Agenda and minutes

Attention is drawn to the ‘Public Information Sheet’ attached to this agenda.

The Lord Mayor welcomed all attendees to the meeting, and made a safety announcement in relation to the fire/emergency evacuation procedure.

Apologies for absence were receicved from Councillors Beech, Bradley, Breckels, Cheney, Davies, English, Jackson, Kent, Lovell and Radford.

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

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

RESOLVED:

That the minutes of the meeting of the Full Council held on the 21 May 2019 be confirmed as correct record and signed by the Lord Mayor.

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.

Councillors Bolton, Bowden-Jones, Brain, Clark, Gollop, Goulandris, Hance, Hiscott, Holland, Langley, Pearce, Sergeant and Mayor Rees declared a non-pecuniary interest in respect of the Silver motion concerning Avon Pension Fund.

Councillor Langley declared a non-pecuniary interest in respect of the Golden motion, that he was a member of First Bus Pension scheme.

To note any announcements from the Lord Mayor

There was none.

Please note: Up to 30 minutes is allowed for this item. Public forum items should be e-mailed to democratic.services@bristol.gov.uk

Public forum items can be about any matter the Council is responsible for or which directly affects the city.

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 15 July 2019 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 10 July 2019 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.

Please note: public forum submissions may be grouped according to the items that they relate to on the agenda.

Public petitions:

The Full Council received and noted the following petition:

Public statements:

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

Within the time available, statements were presented by individuals present at the meeting.

Public Questions:

The Full Council noted that the following questions had been submitted:

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 15 July 2019.

There were none.

The Full Council considered a report of the Director – Legal and Democratic Services setting out details of a petition calling for a bus franchising scheme for Bristol.  The petition had reached the 3,500 signature threshold to qualify for a Full Council debate.

Max Langer, 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/Cabinet Member with responsibility for Transport for consideration and response.

Annex to follow

The Full Council considered a report which outlined the Council’s response to the Climate Emergency and the actions proposed.

The Mayor moved the report and the recommendations contained therein.

Councillor Whittle seconded the report.

Following debate, it was:

RESOLVED:

That Full Council noted the Mayor’s response to the Climate Emergency and the actions he proposed.

The Full Council received and noted the annual statement from the Mayor of Bristol, Marvin Rees.

Councillors Hickman, Weston, Combley and Hopkins then responded to the Mayor’s statement on behalf of their respective political groups.

The Mayor then made a final response and summed up.

The Full Council considered a report which detailed the actions taken to implement the recommendations of the Council’s External Auditors, BDO, relating to senior executive remuneration.

The Lord Mayor moved the report and recommendations contained therein.

Following a debate there was call for a recorded vote, as outlined in CPR16.3 and appended to the minutes.

Following the vote the recommendation was CARRIED (38 voting for, 4 abstained, 18 voting against):

RESOLVED:

Full Council noted the actions taken to implement the recommendations of the Council’s External Auditors, BDO, relating to senior executive remuneration.

The Full Council considered the Corporate Parenting Panel Annual Report 2018.

Councillor Godwin, Cabinet member for Children and Young People moved the report and the recommendations contained therein.

At this point in the meeting, some young people in foster care/ care leavers addressed the meeting, sharing their experiences with Councillors.

Councillor Massey then seconded the report.

Following debate, it was:

RESOLVED:

That Council

1. Noted the progress, summarised in the annual report at Appendix A, on the delivery of Bristol’s Corporate Parenting Strategy overseen by the Corporate Parenting Panel.

2. Agreed the Priorities for 2019

The Full Council considered a report which outlined the statutory consultation process required within the review of the Council’s Statement of Licensing Policy.

Councillor Langley moved the report and the recommendations contained therein.

Councillor Abraham seconded the report.

RESOLVED:

Full Council approved a consultation in relation to the Council’s Statement of Licensing Policy and Cumulative Impact Assessment Policy.

The Full Council considered a report which outlined the use of special urgency provisions (APR16) in relation to decisions that were taken by Cabinet.

The Mayor moved the report and the recommendations contained therein.

Councillor Gollop seconded the report.

It was then:

RESOLVED:

Full Council noted the use of special urgency provisions (APR16) in relation to decisions that were taken by Cabinet in respect of Arnside and Glencoyne Square regeneration.

