Agenda item

In accordance with Council Procedure Rule No 10 to consider Motions on notice from Members.  Motions must be received in writing or by email to the Monitoring Officer by 12 noon twelve clear working days before the meeting. 

 

(a)      Motion proposed by Councillor R Shipman

 

North East Derbyshire District Council is committed to making our District a safer place for everyone.

 

Council notes:

·                 Public sexual harassment is the most common form of violence against women and girls, restricting their freedom of movement and expression;

·                 That in surveys, two-thirds of women and girls report they have faced street harassment in the UK;

·                 That street harassment in the UK is not covered by any specific offence, unlike in Portugal, Belgium and France;

·                 That stopping street harassment would be a powerful step in tackling inequality and keeping women safe;

·                 The incredible work of Our Streets Now, and their petition which has attracted over 200,000 signatures to make street harassment a specific crime;

·                 That, according to a report by Our Streets Now, only 14% of pupils have been taught about public sexual harassment at school; and that 47% of them would not report an incident of public sexual harassment to their school because they were afraid or feared they would not be taken seriously by staff.

 

Council believes:

·                 That we must create an environment where street harassment is seen and policed as a crime, and where girls feel safer on our streets;

·                 That we need to work together with our schools to ensure that anyone who is harassed will feel confident that their report will be treated with the respect, care and seriousness that is required;

·                 That changing the law, and education for our young people, are key planks in combating street harassment, establishing safer streets and delivering equality.

 

Council resolves to:

·                 Promote the Our Streets Now campaign to make street harassment a crime, and encourage all elected members, and residents to sign the petition;

·                 Ask the Leader of the Council to write to the two MPs who cover the District to ask them to show their support for this campaign by signing the petition and by lobbying ministers to make street harassment a specific crime;

·                 Ask the Leader of the Council to write to the Home Secretary to ask her to make street harassment a particular crime; 

·                 Ask schools and academies within the District to each develop a clear policy on tackling harassment, separate to their bullying policy;

·                 Ask local schools to include education and around public sexual harassment as part of their PHSE education;

·                 Ensure that the recommendations of the Our Schools Now report are communicated to schools with a view to implementing their recommendations.

 

(b)      Motion proposed by Councillor D Hancock – Seconded by Councillor R Shipman

 

Council notes that:

·              According to the Indices of Multiple Deprivation, 30.2% on North East Derbyshire live in some form of poverty;

·              According to the Office of Budget Responsibility, Unemployment as more than tripled during the coronavirus pandemic, with this figure likely to rise;

·              Results from a Finnish trial of Universal Basic Income (UBI) in 2017-18 showed improvements in employment and wellbeing for the group who participated;

·              A network of UBI Labs has been set up and works with local authorities across the UK developing UBI proposals to address poverty, inequality, discrimination and environmental damage, long-term and immediately, in relation to coronavirus.

 

Council believes that:

·                  This year more than any other has shown that when unexpected events take place, the precarious nature of low-paid, insecure employment is a major fault-line in the resilience of our economy;

·                  A UBI could help alleviate poverty, opening the door to opportunities that might otherwise be out of reach, and liberate people from the anxiety of job insecurity through a monthly income regardless of employment status, wealth, or marital status;

·                  A UBI will prevent the need for short term emergency financial supports in moments of crisis, such as a pandemic or financial crash;

·                  There are many potential benefits to a UBI including:-

o   More flexible workforce and greater freedom to change jobs;

o   Supporting a caring economy to value unpaid work;

o   Removing the negative impacts of means testing, benefit sanctions and conditionality;

o   Enabling greater opportunities for people to work in community and cultural activities or to train or reskill in areas that will be needed to transition to a lower-carbon economy

·                  This is the right time to trial Universal Basic Income.

 

Council resolves to:

·                  Write to the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, and the Chancellor of the Exchequer, calling for a fully evaluated and fully-funded trial of basic income in our district, as a result of the effects of the Covid pandemic;

·                  Work with other local authorities to help test UBI in Derbyshire.

 

(c)      Motion proposed by Councillor T Reader – Seconded by Councillor J           Barry

 

Preamble

Humans have already caused irreversible climate change, the impacts of which are being felt in the UK and around the world. Global temperatures have increased by 1 degree Celsius from pre-industrial levels. Atmospheric CO₂ levels are above 400 parts per million (ppm) and continue to rise. This far exceeds the 350 ppm deemed to be a safe level for humanity.

