Agenda and minutes

The Lord Mayor welcomed all attendees to the meeting.

Apologies for absence were received from Councillor English.

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 meetings held on the 21^st and 26^th May 2020.

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 21^st and 26^th May 2020 be confirmed as a correct record and signed by the Lord Mayor.

To note any announcements from the Lord Mayor

Former Councillor David Sutton

The Lord Mayor informed Full council of the recent death of former Bristol City Councillor David Sutton.  David Sutton was a Labour Councillor who served Ashley Ward and Eastville Ward in the 1990’s.  Tributes were paid and condolences sent to his family and friends.

Elisabeth Standen

The Lord Mayor informed Full Council of the recent passing of Elisabeth Standen, a former officer of Bristol City Council.  Elisabeth was the Council’s first Disability Equalities Officer in the late 1980’s.  Tributes were paid and condolences sent to family and friends.

Honorary Alderman Claire Warren

The Lord Mayor informed Full Council of the sad news that Honorary Alderman Claire Warren had also recently passed away.  Alderman Warren had represented Bedminster Ward and also served as Lord Mayor 1994-1995.  Tributes were paid and condolences sent to family and friends. 

A minute’s silence was observed.

HMS Prince of Wales

The Lord Mayor highlighted to Full Council that the City of Bristol was formally affiliated with HMS Prince of Wales.  A video update prepared by colleagues at HMS Prince of Wales was shown.

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 6 July 2020.

There were 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 and the Virtual Meetings 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 6 July 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 1^st July 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 3^rd July 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:

There were no public petitions received.

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 PS01, PS03, PS07, PS08, PS09, PS10, PS11, PS12 and PS13 were presented at the meeting.

Public Questions:

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

Within the time available, the Mayor responded verbally to questions PQ03 & PQ04, PQ05 & PQ06, PQ12 and PQ13 also responding to supplementary questions.

The Full Council considered a report setting out the proposed Council’s Statement of Licensing Policy and Cumulative Impact Assessment Policy for the five year period for 2020-2025.

Councillor Shah moved the report and the recommendations contained therein.

Councillor Pearce seconded the report.

Councillor Negus moved the following amendment:

v. Council notes that members are dismayed at the disappearance of all the CIAs that have - for many years - provided the opportunity to protect the well-being of our local residents from public nuisance, and that members are very concerned that this loss will allow proliferation of noisy and unwelcome venues and the return of behaviours that it has taken some communities decades to get under control.”

vi. Council calls upon the Mayor to work with Licensing Officers to swiftly and successfully communicate to residents the urgency to assemble refreshed evidence and submit applications for new CIAs, especially in areas of clear licensing stress.

Councillor Clough seconded the amendment.

Following debate on the amendment, upon being put to the vote by way of a roll call, the amendment was LOST (31 members voting in favour, 34 Against, with 1 Abstention)

Upon the original recommendation being put to a vote it was:

RESOLVED:

That having consulted upon its proposed policy for the five year period from 2020-2025, and having had regard to the guidance issued by the Secretary of State under Section 182 of the Licensing Act 2003, the Licensing Authority for Bristol resolves to:-

(i) determine its statement of licensing policy with respect to the exercise of its licensing functions in respect of a period of five years beginning with 1 August 2020 annexed as Appendix 1,

(ii) direct that this policy be published on the Council’s web pages before that date.

(iii) determine that it is not appropriate to publish a Cumulative Impact Assessment Policy at this time.

(iv) to approve a consultation on a draft Cumulative Impact Assessment Policy in respect of the city centre with a revised boundary which will exclude the Broadmead area, annexed as Appendix 2.

The Full Council considered the Equality and Inclusion Annual Report 2019-2020.

Councillor Asher Craig moved the report and the recommendations contained therein.  Councillor Shah seconded the report.

Following debate, it was

RESOLVED:

That the Equality and Inclusion Annual Progress Report 2019-2020 be noted.

