Agenda item
Motions
The following motions have been received in accordance with Procedure Rule 16:
1 The following motion has been received from Councillor Duncan Kerr and is supported by the Green Group
Motion to Shropshire Council on White Ribbon Accreditation.
According to the Government (https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/domestic-abuse-bill-2020-factsheets/domestic-abuse-bill-2020-overarching-factsheet ) over 2.3 million people suffer domestic abuse each year at a total cost to the public purse of over £66bn. We also know that two women a week lose their lives to domestic abuse and this number has increased during the Covid lock-down.
In Shropshire Domestic Abuse is a major cause of the escalating number of children being made subject to a Child Protection Plan and is the single biggest reason for Section 42 adult safeguarding enquiries and conclusions. West Mercia Police report that it accounts for 17% of reported crimes with a 22% increase year on year (https://www.westmercia-pcc.gov.uk/app/uploads/2020/11/PCC-Domestic-Abuse-Strategy-V4.pdf?x13793&x41491).
We are sure that all members of the Council welcome the Domestic Abuse Act 2021 which provides for a legal definition of domestic abuse and increases the powers and responsibilities of the Council to victims and survivors. However, if we really care about these victims we need to go further than simple legal compliance and follow the many Councils who are leading their communities in taking a stand against domestic abuse by becoming White Ribbon Accredited organisations.
This motion therefore resolves that Shropshire Council will seek to become an accredited White Ribbon Authority by March 2022.
2 The following motion has been received from Councillor Rob Wilson and is supported by the Liberal Democrat group
Active Travel
This council notes:
1. Shropshire Council declared a Climate Emergency in May 2019.
2. Shropshire Council unanimously voted to support Gear Change and ensure that all cycle infrastructure in Shropshire conforms to LTN 1/20 in September 2020.
3. In April 2021 Shropshire appointed an Active Travel Officer to lead on the development of a Local Cycling and Walking Infrastructure Plan for Shropshire (LCWIP), as well as other active travel projects.
4. According to the Cabinet Member for Highways and Infrastructure, the total capital budget available to highways for 2021/22 is approximately £28.5m.
5. £0.314m has been specifically allocated to active travel measures, this is just over 1%., and approximately £1 per head of population.
6. Shropshire Climate Action Partnership (of which Shropshire Council is a founding member), Living Streets, Sustrans and Cycling UK all agree that Local Authorities should commit 10% over their highways budget to Active Travel.
7. In Scotland it was announced in August 2021 that the governing parties will increase the proportion of Transport Scotland’s budget spent on Active Travel initiatives so that by 2024-25 at least £320 million or 10 per cent of the total transport budget will be allocated to active travel. That's around a threefold increase on the 3.5 per cent of the transport budget currently allocated to active travel. This is nearly £60 per head of population.
8. Research by Nottingham Trent University in 2020 determined that Local Authorities spend on average £2 per head of population on active travel.
9. Research by Cycling UK in 2021 determined that Local Authorities spend on average per head of population £2.58 on active travel measures from Core Funding.
10.In Groningen in the Netherlands they spend €85 euro per head of population.
11.The economic case for investment in active travel is strong. We get £5.50 for every £1 we invest and the benefits are cross-cutting: a healthier population; stronger, safer local communities; better access to jobs and education; and lower levels of pollution.
12.Enabling active travel is important in Shropshire’s rural and urban communities alike.
13.Research by YouGov in July 2020 found that 77% of the people in the UK are in support of road space reallocation to enable safer cycling and walking.
14.To date Shropshire has been awarded £86,000 from Tranche 1 of the Active Travel Fund, and £259.500 from Tranche 2.
15.In “Gear Change: one year on” (July 2021) it was stated by the Government that Local Authorities who do not take Active Travel seriously will see their funding reduced.
16.On 28 July 2020, the Government of the United Kingdom announced the establishment of Active Travel England as part of a Gear Change. Active Travel England will be an inspectorate and funding body. Active Travel England will act as a statutory consultee within the planning system to press for adequate walking and cycling provision in all developments over a certain threshold.
This council resolves:
1. To make Active Travel England a statutory consultee on all planning applications in Shropshire.
2. To support the ambition of 10% of highways funding being allocated to active travel measures.
3. To ensure that all active travel measures conform to LTN 1/20.
4. That the Cabinet Member for Highways should report to the Council in September of each year, what percentage of the total highways budget has been spent on active travel measures in the preceding financial year.
