Agenda and minutes

The Lord Mayor welcomed all attendees to the meeting and issued the safety information.

Apologies for absence were heard from Councillors Bailes, Bradshaw, Cheney, Fitzjohn, Goggin, Michallat, Pearce, Poultney and Windows.

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.

None received.

To agree the minutes of the following previous meetings as a correct record:

24 May 2022 Extraordinary Full Council

24 May 2022 Annual Full Council

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

RESOLVED:

That the minutes of the previous meetings of Extraordinary Full Council and Annual Full Council held on 24 May 2022 be confirmed as correct record and signed by the Lord Mayor.

To note any announcements from the Lord Mayor

There was none.

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 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 Friday 1 July 2022 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 29 June 2022 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.

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

Public Petitions:

There was one public petition received which was referred to the Mayor for his consideration and response.

Public Statements:

Full Council received and noted the following statements, which were also referred to the Mayor for his consideration / information.

Within the time available, statements PS03, PS04, PS06, PS08, PS10 and PS11 were presented by individuals present at the meeting.

Public Questions:

Full Council noted that the following questions had been submitted:

Within the time available, the Mayor responded verbally to questions PQ04, PQ 08, PQ09, PQ13 and PQ14 also responding to supplementary questions.

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 4 July 2022.

None received.

Recommendation: That Full Council debates the petition and refers it to the Mayor / relevant Cabinet member for a formal response

The Full Council considered a report of the Director – Legal and Democratic Services setting out details of a petition ‘Residents Against the Mast in Redcatch Park’. The petition had reached the 3,500 signature threshold to qualify for a Full Council debate.

Sian Ellis-Thomas, the petition organiser, was invited by the Lord Mayor to present the objectives of the petition.

The Full Council 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.

Recommendation: That Full Council note the report.

Full Council considered a report from the Youth Council on their manifesto for the year ahead.

The members of the Youth Council were invited to present the report.

There was a debate and it was:

RESOLVED

That Full Council note the report.

Recommendation: That Full Council note the Equality and Inclusion Annual Progress Report 2021-22.

Full Council considered the Annual Report for the Equality and Inclusion Strategy.

Councillor Asher Craig moved the report and the recommendations therein.

There was a debate and it was:

RESOLVED

That Full Council note the report.

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

GOLDEN MOTION: COST OF LIVING

The Council notes:

·       Inflation has hit a 40-year high of 9%, with the cost of staple foods rising by 13%[1]

·       Electricity prices are set to rise by 54%

·       Rents in the South west have increased by 18% since to 2020.

The combination of these factors, as well as factors such as the rising cost of petrol, which has now reached £2 a litre, has left people struggling to make ends meeting.

Women are disproportionately affected by the rise in the cost-of-living[2]. Equally, research has found that people from racially diverse backgrounds are more likely to struggle paying bills, rent, or mortgages than people from white backgrounds[3], and disabled people will also be disproportionally affected by the increase in the cost-of-living[4]. This shows the cost-of-living crisis could have a profound, negative affect on Bristol’s efforts to create a more equal, fairer society.

The rising cost-of-living is exacerbated by continued cuts to benefits. The £34 billion cut from benefits spending by successive Governments has resulted in increased poverty - a figure that will likely increase due to inflation and real-terms benefits cuts.

The continued wage stagnation and rise in insecure working conditions, meaning inflation has a stronger impact on people’s discretionary income. Between 1992 and 2008, real wages went up by 36%; for 2008 to 2024 a rise of just 2.4% is expected. Currently, 2.8% of all workers in the United Kingdom were on a zero-hours contract, compared with just 0.4% in the mid-2000s.

This has contributed to in an increase in the use of foodbanks, with some 15% of people using food banks are thought to be in employment, with reliance on foodbanks up at least 25% compared to pre-pandemic levels.

The Labour administration has implemented a number of measures to help mitigate the impact of the cost-of-living crisis. These include suspending the eviction of council tenants, maintaining the Council Tax Reduction Scheme rate at 100%, and introducing the No Cold Homes strategy, which puts the city on track to eliminating fuel poverty by 2028 – among many other things.

This Council believes:

There is a cost-of-living crisis in the UK.

There is a rent crisis in the UK, which compounds the impact of the cost-of-living crisis for the 58,000 households in Bristol in private rented accommodation.

This cost-of-living crisis’ effect on the worst-off has been exacerbated by a decade of austerity, first imposed by the Conservative /  ...  view the full agenda text for item 11.

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 9.00pm.

Motion 1 – Golden Motion: Cost of Living

Councillor Nicola Beech moved the following motion:

Full Council notes that:

•          Inflation has hit a 40-year high of 9%, with the cost of staple foods rising by 13%

•          Electricity prices are set to rise by 54%

•          Rents in the South-West have increased by 18% since to 2020.

The combination of these factors, as well as factors such as the rising cost of petrol, which has now reached £2 a litre, has left people struggling to make ends meeting.

Women are disproportionately affected by the rise in the cost-of-living. Equally, research has found that people from racially diverse backgrounds are more likely to struggle paying bills, rent, or mortgages than people from white backgrounds, and disabled people will also be disproportionally affected by the increase in the cost-of-living. This shows the cost-of-living crisis could have a profound, negative affect on Bristol’s efforts to create a more equal, fairer society.

The rising cost-of-living is exacerbated by continued cuts to benefits. The £34 billion cut from benefits spending by successive Governments has resulted in increased poverty - a figure that will likely increase due to inflation and real-terms benefits cuts.

The continued wage stagnation and rise in insecure working conditions, meaning inflation has a stronger impact on people’s discretionary income. Between 1992 and 2008, real wages went up by 36%; for 2008 to 2024 a rise of just 2.4% is expected. Currently, 2.8% of all workers in the United Kingdom were on a zero-hours contract, compared with just 0.4% in the mid-2000s.

This has contributed to in an increase in the use of foodbanks, with some 15% of people using food banks are thought to be in employment, with reliance on foodbanks up at least 25% compared to pre-pandemic levels.

The Labour administration has implemented a number of measures to help mitigate the impact of the cost-of-living crisis. These include suspending the eviction of council tenants, maintaining the Council Tax Reduction Scheme rate at 100%, and introducing the No Cold Homes strategy, which puts the city on track to eliminating fuel poverty by 2028 – among many other things.

Full Council believes:

There is a cost-of-living crisis in the UK.

There is a rent crisis in the UK, which compounds the impact of the cost-of-living crisis for the 58,000 households in Bristol in private rented accommodation.

This cost-of-living crisis’ effect on the worst-off has been exacerbated by a decade of austerity, first imposed by the Conservative / Liberal Democrat coalition, and continued by successive Conservative Governments.

The Government U-turn on Labour’s demands for a windfall tax on energy firms is welcome, needed, and long overdue. However, further work is needed to help the worst-off during the cost-of-living crisis both  ...  view the full minutes text for item 11.