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Councillors and committees

Agenda and minutes

Venue: Council Chamber - Civic Centre

Contact: Rosalyn Patterson 

Items
No. Item

CL69

To confirm the Minutes of the meeting held on 22 November 2018 pdf icon PDF 83 KB

Minutes:

COUNCIL RESOLVED -     That the minutes of the meeting held on 22 November 2018 be approved as a correct record.

CL70

Official Announcements

(announcements may be made by the Mayor, Leader of the Council or the Chief Executive)

Minutes:

(A)         Chartered Institute of Environmental Health Excellence Awards

 

The Mayor announced that Elaine Rudman, the Trading Standards, Licensing and Enforcement Manager, was part of the Team that won the Best Environmental Health Project award at the Chartered Institute of Environmental Health Excellence Awards.

 

The Mayor congratulated Elaine on her award.

 

(B)       APSE Performance Network

 

The Mayor announced that the Council's School Catering Service has been singled out as the top performing school meals provider in the UK by the Association of Public Service Excellence. This is the third year running the 350-strong school catering team has won the award.

 

The Mayor congratulated the team on their award.

 

 

CL71

Director of Public Health Annual Report - Presentation

Minutes:

Alice Wiseman, Director of Public Health, attended the meeting and presented her annual report, the focus of which is obesity. 

CL72

Petitions

(to receive petitions submitted under Council Procedure Rule 10)

Minutes:

There were no petitions submitted.

CL73

Questions from Members of the Public

(to consider any questions submitted under Council Procedure Rule 7)

Minutes:

There were no questions submitted by members of the public.

CL74

Allotment Portfolio - Rent Review 1 April 2019 pdf icon PDF 71 KB

Additional documents:

Minutes:

Consideration was given to the proposed inclusion of the increased rental levels in the schedule of fees and charges for 2019/20 with regards to the allotment portfolio.

 

COUNCIL RESOLVED -     That the inclusion of the increased rental levels in the schedule of fees and charges for 2019/20 be approved.

CL75

Calendar of Meetings 2019/20 and Overview and Scrutiny Arrangements pdf icon PDF 73 KB

Additional documents:

Minutes:

Consideration was given the proposed calendar of meetings for 2019/20 and proposed changes to the Council’s overview and scrutiny and advisory group arrangements.

 

COUNCIL RESOLVED -      (i)       That the calendar of meetings for 2019/20 be approved.

 

                                                  (ii)      That, where possible, meetings should not be held during school holidays

 

                                                  (iii)     That the Strategic Director, Corporate Services and Governance be authorised, following consultation with the Leader of the Council to make any necessary amendments to the calendar of meetings.

 

                                                  (iv)     That the proposed changes to the Council’s Overview and Scrutiny and Advisory Group arrangements as set out be approved and the Council’s Constitution be amended accordingly.

 

CL76

Housing Revenue Account and Housing Capital Programme pdf icon PDF 81 KB

Additional documents:

Minutes:

Consideration was given to:

 

·           the Housing Revenue Account (HRA) budget for 2019/20, including proposed savings;

·           the proposed rent changes from 1 April 2019, in line with Government’s policy on rent setting;

·           the detailed proposals for fees and charges; and

·           the proposed Housing Capital Programme for the next five years (2019/20 to 2023/24).

 

COUNCIL RESOLVED -      (i)       That the Housing Revenue Account, including The Gateshead Housing Company. Management Fee, the repairs and maintenance budget and proposed savings be approved.

 

                                                  (ii)      That the 1% rent reduction from 1 April 2019 be approved.

 

                                                  (iii)     That the fees and charges schedule be approved.

 

                                                  (iv)     That the Housing Capital Programme for the five years 2019/20 to 2023/24 be approved.

CL77

Capital Programme and Prudential Indicators 2018/19 – Third Quarter Review pdf icon PDF 75 KB

Additional documents:

Minutes:

Consideration was given to the latest position on the 2018/19 Capital Programme and Prudential Indicators as at the end of the third quarter to 31 December 2018. 

