Agenda item

To consider the following Notices of Motion under Standing Order 12:

 

A – Motions referred from the Cabinet in accordance with Standing Order 12.1(a)

 

None

 

B – Motions submitted for consideration directly by Council, in accordance with Standing Order 12.1(b)

 

(i)                   From Cllr Gunnell

 

“CYC welcomes the UK-wide campaign to end ‘legal loan sharking’ and believes that the lack of access to affordable credit is socially and economically damaging.

 

Unaffordable credit is causing a myriad of unwanted effects such as colder homes, rent, council tax and utility arrears, and depression, which itself impacts on job seeking behaviour.  All of these effects ultimately lead to poorer health.  This practice is extracting wealth from York’s most deprived communities.

 

Council notes the efforts made cross-party through Amendment 41 to the Financial Services Bill, in May 2012, to properly regulate legal loan sharks but was disappointed with its final report.

 

Whilst acknowledging recent announcements by the Office of Fair Trading, that the top fifty pay-day loan companies need to change their practices or risk losing their licences, Council is disappointed that the Government is not going to cap the price – interest and costs – of borrowing from pay-day loan companies.

 

Council believes it is the responsibility of all levels of government to ensure affordable credit for all, and therefore pledges to use best practice to promote financial literacy and affordable lending to help to ensure that wealth stays in the local economy. Council will continue to work with those affected by the introduction of Universal Credit to ensure help is available.

 

Council resolves:

·         To lobby Government to ensure that pressure is kept up so that action is taken to regulate legal loan sharks and a sensible cap placed on levels of interest charges; and

·         To further lobby Government on introducing veto powers to Local Authorities to ensure that they are able, through licensing, to prevent socially damaging high street credit agencies operating within their areas.”

 

(ii)                  From Cllr Doughty

 

“Council notes with concern the deterioration in recycling in York and the negative effects on the environment and on the city’s reputation that such a decline may produce.  In particular Council is concerned that household recycling targets look set to be missed and that landfill tax to be paid is predicted to rise by 12.5%.This could be further exacerbated should the Council introduce an unwelcome charge for green bins.

 

“Therefore, in light of the failure to reach these recycling targets and the closure of Beckfiled Lane Recycling Centre, Council confirms that it commits to the future of Towthorpe Recycling Centre in order to provide a basic service to residents and to reduce the amount of waste sent to landfill in order to prevent costly increases in landfill taxes.”

 

(iii)                From Cllr Reid

 

“Council Notes:

 

·        Under the previous Liberal Democrat administration the recycling rate increased from 12% to 45% and a successful garden waste collection system operated.

·        The Labour Cabinet has closed Beckfield Lane Recycling Centre and is due to miss its 2012/13 recycling and landfill targets, with landfill tax due to increase year on year by 12.5%.

 

Council believes that introducing charges for green bin collections would further undermine the successful recycling schemes introduced by the Liberal Democrats, lead to a fall in recycling rates, and a further increase in landfill taxes. This would cancel out any short-term income received from charging.

 

Council therefore calls on the Cabinet to immediately rule out any plans to introduce charging for green bin collections and redouble their efforts to increase recycling rates in York.”

 

(iv)                From Cllr Simpson-Laing

 

“Council is extremely concerned at the detail of the Chancellor’s Autumn Statement and the impact it will have upon services this Council provides to York residents, especially the city’s more vulnerable residents. The 'Statement' shows an ideological Government committed to reducing the ability of councils to deliver quality services and improve their respective areas for their residents.

 

The Leader of North Yorkshire County Council has confirmed that it is inevitable that the quality of service his council offers will suffer, and Council believes this is true for all local authorities, including York.

Since the Chancellor’s first announcement in 2010 this Council is expecting to lose a total of £21m between 2011 and 2015, a 35% cut in its previous level of funding from Government, inclusive of previously received grants.  Together with unfunded budget pressures, this will result in the council needing to make savings of £51.8m over the 2011-2015 period of this administration.

 

Local Government is being asked to make cuts that far outweigh Government expenditure reductions in Whitehall Departments. In 2014/15 there will be a 0.6% reduction in public expenditure, yet local government will experience a cut of around 8.7%.

Council agrees with the view of Conservative Local Government Association Leader Sir Merrick Cockell when he says that, “cutting council funding to help pay for nationally-administered economic stimulus programmes would be bad for local frontline services and makes no sense economically”.  Council also agrees with the LGA view that councils actively support economic growth.

 

Council resolves:

 

·         Through its membership of the LGA, to campaign on a cross-party basisagainst these damaging cuts which will push even more York residents into poverty;

 

·         Through that same membership to call for a reversal of the decision to impose an extra 2% cut to local government budgets in 2014/15  on top of the disproportionate cuts already dealt to councils since the Conservative-led Government came to power in 2010.”

 

 

 

(i)        Regulation of Loan Sharks

 

It was moved by Cllr Gunnell and seconded by Cllr Boyce that: 

 

“CYC welcomes the UK-wide campaign to end ‘legal loan sharking’ and believes that the lack of access to affordable credit is socially and economically damaging.

 

Unaffordable credit is causing a myriad of unwanted effects such as colder homes, rent, council tax and utility arrears, and depression, which itself impacts on job seeking behaviour.  All of these effects ultimately lead to poorer health.  This practice is extracting wealth from York’s most deprived communities.

 

Council notes the efforts made cross-party through Amendment 41 to the Financial Services Bill, in May 2012, to properly regulate legal loan sharks but was disappointed with its final report.

 

Whilst acknowledging recent announcements by the Office of Fair Trading, that the top fifty pay-day loan companies need to change their practices or risk losing their licences, Council is disappointed that the Government is not going to cap the price – interest and costs – of borrowing from pay-day loan companies.

