Agenda and minutes

To approve as a correct record and sign the Minutes of the meeting of the Council held on 29 November 2018.

The Minutes (copies of which had been circulated) of the Meeting of the Council held on 29 November 2018 were approved as a correct record and signed by the Mayor.

To report any urgent action taken under the Constitution since the last meeting of the Council.

No urgent decisions were reported.

To receive announcements from the Mayor.

With deep regret, the Deputy Mayor reported that former councillor Les Jones had passed away on 13 December 2018.  It was started that Les had first elected to the Council in May 1991 in the then Heaton Mersey ward and also served as Mayor of the Borough in 2011/2012.   Les retired from the Council in May 2012 after 16 years of service to the Borough.

The Leader of the Conservative Group (Councillor Syd Lloyd) also paid tribute to the memory of former councillor Jones.

The Deputy Mayor then invited all those present to join her in standing for a minute’s silence as a mark of respect to the memory of former councillor Jones.

Councillors and officers to declare any interests which they may have in any of the items on the Summons for the meeting.

Councillors and officers were invited to declare any interests which they had in any of the items on the Summons.

The following interests were declared:-

Personal Interests

Personal and Prejudicial Interests

Members of the public were invited to put questions to the Mayor and councillors on matters within the powers and duties of the Council.

Seven public questions were submitted as follows:-

·         Relating to why the A6 to M60 Relief Road had been included in the new Greater Manchester Transport Strategy Delivery Plan and the Greater Manchester Spatial Framework when the contributions to last year’s SEMMMS Refresh public consultation had to be published or considered.

The Leader of the Council and Cabinet Member for Policy, Finance and Devolution (Councillor Alex Ganotis) responded that the A6 to M60 relief road has been included as an option for further development within the Transport Delivery Plan and that this was the case for all the schemes consulted upon as part of the SEMMMS Refresh consultation. The draft Delivery Plan did not make a commitment to deliver the scheme within the next five years and it explicitly recognised that funding had not been secured, rather it simply restated the Council’s existing policy.

·         Relating to a number of accidents that had taken place at the junction of the A555 near the Brookside Garden Centre.

The Leader of the Council and Cabinet Member for Policy, Finance and Devolution (Councillor Alex Ganotis) responded that the Council was aware of some minor incidents at the junction with Chester Road involving right turning vehicles going towards Poynton and not giving way to oncoming traffic. The layout and signals at that junction had been checked and although no issues were identified some road markings had been altered to remind drivers to wait and ensure that the road was cleared before turning right.  Councillor Ganotis stated that he was also aware of the very serious incident at the Macclesfield Road junction that had taken place earlier in the week, however as there remained an ongoing police investigation it was not possible to comment further.

·         Relating to the proposal to remove funding for the 300 Metroshuttle bus service and the need for a connective bus route in the light of proposals to increase the number of residential properties in the town centre.

The Leader of the Council and Cabinet Member for Policy, Finance and Devolution (Councillor Alex Ganotis) responded that he agreed that it was important that there was a connective bus service within the town centre.  However, while it was recognised that the 300 bus was a useful service, it nonetheless cost the Council over a quarter of a million pounds a year to operate.  Consideration was being given to patronage and usage patterns and also at alternative funding arrangements and whether other bus services could be diverted to mitigate the impact of the proposal.

·         Relating to the proposal to remove free school bus passes and the difficulties that pupils would face in getting to their school.

The Cabinet Member for Education (Councillor Dean Fitzpatrick) responded that the Council took the education of its young people seriously, however for a number of years the eligibility criteria for free school bus passes had been over and above both the statutory requirement and that of Stockport’s neighbouring local authorities in Greater Manchester.  The Council had fully considered the responses to the consultation and officers had been asked to prepare options for a staged implementation of the proposal to ensure that it would not impact on parents who had already made a decision about what school they would like to send their child to in 2019.

·         Relating to whether Stockport Council supported the re-regulation of bus services in Greater Manchester.

The Leader of the Council and Cabinet Member for Policy, Finance and Devolution (Councillor Alex Ganotis) responded that he personal supported bus re-regulation and that while he could not speak for other members, he considered that the majority of the Council would also support it.  However, the Bus Services Act placed a number of requirements on transport authorities prior to embarking on re-regulation which included  ...  view the full minutes text for item 2.(i)

To receive petitions, and by prior arrangement, receive delegations and presentations from members of the public, community groups or partnership organisations.

Digital Alliance

To receive a presentation from the Good Things Foundation which aims to demonstrate how they are supporting people to get online, with a focus on older people.

