Agenda item

To consider the following Notices of Motion under Standing Order 11:

 

(i)         From Cllr Horton:

            “This Council notes that:

·        There is a housing crisis in the City, as evidenced by the draft Fordham Housing Market Assessment, showing the vast majority of newly formed households unable to afford either house purchase with a mortgage or private sector rents (on the normal affordability criterion);

·        The current Liberal Democrat support is for a lower regional housing allocation for York that can only exacerbate the York house price premium, as supply will be reduced by a third compared to the house building rates in York over the last six years;

·        Many families have been forced out of the City due to rising house prices;

·        Those people that do stay in the City, particularly those on low incomes, often have to live in poorer quality, overcrowded housing;

·        Living in overcrowded residences can lead to poor mental and physical health.

This Council welcomes the Government’s Barker report, about providing new housing to meet projected need, and calls upon the Executive Member to work with the Government and the Regional Assembly to increase the supply of affordable family housing in York.”

 

(ii)        From Cllr Potter:

“Council notes with regret that the Environment Forum is no longer represented on the Local Strategic Partnership Board, leaving the large environmental voluntary sector with no direct input into the ‘Without Walls’ vision and forthcoming review of the community strategy.

Council believes that this situation does not properly reflect how important environmental issues are to the City and its residents.

Council requests the ‘Without Walls’ Board to ensure that the Environment Forum are allocated a formal place on the LSP Board and mandates the Council’s nominees on the Board to support this.”

 

(iii)       From Cllr Blanchard:

“Council notes that:

·        To produce foie gras, at just 12 weeks old ducks and geese are restrained and grain is forced down the throat through a tube or pipe, a process that often results in physical injury;

·        They are forcibly fed the equivalent to an adult human eating 1-28 lbs (7-13 kg) of spaghetti a day; and, after two or three weeks, when they are ready for slaughter, their livers will have swollen to about ten times normal size.  The swollen liver expands the abdomen and can make movement and breathing difficult, as well as causing other health problems;

·        Most ducks are kept in wire cages so small they have no room to turn around or stretch their wings, and their feet are often injured by the wire floor;

·        Many die before the force feeding cycle ends, and the mortality rate for ducks raised on foie gras farms is overwhelmingly the highest in the industry;

·        The force-feeding of geese is already outlawed in Poland, Denmark, Germany, Norway and Israel.

Council believes that:

·        This intolerably cruel and painful practice is unnecessary and should end;

·        The city of Chicago, USA, has shown tremendous compassionate leadership in its brave decision to ban foie gras in its shops and restaurants;

·        The torture of small innocent animals should not be a matter of personal dietary choice.

Council resolves to:

·        Instruct the Chief Executive to write to Ben Bradshaw MP, Minister of State responsible for Animal Welfare, informing him of this motion and asking for the production and sale of foie gras to be banned in the UK;

·        Do as much as reasonably possible to discourage or prohibit the sale of foie gras within the authority area, whether in shops or restaurants.

 

(iv)       From Cllr Kirk:

“City of York Council calls on the Secretary of State for Health to write off the historic debt that the new North Yorkshire and York Primary Care Trust inherited from its predecessor Trusts.”

 

(v)        From Cllr Steve Galloway:

“Council notes the major achievements of Members and staff in providing good quality public services, and improved value for money, since May 2003.

