Decision

(A) Stop
the Cut to Winter Fuel Payments                                         
It was moved by Councillor Dacre,                                      
Seconded by Councillor Durrans   After being put to the vote, the Amended Motion was carried.   RESOLVED that:   ·          14 years of
Conservative Government have left this country with a cost of
living crisis in which most wages and benefits have failed to keep
pace with inflation and many ordinary people are
struggling. ·         Our NHS is facing the consequences of years of
underfunding and neglect. ·         Our state schools have had to cut teachers and
non teaching staff to keep
going. ·         Councils are under unprecedented pressure and
Calderdale Council has had to make over £125M of cumulative
savings under the last Government, as funding has not kept pace
with costs. ·         We all know that public services are most needed by
the poorest in society, not just pensioners but the adult disabled
and young people. This did not deter Governments in the last 14
years from pursuing policies which degraded public
services. ·         The last Government failed to regulate utility
companies including the energy market and supply companies,
resulting in unnecessary fuel poverty. ·         Lectures from the Conservatives on the perils of
poverty and poorly insulated properties in our Borough ring
hollow. ·         Their party has been in power for over a decade and
has failed to address these issues. They had no plan. ·         The Labour Government has been voted into power to
fix the foundations and turn the country’s economy around in
order to provide good employment, housing and public services that
are fit for purpose. The scale, and the time needed, to meet this
challenge cannot be underestimated after 14 years of chaos and
neglect ·         This Council will support the new Labour Government
as it works hard to put the country back on its feet.   Council Resolves to: ·         Continue working with local partners to deliver our
well organised awareness campaign to encourage eligible pensioners
to apply for pension credit. We have already identified about 250
pensioners in Calderdale who are likely to be eligible for, but are
not receiving Pension Credit. We will make direct contact with each
of them. ·         Continue working with the local Anti Poverty Partnership to ensure that those in
poverty of all ages, families, young people and those with
disabilities, are supported. ·         Maintain our determination to further our Priority
of tackling inequalities and disadvantage.   (B) Coordinating Infrastructure Works for the Benefit of
Residents                                              It was moved by Councillor Bellenger                                           
Seconded by Councillor Evans   After being put to the vote,
the Motion was carried.   RESOLVED that:   This
Council notes that:   ·         Work to maintain and improve the infrastructure that
supplies gas, electricity, water and communications, among others,
is essential for current and future residents and businesses in
Calderdale ·         Such works can be hugely disruptive to residents and
businesses   This
Council believes that:   ·         Seemingly uncoordinated work increases the
frustration of Calderdale residents ·         Work on the telecommunications network in particular
can result in an unsightly clutter of infrastructure on the
borough’s streets ·         Although this Council is often not the instigator of
infrastructure works nor directly responsible for them, residents
look to this Council to support their concerns and to take action
to lessen the impacts of such works ·         Councils have a place-shaping role that should be
used to influence, coordinate and monitor works being undertaken by
others   This
Council therefore resolves to:   Call on Cabinet to receive,
within the next six months, a report detailing the powers currently
available to this Council to regulate infrastructure works as
mentioned above. Such a report shall include:   ·         Reference both to powers granted by statute and the
‘soft powers’ of influence and persuasion ·         Reference to any budgetary pressures that may be
restricting what can be achieved within the existing regulatory
framework ·         Reference to any legislative changes that would be
beneficial to achieving a more coordinated approach to
infrastructure works that would facilitate their speedy
conclusion   Should legislative change be
deemed desirable, Council further resolves to give its support to
achieving such changes by working with the borough’s two
Members of Parliament, the West Yorkshire Combined Authority, the
Local Government Association, relevant government departments and
any other body seeking to achieve similar aims.     (C) Keeping Calderdale Safe The Mayor advised that a Motion had been
received from the Labour Group regarding Keeping Calderdale
Safe.  The Mayor further advised that  amendments had been received from the Liberal
Democrat Group and Conservative Group which had been circulated to
the full membership of the Council prior to the meeting. On receipt
of the amendments the Labour Group, after due consideration,
amended their original Motion to incorporate Liberal Democrat and
Conservative Amendments.  The Mayor asked Councillor
Swift MBE if both himself and Councillor Scullion were happy to
propose and second the incorporation of the Liberal Democrat
Conservative Amendments into the Labour Motion.  After being
put to the vote the incorporation of the amendments into the
original motion was carried.                                                       