5. To increase spending on Active Travel Measures by 3% of the total highways capital budget each year.
a. 2022/23 – 4% of the total highways budget
b. 2023/24 – 7% of the total highways budget
c. 2024/25 – 10% of the total highways budget
3. The following motion has been received from Councillor Alex Wagner and is supported by the Liberal Democrat group
Motion of support for the 'Shrewsbury Horseshoe' bus route
Council notes:
- The Government's recent Bus Back Better Campaign which calls on Shropshire Council to construct a comprehensive Bus Service Improvement Plan (BSIP)
- The Government's Active Travel Policies – Local Cycling and Walking Infrastructure Plan (LCWIP) , Mini Holland Bids, Low Traffic Neighbourhoods and School Streets Initiative.
- Shropshire Council's support for the Shrewsbury Big Town plan and the Government’s Active Travel Policies
- That there is an urgent need to dramatically reduce our carbon footprint.
- That current bus services in Shrewsbury do not link places that people need to visit - a poor service for those who do not own car and not one that will encourage car owners to leave their vehicle at home.
- The 'Shrewsbury Horseshoe' bus route proposal as discussed at the 13th September Shrewsbury Town Council meeting, in the Shropshire Star, and as supported by Shrewsbury Town FC, the Bus Users Shropshire Group, and the Zero Carbon Shropshire Group.
Council resolves;
- To support the proposal for a new 'Shrewsbury Horseshoe' peripheral bus route and its potential to be an integral part of the Bus Service Improvement Plan (BSIP).
4. The following motion has been received from Councillor Roy Aldcroft and is supported by Councillors David Evans, Kirstie Hurst-Knight and John Price.
Closure of Community Ambulance Stations
As local representatives of our communities we are concerned that West Midlands Ambulance Service is proposing to close Community Ambulance Stations across Shropshire. The reason given being the costs of these rest points and operational efficiency. We are also very unhappy that the town councils have not been advised or consulted about this review.
We do not agree with the closure of the Community Ambulance Stations in Shropshire for the following reasons:
a. The public have always been keen to support their local ambulance stations. During the 1990’s the service was reliant from all four of these areas to buy lifesaving paramedic equipment and supporting Community First Responder Schemes. The community identifies with its ambulance station in a similar way to community fire stations.
b. Given that Ambulance Crews are mobile almost as soon as their shift starts, the ‘local crew’ may not spend much time at their station. That includes the hubs at Shrewsbury and Donnington. With that we agree, however, those crews are travelling areas all over the West Midlands and may make use of these Community Stations for short periods instead of returning to the hubs at Shrewsbury and Donnington.
c. The stations deemed for closure are all in the vicinity of major routes, the A5, A49, A53 and A442 used by many ambulances as they answer or return from calls. These Community Ambulance Stations give an added layer of flexibility for crew welfare and standby along major routes. After all we don’t want to return to the days of using laybys as standby points.
d. Community Ambulance Stations provide a backup in remote parts of the county where crews can get a break, wherever they started from. This provides an element of ‘rolling cover’ throughout this, the largest inland county in the UK particularly in a county with regular floods and snow challenges.
e. The amount of money saved will be minimal, just enough to equip a modern ambulance, rather than the ambulance or its crew.
f. Patient handovers at receiving hospitals have been a major problem for many years even before the pandemic. Loosing 1,000 hours of operational time in July 2021, taking something like 85 ambulances of the road. Now, that does have serious financial consequences. Now that does need sorting!
This proposed closure exercise merely tinkers around the edges it does not address the biggest drain on resources. When paramedic crews are held at hospital for such long periods, is it not the case that High dependency crews, without the equipment and training, are attending Cat 1 and Cat 2 calls until qualified assistance is available?
For these reasons we strongly object to the closure of these Community Ambulance Stations and therefore this Council resolves to:
1. Ask the Leader and Chief Executive to write to West Midlands Ambulance Service to express our opposition to the proposed closures
2. Ask the Leader and Chief Executive to write to local MPs to raise the proposals with the Secretary of State for Health & Social Care
5 The following motion has been received from Councillor Nat Green and is supported by the Liberal Democrat Group
Motion of support for blue-badge friendly Shrewsbury Town Centre pedestrianisation
Council notes;
- Trial pedestrianisation of Shrewsbury Town Centre was a success, with footfall above pre-pandemic levels despite a national slump of 20%.
