Agenda and minutes

The Lord Mayor welcomed all attendees to the meeting.

Apologies for absence were received from Councillors Bolton, English, Keen, Kirk and Tincknell.

To note any declarations of interest from the Councillors.  They are asked to indicate the relevant agenda item, the nature of the interest and in particular whether it is a disclosable pecuniary interest.

Any declarations of interest made at the meeting which is not on the register of interests should be notified to the Monitoring Officer for inclusion.

Councillor Clive Stevens declared the disclosable pecuniary interest that he had written a book of his experiences in local government.  He did not intend to withdraw for any item.

To agree the minutes of the previous meeting as a correct record.

On the motion of the Lord Mayor, seconded by Councillor Kent, it was

RESOLVED:

That the minutes of the meeting of the Full Council held on the 7 July 2020 be confirmed as correct record and signed by the Lord Mayor.

To note any announcements from the Lord Mayor

Avon County Council former Councillor Janet Reed

The Lord Mayor informed Full Council that former Avon County Councillor Janet Reed passed away in July after a long illness.  Councillor Reed was elected to represent Horfield for the Conservative party in 1989 and 1993 until the abolition of Avon County Council.  Councillor Abraham paid tribute.

Public forum items can be about any matter the Council is responsible for or which directly affects the city.  Submissions will be treated in order of receipt and as many people shall be called upon as is possible within the time allowed within the meeting (normally 30 minutes).  Further rules can be found within our Council Procedure Rules and Virtual Meeting Procedure Rules within the Constitution.

Please note that the following deadlines apply to this meeting:

a. Public petitions and statements: Petitions and written statements must be received by 12 noon on Monday 7 September 2020 at latest.  One written statement per member of the public is permitted.

b. Public questions: Written public questions must be received by 5pm on Wednesday 2^nd September 2020 at latest.  A maximum of 2 questions per member of the public is permitted.  Questions should be addressed to the Mayor or relevant Cabinet Member.

c. Members of the public who wish to present their public forum in person during the video conference must register their interest by giving at least two clear working days notice prior to the meeting by midday on Friday 4^th September 2020.

Public forum items should be e-mailed to democratic.services@bristol.gov.uk 

Further information can be found within the public information sheet attached to this agenda

Public petitions:

The Full Council received and noted the following petitions which were referred to the Mayor for consideration/ information:

Public statements:

The Full Council received and noted the following statements (which were also referred to the Mayor for his consideration/information):

Please note: Up to 10 minutes is allowed for this item.

Petitions notified by Councillors can be about any matter the Council is responsible for or which directly affects the city.  The deadline for the notification of petitions to this meeting is 12 noon on Monday 7^th September 2020.

There were none.

The Full Council considered a report of the Director – Legal and Democratic Services setting out details of a petition ‘Save Jubilee Pool’.  The petition had reached the 3,500 signature threshold to qualify for a Full Council debate.

Jules Laming, the petition organiser, was invited by the Lord Mayor to present the objectives of the petition.

The Full Council then debated the petition.

Following the debate it was:

RESOLVED:

That the petition and the comments from the debate be noted and referred to the Mayor for response.

The Full Council received a progress report from the Youth Mayors on behalf of the Youth Council.

RESOLVED:

That the report from the Youth Mayors and Youth Council be noted.

The Full Council considered the annual report of the Audit Committee 2019-2020.

Councillor Brain moved the report and the recommendations contained therein.

Councillor Mead seconded the report.

Following debate it was:

RESOLVED:

The Council notes the report of the Audit Committee and the Committees concerns that internal control arrangements at the Council are not yet as robust as they should be. The Committee will continue to monitor and support improvement required during 2020/21.

Note:

Under the Council’s constitution, 30 minutes are available for the consideration of motions. In practice, this realistically means that there is usually only time for one, or possibly two motions to be considered. With the agreement of the Lord Mayor, motion 1 below will be considered at this meeting, and motion 2 is likely to be considered, subject to time. Details of other motions submitted, (which, due to time constraints, are very unlikely to be considered at this meeting) are also set out for information.

MOTIONS RECEIVED FOR FULL COUNCIL – 8 SEPTEMBER 2020

Save Jubilee Pool (Golden Motion)

This Council is concerned that the future of this much-loved south Bristol swimming pool has once again been put under a cloud of uncertainty by the Labour Mayor.