 

Council believes it is the responsibility of all levels of government to ensure affordable credit for all, and therefore pledges to use best practice to promote financial literacy and affordable lending to help to ensure that wealth stays in the local economy. Council will continue to work with those affected by the introduction of Universal Credit to ensure help is available.

 

Council resolves:

·        To lobby Government to ensure that pressure is kept up so that action is taken to regulate legal loan sharks and a sensible cap placed on levels of interest charges; and

·        To further lobby Government on introducing veto powers to Local Authorities to ensure that they are able, through licensing, to prevent socially damaging high street credit agencies operating within their areas.”

 On being put to the vote, the motion was declared CARRIED and it was

 

RESOLVED:       That the above motion be approved. ^1.

 

(ii)   Towthorpe Household Recycling Centre

 

It was moved by Cllr Doughty and seconded by Cllr Richardson that: 

“Council notes with concern the deterioration in recycling in York and the negative effects on the environment and on the city’s reputation that such a decline may produce.  In particular Council is concerned that household recycling targets look set to be missed and that landfill tax to be paid is predicted to rise by 12.5%.This could be further exacerbated should the Council introduce an unwelcome charge for green bins.

 

Therefore, in light of the failure to reach these recycling targets and the closure of Beckfield Lane Recycling Centre, Council confirms that it commits to the future of Towthorpe Recycling Centre in order to provide a basic service to residents and to reduce the amount of waste sent to landfill in order to prevent costly increases in landfill taxes.”

 

Councillor Orrell moved, an amendment to the above motion, as follows:

 

Insert the following additional paragraph at the end after landfill taxes:

 

“Council also calls on the Cabinet Member to work with Yorwaste to review the traffic arrangements for Towthorpe Recycling Centre, including investigating better signage and traffic flow within the site. This follows concerns that on occasions traffic has been forced to queue onto Towthorpe Moor Lane, a well used road with a 60mph speed limit, to gain access to the Recycling Centre and growing fears that closure on one day a week, the introduction of identity checking, and proposals to cease winter green bin collections will make the situation even worse.”

 

On being put to the vote, the amendment was declared LOST.

 

A second amendment to the original motion had been submitted by Councillor Taylor, as follows:

 

Insert the following additional paragraph at the end after landfill taxes:

 

 “In light of the uncertainty regarding the financial viability of the Allerton incinerator project, Council will enter into new discussions with North Yorkshire County Council to explore the viability of a long-term, non-incineration, and high recovery strategy, as proposed in the "Due Diligence" report by Marton-cum-Grafton Parish Council, which it claimed could be more than £120 million cheaper than the Allerton waste management solution.”

 

On being put to the vote, the amendment was declared LOST.

 

The original motion was then put to the vote, and also declared LOST and it was

 

RESOLVED:       That the original motion be not approved.

 

(ii)      Green Bin Collections

 

 It was moved by Cllr Reid and seconded by Cllr Runciman that: 

 

“Council Notes:

 

·        Under the previous Liberal Democrat administration the recycling rate increased from 12% to 45% and a successful garden waste collection system operated.

·        The Labour Cabinet has closed Beckfield Lane Recycling Centre and is due to miss its 2012/13 recycling and landfill targets, with landfill tax due to increase year on year by 12.5%.

 

Council believes that introducing charges for green bin collections would further undermine the successful recycling schemes introduced by the Liberal Democrats, lead to a fall in recycling rates, and a further increase in landfill taxes. This would cancel out any short-term income received from charging.

 

Council therefore calls on the Cabinet to immediately rule out any plans to introduce charging for green bin collections and redouble their efforts to increase recycling rates in York.”

 

On being put to the vote, the motion was declared LOST and it was

 

RESOLVED:       That the motion be not approved.

 

(iv)   Chancellor’s Autumn Statement

 

 It was moved by Cllr Simpson-Laing and seconded by Cllr Burton that: 

 

“Council is extremely concerned at the detail of the Chancellor’s Autumn Statement and the impact it will have upon services this Council provides to York residents, especially the city’s more vulnerable residents. The 'Statement' shows an ideological Government committed to reducing the ability of councils to deliver quality services and improve their respective areas for their residents.

 

The Leader of North Yorkshire County Council has confirmed that it is inevitable that the quality of service his council offers will suffer, and Council believes this is true for all local authorities, including York.

Since the Chancellor’s first announcement in 2010 this Council is expecting to lose a total of £21m between 2011 and 2015, a 35% cut in its previous level of funding from Government, inclusive of previously received grants.  Together with unfunded budget pressures, this will result in the council needing to make savings of £51.8m over the 2011-2015 period of this administration.

 

Local Government is being asked to make cuts that far outweigh Government expenditure reductions in Whitehall Departments. In 2014/15 there will be a 0.6% reduction in public expenditure, yet local government will experience a cut of around 8.7%.

Council agrees with the view of Conservative Local Government Association Leader Sir Merrick Cockell when he says that, “cutting council funding to help pay for nationally-administered economic stimulus programmes would be bad for local frontline services and makes no sense economically”.  Council also agrees with the LGA view that councils actively support economic growth.

 

Council resolves:

 

·        Through its membership of the LGA, to campaign on a cross-party basis against these damaging cuts which will push even more York residents into poverty;

 

·        Through that same membership to call for a reversal of the decision to impose an extra 2% cut to local government budgets in 2014/15  on top of the disproportionate cuts already dealt to councils since the Conservative-led Government came to power in 2010.”

 

 

On being put to the vote, the motion was declared CARRIED and it was

 

RESOLVED:       That the above motion be approved. ^2.