- Data from the Shrewsbury Business Improvement District shows that 80% of businesses in Shrewsbury Town Centre would like some form of pedestrianisation to be in place – with most businesses favouring complete closure rather than allowing some vehicles through.
- Support from residents of Town Walls and other local streets for the introduction of Low Traffic Zones in Shrewsbury Town Centre.
This Council resolves to;
- Reintroduce a weekend closure trial, addressing concerns with disabled access.
- Reintroduce daily closures on Milk Street and The Square to allow hospitality businesses to have additional space available for customer use
- Work with the Shrewsbury Big Town Plan Partners to address concerns raised during the trial and develop a holistic strategy to reduce through traffic
6 The following motion has been received from Councillor Julian Dean and is supported by the Green Group
Carbon Tax
Concentrations of CO2 in the atmosphere continue to rise despite international agreements. Whilst targets can serve a purpose, what has been lacking are mechanisms to drive down emissions quickly. Crucially, this means a Carbon Tax, given that ‘Cap and Trade’ systems have failed to drive the change we need.
The moral and economic case for such a tax rests on the ‘polluter pays’ principle:
- Currently the costs of climate breakdown are not born by the industries and activities that are causing the damage but by people and communities coming under increasing pressure and danger. As The Economist leader states (17/7/21); ‘The opportunity to pollute the atmosphere without penalty is … a kind of distorting subsidy’.
- A Carbon Tax, set at the right level, will drive fossil fuel burning out of the economy and promote investment in clean alternatives.
- Applied at the border it will have the same effect internationally.
Such a tax will produce a dividend that can be used to ensure a just transition for communities facing rapid change, as well as to help communities around the world adapt to the inevitable change and disruption that climate breakdown is already bringing.
This approach is supported by a broad coalition of NGOs and civil society groups and was recently included in a set of proposals from the European Commission. COP26 should establish an international carbon tax framework, but if this doesn’t happen, the UK and other countries wishing to show leadership should introduce their own carbon taxes. . By including border tax adjustment this can drive other economies to follow suit.
Therefore Council resolves to support calls for a Carbon Tax by;
Writing to Shropshire’s MPs, to Alok Sharma, President of COP26, and to the Prime Minister, calling for the UK to:
1. Propose an international carbon tax framework to the COP; the tax to be applied to imports as well as to domestic production
2. Introduce a UK-wide carbon tax by the end of 2022.
7 The following motion has been submitted by Councillor Rosemary Dartnall and is supported by the Labour Group
Code Red for Humanity
Last month the United Nations warned that the latest Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change report is a Code Red for Humanity. We, all of humanity, live here, on Earth, on borrowed time unless we can mend our ways.
This latest IPCC assessment strongly evidenced a rise in global mean surface temperature (GMST) directly attributable to greenhouse gas emissions created by human activity, that will deliver progressively more extreme weather events to every society, in every corner of the world.
The principal problem is greenhouse gas emissions, particularly carbon dioxide (CO2). Rapidly increasing volumes of CO2 stored in our atmosphere and our oceans is causing intense temperature rise and ocean acidification, leading us inexorably to climate catastrophe. The Biodiversity Crisis is the Climate Emergency’s twin sister: one a direct consequence of the other. There are six known mass extinction events in Earth’s history, the sixth being the current one. The extinction of 40% of living species is needed to earn the dubious title. Species become extinct as a result of being unable to adapt to rapidly changing environmental circumstances. We must adapt in order to survive.
Carbon dioxide emissions must be cut by 7.6% each year for the next ten years to avert severe climate disruption. We simply cannot continue to carry on regardless. We must act now, as individuals and on all levels of civilisation. This is a collective challenge that requires everyone’s attention.
The Code Red for Humanity is incumbent on all leaders, at every level of government, to exercise responsibility, to act decisively with a liveable future in mind, on behalf of our constituents, their children, and their children’s children.
Shropshire Council is requested to declare that following the 2019 Climate Change declaration and the 2021 Code Red for Humanity it is now time to act with vigour across all directorates to address the Climate Emergency. To position and retain improved Climate Emergency mitigation, carbon dioxide emission reduction and biodiversity retention at the very heart of all policy making, all day-to-day management and all projects the council manages, including requiring the same standard in all service and other contracts with third party organisations and suppliers.
