Council stood for a minute’s silence in memory of Councillor Jennifer Pegg who had died suddenly on 23 November 2017.

Councillor Turner sent apologies for lateness and arrived at the start of Minute 65.

Gordon Mitchell, Interim Chief Executive, declared that as he was the subject of the report at Minute 61 he would leave the room for that item.

Minutes of the ordinary meeting of Council held on 2 October 2017.

Council is asked to approve the minutes as a correct record.

Council agreed to approve the minutes of the meeting of 20 October as a correct record and the Lord Mayor should sign these as such.

No changes have been notified: any changes proposed after publication of the agenda will be circulated with the briefing note.

Councillor Price proposed and Council agreed the following appointments to the vacancies left by the death of Councillor Pegg:

·         Scrutiny Committee – Councillor Paule

·         West Area Planning Committee –Councillor Tidball

Announcements by:

1.    The Lord Mayor

2.    The Sheriff

3.    The Leader of the Council (who may with the permission of the Lord Mayor invite other councillors to make announcements)

4.    The Chief Executive, Chief Finance Officer, Monitoring Officer

The Lord Mayor reported on the Remembrance Day and Remembrance Sunday ceremonies and on visits from French and Cuban dignitaries.

She drew Council’s attention to forthcoming events:

• The Lord Mayor’s Christmas Reception on 11 December – please notify attendance and guests
• The Lord Mayor’s Carol Service on17 December

She welcomed the new Monitoring Officer Anita Bradley and thanked the previous Monitoring Officer Lindsay Cane for his service over the past year.

The Sheriff reported on the admissions ceremony for 6 new hereditary Freemen of the City on 9 November and the annual Freemen’s dinner.

There were no announcements from the Leader or senior officers.

Public addresses and questions to the Leader or other Board member received in accordance with Council Procedure Rules 11.11, 11.12, and 11.13 relating to matters for decision in Part 1 of this agenda.

The request to speak accompanied by the full text of the address or question must be received by the Head of Law and Governance (email to democraticservices@oxford.gov.uk ) by 5.00 pm on Tuesday 21 November.

The briefing note will contain the text of addresses and questions submitted by the deadline, and written responses where available.

A total of 45 minutes is available for both public speaking items. Responses are included in this time. Up to five minutes is available for each public address and up to three minutes for each question.

There were no public speakers on this section.

The Head of Community Services submitted a report to the City Executive Board on 21 November to update members on the Museum of Oxford Hidden Histories Redevelopment Project and to request approval of the revised project budget.

The report is attached to this agenda: the appendices are available with the City Executive Board agenda.

The City Executive Board decisions will be reported in the minutes of that meeting.

Councillor Sinclair, Board Member for Culture and Communities will move the recommendations.

Recommendation: Subject to the decision on 21 November, the City Executive Board recommends Council to

1.    increase the project’s overall capital budget by £611,754 to £2,842,804 and the Councils capital contribution from £315,000 to £1,340,106 to be financed by prudential borrowing in accordance with paragraphs 22 and 25 of the report; and

2.    note the increase in the Councils revenue budget in respect of the additional cost of operating the new museum of £30k per annum with effect from 2020/21 which will be raised during the forthcoming budget setting process (paragraph 28 of the report).

Council considered a report from the Head of Community Services seeking approval of the revised project budget for the Museum of Oxford Hidden Histories Redevelopment Project.

Councillor Sinclair, Board Member for Culture and Communities, presented the report and moved the recommendations.

Council resolved to:

1.    increase the project’s overall capital budget by £611,754 to £2,842,804 and the Councils capital contribution from £315,000 to £1,340,106 to be financed by prudential borrowing in accordance with paragraphs 22 and 25 of the report; and

2.    note the increase in the Councils revenue budget in respect of the additional cost of operating the new museum of £30k per annum with effect from 2020/21 which will be raised during the forthcoming budget setting process (paragraph 28 of the report).

The Executive Director Organisational Development and Corporate Services has submitted a report asking Council to approve the recommendation of the Appointments Committee to extend the Interim Chief Executive’s fixed term contract until 31 December 2020.