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 – 7^th July 2020

1.     Golden Motion - City of Hope: Rebuilding a more inclusive Bristol

City of Hope: Rebuilding a more inclusive Bristol

Full Council notes:

1. Coronavirus (covid-19) has seen 306,862 confirmed cases in the UK; 43,081 people nationally have died from covid-19, including some 262 people in the Bristol area, while the Financial Times estimates more than 65,700 excess deaths in total*; our thoughts are with their loved ones.
2. The accompanying economic impact is the worst since the Great Depression, and has seen 52,400 Bristolians furloughed, alongside significant job losses and financial hardship, increased foodbank usage, over £80 million support needed for Bristol businesses through the council, and a record national economic contraction of 20.4%.
3. Recessions and protracted economic crises always disproportionately affect those who are already vulnerable, living in poverty, and/or in insecure employment; something recognised in the campaigns to extend free school meals, support victims of domestic abuse and violence, house homeless people, including those with No Recourse to Public Funds, and provide additional help for asylum seekers.
4. This pandemic has disproportionately impacted on Black, Asian and Minority Ethnic communities, both in terms of numbers affected and proportion of deaths, but also the socio-economic impact; the pandemic has also disproportionately impacted on older people and disabled people, compounded by the Government’s decision to discharge people with the virus back into care homes and initial national shortages of personal protective equipment.
5. In weeks, the Government’s public position shifted from “provid[ing] whatever funding is needed for councils to get through this and come out of the other side” to not “want[ing] anybody to labour under a false impression that what they are doing will be guaranteed funded by central government”; as a result Bristol faces an £82 million gap, while all councils and communities, according to the LGA, “face an existential crisis.”
6. The horrendous death of George Floyd, and protests following it, further highlighted systemic racism around the world; the removal of the statue of Edward Colston has presented an opportunity for institutions in the City to re-examine their history and their current anti-racist equality practices.

Full Council believes:

1.  We want the Government to succeed in tackling the pandemic, but it has sadly fallen short in its management to date from preparedness to responsiveness, to an inability to work cohesively enough with local government or our NHS – thus presiding over the second highest deaths per million of any country.  ...  view the full agenda text for item 33.

Motion 1 – City of Hope: Rebuilding a more inclusive Bristol

Councillor Pickersgill moved the following motion:

Full Council notes:

1.       Coronavirus (covid-19) has seen 306,862 confirmed cases in the UK; 43,081 people nationally have died from covid-19, including some 262 people in the Bristol area, while the Financial Times estimates more than 65,700 excess deaths in total*; our thoughts are with their loved ones.

2.       The accompanying economic impact is the worst since the Great Depression, and has seen 52,400 Bristolians furloughed, alongside significant job losses and financial hardship, increased foodbank usage, over £80 million support needed for Bristol businesses through the council, and a record national economic contraction of 20.4%.

3.       Recessions and protracted economic crises always disproportionately affect those who are already vulnerable, living in poverty, and/or in insecure employment; something recognised in the campaigns to extend free school meals, support victims of domestic abuse and violence, house homeless people, including those with No Recourse to Public Funds, and provide additional help for asylum seekers.

4.       This pandemic has disproportionately impacted on Black, Asian and Minority Ethnic communities, both in terms of numbers affected and proportion of deaths, but also the socio-economic impact; the pandemic has also disproportionately impacted on older people and disabled people, compounded by the Government’s decision to discharge people with the virus back into care homes and initial national shortages of personal protective equipment.

5.       In weeks, the Government’s public position shifted from “provid[ing] whatever funding is needed for councils to get through this and come out of the other side” to not “want[ing] anybody to labour under a false impression that what they are doing will be guaranteed funded by central government”; as a result Bristol faces an £82 million gap, while all councils and communities, according to the LGA, “face an existential crisis.”

6.       The horrendous death of George Floyd, and protests following it, further highlighted systemic racism around the world; the removal of the statue of Edward Colston has presented an opportunity for institutions in the City to re-examine their history and their current anti-racist equality practices.

Full Council believes:

1.        We want the Government to succeed in tackling the pandemic, but it has sadly fallen short in its management to date from preparedness to responsiveness, to an inability to work cohesively enough with local government or our NHS – thus presiding over the second highest deaths per million of any country.

2.       The Mayor and administration have been right to call on Government to compensate Councils for both rising costs and falling revenues resulting from their efforts to lead the city through the pandemic.

3.       Black Lives Matter. We have a duty to understand the real, whole story of Bristol, and what it means to different communities, and to tackle systemic racism  in order to lead positive change and rebuild Bristol, but not in the image of the unequal city which existed before.

4.       Rebuilding a City of Hope, where nobody is left  ...  view the full minutes text for item 33.