There were no petitions presented to the meeting.

Digital Alliance

Adam Micklethwaite  from the Good Things Foundation and Ryan McMurdo  from Starting Point attended the meeting and made a presentation in relation to the support being provided to help people get online.”

At the conclusion of the item, the Deputy Mayor expressed thanks to Adam Micklethwaite and Ryan McMurdo for their attendance and presentation.

(a)       Greater Manchester Police and Crime Panel

Councillor Sheila Bailey to answer questions, if any, on the business of the Greater Manchester Police and Crime Panel.

(b)       Greater Manchester Combined Authority

The following councillors to answer questions (if any) on the business of the Greater Manchester Combined Authority:-

(a)       Greater Manchester Police and Crime Panel

There were no questions in relation to the business of the Greater Manchester Police and Crime Panel.

(b)       Greater Manchester Combined Authority

Councillor Helen Foster-Grime asked when the Council was going to consult the people of Stockport directly about its specific plans to address air quality.

The Leader of the Council and Cabinet Member for Policy, Finance and Devolution (Councillor Alex Ganotis) responded that members had been provided with frequent updates on the progress of the Clean Air Plan.  It was also stated that the Plan would not include any proposal for the introduction of congestion charging in Greater Manchester.

It was confirmed that there would be a delay in the submission of the outline business case to the government beyond the deadline of the end of January 2019, and that the government had been kept fully informed on the progress of the business case.

It was stated that the outline business case would also need to be agreed by each of the ten Greater Manchester districts which would build in an additional element of delay.

Finally it was confirmed that the outline business case would be followed by a period of public engagement, and that there would be a further period of public engagement on the full business case as that was developed.

Councillor Helen Foster-Grime then asked why the Greater Manchester Combined Authority were not complying with the timetable imposed by the government for the submission of the outline business case, and what the potential implications of that were.

The Leader of the Council and Cabinet Member for Policy, Finance and Devolution (Councillor Alex Ganotis) responded that the outline business case needed to be evidence-led and that the greatest risk of legal challenge was not from the slippage of the timetable, but rather from accusation of predetermination. With regard to the legal implications of the delay in the submission of the outline business case, it was not clear what those might be, however the Council and the Combined Authority were receiving legal advice and on balance it was considered that it was a risk worth taking.

Councillor Hunter asked when the Leader of the Council had last raised concerns to the Mayor of Greater Manchester in respect of cuts to police budgets.

The Leader of the Council and Cabinet Member for Policy, Finance and Devolution (Councillor Alex Ganotis) confirmed he had done so most recently two days previously.

Councillor Hunter then asked whether the Leader of the Council would agree with him that the Mayor of Greater Manchester could and should be doing more on this issue in light of ongoing concerns from residents in relation to reductions in police resources and recent press reports that the SK8 postcode area was in list of the top ten areas for burglaries.

The Leader of the Council and Cabinet Member for Policy, Finance and Devolution (Councillor Alex Ganotis) stated that Greater Manchester Police had lost approximately 2,000 officers since 2010 and that he was personally aware of the impact this was having, particularly with regard to burglaries within the area identified by Councillor Hunter.  It was further stated that the government had recently commenced a consultation, as part of its provisional local government settlement, on the ability of local authorities to raise the precept from February onwards by up to £24.  It was therefore the view of the government that the response from authorities should be to increase the precept levied for policing to address this issue rather than expect additional resources from central government.

Councillor Hunter then stated that the Chief Constable had recently stated his own figures had shown that there had been a 17% increase in recorded crime over the last 12 month period in Greater Manchester and asked what more the Greater Manchester Combined Authority and the Mayor of Greater Manchester could do to address this.

The Leader of  ...  view the full minutes text for item 2.(iii)

To consider a report of the Cabinet Member for Children & Family Services.

The Cabinet Member for Children & Family Services (Councillor Colin Foster) submitted the Youth Justice Plan for 2018/19 (copies of which had been circulated).

RESOLVED – That the Youth Justice Plan 2018/19 be approved and adopted.

To consider a report of the Cabinet Member for Reform and Governance.

The Leader of the Council and Cabinet Member for Policy, Finance & Devolution (Councillor Alex Ganotis) submitted a report (copies of which had been circulated) detailing the annual review of the local scheme of Discounts and Exemptions which were available in respect of Business Rates and Council Tax.

