Agenda

To approve as a correct record and sign the Minutes of the meetings of the Council held on 12 January and 23 February 2023.

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

To receive announcements from the Mayor.

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

To receive any questions from and provide answers to the public in relation to matters relevant to the Council’s activities.

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

Stockport Homes

To consider a presentation from Stockport Homes following the approval of a motion at its meeting on 12 January 2023 in relation to ‘Learning from Awaab Ishak - Tackling Mould and Damp in Stockport's Rented Properties’.

(a)       Greater Manchester Police, Fire and Crime Panel

Councillor Tom Morrison to answer questions, if any, on the business of the Greater Manchester Police, Fire 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:-

To consider a report of the Cabinet Member for Finance & Resources.

To consider a report of the Cabinet Member for Finance & Resources.

To consider a report of the Cabinet Member for Finance & Resources.

(NOTE: This item is required to stand adjourned without debate until the next ordinary meeting of the Council Meeting on 13 July 2023).

To give approval to the appointment of Mr Philip Mills as a co-opted member of the Audit Committee with effect from 1 April 2023.

To consider a report of the Cabinet Member for Finance & Resources.

To move that:-

(1) Councillor Graham Greenhalgh be invited to allow his name to be submitted to the Annual Council Meeting for election to the Office of Mayor for the Metropolitan Borough of Stockport for the year 2023/2024.

(2) Councillor Kerry Waters be invited to allow her name to be submitted to the Annual Council Meeting for the appointment to the Office of Deputy Mayor for the Metropolitan Borough of Stockport for the year 2023/24.

To move that the date of the Council Meeting scheduled for Thursday, 5 October 2023 be amended such that it be held on Wednesday, 4 October 2023.

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.

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.

To receive the Minutes of the Cabinet held on 31 January (pages) and 14 March 2023 (to follow) and the record of executive decisions taken since the last Council Meeting, (schedule enclosed, decisions previously circulated) and consider any recommendations they contain.

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.

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

To receive the Minutes of the following Scrutiny Committees:-

Adult Social Care & Health – 19 January and 2 March 2023

Children & Families – 18 January and 1 March 2023

Communities & Housing – 16 January and 27 February 2023

Corporate, Resource Management & Governance – 17 January and 28 February 2023

Economy & Regeneration – 19 January and 2 March 2023

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.

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

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

Appointments – 27 February 2023

Audit – 15 March 2023

Employment Appeals – 11 January 2023

Health & Wellbeing Board – 1 March 2023

Health & Wellbeing Board (Better Care Fund) Sub – 14 February 2023

Licensing Sub – 11 January, 20 January , 14 February and 22 February 2023

Member – 13 February 2023

Planning & Highways Regulation – 15 December 2022 and 9 February 2023

Area Committees

Bramhall & Cheadle Hulme South – 26 January and 9 March 2023

Central Stockport – 26 January and 9 March 2023

Cheadle – 24 January and 7 March 2023

Heatons & Reddish – 23 January and 8 March 2023

Marple – 25 January and 8 March 2023

Stepping Hill – 24 January and 7 March 2023

Werneth – 23 January and 6 March 2023

Council notes:

·         At the local election being held in Stockport on the 4^th May 2023, the Conservative Government have said that voters will need to show photo ID to vote at polling stations. The new rules apply to all local elections, Police and Crime Commissioner elections, UK parliamentary by-elections and recall petitions and from October 2023 it will also apply to UK General elections.

·         Our democracy is stronger when more people take part in it. The voters should choose their leaders, not the other way around. There should be no gerrymandering or restriction of access to the vote for electoral gain.

·         At the 2021 Local Elections here was only one caution issued by the police for election fraud in the whole of the country, despite this the Conservative Government has estimated it will spend up to £180m over the next decade to introduce ID at polling stations.

·         The Electoral Reform Society says elections are generally very well run in the UK with extremely low levels of electoral fraud. In 2019, out of over 58 million votes cast there were only 33 allegations of personation at a polling station.