 

Without more significant and sustained action, the world is set to exceed the Paris Agreement’s 1.5°C limit between 2030 and 2040. Therefore the current UK target of net zero by 2050 is not satisfactory. It is too little too late.

 

The increase in harm caused by a rise of 2°C rather than 1.5°C is significant. This is described by the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change’s Special Report on Global Warming of 1.5°C published in October 2018. According to the IPCC, limiting heating to 1.5°C may still be possible with ambitious action from national and sub-national authorities, civil society, the private sector and local communities. The costs of failing to address this crisis will far outstrip the investments required to prevent it. Investing now will bring many benefits in the form of good jobs, breathable cities and thriving communities.

 

Council notes that: 

·                 This Council has declared a climate and ecological emergency;

·                 There is a Bill before Parliament—the Climate and Ecological Emergency Bill (published as the “Climate and Ecology Bill”)—according to which the Government must develop an emergency strategy that:

a.          requires that the UK plays its fair and proper role in reducing greenhouse gas emissions consistent with limiting global temperature increase  to 1.5 degrees C above pre-industrial temperatures;

b.          ensures that all the UK’s consumption emissions are accounted for;

c.           includes emissions from aviation and shipping;

d.          protects and restores biodiverse habitats along overseas supply chains;

e.          restores and regenerates the UK’s depleted soils, wildlife habitats and species populations to healthy and robust states, maximising their capacity to absorb CO₂ and their resistance to climate heating;

f.            sets up an independent Citizens’ Assembly, representative of the UK’s population, to engage with Parliament and Government and help develop the emergency strategy.

 

Council therefore resolves to:

·                 Support the Climate and Ecological Emergency Bill;

·                 Inform the local media of this decision;

·                 Write to local MPs, asking them to support the Bill.

 

In accordance with Council Procedure Rule No 10 to consider Motions on notice from Members. Motions must be received in writing or by email to the Monitoring Officer by 12 noon twelve clear working days before the meeting.

 

Three motions had been submitted, however motion A had been withdrawn.

 

Motion submitted by Councillor D Hancock

 

“Council notes that:

·                 According to the Indices of Multiple Deprivation, 30.2% on North East

          Derbyshire live in some form of poverty;

·                 According to the Office of Budget Responsibility, unemployment has more than tripled during the coronavirus pandemic, with this figure likely to rise;

·                 Results from a Finnish trial of Universal Basic Income (UBI) in 2017-18

          showed improvements in employment and wellbeing for the group who

          participated;

·                 A network of UBI Labs has been set up and works with local authorities across the UK developing UBI proposals to address poverty, inequality, discrimination and environmental damage, long-term and immediately, in relation to coronavirus.

 

Council believes that:

·                 This year more than any other has shown that when unexpected events take place, the precarious nature of low-paid, insecure employment is a major fault-line in the resilience of our economy;

·                 A UBI could help alleviate poverty, opening the door to opportunities that might otherwise be out of reach, and liberate people from the anxiety of job insecurity through a monthly income regardless of employment status, wealth, or marital status;

·                 A UBI will prevent the need for short term emergency financial supports in moments of crisis, such as a pandemic or financial crash;

·                 There are many potential benefits to a UBI including:-

o      More flexible workforce and greater freedom to change jobs;

o      Supporting a caring economy to value unpaid work;

o      Removing the negative impacts of means testing, benefit sanctions and conditionality;

o      Enabling greater opportunities for people to work in community and cultural activities or to train or reskill in areas that will be needed to transition to a lower-carbon economy

 

·                 This is the right time to trial Universal Basic Income.

 

Council resolves to:

·                 Write to the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, and the Chancellor of the Exchequer, calling for a fully evaluated and fully-funded trial of basic income in our district, as a result of the effects of the Covid pandemic;

·                 Work with other local authorities to help test UBI in Derbyshire.”

 

Members considered the motion submitted by Councillor D Hancock in respect of poverty in the District.

 

Council had a wide ranging debate on the motion, in particular, the merits of a Universal Basic Income (UBI) trial in North East Derbyshire.

 

The Leader of the Council, Councillor A Dale, spoke against the motion and argued that the concept of UBI was imbalanced as public money should be reserved for those who need it most, not provided irrespective of wealth. Council heard that the scheme would be costly and add to the national debt at a time when public finances were under significant strain. Councillor A Dale argued that the Government had offered generous support to people and their families during the Pandemic. The Leader of the Council also questioned the effectiveness of UBI, referring to a number of trials that had found it to be of little benefit.