In particular, Council highlights:

1.     The success of the York Pride and the Safe City campaigns, which have resulted in a cleaner and greener City and reducing crime levels;

2.     Continuing low Council Tax levels, with York residents now paying an average of £112 per annum less for services than similar councils elsewhere, while the number of public service quality indicators, achieving above the national performance, has increased to 63%;

3.     The opening of the excellent household waste recycling centre at Hazel Court and the dramatic increase in recycling rates in the City;

4.     The opening of the Eco Depot and the contribution that it and other initiatives are making to establishing a truly sustainable City;

5.     the opening of several new schools and the sustained improvement in exam results seen since 2003;

6.     the record numbers using teenagers’ leisure facilities, including the innovative “Schools Out” programme and the new mobile play and sport buses;

7.     That social services customers in York continue to enjoy much easier access to Council care services than in neighbouring areas and that many Social Services buildings have been modernised during the last 4 years;

8.     The reduction in the housing waiting list and the success of the housing modernisation programme, which is on schedule to reach ‘decent homes’ standards by central government deadlines;

9.     The best performing Park and Ride service in the country, with 3 million passengers expected to use the service this year and – against national trends – the substantial growth in the use of public transport in the City;

10.The impact of what has been the largest ever footpath and road resurfacing programme ever seen in the City.

Council remains confident that the City will be an increasingly attractive place in which to live, work and play during the forthcoming decades and looks forward to working with residents and partners to sustain and build on the successes of recent years.”

In accordance with Standing Order 11, five notices of motion had been received:

 

(i)         The Housing Situation in York

 

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

 

“This Council notes that:

• There is a housing crisis in the City, as evidenced by the draft Fordham Housing Market Assessment, showing the vast majority of newly formed households unable to afford either house purchase with a mortgage or private sector rents (on the normal affordability criterion);
• The current Liberal Democrat support is for a lower regional housing allocation for York that can only exacerbate the York house price premium, as supply will be reduced by a third compared to the house building rates in York over the last six years;
• Many families have been forced out of the City due to rising house prices;
• Those people that do stay in the City, particularly those on low incomes, often have to live in poorer quality, overcrowded housing;
• Living in overcrowded residences can lead to poor mental and physical health.

This Council welcomes the Government’s Barker report, about providing new housing to meet projected need, and calls upon the Executive Member to work with the Government and the Regional Assembly to increase the supply of affordable family housing in York.”

 

Cllr Reid then moved, and Cllr Greenwood, seconded, an amendment to the above motion, as follows:

 

“In the first paragraph:

- delete ‘City, as evidenced by’ in the first line of the first bullet point and replace with ‘UK, affecting many residents in York’.

- delete all after “Assessment” in the second line of the first bullet point, replace with ‘contains vital data on housing problems in York, which will be fully utilised to inform the development of the LDF’, and transfer this whole sentence into a new bullet point;

- delete all after ‘The’ in the first line of the second (now third) bullet point and replace with ‘housing target in the local plan is for 675 new homes per annum and the proposal in the draft RSS is for 640 homes per annum’;

- delete all after ‘families’ in the third (now fourth) bullet point and replace with ‘across the UK and in York struggle to afford housing’;

- delete the whole of the fourth (now fifth) bullet point and replace with ‘The housing situation of residents, particularly those on low incomes, would be improved by a relaxation of government rules on spending the receipts from council house sales, and a fairer social housing grant for York’,

- after ‘health’ in the fifth (now sixth) bullet point, add ‘and by being enabled by government to spend more of the income generated by York tenants on social housing in York, overcrowding could be better tackled, with the health benefits that would ensue’;

 - insert the following additional bullet points (nos. 7, 8 and 9):

‘- York is a leader in the amount of affordable housing that it has provided without the use of housing subsidy;

- The affordable homes requirement has been increased from 25% to 50% on all developments exceeding 15 homes, and an affordable homes policy for villages and rural areas has been introduced;

- 2,592 new homes, of which 518 were affordable, were built in York between 2003 and 2006’;

- replace all the bullet points with numbers.

In the second paragraph:

Delete all after ‘Barker report’ and replace with:

‘as a basis for discussion, and calls upon the government to:

1.         Allow City of York Council to retain and invest in social housing the £27m the government intends to take from York tenants’ payments over the next four years;

2.            Increase York’s social housing grant, so housing associations have more money to go into partnership with housing developers;

3.         Relax the rule that allows councils to spend only a quarter of their receipts from council house sales in new housing investment;

4.            Extend the homebuy-plus pilot in the York “golden triangle” into a permanent scheme for low cost house sales;

5.            Introduce the fourth option for council housing, supported on three occasions by the Labour Party conference;

6.         Give Local Authorities more powers to bring back into use empty (privately owned) homes and other property which could be converted into residential accommodation.'"