Councillor Price, the Leader of the Council will move the recommendations.

Recommendations: That Council resolves to:

1.            agree the recommendation from the Appointments Committee for a 3 year extension to the Interim Chief Executive’s current fixed-term contract to 31st December 2020; 

2.            consider the attached Equalities Impact Assessment and Risk Register in reaching its decision.

Gordon Mitchell, Interim Chief Executive, left the room for the duration of thisitem as he was the subject of the report before Council.

Council considered a report from the Executive Director Organisational Development and Corporate Services asking for approval of the recommendation of the Appointments Committee to extend the Interim Chief Executive’s fixed term contract until 31 December 2020

Councillor Price, Leader of the Council, presented the report and moved the recommendations.

Council resolved to:

agree the recommendation from the Appointments Committee for a 3 year extension to the Interim Chief Executive’s current fixed-term contract to 31st December 2020.

This item has a time limit of 15 minutes.

Councillors may ask the Board Members questions about matters in these minutes:

There were no questions on these minutes.

Questions on notice from councillors received in accordance with Council Procedure Rule 11.10(b).

Questions on notice may be asked of the Lord Mayor, a Member of the City Executive Board or a Chair of a Committee. One supplementary question may be asked at the meeting.

The full text of questions must be received by the Head of Law and Governance by no later than 1.00pm on Monday 20 November 2017.

The briefing note will contain all questions submitted by the deadline, and written responses where available.

34 written questions on notice were submitted. These, written responses, and 24 supplementary questions and responses are set out in the supplement to these minutes.

The conclusion of this item (from questions 21 onwards) was deferred until after Minute 63 to allow the public speakers to be heard at 7pm.

Public addresses and questions to the Leader or other Board member received in accordance with Council Procedure Rule 11.11, 11.12 and 11.13 and not related to matters for decision in Part 1 of this agenda.

The request to speak accompanied by the full text of the address or question must be received by the Head of Law and Governance (email to democraticservices@oxford.gov.uk ) by 5.00 pm on Tuesday 21 November 2017.

The briefing note will contain the text of addresses and questions submitted by the deadline, and written responses where available.

A total of 45 minutes is available for both public speaking items. Responses are included in this time. Up to five minutes is available for each public address and up to three minutes for each question.

Four speakers addressed Council, making five speeches.

1.  Dr Ramzy spoke in support of the decision at the preceding Special Council meeting to remove the Freedom of the City from Aung San Suu Kyi

2.  Niels, Chair, Summertown Stars AFC and Richard Lawrence-Wilson spoke requesting Council to rebuild the pavilion at Five Mile Drive Recreation Ground

3.  Elise Benjamin spoke requesting Council to ensure provision of the agreed cycle parking at Westgate

4.  Artwell spoke about the need for public accountability for the Oxford Direct Services Company

5.  Artwell spoke about the need for the Standards Committee to be apolitical and asked for an independent Chair.

In addition to the response from the Board Member, Councillor Sanders (Standards Committee Chair) and Councillor Wade (Standards Committee member) made points of personal explanation to defend their actions questioned in the speech.

One speaker asked questions of the relevant Board member:

6.  Judith Harley asked about the applications of Local Plan policy SR2 and Councillor Hollingsworth responded.

The full text of these speeches and question where these were read as submitted; responses from the Board Members in writing before the meeting; and summaries of verbal responses given at the meeting are in the supplement to these minutes.

This item has a 15 minute time limit in total.

The head petitioner, Mr Nigel Gibson, will speak to Council for a maximum of 5 minutes at the start of this item.

Council is asked to consider a petition meeting the criteria for debate under the Council’s petitions scheme in line with the procedure for large petitions.

The full text of the petition is contained in the accompanying report of the Head of Law and Governance.

The petition proposes:

Oxford City Council must fix the blue hole they have created. We the undersigned call on Oxford City Council to address the loss of health, fitness and exercise facilities in the ‘blue hole’ caused by the Labour-led City Council’s closure of Temple Cowley Pool in December 2014, and extended for five years in the Leisure and Wellbeing strategy 2015-2020 adopted in September 2015.