 

COUNCIL RESOLVED -    (i)         That all variations to the 2018/19 Capital Programme be approved as the revised programme.

 

                                               (ii)        That the financing of the revised programme be approved.

 

                                               (iii)       That it be confirmed that the capital expenditure and capital financing requirement indicators have been revised in line with the revised budget and that none of the approved Prudential Indicators set for 2018/19 have been breached.

CL78

Revenue Budget Third Quarter Review 2018/19 pdf icon PDF 76 KB

Additional documents:

Minutes:

Consideration was given to the latest monitoring position on the 2018/19 revenue budget at the end of the third quarter to 31 December 2018 and to seek approval to use up to £2.1m capital receipts to finance the 2018/19 revenue budget.

 

COUNCIL RESOLVED -     That the use of up to £2.1m capital receipts to fund the revenue costs of transformational projects included within the 2018/19 budget be approved.

CL79

Report from the Cabinet pdf icon PDF 119 KB

Minutes:

The Leader of the Council reported on a number of key issues currently affecting the Council.

 

COUNCIL RESOLVED -

That the information be noted

 

CL80

Notice of Motion pdf icon PDF 77 KB

(to consider any notices of motion submitted in accordance with Council Procedure Rule 9.1)

 

(A)Notice of Motion - Gender Recognition

(B)Notice of Motion - Asylum Seekers: Lift the Ban Coalition

 

Additional documents:

Minutes:

 

Councillor John Adams moved the following motion:

 

This Council:

 

(a)  notes that:

 

(i)            since 2002, people seeking asylum have only able to apply for the right to work after they have been waiting for a decision on their asylum claim for over a year, and only if they can be employed into one of the narrow, highly-skilled professions included on the Government’s Shortage Occupation List;

 

(ii)          people seeking asylum are left to live on £5.39 per day, struggling to support themselves and their families, and left vulnerable to destitution, isolation, and exploitation;

 

(iii)         the potential foregone economic gain for the UK economy of allowing people to work is estimated to be £42.4million via increased taxable income and reduced payments of accommodation/subsistence support;

 

(iv)         71% of people polled agreed with the statement: “when people come to the UK seeking asylum it is important they integrate, learn English and get to know people. It would help integration if asylum-seekers were allowed to work if their claim takes more than six months to process”;

(b)  believes that:

(i)        people seeking asylum want to be able to work so that they can use their skills and make the most of their potential, integrate into their communities, and provide for themselves and their families;

(ii)       restrictions on right to work can lead to extremely poor mental health outcomes, and a waste of potentially invaluable talents and skills both for the economy of Gateshead and the UK;

(iii)       allowing people seeking asylum the right to work would therefore lead to positive outcomes for those seeking asylum in Gateshead and for the local and national economy;

(c)  resolves to:

 

(i)            join the Lift the Ban Coalition, which is campaigning to restore the right to work for everyone waiting for more than 6 months for a decision on their asylum claim: and

(ii)          call on the UK Government to give people seeking asylum the right to work unconstrained by the shortage occupation list after they have waited six months for a decision on their initial asylum claim or further submission.

Councillor Kevin McClurey moved the following amendment:

 

Remove all after “resolves to:” and replace with:

 

            (i)         Join the Lift the Ban Coalition, which is campaigning to restore                     the right to work for everyone waiting for more than 6 months for              a decision on their asylum claim, and to go further and call on                  the UK Government to give the right to work to everyone who                         has been waiting for 3 months for a decision on their initial                             asylum claim.

(ii)           Call on the UK Government to give people seeking asylum the right to work unconstrained by the shortage occupation list after they have waited three months for a decision on their initial asylum claim or further submission.

On the amendment being put, it was defeated.

 

The original motion was put as the substantive motion and duly carried.

 

COUNCIL RESOLVED:

 

This Council:

 

(a)  notes that:

 

(i)          since 2002, people seeking asylum have only able to  ...  view the full minutes text for item CL80

CL81

Questions

(to deal with any questions submitted in accordance with Council Procedure Rule 8.1)

Minutes:

No questions were received from members of the public.

 

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