· Urgently expand the Climate Change Task Force
· Develop Climate Emergency mitigation training for all teams across the council, including cabinet and other members. Appoint champions in all departments
· Strengthen the council’s procurement policy so that all suppliers and contractors operate appropriate and rigorous Climate Emergency mitigation practice aligned with our own
· Measure and count the performance of our suppliers and contractors when undertaking council operations against Shropshire Council’s Climate Emergency performance
· Produce a monthly report detailing Climate Emergency performance and the impact of the management and operation of all council services and projects
· Proactively reduce the number of short car journeys taken, particularly in our towns at first: Act to discourage cars from our town centres, develop low traffic zones, create safe active travel routes and improve urban public transport
· Provide advice and support service to Shropshire companies, charities and organisations seeking to develop and implement Climate Emergency mitigation practices
· Identify means, such as providing office support, to enable Shropshire Climate Action Partnership to act as an exemplar
We need nothing short of a revolution to combat the Climate Emergency and this motion requests that revolution in Shropshire, right now.
Minutes:
The following motions had been received in accordance with Procedure Rule 16:
1 From Councillor Duncan Kerr, supported by the Green Group
Motion to Shropshire Council on White Ribbon Accreditation.
According to the Government (Domestic Abuse Act 2021: overarching factsheet - GOV.UK (www.gov.uk)) over 2.3 million people suffer domestic abuse each year at a total cost to the public purse of over £66bn. We also know that two women a week lose their lives to domestic abuse and this number has increased during the Covid lock-down.
In Shropshire Domestic Abuse is a major cause of the escalating number of children being made subject to a Child Protection Plan and is the single biggest reason for Section 42 adult safeguarding enquiries and conclusions. West Mercia Police report that it accounts for 17% of reported crimes with a 22% increase year on year (PCC-Domestic-Abuse-Strategy-V4.pdf (westmercia-pcc.gov.uk)).
We are sure that all members of the Council welcome the Domestic Abuse Act 2021 which provides for a legal definition of domestic abuse and increases the powers and responsibilities of the Council to victims and survivors. However, if we really care about these victims we need to go further than simple legal compliance and follow the many Councils who are leading their communities in taking a stand against domestic abuse by becoming White Ribbon Accredited organisations.
This motion therefore resolves that Shropshire Council will seek to become an accredited White Ribbon Authority by March 2022.
Councillor Mike Isherwood seconded the motion.
Following a vote, it was
RESOLVED:
That Shropshire Council will seek to become an accredited White Ribbon Authority by March 2022.
2 From Councillor Rob Wilson, supported by the Liberal Democrat group
Active Travel
This council notes:
1. Shropshire Council declared a Climate Emergency in May 2019.
2. Shropshire Council unanimously voted to support Gear Change and ensure that all cycle infrastructure in Shropshire conforms to LTN 1/20 in September 2020.
3. In April 2021 Shropshire appointed an Active Travel Officer to lead on the development of a Local Cycling and Walking Infrastructure Plan for Shropshire (LCWIP), as well as other active travel projects.
4. According to the Cabinet Member for Highways and Infrastructure, the total capital budget available to highways for 2021/22 is approximately £28.5m.
5. £0.314m has been specifically allocated to active travel measures, this is just over 1%., and approximately £1 per head of population.
6. Shropshire Climate Action Partnership (of which Shropshire Council is a founding member), Living Streets, Sustrans and Cycling UK all agree that Local Authorities should commit 10% over their highways budget to Active Travel.
7. In Scotland it was announced in August 2021 that the governing parties will increase the proportion of Transport Scotland’s budget spent on Active Travel initiatives so that by 2024-25 at least £320 million or 10 per cent of the total transport budget will be allocated to active travel. That's around a threefold increase on the 3.5 per cent of the transport budget currently allocated to active travel. This is nearly £60 per head of population.
8. Research by Nottingham Trent University in 2020 determined that Local Authorities spend on average £2 per head of population on active travel.
9. Research by Cycling UK in 2021 determined that Local Authorities spend on average per head of population £2.58 on active travel measures from Core Funding.
10.In Groningen in the Netherlands they spend €85 euro per head of population.
11.The economic case for investment in active travel is strong. We get £5.50 for every £1 we invest and the benefits are cross-cutting: a healthier population; stronger, safer local communities; better access to jobs and education; and lower levels of pollution.
12.Enabling active travel is important in Shropshire’s rural and urban communities alike.
13.Research by YouGov in July 2020 found that 77% of the people in the UK are in support of road space reallocation to enable safer cycling and walking.
14.To date Shropshire has been awarded £86,000 from Tranche 1 of the Active Travel Fund, and £259.500 from Tranche 2.