RESOLVED – That approval be given to the following in respect of the Council Tax and Business rates Discounts and Exemptions:-

(1)       the Community Amateur Sports Club (CASC) Top-up scheme be continued for the year 2019/20, enabling CASCs to achieve 100% relief from Non-Domestic Rates, provided they met the qualifying criteria at Appendix 2;

(2)       the Charity Relief remain limited to the 80% Mandatory Relief for the year 2019/20;

(3)       the Rural Rate Relief continue to be limited to 50% Mandatory Relief for the year 2019/20 and should any village shops be established in the future then additional discretionary relief should be awarded up to 100%;

(4)       Stockport’s scheme for Discretionary Business Rate Relief post revaluation be maintained for year three and calculated as 15% of the increase in rates payable;

(5)       the 50% discount and qualifying criteria for Not for Profit organisations be maintained for the year 2019/20;

(6)       the local scheme for large businesses which were new to the Borough or those undergoing significant expansion in the Borough be continued for 2019/20;

(7)       the continuation of a case by case approach for Business Rates discounts where exceptional circumstances exist be continued for 2019/20 (it was unlikely that Exceptional Circumstances Relief would be awarded to an organisation which was in receipt of support from the Council, either grant funded or commissioned);

(8)       the local Council Tax Discount scheme be amended to reduce discounts to nil for properties that were empty & unfurnished (Class C) and those that were undergoing or having undergone, major repair work or structural alteration (Class D);

(9)       the premium charge added to Council Tax liability where a property has been unoccupied and unfurnished for more than two years is increased from 50% to 100% from 2019/20; 

(10)    any Council Tax liability for care leavers up to the age of 25 be reduced to zero for 2019/20;

(11)    Stockport’s Council Tax Support scheme is maintained for 2019/20 as detailed at Appendix 7;

(12)    DWP Universal Credit data sharing documents be treated as a claim for Council Tax Support;

(13)    new Council Tax Support claims following a break in entitlement to Universal Credit or Council Tax Support of up to six months were treated as being made on the date on which entitlement to Universal Credit resumed (or falls to a level at which CTS was payable) or six months before the day on which the claim was received, whichever was the later.

(14)    the Council Tax discretionary fund be refreshed to £100k for 2019/20, supporting customers facing financial difficulty, with no alternative means, with a further £100k being added to the fund per annum bringing the total to £200k; and

(15)      the setting of the Council’s 2019/20 Council Tax Taxbase at 95,100.8 Band D equivalent dwellings be noted.

To receive a report from the Leader of the Council and other members of the Cabinet on the conduct of Cabinet business since the last Council Meeting.

The Leader of the Council and Cabinet Member for Policy, Finance and Devolution (Councillor Alex Ganotis) reported that the Council continued to make preparations for Brexit, including the potential for a ‘no-deal’ Brexit.  It was stated that an advisory group of relevant Council officers would meet on a regular basis in addition to broader meetings involving representatives of the wider public sector across Stockport to consider Stockport’s response to Brexit as developments emerged.  Councillor Ganotis stated that it may be necessary to meet with members at short notice to discuss the Council’s in the coming weeks and months.

Councillor Ganotis then referred to the Greater Manchester Spatial Framework (GMSF) and the commencement of the consultation on Monday, 21 January.  It was stated that based on the government’s methodology, Stockport’s housing need had been assessed at 20,000 new homes over the next 20 years.  As a result of the collaboration with other local authorities through the GMSF, that figure had been reduced by 5,000 and the number of those that would need to be developed within the green belt had reduced from 12,000 to just under 4,000 in the latest iteration of the GMSF.

Councillor Ganotis then reported on the work taking place on the ambitious scheme for ‘Town Centre West’ and the ongoing work to bring about Greater Manchester’s first Mayoral Development Corporation (MDC).  Councillor Ganotis extended his thanks to members of the Town Centre/ M60 Gateway Task Force who had provided welcome challenge and constructive feedback over the last nine months and which has helped ensure that the case for the MDC was as strong and robust as possible.

The Cabinet Member for Education (Councillor Dean Fitzpatrick) reported on the ongoing work to progress the proposal to rebuild and expand Lisburne School to accommodate the increasing numbers of children requiring special school places.  Councillor Fitzpatrick announced that it was now proposed that the new building would be located on the site of the former Offerton High School subject to planning consent and formal sign-off of the decision through the Council’s decision-making structures.