This is the petition motion.

If a Councillor wishes to put a substantive motion/recommendation on a petition that differs from the proposal in the petition then they must submit this by 10.00am on the working day before the full Council meeting. These are then published in the Council briefing note. Any amendments to these must be submitted by 11.00am on the day of the meeting.

Council is recommended to:

·         hear the head petitioner for the petition;

·         debate the proposal to the Council contained within the petition (above) and/ or;

·         debate any motions submitted by councillors; and

·         decide the action it wishes to take.

Councillor Turner arrived at the start of this item.

Council considered a petition meeting the criteria for debate under the Council’s petitions scheme in line with the procedure for large petitions stating:

Oxford City Council must fix the blue hole they have created. We the undersigned call on Oxford City Council to address the loss of health, fitness and exercise facilities in the ‘blue hole’ caused by the Labour-led City Council’s closure of Temple Cowley Pool in December 2014, and extended for five years in the Leisure and Wellbeing strategy 2015-2020 adopted in September 2015.

Nigel Gibson, the petition organiser, addressed Council.

There were no motions proposed by Councillors.

Councillor Smith moved, seconded by Councillor Price, that Council note the petition.

Councillors Gant and Simmons observed that an independent survey to gather evidence of the need identified in the petition would be helpful.

Council resolved to note the petition and to take no action.

1.    The Oxfordshire Partnerships Update reportdue to come to this meeting is not yet published. No partnership report will be taken this time.

2.    Each ordinary meeting of Council shall normally receive a written report concerning the work of one of the partnerships on which the Council is represented.

The programme of reporting at future meetings will be:

3.    As set out in procedure rule 11.15, Members who are Council representatives on external bodies or Chairs of Council Committees who consider that a significant decision or event has taken place, may give notice to the Head of Law and Governance by 1.00 pm on Thursday 23 November that they will present a written or oral report on the event or the significant decision and how it may influence future events. Written reports will be circulated with the briefing note.

There were no reports presented this time.

The Chair of the Scrutiny Committee has submitted a report which updates Council on the activities of scrutiny and other non-executive Councillors and the implementation of recommendations since the last meeting of Council.

Council is invited to comment on and note the report.

Council had before it the report of the Scrutiny Committee.

Councillor Gant moved the report and drew council’s attention to changes in officer support arrangements.

Council resolved to note the report.

This item has a time limit of 60 minutes.

The full text of motions received by the Head of Law and Governance in accordance with Council Procedure Rule 11.17 by the deadline of 1.00pm on 15 November 2017 is below. Motions will be taken in turn from the Liberal Democrat, Green, and Labour groups in that order.

Substantive amendments to these motions must be sent by councillors to the Head of Law and Governance by no later than 10.00am on 24 November 2017 so that they may be circulated with the briefing note.

Minor technical or limited wording amendments may be submitted during the meeting but must be written down and circulated.

Council is asked to consider the following motions:

a)    A tourism policy for Oxford (proposed by Councillor Wade)

b)    Call on Council to support conversion of buses into homeless accommodation (proposed by Councillor Simmons, seconded by Councillor Brandt)

c)    The United Nations Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities (proposed by Councillor Tidball, seconded by Councillor Paule)

d)    Fair employment: voluntary charter “Dying to Work” (proposed by Councillor Wilkinson)

e)    Call on Government to introduce a new Clean Air Act (proposed by Councillor Wolff, seconded by Councillor Simmons)

f)     Against harassment (proposed by Councillor Taylor, seconded by Councillor Smith)

g)    Free city centre wifi (proposed by Councillor Gant)

h)   Phasing out unnecessary single-use plastics (proposed by Councillor Brandt, seconded by Councillor Simmons)

i)     Support for the union national wage claim. (proposed by Councillor Price)

Council had before it nine motions on notice and amendments submitted in accordance with Council procedure rule 11.17 and published with the agenda and briefing note, and reached decisions as set out below.

