Decision Maker: Council

Outcome: Recommendations Approved

Is Key Decision?: No

Is Callable In?: No

Date of Decision: September 26, 2024

Purpose:

Content: (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.