 

Councillor N Barker supported the motion, the principle of a Universal Basic Income, and considered that a trial would be worthwhile.

 

Councillor R Shipman reiterated that it would be a trial and would benefit the poorest whilst driving economic growth.

 

Councillors B Lewis and C Renwick also spoke against the motion, arguing that it would fail to help the poorest and be unaffordable in Derbyshire especially given the impact of the Pandemic on the economy. Council heard that the Government had provided a crucial safety net through financial support and Universal Credit.

 

Councillor R Shipman seconded the motion.

 

On being put to a vote, the motion was defeated.

 

Motion submitted by T Reader

 

“Humans have already caused irreversible climate change, the impacts of which are being felt in the UK and around the world. Global temperatures have increased by 1 degree Celsius from pre-industrial levels. Atmospheric CO2 levels are above 400 parts per million (ppm) and continue to rise. This far exceeds the 350 ppm deemed to be a safe level for humanity.

 

Without more significant and sustained action, the world is set to exceed the Paris Agreement’s 1.5°C limit between 2030 and 2040. Therefore the current UK target of net zero by 2050 is not satisfactory. It is too little too late.

 

The increase in harm caused by a rise of 2°C rather than 1.5°C is significant. This is described by the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change’s Special Report on Global Warming of 1.5°C published in October 2018. According to the IPCC, limiting heating to 1.5°C may still be possible with ambitious action from national and sub-national authorities, civil society, the private sector and local communities. The costs of failing to address this crisis will far outstrip the

investments required to prevent it. Investing now will bring many benefits in the form of good jobs, breathable cities and thriving communities.

 

Council notes that:

·       This Council has declared a climate and ecological emergency;

·       There is a Bill before Parliament—the Climate and Ecological Emergency Bill (published as the “Climate and Ecology Bill”)—according to which the Government must develop an emergency strategy that:

a.     requires that the UK plays its fair and proper role in reducing

        greenhouse gas emissions consistent with limiting global temperature increase to 1.5 degrees C above pre-industrial temperatures;

b.     ensures that all the UK’s consumption emissions are accounted for;

c.     includes emissions from aviation and shipping;

d.     protects and restores biodiverse habitats along overseas supply chains;

e.     restores and regenerates the UK’s depleted soils, wildlife habitats and species populations to healthy and robust states, maximising their capacity to absorb CO2 and their resistance to climate heating;

f.      sets up an independent Citizens’ Assembly, representative of the UK’s population, to engage with Parliament and Government and help develop the emergency strategy.

 

Council therefore resolves to:

·       Support the Climate and Ecological Emergency Bill;

·       Inform the local media of this decision;

·       Write to local MPs, asking them to support the Bill.”

 

Members considered the motion submitted by Councillor T Reader in regards to climate change.

 

Council discussed the impacts of climate change, and the carbon reduction targets set by Government. Councillor S Pickering spoke in support of the motion, urging the Council to pressure Government to move more quickly. Councillor R Shipman urged the Council to listen and consult with residents on their views to the climate emergency that had previously been declared by Council.

 

At this point, Councillor N Whitehead left the meeting.

 

Councillor B Lewis spoke against the motion arguing that the Government’s targets were based on robust evidence.

 

Councillor O Gomez Reaney encouraged Council to vote against the motion and to instead engage and support local actions that would reduce the District’s carbon footprint.

 

Councillor M Jones seconded the motion.

 

Councillors T Reader, S Pickering and N Barker requested a recorded vote.

 

On being put to a vote, the motion was defeated.

 

For – (16)

Councillors N Barker, A Cooper, J Funnell, D Hancock, L Hartshorne, M Jones, P Kerry, J Lilley, S Pickering, T Reader, J Ridgway, R Shipman, L Stone, P Windley, B Wright.

 

Against – (26)

P Antcliff, W Armitage, S Clough, C Cupit, A Dale, L Deighton, P Elliott, M Emmens, A Foster, M Foster, O Gomez Reaney, R Hall, A Hutchinson, B Lewis, H Liggett, P Parkin, M Potts, A Powell, C Renwick, M Roe, K Rouse, D Ruff, K Tait, M E Thacker MBE, R Welton, P Wright.