15.In “Gear Change: one year on” (July 2021) it was stated by the Government that Local Authorities who do not take Active Travel seriously will see their funding reduced.
16.On 28 July 2020, the Government of the United Kingdom announced the establishment of Active Travel England as part of a Gear Change. Active Travel England will be an inspectorate and funding body. Active Travel England will act as a statutory consultee within the planning system to press for adequate walking and cycling provision in all developments over a certain threshold.
This council resolves:
1. To make Active Travel England a statutory consultee on all planning applications in Shropshire.
2. To support the ambition of 10% of highways funding being allocated to active travel measures.
3. To ensure that all active travel measures conform to LTN 1/20.
4. That the Cabinet Member for Highways should report to the Council in September of each year, what percentage of the total highways budget has been spent on active travel measures in the preceding financial year.
5. To increase spending on Active Travel Measures by 3% of the total highways capital budget each year.
a. 2022/23 – 4% of the total highways budget
b. 2023/24 – 7% of the total highways budget
c. 2024/25 – 10% of the total highways budget
Councillor Heather Kidd seconded the motion.
Concern was raised that the proposals would result in a commitment for expenditure; placing a strain on the budget.
On being put to a recorded vote the proposal fell by 24 Members voting in favour, 36 against and 4 abstentions, as follows:
For – Bagnall, Boddington, Buckley, Clarke, Dartnall, Davies, Dean, J Evans, R Evans, Green, Halliday, Hartin, Houghton, Isherwood, Kerr, Kidd, Moseley, Mosley, Pardy, Parry, Parsons, Vasmer, Wagner, Wilson
Against – Aldcroft, Anderson, Bardsley, Barrow, Biggins, Broomhall, Burchett, Butler, Carroll, Charmley, Dakin, Elner, Gill, Gittins, Harris, Hignett, Hunt, Hurst-Knight, Lea, M Jones, S Jones, Lumby, Lynch, Macey, Marshall, Morris, Motley, Mullock, Nellins, Picton, Potter, Price, Thomas, Wild, Williams, Wynn
Abstentions – D Evans, Luff, Tindall, Towers
3. From Councillor Alex Wagner, supported by the Liberal Democrat group.
Motion of support for the 'Shrewsbury Horseshoe' bus route
Council notes:
· The Government's recent Bus Back Better Campaign which calls on Shropshire
Council to construct a comprehensive Bus Service Improvement Plan (BSIP)
· The Government's Active Travel Policies – Local Cycling and Walking
Infrastructure Plan (LCWIP), Mini Holland Bids, Low Traffic Neighbourhoods and
School Streets Initiative.
· Shropshire Council's support for the Shrewsbury Big Town plan and the
Government’s Active Travel Policies
· That there is an urgent need to dramatically reduce our carbon footprint.
· That current bus services in Shrewsbury do not link places that people need to visit
oa poor service for those who do not own car and not one that will encourage car owners to leave their vehicle at home.
· The 'Shrewsbury Horseshoe' bus route proposal as discussed at the 13th
September Shrewsbury Town Council meeting, in the Shropshire Star, and as
supported by Shrewsbury Town FC, the Bus Users Shropshire Group, and the
Zero Carbon Shropshire Group.
Council resolves;
· To support the proposal for a new 'Shrewsbury Horseshoe' peripheral bus route and its potential to be an integral part of the Bus Service Improvement Plan (BSIP).
Councillor David Vasmer seconded the motion.
An amendment was received and accepted as follows:
The Council resolves to support the detailed consideration of the introduction of peripheral and cross town services in and around Shrewsbury and calls for a report prior to proposals being included in the BSIP.
Following a vote, it was
RESOLVED:
To support the detailed consideration of the introduction of peripheral and cross town services in and around Shrewsbury and calls for a report prior to proposals being included in the BSIP.
4. From Councillor Roy Aldcroft, is supported by Councillors David Evans, Kirstie Hurst-Knight and John Price.
Closure of Community Ambulance Stations
As local representatives of our communities we are concerned that West Midlands Ambulance Service is proposing to close Community Ambulance Stations across Shropshire. The reason given being the costs of these rest points and operational efficiency. We are also very unhappy that the town councils have not been advised or consulted about this review.
