The County Council voted to establish a cross-party cabinet panel to review road safety in the county. It also debated a motion calling for an apology from the UK government for historic forced adoptions, which was amended to remove a direct call for an apology.

Road Safety

Councillor Roger Whyborn proposed a motion calling for Gloucestershire County Council to set up a Task and Finish group to review the effectiveness of its Road Safety Policy, which was adopted in 2022. The motion noted that while there has been a reduction in fatalities on the county's roads in 2023, the number of people seriously injured was still at a rising trajectory compared to the previous decade. The motion was amended to call on the Cabinet Member responsible for road safety to set up a cross-party group to review the policy and suggest improvements.

However, the situation in the county is still poor, and more still needs to be done, with Gloucestershire having one of the highest rates for Deaths or Seriously injured per capita on our roads in England.

Several members spoke in support of the motion, citing road safety concerns within their divisions. Some suggested that increased active travel, such as walking and cycling, would improve road safety as there would be fewer vehicles on the roads. There were also calls for increased enforcement to address road safety concerns, such as speeding.

The amended motion was carried.

Minimum Service Levels Legislation

Councillor David Drew proposed a motion condemning the Strikes (Minimum Service Levels) Act 2023. The motion was prompted, in part, by a rally held by the Public and Commercial Services Union and the Trades Union Congress in Cheltenham in January of 2024 to defend the right to strike. The motion argued that the Act places severe and unacceptable restrictions on the fundamental right of a worker to take industrial action. The motion also argued that the legislation would likely make it more difficult to resolve industrial disputes.

Council believes that these are unfair and undemocratic restrictions that risk making disputes, which should be resolved through negotiation, harder to solve.

The motion was opposed by Councillor Dave Norman, Cabinet Member for Fire, Community Safety and Libraries. He argued that the legislation was necessary to ensure that essential public services, such as those provided by Gloucestershire Fire and Rescue Service, are maintained during periods of industrial action. The motion was lost.

Historic Forced Adoptions

A motion proposed by Councillor John Bloxsom called for the Council to seek a formal apology from the UK government for its role in historic forced adoptions. The motion highlighted a 2022 report from the Joint Committee on Human Rights which found that between 1949 and 1976, an estimated 185,000 children were taken from their unmarried mothers, often against their will. The motion called on the Council Leader to write to the Prime Minister and Gloucestershire MPs calling for a formal apology. It also called on the Council's Children and Families Scrutiny Committee to consider what support the Council could offer to those affected by historic forced adoptions.

The motion was amended by Councillor Stephen Davies, Cabinet Member for Children’s Safeguarding and Early Years to remove a direct call for an apology from the UK government.

...he was not a believer in apologies from people who held no personal responsibility for what happened...

The amended motion passed.

Spatial Planning

Councillor Jeremy Hilton asked Councillor David Gray, Cabinet Member for Environment and Planning, about a spatial planning document that had been reported on by Gloucestershire Live in 2019. The document reportedly suggested that Cheltenham and Gloucester might be combined into a single “super city”. Councillor Gray confirmed that the document in question was a draft spatial plan that had been shared with the county’s six district councils in 2019, but that it was never a statement of Council policy. He explained that the purpose of the document had been to encourage coordination and debate between the county's local authorities about sustainable development.

Councillor Paul Hodgkinson asked if the document would be made public. Councillor Gray said it would not be released because it was a discussion document.

Rural Estate Scrutiny

Councillor Alan Preest, Chair of Corporate Overview and Scrutiny Committee, introduced the committee's annual report. A member of the Council asked when the Cabinet would respond to the Rural Estate Scrutiny Task Group's findings. Councillor Preest said that the Corporate Overview and Scrutiny Committee would consider the Cabinet's response at a meeting scheduled for 29 May 2024 and that it had been published in the meeting agenda pack.

Gloucestershire Pension Fund

Councillor Lynden Stowe, Chair of the Pension Committee, presented the Gloucestershire Pension Fund Annual Report. A member of the Pension Committee took issue with several statements about its investment beliefs, saying that they did not reflect the unanimous views of the committee. In particular, the member disagreed with statements that said that Environment, Social and Governance (ESG) considerations would only be taken into account where they did not have a negative impact on investment returns or risk, and a statement that the committee preferred engagement with companies over exclusion. Councillor Stowe responded that the report reflected the committee’s views as of the end of 2022 and that the committee might want to revise them in the future.