Dobie
This Council praises the work of all care staff across Gloucestershire either employed directly by this Council or through an independent care provider.
This Council notes the National Minimum Wage (NMW) is a right, not a privilege, which all UK workers are entitled to unless covered by a specific exemption.
This Council is concerned that there are still a minority of workers (namely care staff working for independent care providers) that may well be contracted by this Council delivering care who still do not receive their full NMW entitlement.
This Council agrees that under-payment of the NMW – whether as an intentional act or as a result of ignorance or error - is unacceptable.
This Council welcomes a full review of the employment practices of all those care providers being used by this council to ensure that all care staff are paid at or above hourly NMW rates.
This Council requests the findings of this review to be brought back to this Council in the form of a report with recommendations for member discussion by the end of the year.
Motion 799 - Public sector pay
Proposed by Cllr Brian Oosthuysen
Seconded by Cllr Kate Haigh
This Council recognises the important contribution that public sector workers contribute to our communities.
The Council particularly acknowledges the vital work of our emergency services, both in Gloucestershire and across the country, especially in the light of recent tragedies where emergency services have gone above and beyond.
The Council believes that asking public sector workers to continue to accept declining living standards and differentials is not fair or justifiable. Every worker deserves fair pay.
This Council resolves to write to the Prime Minister, the Chancellor of the Exchequer, the Secretary of State of Communities and Local Government, and Gloucestershire’s six MPs to lobby for the lifting of the public sector pay cap, and all artificial limits on pay and conditions in Local Government.
Motion 798 - Gloucestershire flood and community resilience
Proposed by Cllr Kate Haigh
Seconded by Cllr Lesley Williams
This Council recognises that 10 years has passed since the 2007 Gloucestershire floods. In the aftermath of the flood a scrutiny document was produced and a number of flood alleviation works were funded. Now is an appropriate time for this Council to review that report and to consider where further works are needed, and if we are still following best practice. We also ask that any report examines the 1% flood levy specifically looking at how it was used, and what its future is.
This Council also recognises that our resilient communities were a key factor in our response to the emergency. Building such resilience takes time, resources and effort; therefore this Council agrees to review all outstanding resilience procedures to determine the capacity of our communities in the face of future crises.
This Council further believes that the benefits of having the Gloucestershire Fire and Rescue Service embedded in the authority were proven 10 years ago asks that the report also considers how this can be capitalised on in the future.
This Council asks that all reports on this matter are referred to the relevant scrutiny committee for recommendations and then brought back to a meeting of the Council no later than 31 May 2018.
Motion 800 - Adoption and promotion of electric vehicles
Proposed by Cllr Rachel Smith
Seconded by Cllr Iain Dobie
This Council notes the great importance of good air quality to public health and wellbeing in Gloucestershire. Poor air quality not only contributes to 40,000 premature deaths in the UK every year, but also limits uptake of cycling, and reduces pedestrian numbers - harming wider public health goals.
This Council notes that a leading cause of air pollution is vehicle emissions. This Council further notes that air quality monitoring is a district responsibility, but that air quality issues need a co-ordinated approach between all local authorities in order to reduce unnecessary deaths from poor air quality, as well as work together to cut our carbon emissions.
Councillors agree that more can be done through this authority to combat poor air quality, and welcome the formation of an air quality task group. Recognising the urgency of the problem of both air pollution and carbon emissions, this Council:
a) Commits to moving to electric or low emission options wherever possible for all direct or indirectly operated council vehicles at the earliest opportunity.
b) Commits to establishing a working group to develop a strategy to (i) replace the GCC fleet of vehicles wherever possible with electric or low emissions vehicles; and (ii) establish principles for use in procurement to encourage use of electric or low emissions vehicles by council contractors.
c) Commits to engaging with district councils and other relevant stakeholders to promote adoption of electric and low emission vehicles, including through identifying schemes, funding and other incentives for provision of publicly accessible EV charging points, and EV charging points in new housing developments.
Motion 801 - Votes at 16
Proposed by Cllr Paul Hodgkinson
Seconded by Cllr Klara Sudbury
This Council notes that currently 1.5 million 16 and 17 year olds are denied the vote in public elections in the UK.
This Council recognises that 16 and 17 year olds are knowledgeable and passionate about the world in which they live and are as capable of engaging in the democratic system as any other citizen.
This Council believes people who can consent to medical treatment, work full-time, pay taxes, get married or enter a civil partnership and join the armed forces should also have the right to vote.
This Council therefore requests the Leader of this Council to write to all six Gloucestershire MPs asking that a letter be written to county representatives of the Youth Parliament to express support in lowering the voting age to 16.