Council resolved to adopt the following motions as set out in these minutes:

a) A tourism policy for Oxford, amended from the original

c) The United Nations Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities

Council resolved not to adopt the following motion:

b) Call on Council to support conversion of buses into homeless accommodation.

The following were not taken because the time for discussing motions had elapsed.

d)    Fair employment: voluntary charter “Dying to Work”

e)    Call on Government to introduce a new Clean Air Act

f)     Against harassment

g)    Free city centre wifi

h)   Phasing out unnecessary single-use plastics

i)     Support for the union national wage claim.

Proposed by Councillor Wade

Liberal Democrat member motion

Council notes that Oxford is a world-famous city. It is also the eleventh fastest-growing city in the UK but is still small in size – currently 161,000 residents.

The Under Secretary for Tourism, Tracey Crouch, has identified the need to encourage a higher percentage of tourists to move out of London. Currently 36.1 million international visitors come to the UK each year but 51% of them never leave London.

Oxford, not forgetting Bicester Village, is an easy destination, but it already receives seven million tourists p.a. which puts a strain on the goodwill of the local population and on the fabric of the city.

Since the fall in the pound, Oxford Tourism has been ‘booming’ (Oxford Mail: December 2016) and Bicester Village is now ‘one of Britain’s biggest tourist draws’ (Financial Times: April 2017)

There have been recent expressions of discontent, publicised in the international press, in the tourist cities of Venice, Barcelona and Majorca, and we should recognize that Oxford is not immune to these concerns.

The Council therefore asks the City Executive Board to commission a report about and to consider the following:

1.    discussions with other tourist cities and boroughs e.g. Bath, London Borough of Camden, about a joint approach to the introduction of a tourist levy, which will require Parliamentary legislation. This could be in the form of a hotel bed tax. Camden estimates that a £1 p.n. bed tax would raise £5m p.a. for tourism improvements, street cleaning etc;

2.    liaison with OxLEP, Experience Oxfordshire, and other organisations involved with the local tourist industry;

3.    making applications to the Events Industry Board and the Tourism Industry Council for event and tourist infrastructure funding;

4.    consider options for better coach parking arrangements and group management in the city centre;

5.    making an application for Unesco World Heritage status – already granted to Bath.

Councillor Wade proposed her submitted motion as set out in the agenda and briefing note, and accepted the amendment set out in the briefing note proposed by Councillor Clarkson.

Councillor Landell-Mills seconded the amended motion.

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

Council agreed the following motion:

Council notes that Oxford is a world-famous city. It is also the eleventh fastest-growing city in the UK but it is still small in size - currently 161,000 residents.

The Under-Secretary for Tourism, Tracey Crouch, has identified the need to encourage a higher percentage of tourists to move out of London. Currently 36.1 million international visitors come to the UK each year but 51% of them never leave London.

Oxford, not forgetting Bicester Village, is an easy destination, but it already receives seven million tourists pa which puts a strain on the goodwill of the local population and on the fabric and environment of the city.

Since the fall in the pound, Oxford tourism has been 'booming' (Oxford Mail: December 2016) and Bicester Village is now 'one of Britain's biggest tourist draws' (Financial Times: April 2017).

There have been recent expressions of discontent, publicised in the international press, in other tourist cities in the UK and Europe.

The Council therefore asks the City Executive Board 

1.    to continue to build its links with other tourist cities, such as Bath and the London Borough of Camden to share best practice on tourist management and to look at a joint approach with them on the introduction of a tourist levy, which will require Parliamentary legislation. This would enable tourist cities such as Oxford to spend money on additional street cleaning and the enforcement of restrictions on parking and idling coach engines.

2.    to continue to work with OxLEP, Experience Oxfordshire and other organisations involved with the local tourist industry;

3.    to continue to work with Oxfordshire County Council and Experience Oxfordshire on better options for coach parking and the management of large tourist groups in the city centre.

