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Agenda

Agenda

Venue: Council Chamber - The Guildhall

Contact: Stewart Agland  Email: stewart.agland@portsmouthcc.gov.uk

Media

Items
No. Item

1.

Declarations of Interests under Standing Order 13(2)(b)

2.

Minutes of the Meetings of the Annual Council Meeting held on 16 May 2017 and the Adjourned Council Meeting held on 16 May 2017 pdf icon PDF 71 KB

·         the Annual Council meeting held on 16 May 2017;

·         the Adjourned Council meeting held on 16 May 2017.

Additional documents:

3.

Communications and apologies for absence

4.

Deputations from the Public under Standing Order No 24

5.

Questions from the Public under Standing Order No 25

6.

Appointments - Temporary Deputy Member for the Hampshire Fire & Rescue Authority pdf icon PDF 262 KB

Temporary Deputy Member for the Hampshire Fire and Rescue Authority

 

To nominate one member to act as a temporary deputy member of the HFRA as requested in the attached letter.

7.

Urgent Business - To receive and consider any urgent and important business from Members of the Cabinet in accordance with Standing Order No 26

8.

LED Street Lighting Replacement Programme pdf icon PDF 57 KB

To receive and consider the attached report and recommendations of the Cabinet held on 29 June (minute 21 refers).

Additional documents:

9.

Recommendations from the Licensing Committee held on 23 June 2017 pdf icon PDF 4 KB

To receive and consider the attached report and policy statement and recommendations of the Licensing Committee held on 23 June (minute 13 refers).

 

For appendices relating to this item please see link to the Licensing Committee of 23 June - Licensing Committee, 23 June.

Additional documents:

10.

Licensing Act 2003 - Adoption of Statement of Licensing Policy pdf icon PDF 4 KB

To receive and consider the attached report and policy statement and recommendations of the Licensing Committee held on 23 June (minute 14 refers).

 

For appendices relating to this item please see link to the Licensing Committee of 23 June - Licensing Committee, 23 June

Additional documents:

11.

Recommendations from the Governance & Audit & Standards Committee Meeting held on 30 June 2017 pdf icon PDF 91 KB

To receive and consider the report (attached) and recommendations (to follow) of the Governance & Audit & Standards Committee held on 30 June 2017.

Additional documents:

12.

Review of the political balance on committees and panels pdf icon PDF 119 KB

To consider the Chief Executive's attached report.

Notices of Motion: Process information

Standing Order (32(d)) requires a vote by members before each motion to determine whether or not the motion is to be debated at the meeting or stand referred to the Cabinet or relevant Committee (including Scrutiny) to report back to a future meeting.

13.

Notices of Motion

13a

Notice of Motion (a) - The Committee System

Proposed by Councillor Colin Galloway

Seconded by Councillor Stuart Potter

"The current system of governance within our council, that of a portfolio holder selected by the Leader of the Administration to lead a small group of councillors in decision making in the various Cabinets. This system has its merits insofar as decisions can be made quickly and the overall responsibility for the final decision rests with the portfolio holder. The merits, however, tend to be overshadowed by the flaws, the main one being that the portfolio holder can simply overrule any suggestion that is not advantageous to the administration. Although opposition members are encouraged to attend Cabinet meetings they do not have a voice at these meetings which will sway any decision made by the portfolio holder.

The idea of having truly open and transparent committee meetings has already been put to this chamber previously but no vote was elected as a report had suggested that such a system would be expensive. I believe that it is now time to take that vote and begin the process to change to a committee system of governance in the interest of fairness and as a duty to our residents to show how their councillors support them and to work together to bring our city back to a safe, vibrant and prosperous place to live.

We therefore request this Council to ask the Governance and Audit and Standards Committee (which has responsibility under the Constitution for such matters) to consider this issue and report back to Council as they consider appropriate".

13b

Notice of Motion (b) - Homelessness

Proposed by Councillor Colin Galloway

Seconded by Councillor Stuart Potter

Sometimes it is not necessary to read the national newspapers to discover the truth. Sometimes it is right under our very noses. To say that homelessness has increased fivefold since two years ago is patently obvious with a cursory walk around our own city. I have sat on a Homeless Committee for a year now and nothing has happened. There is a lot of talk and a lot of good intentions but virtually no action. I believe that we have been going about this the wrong way, but now we need help. Every day there are at least four or five beggars - yes beggars, note I didn’t say homeless, who position themselves in shop doorways in Commercial Road precinct. Walk down that same precinct at night and you will see a lot more taking up temporary residence in their preferred doorways. Portsmouth City is no longer a welcoming city to either business or tourist because it seems we prefer to have vagrants.