We do not agree with the closure of the Community Ambulance Stations in Shropshire for the following reasons:
a. The public have always been keen to support their local ambulance stations. During the 1990’s the service was reliant from all four of these areas to buy lifesaving paramedic equipment and supporting Community First Responder Schemes. The community identifies with its ambulance station in a similar way to community fire stations.
b. Given that Ambulance Crews are mobile almost as soon as their shift starts, the ‘local crew’ may not spend much time at their station. That includes the hubs at Shrewsbury and Donnington. With that we agree, however, those crews are travelling areas all over the West Midlands and may make use of these Community Stations for short periods instead of returning to the hubs at Shrewsbury and Donnington.
c. The stations deemed for closure are all in the vicinity of major routes, the A5, A49, A53 and A442 used by many ambulances as they answer or return from calls. These Community Ambulance Stations give an added layer of flexibility for crew welfare and standby along major routes. After all we don’t want to return to the days of using laybys as standby points.
d. Community Ambulance Stations provide a backup in remote parts of the county where crews can get a break, wherever they started from. This provides an element of ‘rolling cover’ throughout this, the largest inland county in the UK particularly in a county with regular floods and snow challenges.
e. The amount of money saved will be minimal, just enough to equip a modern ambulance, rather than the ambulance or its crew.
f. Patient handovers at receiving hospitals have been a major problem for many years even before the pandemic. Loosing 1,000 hours of operational time in July 2021, taking something like 85 ambulances of the road. Now, that does have serious financial consequences. Now that does need sorting!
This proposed closure exercise merely tinkers around the edges it does not address the biggest drain on resources. When paramedic crews are held at hospital for such long periods, is it not the case that High dependency crews, without the equipment and training, are attending Cat 1 and Cat 2 calls until qualified assistance is available?
For these reasons we strongly object to the closure of these Community Ambulance Stations and therefore this Council resolves to:
1. Ask the Leader and Chief Executive to write to West Midlands Ambulance Service to express our opposition to the proposed closures
2. Ask the Leader and Chief Executive to write to local MPs to raise the proposals with the Secretary of State for Health & Social Care
Councillor David Evans seconded the motion.
Councillor Julia Evans proposed the following amendment:
For these reasons we strongly object to the closure of these Community Ambulance Stations and therefore this Council resolves to:
1. Ask the Leader and Chief Executive to write to West Midlands Ambulance Service, Dr Anthony Marsh to express our opposition to the proposed closures for the closures and ask for staff Welfare issues to be rectified.
2. Ask the Leader and Chief Executive to write to local MPs to raise the proposals with the Secretary of State for Health & Social Care and include the welfare issues stated, the ambulance turnaround times at SaTH are urgently addressed.
Remove points c and d and replace with:
Ambulance staff welfare should be paramount. It is not. During long 12 hour shifts, breaks are broken, delayed and long time away from Stations and Hubs. Without Stations they cannot have a substantial break, eat, drink or toilet. At the end of a long, hard 12 hour, Crews are then expected to remain for a further extended time until they can be relieved or able to hand over to the Hospital Staff. This is why rural Stations should be maintained and used – staff welfare. It is their human right to have access to food and drinks as well as toileting.
We ask that the Ambulance Stations be properly maintained and not left to dereliction and be returned to a useable state.
After point f. add new point g)
We note the deterioration of ambulance response times to patients and waiting times outside hospitals. Latest figures show a 14% rate of more than 1 hour wait to transfer from Ambulance to Hospital. There are regular occurrences of over a dozen ambulances waiting to transfer patients in to SaTH hospitals, which results in ambulances not being available to respond to emergencies. Late running shifts impacts availability on subsequent days further reducing the standard of service.
This service failure is partly attributable to the failing SaTH management board which continues to rely on the flawed Hospital Transformation Programme (previously known as Future Fit). This programme fails to address the key problem of bed shortages, instead looking to ‘move deckchairs on the titanic’.
We note that the Clinical Quality Commission recently warned SaTH that higher dependency and intensive care unit regular occupancy rates of 95% were not acceptable.
(g)We also need to ask for the return of crews to our County – too many spend the proportion of their shift elsewhere in the West Midlands, leaving the Shropshire population with unacceptably long waiting times.
Ask the leader and Chief Executive to write to Dr. Anthony Marsh requesting that he not close the Ambulance Stations to improve Ambulance Staff welfare for adequate breaks and use of toilet facilities. That the Stations are maintained and that Shropshire Crews have only essential time out of County for patient need and returned promptly.
