Meeting documents

M I N U T E S

A G E N D A

 

1. LORD MAYOR’S ANNOUNCEMENTS [CPR 2.1(2)(iv)]

 

2. MINUTES OF THE MEETINGS HELD ON 10th NOVEMBER 2009 [CPR 2.1(2)(ii)]

(A) To approve the minutes of the Extraordinary Council meeting held on 10th November 2009; and

(B) To approve the minutes of the Council meeting held on 10th November 2009.

3. DECLARATIONS OF INTEREST [CPR 2.1(2)(iii)]

 

Note: To ensure accountable, open and transparent local democracy, a register of the financial interests of councillors, co-optees and advisers is available for public inspection. If you wish to see it please contact Mr Ian Pagan, Democratic Services Manager; telephone 0117 922 2387, email ian.pagan@bristol.gov.uk

 

4. REPRESENTATIONS FROM THE PUBLIC [CPR 2.1(2)(v)]

(30 minutes)

(a) Petitions

(Deadline for notification - 12 noon on 18th January 2010)

 

(b) Statements

(Deadline for notification - 12 noon on 18th January 2010)

 

(c) Questions

 

Notification of Petitions, and Statements should be either e-mailed to democratic.services@bristol.gov.uk or faxed to 0117 9222146 or sent to Bristol City Council, Democratic Services Section, Room 220, Council House, College Green, Bristol, BS1 5TR to arrive by the specified deadline.

 

It should be noted that these deadlines will be strictly enforced.

 

5. REPRESENTATIONS FROM MEMBERS OF COUNCIL - PETITIONS ON BEHALF OF MEMBERS OF THE PUBLIC [CPR 2.1(2)(vi)]

(a) Petitions (Deadline for notification - 12 noon on 18th January 2010)

(For statements and questions please see Item No 11 on this Agenda)

 

6. URGENT BUSINESS [CPR 2.1(2)(vii)]

 

7. REPORTS OF THE EXECUTIVE

(Time limit - 1 hour 30 minutes)

 

A. ASHTON VALE TO TEMPLE MEADS AND BRISTOL CITY CENTRE RAPID TRANSIT

 

Council is asked to comment on and approve the submission to the Department of Transport.

 

(Report of the Cabinet)

 

B. GAMBLING ACT 2005: REVIEW OF GAMBLING POLICY

 

Council is asked to approve the above policy.

 

(Report of the Cabinet)

8. REPORTS FROM SCRUTINY AND COUNCIL COMMITTEES

(Time limit - 1 hour 30 minutes)

A. COMBATING HUMAN TRAFFICKING - FINAL REPORT AND RECOMMENDATIONS

Council is asked to approve the recommendations of the Working Group.

(Report of the Community Cohesion and Safety Scrutiny Commission)

9. REPORTS OF THE MONITORING OFFICER

A. CHANGES TO THE LEADER’S SCHEME OF DELEGATION

B. POLLING DISTRICT REVIEW IN EASTVILLE WARD

C. POLLING DISTRICT REVIEW IN SOUTHMEAD WARD

10. MOTIONS [CPR 2.1(2)(xi)]

(Time limit - 45 minutes)

A. COUNCILLOR B JANKE TO MOVE:

BACK LOCAL BUSINESS

This council notes the Federation of Small Businesses’ “Keep Trade Local” campaign and supports the aim of encouraging people to shop, work and do business locally.

The council believes local shops and workplaces are an important green objective and support for them will help communities recover faster and stronger from the recession.

Council notes that a change in the arrangement for business rate collection and redistribution to allow councils to keep back some of these funds to be spent locally could be a powerful tool for local authorities to promote regeneration in their local communities by encouraging enterprise, small businesses, third sector projects, credit unions and other schemes.

Accordingly, council urges the leader to write to the Business Secretary, Lord Mandelson, for new legislation to allow authorities to retain some of the business rate proceeds.

B. COUNCILLOR M BRADSHAW TO MOVE:

REDUCING TRAVEL COSTS FOR YOUNG PEOPLE IN BRISTOL

Many young people in Bristol are being disadvantaged or excluded from a range of economic and social activities because of the high cost of public transport, particularly at peak times. This is further exacerbated by the lack of integrated ticketing which means that several tickets often need to be purchased for a journey. As a city, we want to see a high number of young people in further education or work related training. Bristol City Council therefore welcomes the initiatives by South Gloucestershire Council to invest over £1m in half fares for young people, and also the recent motion to B&NES Council, agreed by all parties, to address this important issue.

