Councillor Thomas proposed his submitted motion.

He said he would accept Councillor Rowley’s submitted amendment provided Councillor Rowley agreed a further minor amendment (read out at the meeting as ‘the Council requests the City Executive Board to commission a report from officer to be submitted to the Board no later than September 2017 on the process and procedures that could be used to make empty properties available for use as temporary homeless shelters’).

Councillor Rowley agreed to this change and Councillor Thomas then proposed his submitted motion as amended.

Councillor Simmons seconded the amended motion.

After debate and on being put to the vote, the amended motion was declared carried.

Council resolved to agree the following motion:

Recognising:

•        the growing number of individuals sleeping on our streets;

•        the dangers of sleeping rough;

•        the significant number of long and short-term vacant buildings within the city;

•        the potential to move on with their lives and off the street (into permanent accommodation and employment) that a period of stable and safe accommodation could offer many of those current sleeping rough;

The Council requests the City Executive Board to commission a report from officers to be submitted no later than September 2017 on the processes and procedures that could be used to make empty properties available for use as temporary homeless shelters.