Agenda and minutes

The meeting commenced at 6pm but immediately adjourned to allow Councillors experiencing problems accessing the remote meeting time to receive assistance from ICT officers.

(The meeting adjourned at 6.01pm and reconvened at 6.12pm)

Apologies for absence were received from Councillors Lucie Carrington, Darren Clifford and Michael Mumford.

To receive as a correct record the Minutes of the Meeting of the City Council held on 18 May 2020 (previously circulated). 

It was proposed by Councillor Wood, seconded by Councillor O’Dwyer-Henry and agreed unanimously that the minutes of the meeting held on 18 May 2020 be accepted as a correct record.

It was noted that the minutes would be signed by the Mayor when the minute book was available.

To receive declarations by Councillors of interests in respect of items on this Agenda. 

Councillors are reminded that, in accordance with the Localism Act 2011, they are required to declare any disclosable pecuniary interests which have not already been declared in the Council’s Register of Interests. (It is a criminal offence not to declare a disclosable pecuniary interest either in the Register or at the meeting). 

Whilst not a legal requirement, in accordance with Council Procedure Rule 9 and in the interests of clarity and transparency, Councillors should declare any disclosable pecuniary interests which they have already declared in the Register, at this point in the meeting. 

In accordance with Part B Section 2 of the Code Of Conduct, Councillors are required to declare the existence and nature of any other interests as defined in paragraphs 8(1) or 9(2) of the Code of Conduct. 

No declarations of interest were made.

The Democratic Services Manager reported that the public speaker, Ms Geraldine Onek, was online and could see and hear the meeting only.  ICT officers were assisting to enable microphone access. In view of this, the Mayor called for another short adjournment.

(The meeting adjourned at 6.16pm and reconvened at 6.23pm)

Upon reconvening, it had not proved possible to enable the public speaker to address the meeting. The Mayor informed Councillors he would take item 7, the Leader’s report, before item 6, whilst officers arranged for the public speaker to address council using a temporary telephone link up. Councillors would then return to item 6 to hear the address and question from Ms Onek.

To receive the Cabinet Leader’s report on proceedings since the last meeting of Council. 

The Leader presented her report updating Members on various issues since her last report to Council. She then responded to a number of questions from Councillors.

Resolved:

That the report be noted. 

To receive an address and a question from Ms Geraldine Onek, in accordance with the Council’s Constitution. The address and question are set out in the agenda papers.

To receive any further questions, petitions or addresses which may be submitted in accordance with the Council’s Constitution and notice requirements. 

One question and an address had been received from a member of the public in accordance with Council Procedure Rules 11 and 13 in the Constitution. The Mayor reported that the public speaker was now audible via a telephone link up.  He invited Ms Geraldine Onek to deliver her speech and question to the Council.

A copy of Ms Onek’s speech about slave trading in Lancaster in the eighteenth century and her question, about what steps the Council would take to bring the past to light and honour those who lost their lives, had been included with the agenda.

Councillor Sinclair, Cabinet Member for Communities and Social Justice and Councillor Parr, Cabinet Member for Arts, Culture, Leisure and Tourism, responded to the question raised by Ms Onek. Full details of the question and responses are appended to the minutes.

The Mayor thanked Ms Onek for raising these important issues with her address and question.

Report of Cabinet.

Cabinet had submitted a report to enable Council to authorise the Monitoring Officer to amend the Constitution at Part 2 Section 6. This was to reflect the delegations and joint arrangement for the new Joint Committee with Barrow Borough and South Lakeland District Councils established by Cabinet on 9 June 2020.

Councillor Lewis and the Monitoring Officer responded to questions from Councillors before Councillor Lewis proposed the recommendation set out in the report, seconded by Councillor Wood.

There was no debate, however it was indicated that there would be votes against the proposition, therefore a roll call vote was taken. The proposition was clearly carried.

Resolved:

(1) That Council authorises the Monitoring Officer to amend the Constitution at Part 2, Section 6 to reflect the delegations and joint arrangement for the new Joint Committee with Barrow Borough and South Lakeland District Councils.

To consider the following motion submitted by Councillor Paul Stubbins and Councillors Dant, Dowding, Frea and Young:-

Full Council notes that:

1.       In the light of the current Covid-19 situation, local authorities including Lancashire County Council have been asked by Government to act swiftly to reallocate road space to encourage cycling and walking and to enable social distancing

2.       Specifically, the Transport Traffic Management Act 2004: network management in response to COVID-19, published 9 May 2020 requires local authorities to make ‘significant changes to their road layouts to give more space for cyclists and pedestrians’ and includes adopting 20mph speed limits in built up areas as a measure to be considered.