Proposed by Councillor Simmons, seconded by Councillor Brandt

Green member motion

This Council recognises that, despite on-going efforts to prevent the need for people to sleep rough on Oxford’s streets, there remains a large number of individuals in Oxford– namely those without an officially recognised local connection – for whom no immediate solution is available. [1]

This Council notes the launch of a scheme by Homes4All to convert buses into homeless night shelters [2], and recognises that those without a local connection would be able to use the bus.

This Council further notes:

·         the ambition of Homes4All to get their first bus up and running by the end of the year to be ready for this year’s cold spell;

·         the existence of a business plan prepared by Homes4All;

·         the potentially large amount of leverage a modest piece of financing from the Council could achieve in “pump-priming” this initiative;

Council therefore agrees to ask the Board Member to ask officers to consider and if necessary ask CEB to

approve a budget variation of £20,000 funding for Homes4All to be funded from surpluses or reserves, to be made available immediately subject to the usual due diligence checks.

[1] OCC Draft Homeless and Housing Strategy. Page 43. “To reduce rough sleeping and single homelessness we will: …explore feasible options to accommodate and/or support homeless rough sleepers in the City who have no local connection to the City or anywhere else, and no recourse to public funds.” 

[2] http://www.oxfordmail.co.uk/news/15648657.Buses_may_be_used_to_remedy_Oxford__39_s_homeless_crisis/

Councillor Simmons proposed his submitted motion as set out in the agenda and in the briefing note, seconded by Councillor Brandt.

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

Proposed by Councillor Tidball, seconded by Councillor Paule

Labour member motion

The Conservative government, and their coalition partners, has failed disabled people. It has failed to protect their human rights and to understand what it means to be a disabled person living in the United Kingdom today. In August of this year, the United Nations told the Conservative government that it's ‘social cuts policy is a human catastrophe for disabled people’. In their full inquiry, published last month, the UN Committee found reliable evidence [i] that there have been ‘grave’ and ‘systematic violations of the rights of persons with disabilities’ by the UK State. They make a direct connection between the State’s treatment of disabled people and the terrible rise in stigma and negative perceptions of people with disabilities ‘as living a life of less value than that of others’. Make no mistake about the impact this has had on disabled people:

·         13,900 of them have lost their motability cars;

·         41,792 were sanctioned and deprived of income from Job Seekers Allowance;

·         2,380 people died after being assessed as being fit for work [ii].

The UK Government has failed to recognise the overwhelming evidence provided to the United Nations and respond effectively to the UN Committee’s Concluding Observations.

Nature of the problem

The UN Report makes the causes of the ‘human catastrophe’ facing disabled people very clear: the ideologically driven and disproportionate ‘impact of austerity measures and anti-poverty initiatives’ introduced by the Coalition government from 2010 onwards. This has resulted in ‘severe economic constraints among persons with disabilities and their families‘. This has led to multiple forms of intersectional discrimination with the UK government failing to:

·         protect the rights of women and girls with disabilities;

·         protect the rights of persons from black and minority ethnic minority backgrounds with disabilities;

·         prevent many families with children with disabilities from falling into poverty.

The breaches  by the UK Government, of the United Nations Convention of the Rights of Persons with Disabilities, cut across the totality of the lives of disabled persons with the UN Committee finding there is a:

·         lack of UK State party-led initiatives aimed at assessing and sufficiently addressing the inclusion of and living conditions for persons with disabilities, including the reduction in the nature and time for social care support;

·         disabled people have reduced access to employment and where they do have access, it is less well paid and secure;

·         increased social exclusion and isolation and a corresponding rise in mental health problems as a result of the negative impact on the standard of living of persons with disabilities arising from ‘the reductions in social support, unemployment allowance, independence payments and Universal Credit payments and the insufficient compensation for disability-related costs’;

·         the reduced access to justice because of the reductions in legal aid.

These findings led the UN Committee to conclude that there was a ‘lack of consistency across the State party [the UK Government] in the understanding of, adapting to and applying the human rights model of  ...  view the full agenda text for item 68c

Councillor Tidball proposed her submitted motion as set out in the agenda and briefing note.

Councillor Paule seconded the motion.

Councillor Gant, seconded by Councillor Wade, proposed his amendment as set out in the briefing note.