Ask the leader and Chief Executive to write to Louise Bennett, SaTH CEO calling on her to urgently improve the system of handover from Ambulance crews giving a shorter turn around and cease Emergency Department exit blocking with an increase in bed spaces.
Ask the Leader and Chief Executive to write to local MPs, to the CEO of NHS England and Improvement and to the SaTH NHS Trust Board asking for urgent action to eradicate unacceptable ambulance response and transfer delays.
We call on the SaTH board to provide details of a plan to overcome these delays to the joint Health Overview Scrutiny Committee as soon as possible in order to prevent the related ambulance station closures.
Councillor Heather Kidd seconded the amendment.
On being put to a vote, the amendment failed.
The original motion was then voted upon and
RESOLVED:
To:
1. Ask the Leader and Chief Executive to write to West Midlands Ambulance Service to express our opposition to the proposed closures
2. Ask the Leader and Chief Executive to write to local MPs to raise the proposals with the Secretary of State for Health & Social Care
It was agreed that the concerns expressed within the amendment were important to strengthen the reasoning behind the Council’s opposition to the proposed closures and should therefore be stated in any correspondence.
5 From Councillor Nat Green, supported by the Liberal Democrat Group
Motion of support for blue-badge friendly Shrewsbury Town Centre pedestrianisation
Council notes;
· Trial pedestrianisation of Shrewsbury Town Centre was a success, with footfall above pre-pandemic levels despite a national slump of 20%.
· Data from the Shrewsbury Business Improvement District shows that 80% of businesses in Shrewsbury Town Centre would like some form of pedestrianisation to be in place – with most businesses favouring complete closure rather than allowing some vehicles through.
· Support from residents of Town Walls and other local streets for the introduction of Low Traffic Zones in Shrewsbury Town Centre.
This Council resolves to;
· Reintroduce a weekend closure trial, addressing concerns with disabled access.
· Reintroduce daily closures on Milk Street and The Square to allow hospitality businesses to have additional space available for customer use
· Work with the Shrewsbury Big Town Plan Partners to address concerns raised during the trial and develop a holistic strategy to reduce through traffic
The motion was seconded by Councillor Mary Davies.
On being put to a vote, it was
RESOLVED:
To;
· Reintroduce a weekend closure trial, addressing concerns with disabled access.
· Reintroduce daily closures on Milk Street and The Square to allow hospitality businesses to have additional space available for customer use
· Work with the Shrewsbury Big Town Plan Partners to address concerns raised during the trial and develop a holistic strategy to reduce through traffic
6 From Councillor Julian Dean, supported by the Green Group
Carbon Tax
Concentrations of CO2 in the atmosphere continue to rise despite international agreements. Whilst targets can serve a purpose, what has been lacking are mechanisms to drive down emissions quickly. Crucially, this means a Carbon Tax, given that ‘Cap and Trade’ systems have failed to drive the change we need.
· The moral and economic case for such a tax rests on the ‘polluter pays’ principle:
· Currently the costs of climate breakdown are not born by the industries and activities that are causing the damage but by people and communities coming under increasing pressure and danger. As The Economist leader states (17/7/21); ‘The opportunity to pollute the atmosphere without penalty is … a kind of distorting subsidy’.
· A Carbon Tax, set at the right level, will drive fossil fuel burning out of the economy and promote investment in clean alternatives.
· Applied at the border it will have the same effect internationally.
Such a tax will produce a dividend that can be used to ensure a just transition for communities facing rapid change, as well as to help communities around the world adapt to the inevitable change and disruption that climate breakdown is already bringing. This approach is supported by a broad coalition of NGOs and civil society groups and was recently included in a set of proposals from the European Commission. COP26 should establish an international carbon tax framework, but if this doesn’t happen, the UK and other countries wishing to show leadership should introduce their own carbon taxes.
By including border tax adjustment this can drive other economies to follow suit.
Therefore Council resolves to support calls for a Carbon Tax by;
Writing to Shropshire’s MPs, to Alok Sharma, President of COP26, and to the Prime Minister, calling for the UK to:
1. Propose an international carbon tax framework to the COP; the tax to be applied to imports as well as to domestic production
2. Introduce a UK-wide carbon tax by the end of 2022.
The motion was seconded by Councillor Julia Evans
On being put to a vote, the motion failed.
7 From Councillor Rosemary Dartnall, supported by the Labour Group
Code Red for Humanity
Last month the United Nations warned that the latest Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change report is a Code Red for Humanity. We, all of humanity, live here, on Earth, on borrowed time unless we can mend our ways.