The Cabinet Member for Children & Family Services (Councillor Colin Foster) reported on the work that had taken place to ensure that those children in the care of the local authority had the best Christmas that they could be expected to have.  It was stated that children had received presents through Key 103 Radio; Mission Christmas at Hits Radio; the Friends of Alexandra Park; hampers had been donated by the Rotary Club and from Hazel Grove Baptist Church.  In addition, members of staff both within children’s social care and the wider workforce had donated toys and various other presents.

It was further reported that a further development that had taken place in recent years had been a Christmas dinner for care leavers which had involved 29 care leavers and family members and up to ten staff volunteers who gave up their Christmas Day to support the event.

Finally, Councillor Foster congratulated Stockport Family for being awarded the Silver Award for the 2018 Best Social Work Employer at the Social Worker of the Year awards on 30 November 2019.

To answer questions and receive comments from Councillors addressed to the Leader of the Council or other members of the Cabinet, in accordance with Council Meeting Procedure Rule 11.

The Leader of the Council and Cabinet Member for Policy, Finance & Devolution and the Cabinet Members for Children & Family Services, and Education answered questions and responded to comments relating to the business of the Cabinet in accordance with Council Meeting Procedure Rule 11.

To receive the Minutes of the Cabinet held on 18 December 2018 and the record of executive decisions taken since the last Council Meeting, (schedule enclosed, decisions previously circulated) and consider any recommendations they contain.

The Deputy Mayor declared the Minutes of the Cabinet Meetings held on 18 December 2018 and the record of executive decisions taken since the last meeting of the Council to be duly received.

To receive a report from the Chairs of the Scrutiny Committees on the conduct of Scrutiny business.

To receive a report from the Chairs of the Scrutiny Committees on the conduct of Scrutiny business.

There were no reports from the chairs of the scrutiny committees on the conduct of their business since the last Council Meeting.

To answer questions from Councillors addressed to the Scrutiny Chairs, in accordance with Council Meeting Procedure Rule 11.

There were no questions relating to the business of the Scrutiny Committees in accordance with Council Meeting Procedure Rule 11.

To receive the Minutes of the following Scrutiny Committees:-

Adult Social Care & Health – 27 November 2018

Children & Families – 5 December 2018

Communities & Housing – 3 December 2018

Corporate, Resource Management & Governance – 4 December 2018

Economy & Regeneration – 6 December 2018

The Deputy Mayor declared the Minutes of the following Scrutiny Committees (copies of which had been circulated with the Summons) to be duly received:-

Adult Social Care & Health – 27 November 2018

Children & Families – 5 December 2018

Communities & Housing – 3 December 2018

Corporate, Resource Management & Governance – 4 December 2018

Economy & Regeneration – 6 December 2018

To receive a report from the Chairs of the Planning & Highways Regulation; Licensing, Environment & Safety; and Audit Committees on the conduct of their business since the last Council Meeting.

There were no reports from the Chairs of the Planning and Highways Regulation, Licensing, Environment and Safety or Audit Committees on the conduct of their business since the last Council Meeting.

To answer questions from Councillors addressed to the Chairs of Ordinary and Area Committees, in accordance with Council Meeting Procedure Rule 11.

There were no questions relating to the business of the Ordinary, Area and Ward Committees in accordance with Council Meeting Procedure Rule 11.

To receive the minutes of the following Ordinary and Area Committees:-

Ordinary Committees

Audit – 28 November 2018

Contributors – 29 November 2018

Funding – 12 December 2018

Licensing, Environment & Safety – 21 November 2018

Planning & Highways Regulation – 22 November 2018

Area Committees

Bramhall & Cheadle Hulme South – 13 December 2018

Central Stockport – 13 December 2018

Cheadle – 11 December 2018

Heatons & Reddish – 10 December 2018

Marple – 12 December 2018

Stepping Hill – 11 December 2018

Werneth – 10 December 2018

The Deputy Mayor declared the Minutes of the following Ordinary and Area Committees (copies of which had been circulated with the Summons) to be duly received:-

Ordinary Committees

Audit – 28 November 2018

Contributors – 29 November 2018

Funding – 12 December 2018

Licensing, Environment & Safety – 21 November 2018

Planning & Highways Regulation – 22 November 2018

Area Committees

Bramhall & Cheadle Hulme South – 13 December 2018

Central Stockport – 13 December 2018

Cheadle – 11 December 2018

Heatons & Reddish – 10 December 2018

Marple – 12 December 2018

Stepping Hill – 11 December 2018

Werneth – 10 December 2018

This Council Meeting notes:

·         the vital role played by Public Health, including our hugely successful vaccination and immunisation programme, support for those wanting stop smoking, and otherwise helping Stockport residents to lead healthier lives by avoiding diseases and unwanted pregnancies;

·         with grave concern the announcement of a further £85m cut to the Public Health Budget, as one of 12 ministerial statements published by the government on the last day of the parliamentary term before Christmas, only weeks after the Secretary of State for Health described prevention as his priority; and

·         this is on top of cuts to the Public Health budget announced since Summer 2015, totalling £531m.