This Council therefore agrees:-

To set up a cross-party working group to examine the options for delivering reduced travel costs for young people aged 14-19 in further education or work related training, the scope and the potential cost of options.

The group should look at bus and rail travel within Bristol and should include representatives of young people, including MYPs and the Bristol Youth Select Committee.

Council should seek the support of the business community in assessing the scope for sponsorship and direct financial support, as in a number of other local authorities in England.

That the opportunity to develop a ‘Young Bristolian Card’ offering discounted or free travel, access to other public services and discounted retail and other goods should be fully explored.

Finally, Council asks the Executive to give urgent consideration to including a proposal for consultation, with cross-party support, for reducing the travel costs for young people in Bristol in the 2010/11 Budget.

C. COUNCILLOR DR M WRIGHT TO MOVE:

 

NEW NUCLEAR REACTORS

 

Council notes that:

1. The Government has announced plans to encourage the nuclear industry to build a new generation of nuclear power stations in Britain, including new reactors at Oldbury and Hinkley.

2. Preliminary “scoping” consultations are under way for those near both planned sites, but will not be coming to Bristol - despite Oldbury being just 8 miles from the city boundary.

3. The South-west has the best renewable sources of energy in the UK, little of which is currently used.

4. There has been - and always will be - considerable overlap between the technologies of nuclear weapons and nuclear-fission power, which allows countries to hide weapons programs inside civil power programs.

5. No nuclear power plant has ever been built without considerable public subsidy and guarantee.

 

Council believes that:

 

1. There is a real risk that focusing on new nuclear plants will undermine attempts to find a safer, cleaner, more sustainable and secure solution to our energy needs and that we should be concentrating our efforts by investing in energy efficiency and renewable energy.

2. New nuclear power stations will arrive too late to fill a possible energy gap.

3. There remain uncertainties on health and safety issues and there is no agreed solution to nuclear waste.

4. Putting pressure on foreign powers to limit their own nuclear programmes and halt nuclear weapons proliferation becomes much easier when we have demonstrated that civil nuclear power is not needed in the UK.

 

This Council therefore resolves to:

 

1. State its opposition to the development and expansion of nuclear fission power, and oppose the planned nuclear reactors at Oldbury and Hinkley where possible.

2. Request that the Chief Executive writes to the applicants and to the likely decision-making body, the Infrastructure Planning Commission, seeking assurances that Bristol City Council and the general public in Bristol are fully consulted in all future stages.

 

D. COUNCILLOR J GOULANDRIS TO MOVE:

 

“RENEWABLE ENERGY - BIOMASS”

 

Bristol takes pride in its credentials as a leading ‘green’ city and as a finalist in the European Green Capital Awards. As such we must continue to be at the forefront in promoting green and sustainable energy initiatives.

Using biomass is one of the ways forward to reduce our carbon footprint and maintain a secure energy source.

Nevertheless, as a Council we need to set out some guiding principles as to what is acceptable as a source of biomass, any transport implications arising from its importation and the need to consider the whole issue of global sustainability of such crops.

 

To this end, Council endorses the key principle that where possible all biofuels are sourced locally and are products which are environmentally sustainable.

Council is concerned about the potential impact of importing certain biofuels (such as palm oil) from half way around the world to generate electricity for us here. We should not be encouraging deforestation in South America, Asia or elsewhere, nor allowing the growth of energy crops where land should be used for growing food.

Transport is a major source of CO2 emissions. It is logical then that using biomass produced locally will help reduce emissions and it should be this Council’s aim to encourage more sustainable means of transport such as rail where this is at all practicable.”

 

11. REPRESENTATIONS FROM MEMBERS OF COUNCIL [CPR 2.1(2)(vi)] (40 Minutes)

(B) STATEMENTS

(Deadline for notification - 12 noon on 18th January 2010)

 

(C) QUESTIONS

 

Notification of Petitions, and Statements should be either e-mailed to democratic.services@bristol.gov.uk or faxed to 0117 9222146 or sent to Bristol City Council, Democratic Services Section, Room 220, Council House, College Green, Bristol, BS1 5TR to arrive by the specified deadline.

 

It should be noted that these deadlines will be strictly enforced.