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 – 19 MARCH 2019 (deferred to 16^th JULY 2019)

GOLDEN MOTION - Bus Franchising for Bristol

Motion to be moved by: Cllr Hopkins, Knowle Ward, Liberal Democrats

Date of submission: 7^th March 2019

Council notes:

1.      The distrust and disappointment among residents of Bristol with their bus services.

2.      That large numbers of Bristol residents find themselves unable to access work opportunities due to the lacklustre service or find fares taking up a disproportionate amount of their income.

3.      That Bristol City Council has no direct control over the routes, timetables or vehicles that bus operators use in the city, but must use its influence to help address these problems.

4.      That in recent years congestion has worsened, increasing air pollution within the city leading to estimates of hundreds of deaths every year.

5.      That First Bus currently operates an effective monopoly in Bristol which has led to disdain for the people who pay their fares.

6.      That due to ill-advised past slashing of the railway network we are overwhelmingly reliant on our bus services as the main means of public transport.

7.      That London currently operates a successful bus franchising scheme, with Cambridge and Greater Manchester and others currently developing schemes for the future.

8.      That in the Bus Services Act 2017, bus franchising powers were devolved to the mayors of combined authorities.

Council believes:

1.      That to address all of the above problems there needs to be a fundamental change with buses in Bristol to a system that recognises public transport as a vital service.

2.      That a franchising model would allow greater competition within our public transport, making new operators available for local services.

 Council resolves:

1.      To request the Mayor to use his position on the West of England Combined Authority Committee to push for the establishment of a bus franchising system in Bristol, to gain control on behalf of the citizens of Bristol of routes, timetables, fares and emissions.

2.      That under a franchising system, all buses operating within the city should run on ultra-low-emission or zero-emission fuels within five years.

SILVER MOTION

Avon Pension Fund – Divestment and Diversification

Motion to be moved by: Cllr Martin Fodor, Redland Ward, Green Group

Date of Submission: 7^th March 2019

This council notes:

1.     In 2015 the Full Council resolved that the Avon Pension Fund (APF) should consider divestment from fossil fuels and diversification into clean technologies like renewable energy, energy efficiency and  ...  view the full agenda text for item 364.

Motions

Motion 1 - Bus Franchising for Bristol

Councillor Hopkins moved the following motion:

Council notes:

1. The distrust and disappointment among residents of Bristol with their bus services.

2. That large numbers of Bristol residents find themselves unable to access work opportunities due to the lacklustre service or find fares taking up a disproportionate amount of their income.

3. That Bristol City Council has no direct control over the routes, timetables or vehicles that bus operators use in the city, but must use its influence to help address these problems.

4. That in recent years congestion has worsened, increasing air pollution within the city leading to estimates of hundreds of deaths every year.

5. That First Bus currently operates an effective monopoly in Bristol which has led to disdain for the people who pay their fares.

6. That due to ill-advised past slashing of the railway network we are overwhelmingly reliant on our bus services as the main means of public transport.

7. That London currently operates a successful bus franchising scheme, with Cambridge and Greater Manchester and others currently developing schemes for the future.

8. That in the Bus Services Act 2017, bus franchising powers were devolved to the mayors of combined authorities.

Council believes:

1. That to address all of the above problems there needs to be a fundamental change with buses in Bristol to a system that recognises public transport as a vital service.

2. That a franchising model would allow greater competition within our public transport, making new operators available for local services.

Council resolves:

1. To request the Mayor to use his position on the West of England Combined Authority Committee to push for the establishment of a bus franchising system in Bristol, to gain control on behalf of the citizens of Bristol of routes, timetables, fares and emissions.

2. That under a franchising system, all buses operating within the city should run on ultra-low-emission or zero-emission fuels within five years.

Councillor Dudd then moved the following amendment:

Council notes:

1.      The distrust and disappointment among residents of Bristol with their bus services.

2.      That large numbers of Bristol residents find themselves unable to access work opportunities due to the lacklustre service or find fares taking up a disproportionate amount of their income.

3.      That Bristol City Council has no direct control over the routes, timetables or vehicles that bus operators use in the city, but must continue to use its influence to help address these problems.

4.      That in recent years congestion has worsened, increasing air pollution within the city leading to estimates of hundreds of deaths every year, and the Labour administration has taken action across the board to tackle this, with the Mayor recently meeting with the Minister.

5.      That First Bus currently operates an effective monopoly in Bristol which has led to disdain for the people who pay their fares but, under a franchising model an established economy-of-scale operator still remains the outright favourite.

6.      That due to ill-advised past  ...  view the full minutes text for item 364.