It is time to get our Police and Crime Commissioner to put pressure on his police force to help us clean up this unwelcome detritus. These beggars, vagrants, rough sleepers, homeless, troubled folks or whatever label you want to put on them must be removed from our city and placed in specific care whether they want to or not. We have tried the soft approach and have found it wanting. It’s time for some serious tough love. We need to save our city and we need to save these lost souls.

This Chamber asks the Leader of the Council to write to the Police and Crime Commissioner to instruct the local police force to be more vigilant and to help the Council to remove the ever increasing beggars and rough sleepers that are beginning to dominate the city.

13c

Notice of Motion (c) - Congratulations to Land Rover BAR

Proposed by Councillor Alicia Denny

Seconded by Councillor Steve Hastings

The city council congratulates Sir Ben Ainslie and all of his Land Rover BAR team on reaching the semi-finals of the 2017 Louis Vuitton America's Cup in Bermuda and, in particular, the BAR Academy for winning the Red Bull Youth America's Cup.  Thanks are due to them for representing the country and the city so admirably and promoting Portsmouth as a centre of maritime excellence to a worldwide audience.  While appreciating the disappointment of not being able to bring the cup home this time, we hope the unique offer of sailing in Southsea is repeated in future years supported by BAR in their future endeavours.

To ensure we maximise on the unique and strong offer we have in Southsea with one of the best sailing locations in the world, the Council requests the Executive consider options of other sailing events to develop the city's economy to support jobs in the city through tourism.

13d

Notice of Motion (d) - Children and Social Work Act

Proposed by Councillor Ryan Brent

Seconded by Councillor Hannah Hockaday

The Children and Social Work Act provides the legal framework to support a programme of reform in children’s social care set out in the Government’s July 2016 policy paper ‘Putting Children First'. This Act is only the first legislative step, and places a duty on the Secretary of State to make a variety of Regulations, including provisions such as:

  • Local Authorities must publish information about their ‘local offer for care leavers’
  • Personal advisers must be provided for care leavers up to the age of 25
  • Extending the existing duties of local authorities and schools to children who have been adopted or placed in other long-term arrangements within their geography

Portsmouth City Council and the Conservative administration commends the government's action to strengthen support for young people leaving care; in particular extending the personal adviser service from age 21 to age 25, which will support young people make this important transition.

In Portsmouth there has been an annual average of 34 children who 'leave' the care of the city council and receive statutory support as care leavers. This costs an average of £13,194 per care leaver per year. However, due to the increase in Unaccompanied Minors entering the locality this number is set to increase by a predicted average of 8 in the coming years. In addition to this, the statutory extension from the age of 21 to 25 for Care Leavers' will add a further £383,000 pressure in year 1. This would see an additional demand pressure of £1,385,000 upon the Children, Families and Education directorate at the council by year 5.

This council requests the Chief Executive to write to the Secretary of State for Education, the Minister for Children and Families, the Chairman of the LGA as well as both Portsmouth constituency MPs, to ask the government to highlight their resourcing intentions, to ensure that the increase in demand pressure that this Act will place on Children's Social Care across all Local Authorities does not impact upon the quality of service delivered to vulnerable children and families.

13e

Notice of Motion (e) - Tackling delayed discharge

Proposed by Councillor Darren Sanders

Seconded by Councillor Ben Dowling

Council regrets the significant number of patients at QA who are medically fit to be discharged from an acute care hospital but for varying reasons cannot return home immediately.

Portsmouth Hospital NHS Trust believes this group to be about 240 people at any one time, about a third of whom live in Portsmouth.  Each one costs the NHS £500 for every day they remain in QA.

Such patients would be better served by short-term convalescent care. As such, Council welcomes the suggestion by the NHS Trust that a convalescent care home will significantly reduce the capacity and financial pressures this situation raises for the NHS, the people concerned and the Council.

Council also notes that discussions have taken place between it and the NHS on this matter and recognises there is already spare land the NHS is vacating at St James' Hospital where this could go.

As a result, Council asks the Cabinet Member for Health and Adult Social Care to work with the City's MPs, the NHS, officers within Adult Social Care and opposition spokespeople to produce a business plan for such a facility at St James' by the end of 2017.

14.

Questions from Members under Standing Order No 17 pdf icon PDF 142 KB