Agenda item

To consider any Notices of Motion that have been received in accordance with paragraph 1.34 of the Council Procedure Rules

Consideration was given to the following Notices of Motion:-

The Deputy Mayor reported that, although the general approach to Notices of Motion, in line with the Constitution, was for them to be referred to the appropriate decision-making body without comment or debate, due to the subject matter of the Notices of Motion, as proposed by Councillors Corcoran and Fletcher and the second Notice of Motion submitted by Councillor Flude, she had decided that these should be debated and dealt with at the Council meeting. 

1.       Breaking Point

Proposed by Councillor S Corcoran and Seconded by Councillor
N Mannion

This Council notes that many council budgets are now at Breaking Point. Austerity has caused huge damage to communities up and down the UK, with devastating effects on key public services that protect the most defenceless in society – children at risk, disabled adults and vulnerable older people – and the services we all rely on, like clean streets, libraries, and children’s centres;

•        Tory cuts mean councils have lost 60p out of every £1 that the last Labour Government was spending on local government in 2010;

•        Councils had to spend an extra £800m last year to meet the demand on vital services to protect children by over;

•        With an aging population and growing demand adult social care faces a gap of £3.5 billion – with only 14% of council workers now confident that vulnerable local residents are safe and cared for

•        Government cuts have seen over 500 children’s centres and 475 libraries close, potholes are left unfilled, and 80% of councils’ workers now say they have no confidence in the future of local services

•        Northamptonshire has already gone bust due to Tory incompetence at both national and local level, and more councils are predicted to collapse without immediate emergency funding

•        Councils now face a further funding gap of £7.8 billion by 2025 just to keep services ‘standing still’ and meeting additional demand. Even Lord Gary Porter, the Conservative Chair of the Local Government Association, has said ‘Councils can no longer be expected to run our vital local services on a shoestring’

This Council condemns Chief Secretary to the Treasury Liz Truss for stating on BBC Newsnight on 1^st October 2018 that the government is “not making cuts to local authorities”, when all independent assessments of government spending show that this is entirely false; and that this Council further notes that Prime Minister Theresa May has also claimed that “austerity is over” despite planning a further £1.3bn of cuts to council budgets over the next year;

This Council agreeswith the aims of the ‘Breaking Point’ petition signed by Labour councillors across the country, in calling forthe Prime Minister and Chancellor to truly end austerity in local government by:

•        Using the Budget to reverse next years planned £1.3bn cut to council budgets;

•        Immediately investing £2bn in children’s services and £2bn in adult social care to stop these vital emergency services from collapsing;

•        Pledging to use the Spending Review to restore council funding to 2010 levels over the next four years.

This Council resolves to:

1. Support the ‘Breaking Point’ campaign, recognising the devastating impact that austerity has had on our local community
2. Ask the Leader of the Council to write to the Chancellor of the Exchequer, the Prime Minister, and the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government setting out the funding pressures faced by our local council, and calling on the Government to truly end austerity in local government.

Following debate, Council agreed to split the motion in to two separate motions and to delete all the words after “council” in the final sentence of the motion, as follows:-

This Council resolves to:-

1. Support the ‘Breaking Point’ campaign, recognising the devastating impact that austerity has had on our local community.

2. Ask the Leader of the Council to write to the Chancellor of the Exchequer, the Prime Minister, and the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government setting out the funding pressures faced by our local council.

The first motion was defeated and the second motion was approved.

RESOLVED

1.     That motion 1 be not carried.

      2.  That motion 2 be carried.

2.       A Peoples Vote

Proposed by Councillor R Fletcher and Seconded by Councillor
D Hough

It is now well over two years since the European referendum took place.

Whilst respecting the original vote significant information has come to light since then.

People did not vote to make themselves poorer.

There are significant differing views in Parliament as to what Brexit actually means.

Therefore Cheshire East Council calls upon her Majesty’s Government to allow a peoples vote on any final deal.

RESOLVED

That the motion be not carried.

3.       Definition of Antisemitism

Proposed by Councillor S Gardiner and seconded by Councillor M Deakin

We call upon this Council to adopt formally the definition of antisemitism adopted by the International Holocaust Remembrance Alliance (IHRA)in 2016 and to ensure that its Equality and Diversity Policies clearly state that there will be no tolerance of antisemitism by its officers or elected members.

Additionally, we call on the Council to declare that it stands four-square behind all Jewish people living in Cheshire East; together with their family members, in these difficult times for their community.

Furthermore, we request that the Director of People be charged with putting in place community cohesion strategies that will help and support any victims of antisemitism or other religious intolerances that may manifest themselves within this Borough.

RESOLVED

That the motion stand referred to Cabinet.

4.       Emails Retention Policy

Proposed by Councillor D Flude and Seconded by Councillor
S Brookfield

Recognising the implications of both GDPR and Freedom of Information Act legislation, this Council defers any changes to the policy the retention of emails until all police investigations, Crown Prosecution decisions and possible court actions are complete.

RESOLVED

That the motion stand referred to Cabinet.

The following motion was withdrawn by the proposer and seconder:-

5.       Task and Finish Review

Proposed by Councillor D Flude and Seconded by Councillor
S Brookfield

That after the completion of each Police investigation/Crown Prosecution Service decision/ Court Action this Council sets up a Task and Finish in depth scrutiny to review the outcome and issues raised and puts in place any recommendations to protect this Council and its Councillors from any future misdemeanours.