3.       The Secretary of State for Transport has made available a £2billion fund and fast tracked statutory guidance that would enable Lancashire County Council to change the regulation of sections of its road system quickly.

4.       The Covid-19 crisis has led to a significant reduction in the volume of traffic through and around the City of Lancaster. The effect has been to produce a noticeable improvement in air quality and on many roads a more pleasant environment for pedestrians and cyclists.

5.       With reduced motor traffic however, there has also been higher speeds than usual seen on the A6 and it has been widely reported that the number of speeding drivers caught by traffic police has risen sharply.  Cyclist fatalities since 23 March have been revealed to be running at more than double the average for the time of year, with 14 cyclists in Great Britain and one in Northern Ireland losing their lives in road traffic incidents in the month that followed lockdown. 

6.       The A6 through Lancaster is constantly near the top of the table for serious accidents, according to the Road Safety Foundation, and monitoring of data every year from 2014 to 2019 has shown a consistent high level of killed or seriously injured cyclists to maintain that position.

7.       The improvements in safety for pedestrians and cyclists of reducing motor vehicle speeds from 30mph to 20mph, in terms of risk of serious injury, is widely accepted.  Already more than 20 urban authorities in the UK have a policy of setting 20mph as the default for all their streets.  Since 2011, Lancashire County Council has implemented a 20mph speed limit on many residential streets and outside schools, with a significant number of 20 mph zones created within Lancaster, however A roads have previously been excluded.

8.       A consistent level of support for 20mph limits has been shown by the British Social Attitudes Survey, who further point to evidence that support for 20mph limits increases after they have been implemented.

9.       Evidence of the impact of 20mph Speed Limitsproduced for the Scottish Government shows that (i) on urban streets in the UK, a 1mph reduction in vehicle speeds typically produces a 5% reduction in collisions (ii) that the profile of car speeds on roads with a 20mph speed limit and roads with a 30mph limit  ...  view the full agenda text for item 24.

Councillor Stubbins proposed the following motion having given the required notice to the Chief Executive in accordance with Council Procedure Rule 15:-

" Full Council notes that:

1)      In the light of the current Covid-19 situation, local authorities including Lancashire County Council have been asked by Government to act swiftly to reallocate road space to encourage cycling and walking and to enable social distancing

2)      Specifically, the Transport Traffic Management Act 2004: network management in response to COVID-19, published 9 May 2020 requires local authorities to make ‘significant changes to their road layouts to give more space for cyclists and pedestrians’ and includes adopting 20mph speed limits in built up areas as a measure to be considered.

3)      The Secretary of State for Transport has made available a £2billion fund and fast tracked statutory guidance that would enable Lancashire County Council to change the regulation of sections of its road system quickly.

4)      The Covid-19 crisis has led to a significant reduction in the volume of traffic through and around the City of Lancaster. The effect has been to produce a noticeable improvement in air quality and on many roads a more pleasant environment for pedestrians and cyclists.

5)      With reduced motor traffic however, there has also been higher speeds than usual seen on the A6 and it has been widely reported that the number of speeding drivers caught by traffic police has risen sharply.  Cyclist fatalities since 23 March have been revealed to be running at more than double the average for the time of year, with 14 cyclists in Great Britain and one in Northern Ireland losing their lives in road traffic incidents in the month that followed lockdown. 

6)      The A6 through Lancaster is constantly near the top of the table for serious accidents, according to the Road Safety Foundation, and monitoring of data every year from 2014 to 2019 has shown a consistent high level of killed or seriously injured cyclists to maintain that position.

7)      The improvements in safety for pedestrians and cyclists of reducing motor vehicle speeds from 30mph to 20mph, in terms of risk of serious injury, is widely accepted.  Already more than 20 urban authorities in the UK have a policy of setting 20mph as the default for all their streets.  Since 2011, Lancashire County Council has implemented a 20mph speed limit on many residential streets and outside schools, with a significant number of 20 mph zones created within Lancaster, however A roads have previously been excluded.

8)      A consistent level of support for 20mph limits has been shown by the British Social Attitudes Survey, who further point to evidence that support for 20mph limits increases after they have been implemented.