 

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

 

The motion, as amended, now read as follows:

 

“This Council notes that:

1.         There is a housing crisis in the UK, affecting many residents in York;

2.         The Draft Fordham HMA contains much vital data about housing problems in York, which will be fully utlilised to inform the development of the LDF;

3.         The housing target in the Local Plan is currently for 675 new homes per annum and the proposal in the draft RSS is for 640 new homes per annum;

4.         Many families across the UK and in York struggle to afford housing;

5.         The housing situation of residents, particularly those on low incomes, would be improved by a relaxation of government rules on spending the receipts from council house sales, and a fairer social housing grant for York;

6.         Living in over-crowded residences can lead to poor mental and physical health, and that by being enabled by government to spend more of the income generated by York tenants on social housing in York, overcrowding could be better tackled, with the health benefits that would ensue;

7.         York is a leader in the amount of affordable housing that it has provided without the use of housing subsidy;

8.         The affordable homes requirement has been increased from 25% to 50% on all developments exceeding 15 homes, and an affordable homes policy for villages and rural areas has been introduced;

9.         2,592 new homes, of which 518 were affordable, were built in York between 2003 and 2006.

 

This Council notes the Barker Report as a basis for discussion, and calls upon the government to:

1.         Allow City of York Council to retain and invest in social housing the £27m the government intends to take from York tenants’ payments over the next four years;

2.            Increase York’s social housing grant, so housing associations have more money to go into partnership with housing developers;

3.         Relax the rule that allows councils to spend only a quarter of their receipts from council house sales in the new housing investment;

4.         Extend the homebuy-plus pilot in the York ‘golden triangle’ into a permanent scheme for low cost house sales;

5.            Introduce the fourth option for council housing, supported on three occasions by the Labour Party conference;

6.         Give local authorities more powers to bring back into use empty (privately owned) homes and other property which could be converted into residential accommodation.”

 

The amended motion was put to the vote and declared CARRIED and it was

 

RESOLVED: That the above notice of motion, as amended, be approved.

 

(ii)        York Environment Forum

 

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

 

“Council notes with regret that the Environment Forum is no longer represented on the Local Strategic Partnership Board, leaving the large environmental voluntary sector with no direct input into the ‘Without Walls’ vision and forthcoming review of the community strategy.

Council believes that this situation does not properly reflect how important environmental issues are to the City and its residents.

Council requests the ‘Without Walls’ Board to ensure that the Environment Forum are allocated a formal place on the LSP Board and mandates the Council’s nominees on the Board to support this.”

 

Cllr D’Agorne then moved, and Cllr Hill seconded, an amendment to the above motion, as follows:

 

“Add at the end:

‘Council recognises the continuing value of the Environment Forum in engaging a broad range of voluntary sector organisations in the Community Strategy and other local and regional consultations such as development of the LDF. Council further notes the intention of the Local Agenda 21 group to wind up in favour of an Environment Partnership that will contribute to the work of the Without Walls Partnership. Council urges officers to urgently move this process forward to ensure that this new body has a central part to play alongside the work of the Environment Forum in keeping sustainability at the heart of implemention of the Local Area Agreement.’”

 

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

 

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

 

RESOLVED: That the above notice of motion not be approved.