The last review, conducted in 2017, over the cost of running this heritage facility, resulted in a plan and a promise to subsidise it for a further five years.  Council is therefore surprised that a consultation has now been launched around its proposed closure unless a community asset transfer can take place, even though the Administration’s own consultation does not recommend this course of action.

Given that this leisure pool serves some of the most economically deprived parts of the city, it seems unlikely and unrealistic to expect local users to muster sufficient finance to secure such an acquisition.

Consequently, Council calls on the Mayor to (i) withdraw this threat over the pool; (ii) allocate the necessary (and relatively modest) capital and revenue funding to enable it to continue to operate in a COVID secure and safe way, and; (iii) honour the previous agreement made with the provider Parkwood Leisure to maintain this public amenity until at least 2022.

Motion to be moved by: Cllr Graham Morris

Date of submission: 26^th August 2020

* * * * *

Atonement and Reparation for Bristol’s role in the Transatlantic Traffic in Enslaved Africans (TTEA) (Silver Motion)

This council notes that:

1. Bristol played a major role in the Transatlantic Traffic in Enslaved Africans (TTEA) which saw at least 15 million Africans forcibly trafficked to the Caribbean and America with many thousands losing their lives during the crossing from Africa to the Americas on ships registered in Bristol. A significant amount of the institutional and corporate wealth of our city was founded through this hugely regrettable inhumane episode in our collective history. ‘By the latter half of the century, Bristol’s position had been overtaken by Liverpool. But even as late as 1789, the trade to Africa and the West Indies was estimated to have comprised over 80 per cent of the total value of Bristol’s trade abroad.’ (1)

2. Around 2 million people of African descent live in the United Kingdom itself, including an estimated 30,000 plus in Bristol which includes a high percentage of African Caribbean descendants. (2)

3. In 1833 the British Government used £20 million to compensate enslavers, the debt for which was  ...  view the full agenda text for item 44.

Following a short adjournment, it was then moved by the Lord Mayor that standing order CPR2.1(xi) be suspended to allow the meeting to go past the 30 minutes time limit for motions.  Following a vote it was agreed to proceed up until a 60 minute limit.

Motion 1 – Save Jubilee Pool

Councillor Morris moved the following motion:

This Council is concerned that the future of this much-loved south Bristol swimming pool has once again been put under a cloud of uncertainty by the Labour Mayor.

The last review, conducted in 2017, over the cost of running this heritage facility, resulted in a plan and a promise to subsidise it for a further five years. Council is therefore surprised that a consultation has now been launched around its proposed closure unless a community asset transfer can take place, even though the Administration’s own consultation does not recommend this course of action.

Given that this leisure pool serves some of the most economically deprived parts of the city, it seems unlikely and unrealistic to expect local users to muster sufficient finance to secure such an acquisition.

Consequently, Council calls on the Mayor to (i) withdraw this threat over the pool; (ii) allocate the necessary (and relatively modest) capital and revenue funding to enable it to continue to operate in a COVID secure and safe way, and; (iii) honour the previous agreement made with the provider Parkwood Leisure to maintain this public amenity until at least 2022.

The motion was seconded by Councillor Eddy.

Councillor Rippington then moved the following amendment:

‘That the motion be amended to read as follows:

This Council is concerned that the future of this much-loved south Bristol swimming pool is regretfully under a cloud of uncertainty because of rising costs due to the coronavirus (covid-19) pandemic.

The last review, conducted in 2017, over the cost of running this heritage facility, resulted in a plan and a promise to subsidise it for a further five years. 

This Council notes:

(i)    a consultation has now been launched around its proposed closure, with the Mayor indicating a willingness to consider other options including a community asset transfer (CAT);

(ii)   the impact of the Hengrove PFI deal, signed in 2010;

(iii) more than 1,000 new public swimming pools opened under the previous Labour Government, contrasted with numerous pool closures and cuts under Bristol’s Lib Dem administrations;

(iv) the loss of at least 300 public owned and state school pools since 2010, contributing to more than one in three children leaving primary school unable to swim, following a decade of Tory cuts to local government;

(v)   the unforeseeable and far-reaching impact of the pandemic on leisure facilities in Bristol and around the country.

Given that this leisure pool serves some of the most economically deprived parts of the city, it seems unlikely and unrealistic to expect local users to muster sufficient finance to secure such an acquisition.

Consequently, Council calls on the Mayor to:

(i)    extend  ...  view the full minutes text for item 44.