9)      Evidence of the impact of 20mph Speed Limitsproduced for the Scottish Government shows that (i) on urban streets in the UK, a 1mph reduction in vehicle speeds typically produces a 5% reduction in collisions (ii) that the profile of car speeds on roads with a 20mph speed limit and  ...  view the full minutes text for item 24.

Report of the Democratic Services Manager.

Council considered a report of the Democratic Services Manager to enable Council to make an appropriate nomination for a member, and substitute member, of the Lancashire Police and Crime Panel to Blackburn-with-Darwen Council, administrators to the Panel.

The Democratic Services Manager responded to a question regarding the administration of the Panel, which was required to be politically balanced across the Lancashire police area.

Councillor O’Dwyer-Henry moved, seconded by Councillor Hartley:

“(1)    That Councillor Sinclair, portfolio holder for Communities and Social Justice, be nominated for the Lancaster District seat on the Lancashire Police and Crime Panel for the municipal year 2020/21.

(2)     That Councillor Wood be nominated as named substitute for the Panel.”

There were no further nominations. With no one indicating that they wished to speak or vote against the motion, the Mayor declared the proposition clearly carried.

Resolved:

(1)     That Councillor Sinclair, portfolio holder for Communities and Social Justice, be nominated for the Lancaster District seat on the Lancashire Police and Crime Panel for the municipal year 2020/21.

(2)     That Councillor Wood be nominated as named substitute for the Panel.

Report of the Director of Corporate Services.

The Director of Corporate Services submitted a report informing Council of changes made by the Leader to Cabinet portfolios (details of the revised portfolios are appended to the minutes) and a COVID policy for spending delegations. The report to Council was required by Paragraph 4(b) of Section 2 of Part 3 of the Council’s Constitution, and was simply for noting.

Resolved:

That the report be noted.

Report of the Democratic Services Manager.

Members considered a report of the Democratic Services Manager regarding an appointment to the PATROL (Parking and Traffic Regulations Outside London) Adjudication Joint Committee. Information about the role and remit of PATROL was provided with the report.

Councillor Wood was nominated for appointment by Councillor O’Dwyer-Henry, seconded by Councillor Hartley.

There were no further nominations and the Mayor declared Councillor Wood appointed.

Resolved:

That Councillor Wood be appointed to the PATROL (Parking and Traffic Regulations Outside London) Adjudication Joint Committee, to represent the City Council.

Group Administrators to report any changes to Committee Membership.  

The Mayor informed Councillors that he had been notified of a number of appointments to Committees in advance of the meeting. These were:-

Councillors Lewis, Robinson and Whitehead to be appointed to the Chief Executive Recruitment Committee.

Councillor Lewis to replace Councillor Hanson on the Personnel Committee.

Councillor Whearty to replace Councillor Frea on the Appeals Committee.

Councillor Whitehead to replace councillor Biddulph on the Audit Committee.

Councillor Whitehead to replace councillor King on the Budget and Performance Panel.

Councillor King to replace Councillor Wood on the Overview and Scrutiny Committee.

These Labour group appointments and amendments were formally proposed by Councillor O’Dwyer-Henry.

Councillor Cleet then nominated Councillor Evans for the Chief Executive Recruitment Committee member for the Independent group.

All the appointments and amendments were then seconded by Councillor Gardiner, who also asked that he be added as a named substitute member for the Conservative group on the Personnel Committee.

No dissent to any of the proposals was indicated and the Mayor declared the appointments and changes to appointments, clearly carried.

Resolved:

That the following appointments and changes to committees be approved:

Councillors Evans, Lewis, Robinson and Whitehead to be appointed to the Chief Executive Recruitment Committee.

Councillor Lewis to replace Councillor Hanson on the Personnel Committee.

Councillor Whearty to replace Councillor Frea on the Appeals Committee.

Councillor Whitehead to replace councillor Biddulph on the Audit Committee.

Councillor Whitehead to replace councillor King on the Budget and Performance Panel.

Councillor King to replace Councillor Wood on the Overview and Scrutiny Committee.

Councillor Gardiner to be a named substitute for the Personnel Committee.

To receive questions in accordance with the provisions of Council Procedure Rules 12.2 and 12.4 which require a Member to give at least 3 working days’ notice, in writing, of the question to the Chief Executive. 

The Mayor reported that no questions on notice had been received from Councillors.

To receive the Minutes of Meetings of Cabinet held on 11 February and 30 April 2020. 

Council considered the Cabinet minutes of the meetings held on 11 February and 30 April 2020.

Resolved:

That the minutes be noted.