This Council Meeting further notes:

·         the comments of the Health Foundation, who described these cuts as a false economy and who have calculated that an additional £3bn a year is required to reverse the impact of government cuts to the Public Health grant to date and have called for this increased budget to be allocated according to need; and

·         the warnings from the King’s Fund that such cuts could put pressure on councils to cut non-statutory sexual health prevention services, which could lead to more sexually transmitted infections and unplanned pregnancies.

This Council Meeting believes that our Public Health team perform vital work to help keep the residents of Stockport healthy and to avoid more costly admissions to hospital and other interventions by our NHS and that this should be properly funded by central government.

This Council Meeting resolves to:

·         thank our Director of Public Health and her team for the great work they do across Stockport despite continued financial challenges;

·         condemn the government’s use of the time just before Christmas to make announcements such as this;

·         call on the Leader of the Council and the Cabinet Member for Health to consider carefully how best to implement the required cuts to services which will result from continued government cuts to the budget; and

·          ask the Chief Executive to write to the Secretary of State for Health, calling on the government to deliver increased investment in Public Health and to support a sustainable health and social care system by taking a “prevention first” approach.

Moved by:                 Councillor Will Dawson

Seconded by:            Councillor Keith Holloway

MOVED AND SECONDED - This Council Meeting notes:

·         the vital role played by Public Health, including our hugely successful vaccination and immunisation programme, support for those wanting stop smoking, and otherwise helping Stockport residents to lead healthier lives by avoiding diseases and unwanted pregnancies;

·         with grave concern the announcement of a further £85m cut to the Public Health Budget, as one of 12 ministerial statements published by the government on the last day of the parliamentary term before Christmas, only weeks after the Secretary of State for Health described prevention as his priority; and

·         this is on top of cuts to the Public Health budget announced since Summer 2015, totalling £531m.

This Council Meeting further notes:

·         the comments of the Health Foundation, who described these cuts as a false economy and who have calculated that an additional £3bn a year is required to reverse the impact of government cuts to the Public Health grant to date and have called for this increased budget to be allocated according to need; and

·         the warnings from the King’s Fund that such cuts could put pressure on councils to cut non-statutory sexual health prevention services, which could lead to more sexually transmitted infections and unplanned pregnancies.

This Council Meeting believes that our Public Health team perform vital work to help keep the residents of Stockport healthy and to avoid more costly admissions to hospital and other interventions by our NHS and that this should be properly funded by central government.

This Council Meeting resolves to:

·         thank our Director of Public Health and her team for the great work they do across Stockport despite continued financial challenges;

·         condemn the government’s use of the time just before Christmas to make announcements such as this;

·         call on the Leader of the Council and the Cabinet Member for Health to consider carefully how best to implement the required cuts to services which will result from continued government cuts to the budget; and

·         ask the Chief Executive to write to the Secretary of State for Health, calling on the government to deliver increased investment in Public Health and to support a sustainable health and social care system by taking a “prevention first” approach.

At 9.30 pm it was

RESOLVED – That the meeting be adjourned.

The meeting reconvened at 9.39 pm

AMENDMENT MOVED AND SECONDED - This Council Meeting notes:

·         the vital role played by Public Health, including our hugely successful vaccination and immunisation programme, support for those wanting to stop smoking, and otherwise helping Stockport residents to lead healthier lives by avoiding diseases and unwanted pregnancies;

·         with grave concern the announcement of a further £85m cut to the Public Health Budget, as one of 12 ministerial statements published by the government on the last day of the parliamentary term before Christmas, only weeks after the Secretary of State for Health described prevention as his priority;

·         that the Public Health Award budget reductions announced in 2015 amount to a total of £531m to 2019/20, at a time of rising public health needs;

·         this has been compounded by the removal of government support for Local Authorities from 2010, which, as the LGA points out, have sustained disproportionately large reductions in government funding over this decade, particularly given Adult Social Care is the largest budgetary area for Councils; and 

·         that the cross-party LGA has noted further public health budget reductions could “undermine our ability to improve the public’s health and to keep the pressure off the NHS and social care”.