This latest IPCC assessment strongly evidenced a rise in global mean surface temperature (GMST) directly attributable to greenhouse gas emissions created by human activity, that will deliver progressively more extreme weather events to every society, in every corner of the world.
The principal problem is greenhouse gas emissions, particularly carbon dioxide (CO2). Rapidly increasing volumes of CO2 stored in our atmosphere and our oceans is causing intense temperature rise and ocean acidification, leading us inexorably to climate catastrophe. The Biodiversity Crisis is the Climate Emergency’s twin sister: one a direct consequence of the other. There are six known mass extinction events in Earth’s history, the sixth being the current one. The extinction of 40% of living species is needed to earn the dubious title. Species become extinct as a result of being unable to adapt to rapidly changing environmental circumstances. We must adapt in order to survive.
Carbon dioxide emissions must be cut by 7.6% each year for the next ten years to avert severe climate disruption. We simply cannot continue to carry on regardless. We must act now, as individuals and on all levels of civilisation. This is a collective challenge that requires everyone’s attention.
The Code Red for Humanity is incumbent on all leaders, at every level of government, to exercise responsibility, to act decisively with a liveable future in mind, on behalf of our constituents, their children, and their children’s children.
Shropshire Council is requested to declare that following the 2019 Climate Change declaration and the 2021 Code Red for Humanity it is now time to act with vigour across all directorates to address the Climate Emergency. To position and retain improved Climate Emergency mitigation, carbon dioxide emission reduction and biodiversity retention at the very heart of all policy making, all day-to-day management and all projects the council manages, including requiring the same standard in all service and other contracts with third party organisations and suppliers.
· Urgently expand the Climate Change Task Force
· Develop Climate Emergency mitigation training for all teams across the council, including cabinet and other members. Appoint champions in all departments
· Strengthen the council’s procurement policy so that all suppliers and contractors operate appropriate and rigorous Climate Emergency mitigation practice aligned with our own
· Measure and count the performance of our suppliers and contractors when undertaking council operations against Shropshire Council’s Climate Emergency performance
· Produce a monthly report detailing Climate Emergency performance and the impact of the management and operation of all council services and projects
· Proactively reduce the number of short car journeys taken, particularly in our towns at first: Act to discourage cars from our town centres, develop low traffic zones, create safe active travel routes and improve urban public transport
· Provide advice and support service to Shropshire companies, charities and organisations seeking to develop and implement Climate Emergency mitigation practices
· Identify means, such as providing office support, to enable Shropshire Climate Action Partnership to act as an exemplar
We need nothing short of a revolution to combat the Climate Emergency and this motion requests that revolution in Shropshire, right now.
The motion was seconded by Councillor Kate Halliday.
Councillor Ian Nellins, Portfolio Holder for Climate Change, Natural Assets & The Green Economy, gave an update on progress so far regarding expanding the work force, training and improvements made to carbon usage.
A minor amendment was received from Councillor Dean Carroll that in recommendation 5, monthly meetings be replaced with quarterly meetings. The amendment was accepted.
Councillor Nellins was thanked for his update.
On being put to a vote, it was
RESOLVED:
To declare that following the 2019 Climate Change declaration and the 2021 Code Red for Humanity it is now time to act with vigour across all directorates to address the Climate Emergency. To position and retain improved Climate Emergency mitigation, carbon dioxide emission reduction and biodiversity retention at the very heart of all policy making, all day-to-day management and all projects the council manages, including requiring the same standard in all service and other contracts with third party organisations and suppliers.
· Urgently expand the Climate Change Task Force
· Develop Climate Emergency mitigation training for all teams across the council, including cabinet and other members. Appoint champions in all departments
· Strengthen the council’s procurement policy so that all suppliers and contractors operate appropriate and rigorous Climate Emergency mitigation practice aligned with our own
· Measure and count the performance of our suppliers and contractors when undertaking council operations against Shropshire Council’s Climate Emergency performance
· Produce a quarterly report detailing Climate Emergency performance and the impact of the management and operation of all council services and projects
· Proactively reduce the number of short car journeys taken, particularly in our towns at first: Act to discourage cars from our town centres, develop low traffic zones, create safe active travel routes and improve urban public transport
· Provide advice and support service to Shropshire companies, charities and organisations seeking to develop and implement Climate Emergency mitigation practices
· Identify means, such as providing office support, to enable Shropshire Climate Action Partnership to act as an exemplar