Motion 802 – Increase in the State Pension Age for Women
Proposed by Cllr Eva Ward
Seconded by CllrBrian Oosthuysen
This Council notes that 39,400 women in Gloucestershire born on or after 05 April 1951 have been adversely affected by increase in the State Pension Age (SPA) and that these women have unfairly borne the burden of the increase to the SPA. The lack of appropriate notification has resulted in many women not being told about the changes until it was too late to make alternative arrangements.
The Council calls on the Government to reconsider transitional arrangements so that women do not live in hardship due to these State Pension Age changes and instructs the Chief Executive to write to the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions and all the Members of Parliament representing Gloucestershire seeking their support for action by the Government.
Minutes:
Motion 797 – Care staff and the National Minimum Wage
Those councillors who had declared a disclosable pecuniary interest on the interest sheet in the council chamber left the meeting for the consideration of this item.
The Monitoring Officer advised that it was the individual responsibility of members to declare any interest they had in matters being considered at the meeting. She explained that members were required to declare disclosable pecuniary interests by law. Disclosable pecuniary interests related to the financial interests of the member and their wife, husband or partner. Members with disclosable pecuniary interests were required to leave the chamber but for personal interests they could remain in the chamber, take part in the debate and vote.
Cllr David Brown proposed and Cllr Iain Dobie seconded the following motion:
This Council praises the work of all care staff across Gloucestershire either employed directly by this Council or through an independent care provider.
This Council notes the National Minimum Wage (NMW) is a right, not a privilege, which all UK workers are entitled to unless covered by a specific exemption.
This Council is concerned that there are still a minority of workers (namely care staff working for independent care providers) that may well be contracted by this Council delivering care who still do not receive their full NMW entitlement.
This Council agrees that under-payment of the NMW – whether as an intentional act or as a result of ignorance or error - is unacceptable.
This Council welcomes a full review of the employment practices of all those care providers being used by this council to ensure that all care staff are paid at or above hourly NMW rates.
This Council requests the findings of this review to be brought back to this Council in the form of a report with recommendations for member discussion by the end of the year.
In moving the motion, Cllr Brown stated that the national minimum wage for care staff was a legal right. He noted that the Care Act 2014 required local authorities to seek evidence that care staff were being remunerated at a level that enabled an effective work force to be maintained. Research in 2013-14 indicated that 160,000 care staff were losing an average of £800 each year because they were not paid for travelling time.
In seconding the motion, Cllr Dobie said that the Council’s duty of care did not end when outside providers were employed to deliver services on its behalf. He believed that the way that Cleeve Link operated before it collapsed was exploitative as staff were not paid travelling time between appointments. He was concerned at the impact on vulnerable people and was anxious that a similar situation did not arise again.
A motion without notice was proposed and seconded under procedure rule 12.1.13 to refer the subject of the motion to the Overview and Scrutiny Management Committee, without further debate.
On being put to the vote, the motion was defeated.
A member stated that an earlier review undertaken by the Council had highlighted the importance of training as well as adequate pay.
Cllr Roger Wilson, the Cabinet Member for Vulnerable Adults and Commissioning, stated that he agreed with the principles of the motion. He recognised that it was important that training took place before care staff started work. He was aware that staff were expected to pay deposits for their uniforms and pay for DBS checks before starting employment with some providers. He believed that the motion should be referred to scrutiny to allow a review to be undertaken.
A member requested that the motion be referred to the Overview and Scrutiny Management Committee to allow employment issues to be considered with health-related issues referred to the Health and Care Overview and Scrutiny Committee where appropriate.
A motion without notice was proposed and seconded under procedure rule 12.1.13 to refer the subject of the motion to the Overview and Scrutiny Management Committee with health specific issues referred to the Health and Care Overview and Scrutiny Committee as appropriate.
On being put to the vote, the following resolution received unanimous support.
RESOLVED that the motion be referred to the Overview and Scrutiny Management Committee with health specific issues referred to the Health and Care Overview and Scrutiny Committee as appropriate.
Motion 799 - Public sector pay
Those councillors who had declared a discloseable pecuniary interest on the interest sheet in the council chamber left the meeting for the consideration of this item.
Cllr Brian Oosthuysen and Cllr Kate Haigh indicated that they wished to amend the motion that they had submitted in light of national developments regarding the public sector pay cap (see the changes highlighted below).
This Council recognises the important contribution that public sector workers contribute to our communities.
The Council particularly acknowledges the vital work of our emergency services, both in Gloucestershire and across the country, especially in the light of recent tragedies where emergency services have gone above and beyond.