This Council Meeting further notes:

·         the comments of the Health Foundation, who described these cuts as a false economy and who have calculated that an additional £3bn a year is required to reverse the impact of government cuts to the Public Health grant to date and have called for this increased budget to be allocated according to need; and

·         the warnings from the King’s Fund that such cuts could put pressure on councils to cut non-statutory sexual health prevention services, which could lead to more sexually transmitted infections and unplanned pregnancies.

This Council Meeting believes that our Public Health team perform vital work to help keep the residents of Stockport healthy and to avoid more costly admissions to hospital and other interventions by our NHS and that this should be properly funded by central government.

This Council Meeting resolves to:

·         thank our Director of Public Health and her team for the great work they do across Stockport, which despite continued financial challenges has already made significant progress in moving to a preventative first approach;

·         ask the Chief Executive to write to the Secretary of State for Health, calling on the government to deliver increased investment in Public Health and to support a sustainable health and social care system with a “prevention first” approach; and

·         in that letter, note this Council’s dissatisfaction at the government’s use of the time just before Christmas to make announcements such as this.

At this stage in the proceedings (10.00 pm) the Deputy Mayor informed the Council Meeting that the provisions of Council Meeting Procedure Rule 9.1 (Duration of Meeting) had been invoked.

Upon the amendment being put to the vote:-

For the amendment 41, abstentions 10.

AMENDMENT CARRIED

Upon the amendment being put as the substantive motion, it was then

RESOLVED – (41 for, 10 abstentions) - This Council Meeting notes:

·         the vital role played by Public Health, including our hugely successful vaccination and immunisation programme, support for those wanting to stop smoking, and otherwise helping Stockport residents to lead healthier lives by avoiding diseases and unwanted pregnancies;

·         with grave concern the announcement of a further £85m cut to the Public Health Budget, as one of 12 ministerial statements published by the government on the last day of the parliamentary term before Christmas, only weeks after the Secretary of State for Health described prevention as his priority;

·         that the Public Health Award budget reductions announced in 2015 amount to a total of £531m to 2019/20, at a time of rising public health needs;

·         this has been compounded by the removal of government support for Local Authorities from 2010, which, as the LGA points out, have sustained disproportionately large reductions in government funding over this decade, particularly given Adult Social Care is the largest budgetary area for Councils; and 

·         that the cross-party LGA has noted further public health budget reductions could “undermine our ability to improve the public’s health and to keep the pressure off the NHS and social care”.

This Council Meeting further notes:

·         the comments of the Health Foundation, who described these cuts as a false economy and who have calculated that an additional £3bn a year is required to reverse the impact of government cuts to the Public Health grant to date and have called for this increased budget to be allocated according to need; and

·         the warnings from the King’s Fund that such cuts could put pressure on councils to cut non-statutory sexual health prevention services, which could lead to more sexually transmitted infections and unplanned pregnancies.

This Council Meeting believes that our Public Health team perform vital work to help keep the residents of Stockport healthy and to avoid more costly admissions to hospital and other interventions by our NHS and that this should be properly funded by central government.

This Council Meeting resolves to:

·         thank our Director of Public Health and her team for the great work they do across Stockport, which despite continued financial challenges has already made significant progress in moving to a preventative first approach;

·         ask the Chief Executive to write to the Secretary of State for Health, calling on the government to deliver increased investment in Public Health and to support a sustainable health and social care system with a “prevention first” approach; and

·         in that letter, note this Council’s dissatisfaction at the government’s use of the time just before Christmas to make announcements such as this.

To consider a report of the Cabinet Member for Reform & Governance.

RESOLVED - That the Annual Pay Policy Statement 2019/20 be confirmed and published in accordance with the Localism Act 2011.

To consider a report of the Cabinet Member for Economy & Regeneration.

RESOLVED – That approval be given to the applications to establish the Mellor, Marple Bridge, Mill Brow and Compstall (MMMC) Neighbourhood Forum; and the Mellor, Marple Bridge, Mill Brow and Compstall (MMMC) Neighbourhood Area, and that the Forum and Area be formally designated.

To consider a report of the Returning Officer.

RESOLVED – (1) That approval be given to the changes to Polling Districts and Polling Places as detailed in the report.

(2) That the Chief Executive, in consultation with the Group Leaders, be authorised to identify an alternative polling station, if necessary, for any polling stations unavailable on the date of the election.

Leader of the Council and Cabinet Member for Policy, Finance and Devolution to report.

RESOLVED – That consideration of this item be deferred to the next ordinary meeting of the Council Meeting.