It was moved by Councillor Swift MBE                                                     
Seconded by Councillor Webster   After being put to the vote the
Motion was carried.   RESOLVED that:   This Council notes:   ·           That sadly there were 478 people injured
on the roads of Calderdale in the last year, with 149 of those
people killed or seriously injured. This is higher than in previous
years, with the number of children being injured being injured also
increasing; ·           That overall, in West Yorkshire, casualties are 4.1% higher
than the national average; ·           That there is a responsibility, and
indeed a statutory duty, under the 1988 Road Traffic Action
(Section 39) for councils to undertake studies
into road accidents and to take steps both to reduce and prevent
them; ·           Road traffic collisions have wider
impacts in terms of costs to the council and other statutory
agencies including the NHS and emergency services
workers; ·           Communities in Calderdale are concerned
about road safety and dangerous driving and speeding and in the
West Yorkshire Mayor’s survey last year these issues were
raised by 63% of this borough’s residents as real concerns; ·           The hard work of the Emergency Services and Council
Officers in their efforts to improve road safety.   This Council believes that:   ·           No death or serious injury is ever acceptable on our
roads in
Calderdale. It
is simply not enough to shrug our
shoulders and say, ‘accidents
happen’; ·           The issue of road safety has dropped off
the public and
government agenda
in recent years and
the time is now right to bring it to public attention; ·           Our very early adoption, as a
Council, of the
roll out of 20 mph limits near schools and in key town and villages
was a good example of work to improve road safety that has helped
to reduce casualties and we could now do
more; ·           The recent increases in traffic collisions in the
borough now require more co-ordinated
action with a
wide range of partners including the Police, drivers, other road users, schools, and
communities themselves; ·           We also need a strategic response and support from central
government in order
to raise the profile of road
safety; ·           There is an urgent need to prioritise
road safety across
West Yorkshire; ·           The renewal of our commitment
to working with
partners to reduce fatalities in Calderdale to zero on 13th August 2024 was an
essential step in
strengthening road safety locally; ·           The West Yorkshire Vision Zero
aims to eliminate
all traffic fatalities and severe injuries, while increasing safe,
healthy, equitable mobility for all in West Yorkshire. ·           The poor condition of many roads, locally and
nationally, has a detrimental effect on the safety of all road
users, but especially for cyclists.   This Council
welcomes:   ·           The Combined Authority
establishment of a
West Yorkshire Vision Zero Board to provide leadership on our
commitment to reducing the number of people killed and seriously
injured (KSI) on our roads by 50% by 2030, and to zero by
2040; ·           The ambitions of the Board, chaired by Alison Lowe,
Deputy Mayor for Policing and Crime, to deliver a safe, sustainable road
environment, supporting active travel ambitions and improving
access for all road users; ·           The fact that Vision Zero shifts the emphasis
from driver or road
user error alone by highlighting a shared responsibility for
those involved in shaping the road environment (including policy
makers, car manufacturers, councils and transport
planners and
enforcement bodies to create a system that accepts human
error and therefore
crashes happen, but
need not inevitably lead to death or serious injury; ·           The ‘Safe System’
approach of Vision Zero which tackles 5 main
areas: Safe
Roads (design,
improving walking and cycling), Safe Road Users (tackling high risk behaviours such as speeding, drink/drug driving),
Safe Speeds (enforcement,
cameras, education), Safe
Vehicles (MOTs, technology), Post-Collision
Response (care,
learning and victim support); ·           The strong local support that the
Calderdale Vision Zero Group has had from the Police, Fire and
Rescue, National Highways as well as a range of Council
departments.   This Council therefore asks:   ·         The full Council meeting to endorse
the ambition of
Calderdale’s Vision Zero to eliminate serious and fatal collisions in our borough; ·         All our councillors to help raise the profile of
road safety locally in as many different forums as
possible, including schools and community organisations;
And furthermore, as a major priority, the Council clears the
backlog of already-approved highway/engineering works which have
been in the pipeline for too long to ensure we are truly
‘Keeping Calderdale Safe’. ·         The Chief Executive of the Council, on behalf of this
meeting to write to
the new Secretary of State for
Transport, Louse Haigh MP to urge the government to produce an
updated National Road Safety Strategy; and to continue to press for an increase in long-term government
funding for highways authorities to maintain and improve the
condition of the road network; ·         The Leader of the Council to write to our
two new local Members of Parliament asking them to support Calderdale Council
in calling for a
new government strategy and work with us to lobby intensively on these crucial road safety
issues. ·         That, recognising the success of Operation
Hawmill, Cabinet and/or relevant
officers work with the Council’s partners to secure long-term
funding for this initiative.