After debate and on being put to the vote, the amendment  was declared lost.

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

Council agreed the following motion:

The Conservative government, and their coalition partners, has failed disabled people. It has failed to protect their human rights and to understand what it means to be a disabled person living in the United Kingdom today. In August of this year, the United Nations told the Conservative government that it's ‘social cuts policy is a human catastrophe for disabled people’. In their full inquiry, published last month, the UN Committee found reliable evidence [i] that there have been ‘grave’ and ‘systematic violations of the rights of persons with disabilities’ by the UK State. They make a direct connection between the State’s treatment of disabled people and the terrible rise in stigma and negative perceptions of people with disabilities ‘as living a life of less value than that of others’. Make no mistake about the impact this has had on disabled people:

·         13,900 of them have lost their motability cars;

·         41,792 were sanctioned and deprived of income from Job Seekers Allowance;

·         2,380 people died after being assessed as being fit for work [ii].

The UK Government has failed to recognise the overwhelming evidence provided to the United Nations and respond effectively to the UN Committee’s Concluding Observations.

Nature of the problem

The UN Report makes the causes of the ‘human catastrophe’ facing disabled people very clear: the ideologically driven and disproportionate ‘impact of austerity measures and anti-poverty initiatives’ introduced by the Coalition government from 2010 onwards. This has resulted in ‘severe economic constraints among persons with disabilities and their families‘. This has led to multiple forms of intersectional discrimination with the UK government failing to:

·         protect the rights of women and girls with disabilities;

·         protect the rights of persons from black and minority ethnic minority backgrounds with disabilities;

·         prevent many families with children with disabilities from falling into poverty.

The breaches  by the UK Government, of the United Nations Convention of the Rights of Persons with Disabilities, cut across the totality of the lives of disabled persons with the UN Committee finding there is a:

·         lack of UK State party-led initiatives aimed at assessing and sufficiently addressing the inclusion of and living conditions for persons with disabilities, including the reduction in the nature and time for social care support;

·         disabled people have reduced access to employment and where they do have access, it is less well paid and secure;

·         increased social exclusion and isolation and a corresponding rise in mental health problems as a result of the negative impact on the standard of living of persons with disabilities arising from ‘the reductions in social support, unemployment allowance, independence payments and Universal  ...  view the full minutes text for item 68c

Proposed by Councillor Wilkinson

 Liberal Democrat member motion

This Council seeks to provide support and guidance to all its employees. In its Fair Employment Statement published in October 2016, the Rights and Responsibilities section makes it clear that:

“Every employee and potential employee has the right to be treated with dignity and respect and not to be discriminated against, victimised, bullied or harassed or to be treated less favourably than any other on any basis of any protected characteristic.”

It is acknowledged that unforeseen events can affect the lives of council workers, and that it is important that the Council does all that it can to maintain the dignity of staff who have been diagnosed with a terminal illness.

Council notes that the TUC’s Dying to Work campaign includes a voluntary charter for employers to sign which sets out an agreed way in which their employees will be supported, protected and guided through their employment, following a terminal diagnosis.

The charter states the following:

·         We recognise that terminal illness requires support and understanding and not additional and avoidable stress and worry.

·         Terminally ill workers will be secure in the knowledge that we will support them following their diagnosis and we recognise that, safe and reasonable work can help maintain dignity, offer a valuable distraction and can be therapeutic in itself.

·         We will provide our employees with the security of work, peace of mind and the right to choose the best course of action for themselves and their families which helps them through this challenging period with dignity and without undue financial loss.

Council notes that a significant number of other city councils have signed up to this charter including Birmingham, Leicester, Liverpool and Sheffield.

This Council supports the TUC’s Dying to Work campaign so that all employees battling terminal illness have adequate employment protection and have their death in service benefits protected for the loved ones they leave behind.

Council therefore asks that Oxford City Council the Interim CEO signs the Dying to Work voluntary charter on behalf of OCC to show the Council’s to show its on-going commitment to supporting rights and responsibilities towards its staff.