·         The Electoral Reform Society opposes the government’s policy for voter ID, saying it is an expensive distraction and we should instead be tackling “the huge challenges that undermine our democracy, not putting up paywalls around polling stations”.

·         Research shows disadvantaged groups are less likely to have ID. The richer you are, the more likely you are to have ID.

·         That the requirement to provide Photo ID will present a significant barrier for thousands of residents in Stockport to exercise their right to vote – and these barriers will disproportionally effect ethnic minority, low income, disabled, LGBT+, elderly and young voters.

·         The tremendous work that the Association of Electoral Administrators (AEA) and  Stockport Council Officers have done to create awareness and deliver this rushed through scheme

Council resolves to:

·         To utilise all existing channels and means of communication to supplement the publicity campaign by the Electoral Commission to make more voters aware of the need to show photo ID at polling stations in the May 2023 local elections and beyond.

·         Bring a report to the Corporate, Resource Management & Governance Scrutiny Committee, on the cost and impact this unnecessary legislation has had on Stockport.

Moved by:                  Councillor Georgia Lynott

Seconded by:            Councillor Malcolm Allan

This Council notes:

·         The countless miles of alleyway corridors that adjoin homes that make up Stockport’s inner town areas running behind rows of terraced houses, physically and socially connecting neighbours for over a century.

·         The Borough’s declaration of a Climate Emergency in March 2019.

·         A resolution agreed by Council in Jan 2023 around ‘Developing the Stockport approach to improving local biodiversity’ without any reference to urban areas.

·         Due to reductions in the Borough’s revenue budgets year on year since the start of the last decade, a reduction in the frequency of maintenance and cleansing of adopted alleyways as part of the Highways Department’s inspection programme.

·         Due to the recent public health emergency, the collapse of the agreement between SMBC and the Probation Service of the Community Payback work programme that enabled Council Officers to direct Community Payback work crews to gut alleyways.

·         Efforts by residents to clean and green their alleyways made difficult by the culture and leadership of the Council’s Highways Department.

·         Social isolation affects both individuals and the wider community. Health issues arising from isolation and loneliness lead to an increased use of health and social care services as well as a higher number of emergency admissions and GP consultations adding significant pressures to available public health resources.

·         The success of an intergenerational alleyway greening project in Edgeley in 2022. This was made possible from £6,000 grant from Groundwork GM  which has brought a natural ‘wildlife corridor’ into an urban space, provided a safe space for children to play, allowed a communal space for neighbours to meet and relax, markedly reduced fly-tipping and allowed intergenerational learning of new DIY, gardening and growing skills and improved mental health and wellbeing. 

This council recognises that/the:

·         The Council must be more ambitious and change the way it perceives its alleyways not as a problem to be dealt with through maintenance and inspection.

·         Potential for Stockport’s alleyways to become an urban green lung by creating spaces that can and have been enjoyed by people and contribute to mental wellbeing.

·         Many of Stockport’s residents in inner town areas do not have the benefit of accessing nature through visiting the Greenbelt.

This Council resolves that:

·         The Council produces a public facing guide that residents can utilise if they wish to pursue an alleyway cleaning and greening project, easily accessible from the Council website.

·         It does everything in its power through partnership working to ensure the Probation Service remains based in Stockport to ensure the Community Payback programme can return as a full-time programme to carry out tasks such as deep cleaning alleyways.

·         It recognises that alleyways play an important role in dealing with climate change and improving wellbeing in high density areas.

·         It will seek to source funding opportunities at national, GM and local level to support a programme of urban greening.

·         The Communities & Housing Scrutiny Committee be recommended to establish a scrutiny review panel to explore how the Council can explore unlocking Stockport’s communal corridors ensuring all Members are able to contribute.

Moved by:                  Councillor Matt Wynne

Seconded by:            Councillor Andy Sorton