The Council believes that asking public sector
workers to continue to accept declining living standards and
differentials is not fair or
justifiable. Every worker
deserves fair pay.
This
Council resolves to write to the Prime Minister, the Chancellor of
the Exchequer, the Secretary of State for Communities and Local
Government, and Gloucestershire's 6 MPs to ensure that
public sector pay
local government pay
increases are fully funded by
government in order that services are not affected by the
lifting of the cap.
In moving the motion, Cllr Oosthuysen stated that recent events across the country had demonstrated the dedication of public sector staff. He said that it was shameful that some staff in the public sector were so poorly paid that they could not afford to go on holiday or buy presents for their children at Christmas. He believed that the pay cap across all areas of the public sector should end without delay.
Cllr Ray Theodoulou, the Cabinet Member for Finance and Change, agreed that salaries of public sector staff should reflect the importance of their work. He noted that public sector workers were usually on a pay spine and were able to move up on an incremental basis in addition to any pay rise. The Council was also making a 22% pension contribution for all employees.
A member noted that there were 5 million public sector workers across the UK and between 2005 and 2015 their average hourly earnings had fallen by 3% in real terms. The Consumer Price Index for inflation had now reached 2.9%, largely as a result of Brexit and the falling value of sterling. He said that the recent pay rises announced for the Police and the Prison Service were one-off increases that were non-pensionable with an expectation that they would be funded through savings.
Another member stated that public sector staff along with other people across the country were benefiting from historically low interest rates and reduced mortgage payments. The Council paid the National Living Wage and personal tax allowances had risen resulting in significant increases in people’s take home pay. He said that salary increases needed to be paid for by savings elsewhere.
Other members called for investment in local government staff to ensure that good quality staff could be recruited and retained. The pressure of work and poor pay was resulting in a recruitment crisis in some areas.
Cllr Mark Hawthorne, the Leader of the Council, put on record his thanks for the dedication of Council staff. He recognised that the Council would not be able to deliver the quality of services that it did without the hard work of its staff. He said that it was clear that national pay policy was shifting but it would be up to each sector to negotiate pay settlements. For local government, the pay settlement was negotiated nationally through the Local Government Association and employment organisations. He noted that each 1% pay rise cost the Council £1.3 million. He was anxious that the Government provided additional funding to meet the costs of pay rises including the associated pension contributions.
Cllr Haigh, the seconder of the motion, had reserved her right to speak until the end of the debate. She said that she was pleased at the support for the motion across the chamber. She noted that many local government staff had reached the top of their pay spine and had not received annual pay increments for a number of years. She stated that some public sector workers could not afford mortgages and relied on social housing and private rented accommodation. She was concerned that services would fail if the Government expected pay rises to be funded from savings.
RESOLVED that
This Council recognises the important contribution that public sector workers contribute to our communities.
The Council particularly acknowledges the vital work of our emergency services, both in Gloucestershire and across the country, especially in the light of recent tragedies where emergency services have gone above and beyond.
Every worker deserves fair pay.
This Council resolves to write to the Prime Minister, the Chancellor of the Exchequer, the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government, and Gloucestershire's 6 MPs to ensure that local government pay increases are fully funded by government in order that services are not affected by the lifting of the cap.
Motion 798 - Gloucestershire flood and community resilience
Cllr Kate Haigh proposed and Cllr Lesley Williams seconded the following motion:
This Council recognises that 10 years has passed since the 2007 Gloucestershire floods. In the aftermath of the flood a scrutiny document was produced and a number of flood alleviation works were funded. Now is an appropriate time for this Council to review that report and to consider where further works are needed, and if we are still following best practice. We also ask that any report examines the 1% flood levy specifically looking at how it was used, and what its future is.
This Council also recognises that our resilient communities were a key factor in our response to the emergency. Building such resilience takes time, resources and effort; therefore this Council agrees to review all outstanding resilience procedures to determine the capacity of our communities in the face of future crises.
This Council further believes that the benefits of having the Gloucestershire Fire and Rescue Service embedded in the authority were proven 10 years ago asks that the report also considers how this can be capitalised on in the future.
This Council asks that all reports on this matter are referred to the relevant scrutiny committee for recommendations and then brought back to a meeting of the Council no later than 31 May 2018.
In moving the motion, Cllr Haigh noted the huge community effort from local authority staff, the emergency services and the public sector in responding to the Summer floods in 2007. She questioned whether the same level of response could be provided following the changes to services and reductions in staffing that had taken place across the public sector since 2007. She said that with the increase in frequency of severe weather events the Council needed to be reassured that the public sector could cope.