It further requests that the Interim CEO of the City Council informs Oxfordshire County Council and the other district councils in Oxfordshire of its actions so that they may consider whether to follow its example.

References:

http://www.dyingtowork.co.uk/voluntary-charter/

http://www.dyingtowork.co.uk/charter-signatories/

This motion was not taken because the time for discussing motions had elapsed.

Proposed by Councillor Wolff, seconded by Councillor Simmons

Green member motion

This Council is committed to improving air quality within the city, which currently breaches EU limits. It recognises the need to take local action but also acknowledges that this can only take place within a supportive, national legal framework.

Currently, this is inadequate and lacking in many respects which is making the work of this Council in tackling poor air quality more challenging.

This Council therefore calls upon the UK Government to introduce a new Clear Air Act which should include consideration of the following:

1.            Enshrine the right to breathe in UK law. Ensure the UK becomes a world leader in the new technologies and industries that will help us clean up our air.

2.            Expand ‘Clean Air Zones’: It should expand and strengthen the network of Clean Air Zones across the country - limiting the most polluting vehicles, including cars, from entering air pollution hot-spots - creating funding for local authorities to invest in walking, cycling and clean public transport. These should be strong enough to ensure legal compliance on NO2 by the end of 2018.

3.            Increase VED: It should increase the first year Vehicle Excise Duty on new diesel vehicles (except vans) by around £800, to reflect the additional cost to society of dirty diesel engines, raising £500m to help fund a targeted diesel scrappage scheme.

4.            Diesel Scrappage: It should introduce a targeted diesel scrappage scheme to take diesel vehicles off the road as soon as possible, and ensure that all those who live within Clean Air Zones can affordably replace polluting diesel vehicles. As well as offering replacement clean vehicles, these schemes should also offer alternatives such as car club membership and rail season tickets.

5.            Fine the Cheats: It should set out a plan for how companies who cheated emissions testing would be fined.

6.            Independent Regulation: It should guarantee the independence of the Vehicle Certification Agency - changing the way it is funded ensuring that the car industry doesn’t have a disproportionate influence on its activities.

7.            Monitor Pollution Hotspots: It should ensure there is a comprehensive network of air monitoring stations in pollution hotspots - ensuring that air quality is monitored around hospitals, health clinics, and schools, so that those who are most vulnerable to the impacts of air pollution, notably children, the elderly and infirm, are protected.

8.            Active Transport: It should undertake a national review of transport system with serious investment in buses, trams and trains along with safe routes for walking and cycling. People need an alternative to car use and we must protect our towns, cities and countryside from the pollution and congestion that comes with new roads (in line with the recommendations of Andrew Gilligan's report to the National Infrastructure Commission).

9.            Clean Energy: It should scale-up investment in renewable energy - which, as it stands, is set to drop by 95% over next two years. Harnessing the clean energy that we have in  ...  view the full agenda text for item 68e

This motion was not taken because the time for discussing motions had elapsed.

Proposed by Councillor Taylor, seconded by Councillor Smith

Labour member motion

Council notes recent media reports around disclosures of sexual harassment but also reflects that most women, and some men, from all walks of life, have experienced unwanted attention including, in some cases, serious sexual assault.

Council welcomes responsible employers who encourage staff to report unwanted attention at work and who investigate and take action against those responsible.

Council also welcomes the work that has been done by the police to encourage women - and men - to come forward to report sexual assault whilst recognising that more still needs to be done to ensure that successful prosecutions are achieved where appropriate.

The City Council calls on all employers in Oxford to ensure that staff are aware of their rights to raise concerns and be listened to and how to report them. No woman or man should feel unable to challenge or report sexual harassment or assault.

This motion was not taken because the time for discussing motions had elapsed.

Proposed by Councillor Gant

Liberal Democrat member motion

Council asks officers to explore a scheme for free city centre wi-fi

Council notes that this council has previously supported a similar approach in Oxford, but that moves towards introducing such a scheme were not successful.

Council recognises that the situation regarding access to free wi-fi has evolved, with many cafes now providing coverage which covers parts of the city centre.

However, by definition this coverage remains by its nature fragmented.