 

(iii)            Production of Foie Gras

 

It was moved by Cllr Blanchard and seconded by Cllr Hill that:

 

“Council notes that:

• To produce foie gras, at just 12 weeks old ducks and geese are restrained and grain is forced down the throat through a tube or pipe, a process that often results in physical injury;
• They are forcibly fed the equivalent to an adult human eating 1-28 lbs (7-13 kg) of spaghetti a day; and, after two or three weeks, when they are ready for slaughter, their livers will have swollen to about ten times normal size.  The swollen liver expands the abdomen and can make movement and breathing difficult, as well as causing other health problems;
• Most ducks are kept in wire cages so small they have no room to turn around or stretch their wings, and their feet are often injured by the wire floor;
• Many die before the force feeding cycle ends, and the mortality rate for ducks raised on foie gras farms is overwhelmingly the highest in the industry;
• The force-feeding of geese is already outlawed in Poland, Denmark, Germany, Norway and Israel.

Council believes that:

• This intolerably cruel and painful practice is unnecessary and should end;
• The city of Chicago, USA, has shown tremendous compassionate leadership in its brave decision to ban foie gras in its shops and restaurants;
• The torture of small innocent animals should not be a matter of personal dietary choice.

Council resolves to:

• Instruct the Chief Executive to write to Ben Bradshaw MP, Minister of State responsible for Animal Welfare, informing him of this motion and asking for the production and sale of foie gras to be banned in the UK;
• Do as much as reasonably possible to discourage or prohibit the sale of foie gras within the authority area, whether in shops or restaurants.

 

Cllr Steve Galloway then moved, and Councillor Waller seconded, under Standing Order 11, that the motion stand referred for the preparation of an Officer report and subsequent consideration by the Executive, without substantive debate at this meeting.

 

That was put to the vote and was declared CARRIED and it was

 

RESOLVED:             That the above notice of motion be referred for the preparation of an Officer report and subsequent consideration by the Executive.

 

(iv)      North Yorkshire and York Primary Care Trust

 

It was moved by Cllr Kirk and seconded by Cllr Sue Galloway that:

 

“City of York Council calls on the Secretary of State for Health to write off the historic debt that the new North Yorkshire and York Primary Care Trust inherited from its predecessor Trusts.”

 

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

 

RESOLVED: That the above notice of motion be approved.

 

(v)       The Council’s Achievements

 

It was moved by Cllr Steve Galloway and seconded by Cllr Waller that:

 

“Council notes the major achievements of Members and staff in providing good quality public services, and improved value for money, since May 2003.

In particular, Council highlights:

1. The success of the York Pride and the Safe City campaigns, which have resulted in a cleaner and greener City and reducing crime levels;
2. Continuing low Council Tax levels, with York residents now paying an average of £112 per annum less for services than similar councils elsewhere, while the number of public service quality indicators, achieving above the national performance, has increased to 63%;
3. The opening of the excellent household waste recycling centre at Hazel Court and the dramatic increase in recycling rates in the City;
4. The opening of the Eco Depot and the contribution that it and other initiatives are making to establishing a truly sustainable City;
5. The opening of several new schools and the sustained improvement in exam results seen since 2003;
6. The record numbers using teenagers’ leisure facilities, including the innovative “Schools Out” programme and the new mobile play and sport buses;
7. That social services customers in York continue to enjoy much easier access to Council care services than in neighbouring areas and that many Social Services buildings have been modernised during the last 4 years;
8. The reduction in the housing waiting list and the success of the housing modernisation programme, which is on schedule to reach ‘decent homes’ standards by central government deadlines;
9. The best performing Park and Ride service in the country, with 3 million passengers expected to use the service this year and – against national trends – the substantial growth in the use of public transport in the City;
10. The impact of what has been the largest ever footpath and road resurfacing programme ever seen in the City.

Council remains confident that the City will be an increasingly attractive place in which to live, work and play during the forthcoming decades and looks forward to working with residents and partners to sustain and build on the successes of recent years.”

 

After extensive debate, a motion to move to the vote was put, seconded and carried. On then being put to the vote, the motion was declared CARRIED and it was

 

RESOLVED: That the above notice of motion be approved.