A number of members spoke of the work that had been undertaken in partnership with other organisations, such as the Environment Agency, Severn Trent Water, Thames Water, district councils and parish and town councils, to prevent flooding and improve the resilience of local communities. The Council was viewed nationally as an exemplar in responding to flooding. The flood levy on the council tax had proved successful with £12 of investment for every £1 raised by the Council. The Council was represented on regional and national flood organisations and had strongly influenced the Pitt Review. Severn Trent Water alone had invested more than £30 million since 2007 in flood prevention and improving water supply infrastructure.
A member requested a briefing for all councillors on the role of the Council as the lead flood authority. He said that there was often confusion on who was responsible for particular activities and he believed that a briefing would be useful, particularly for new councillors.
A motion without notice was proposed and seconded under procedure rule 12.1.10 that the question be put. The Chairman noted that a number of members had indicated that they still wished to speak and he believed that they should have an opportunity to have their say. He therefore allowed the debate to continue.
A number of other members spoke of the flood prevention measures that had been undertaken in their areas. They noted that many houses in the county would have flooded since 2007 if the work had not been undertaken. They were proud of the response of Gloucestershire Fire and Rescue Service and its preparedness to deal with future events. £77 million had been spent across the county by various agencies with 2,500 houses protected from flooding. New schemes were underway to protect more houses.
A motion without notice was proposed and seconded under procedure rule 12.1.13 to refer the subject of the motion to the Environment and Communities Overview and Scrutiny Committee.
On being put to the vote, it was
RESOLVED that the motion be referred to the Environment and Communities Overview and Scrutiny Committee.
Motion 800 - Adoption and promotion of electric vehicles
There was insufficient time to consider the following motion proposed by Cllr Rachel Smith and seconded by Cllr Iain Dobie:
This Council notes the great importance of good air quality to public health and wellbeing in Gloucestershire. Poor air quality not only contributes to 40,000 premature deaths in the UK every year, but also limits uptake of cycling, and reduces pedestrian numbers - harming wider public health goals.
This Council notes that a leading cause of air pollution is vehicle emissions. This Council further notes that air quality monitoring is a district responsibility, but that air quality issues need a co-ordinated approach between all local authorities in order to reduce unnecessary deaths from poor air quality, as well as work together to cut our carbon emissions.
Councillors agree that more can be done through this authority to combat poor air quality, and welcome the formation of an air quality task group. Recognising the urgency of the problem of both air pollution and carbon emissions, this Council:
a) Commits to moving to electric or low emission options wherever possible for all direct or indirectly operated council vehicles at the earliest opportunity.
b) Commits to establishing a working group to develop a strategy to (i) replace the GCC fleet of vehicles wherever possible with electric or low emissions vehicles; and (ii) establish principles for use in procurement to encourage use of electric or low emissions vehicles by council contractors.
c) Commits to engaging with district councils and other relevant stakeholders to promote adoption of electric and low emission vehicles, including through identifying schemes, funding and other incentives for provision of publicly accessible EV charging points, and EV charging points in new housing developments.
Motion 801 - Votes at 16
There was insufficient time to consider the following motion proposed by Cllr Paul Hodgkinson and seconded by Cllr Klara Sudbury:
This Council notes that currently 1.5 million 16 and 17 year olds are denied the vote in public elections in the UK.
This Council recognises that 16 and 17 year olds are knowledgeable and passionate about the world in which they live and are as capable of engaging in the democratic system as any other citizen.
This Council believes people who can consent to medical treatment, work full-time, pay taxes, get married or enter a civil partnership and join the armed forces should also have the right to vote.
This Council therefore requests the Leader of this Council to write to all six Gloucestershire MPs asking that a letter be written to county representatives of the Youth Parliament to express support in lowering the voting age to 16.
Motion 802 – Increase in the State Pension Age for Women
There was insufficient time to consider the following motion proposed by Cllr Eva Ward and seconded by Cllr Brian Oosthuysen:
This Council notes that 39,400 women in Gloucestershire born on or after 05 April 1951 have been adversely affected by increase in the State Pension Age (SPA) and that these women have unfairly borne the burden of the increase to the SPA. The lack of appropriate notification has resulted in many women not being told about the changes until it was too late to make alternative arrangements.
The Council calls on the Government to reconsider transitional arrangements so that women do not live in hardship due to these State Pension Age changes and instructs the Chief Executive to write to the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions and all the Members of Parliament representing Gloucestershire seeking their support for action by the Government.