Council believes the case exists for revisiting the Norwich model (see links), and asks the Board Member to ask officers to prepare a report for the City Executive Board into the feasibility of such a scheme for Oxford

http://www.edp24.co.uk/news/tech/norwich-city-centre-gets-free-wi-fi-1-4343291

http://www.norwichbid.co.uk/a-stronger-voice/wi-fi/

This motion was not taken because the time for discussing motions had elapsed.

Proposed by Councillor Brandt, seconded by Councillor Simmons

Green member motion

This Council resolves to request the Board Member to:

Request that a report be brought to CEB on the options for bringing an end to the use of unnecessary Single Use Plastics (SUP) in Oxford, taking account of the following measures to:

a)    enable Oxford City Council to become a full signatory of the ‘Plastic Free Pledge’, by phasing out the use of unnecessary SUPs in all City Council buildings, and working with commissioning partners to end the purchase and procurement of SUPs through the Council’s supply chain;

b)    encourage the city’s businesses, organisations and residents to go ‘plastic free,’ working with best practice partners in the city to explore the creation of a ‘plastic free network,’ that could provide business support, practical guidelines and advice to help local businesses transition from SUPs to sustainable alternatives;

c)    to incentivise traders on Council land to sell re-usable containers and invite customers to bring their own, with the aim of phasing out SUPs; including investigating the possibility of requiring food and drink vendors to avoid SUPs as a condition of their event permission, strengthening the existing conditions and guidance circulated to exhibitors and traders.

Supporting Information

There is a need to be aware of the damaging impact that Single Use Plastics (SUP) have on both our environment and public health, recognising that Oxford City Council has a key role to play in reducing plastic waste.

(1) Unnecessary (i.e. excluding medical items) Single-Use Plastics (SUP) used once before disposal e.g. bottles, cups and straws, are not widely recycled. SUPs can take up to 600 years to degrade, breaking into fragments that cause damage to the environment and permeate the food chain. Recent studies found that 72% of U.K tap water samples were contaminated with plastic fibres, and a third of all fish caught off the British coast contained plastic.

(2) The Plastic Free Pledge encourages organisations and individuals to reduce SUP waste https://plasticfreepledge.com/  A petition calling on the Government to reduce and end SUPs here: http://bit.ly/2xSFLhs 

(3) Several trailblazing businesses and organisations in around the Country have already implemented plastic free alternatives

This motion was not taken because the time for discussing motions had elapsed.

Proposed by Councillor Price

Labour member motion

Oxford City Council wishes to record its sincere thanks to its staff and to the two recognised unions (UNISON and Unite)  for the maintenance of a strong record of cooperation and mutual respect, reflected in particular in the conclusion of a further local pay agreement this year, and constructive negotiations relating to the establishment of the Local Authority Trading Company.

It notes however that:

·         For most workers in local government and schools, pay and other terms and conditions are determined by the National Joint Council (NJC) for local government services

·         On average, across the country, NJC basic pay has fallen by 21% in real terms since 2010

·         NJC workers had a three-year pay freeze from 2010-2012 and have received only  a 1% pay increase annually since then

·         NJC pay is the lowest in the public sector

·         The likelihood of rising inflation following the vote to leave the European Union will worsen the current public sector pay inequality.

This council therefore supports the NJC pay claim for 2018, submitted by Unite, UNISON and the GMB on behalf of council and school workers and calls for the ending of public sector pay restraint.

Council also notes the continuing real decline in local government funding in the face of increased levels of demand in many services and calls on the Government to provide the additional resources that will allow local authorities to fund a decent pay rise for NJC employees as well as the maintenance of the levels of service that citizens have a right to expect in an affluent society.

Council resolves to ask the Leader of Council to:

1.    to express Council’s support to the LGA for representations to be made to Government to fund the NJC claim and a pay spine review; and to

2.    write to the Prime Minister and Chancellor supporting the NJC pay claim and seeking the additional resources needed to fund a decent pay rise and a pay spine review.

This motion was not taken because the time for discussing motions had elapsed.