Agenda item

1)    Councillor Roberts to propose and Councillor Russell to second:

“This Council notes:

·          That analysis of the 2019 Local Election results by the Fawcett Society found that only 35% of councillors in England are women, up 1% since 2018. Of the seats that were up for election in 2019, 35% went to women, up just 3 percentage points on 2015 when these seats were last contested;

·           Following the 2019 local elections, 45% of Labour councillors are female, 30% of Conservative councillors are female and 34% of Liberal Democrat councillors are female;

·          As of October 2019, 36 councils have passed a Parental Leave policy.

·           In 2019, the LGA co-produced the 21st Century Councils Equalities Toolkit with MHCLG. The toolkit recommends that councils adopt a parental leave policy, and  t  they link to the LGA Labour’s Parental Leave policy as a model to adopt;

·          That the role of a councillor should be open to all, regardless of their background, and that introducing a parental leave policy is a step towards encouraging a wider range of people to become councillors, and is also a step to encourage existing councillors who may want to start a family to remain as councillors;

·          That parental leave must apply to parents regardless of their gender, and that it should also cover adoption leave to support those parents who choose to adopt.

This Council resolves:  

To adopt a parental leave policy to give all councillors an entitlement to parental leave after giving birth or adopting;

 To ensure that councillors with children and other caring commitments are supported as  appropriate; “

2)    To be proposed by Councillor Stone and seconded by Councillor Duffy:

“We note that all the party manifestos promised new money for youth.

This council recognises that well-resourced youth work in Northampton will deliver many benefits.

It will:-

provide meaningful and enriching activities for young people

provide jobs and career pathways for youth workers

deflect young people from gangs and criminal activity

enable young people to develop a voice and contribute to the regeneration of the town.

To this end we agree to support the local campaign for a Youth Centre for Northampton.

The centre will be multifaceted and provide a focus for developing our understanding of what young people in the town need, for developing youth work, and developing a youth voice for the town.

A youth centre, particularly in the town centre, will bring new energy and commitment to the town.”

3)    Councillor Beardsworth to propose and Councillor Meredith to second:

“In addition to expected elections to choose members of the new West Northants Unitary Authority, May 2020 will see elections for a new Police and Crime Commissioner for Northamptonshire and also, elsewhere, for a new Mayor of London.

Both the Commissioner and Mayoral posts will be elected via the Supplementary Vote system but Councillors for the West Northamptonshire authority will be elected to three-member divisions/wards under the First Past The Post (FPTP) system.  On the basis of previous election results in the county, it is likely that many of those elected will not secure an absolute majority of votes cast.

This Council believes that:

·         the adoption of proportional representation for some English elections, as well as elections elsewhere in the UK, recognises the weakness of the first past the post system;

·         elections to a new authority which replaces Northamptonshire County and Northampton Borough are based on outdated electoral boundaries, most of which were single-member divisions, and these do not best represent voters.

·         a supplementary vote system would ensure that councillors representing Northampton are more representative of the views of those who elect them. 

This Council resolves to make representations to national government to consider the introduction of the Single Transferable Voting system for future elections to the West Northants. Unitary Authority.”

4)    Councillor King to propose and Councillor Nunn to second:

“We encourage the celebration of religious, cultural, and historical occasions, of which fireworks can be an integral part, but we discourage public nuisance.  Unsocial hours, and prolonging periods over which fireworks are used, can cause anxiety to many people and to their pets.  We believe in keeping our town and its residents safe, for them to be able to enjoy a peaceful life, whilst ensuring that their health and wellbeing is maintained.

Well promoted and supervised, public firework events are one way in which fireworks can be enjoyed safely and responsibly, such as the council’s bonfire night which 10,000 attended and enjoyed last year.

This Council resolves:

•              to request all public firework displays within the local authority boundaries to be advertised in advance of the event, allowing residents to take precautions for their animals and vulnerable people

•              to actively promote a public awareness campaign about the impact of fireworks on animal welfare and vulnerable people – including the precautions that can be taken to mitigate risks

•             Well-meaning celebration can become public nuisance”

The Mayor advised that due to members of the public waiting to address Council on motion ii) that it would be considered and debated first.

Zoe Robinson, Youth Development Co-ordinator for NAYC and guest Scarlett addressed Council in respect of motion ii) and expressed the need for a youth centre for Northampton which would provide a safe space, dedicated support and access to a wide range of games and a place to learn life skills. Following concerns around antisocial behaviour and knife crime, representatives from 20 schools and youth organisations got together and following discussions, 10 young people created a Youth Summit conference to explore and understand youth-related issues.

Scarlett emphasised the importance of a youth centre and elaborated that youth projects had enabled her to develop and had given her the skills to be able to develop other young people once she got older.

ii)         Councillor Stone proposed and Councillor Duffy seconded:

““We note that all the party manifestos promised new money for youth.

This council recognises that well-resourced youth work in Northampton will deliver many benefits.

It will:-

·         provide meaningful and enriching activities for young people;

·         provide jobs and career pathways for youth workers;

·         deflect young people from gangs and criminal activity;

·         enable young people to develop a voice and contribute to the regeneration of the town.

To this end we agree to support the local campaign for a Youth Centre for

Northampton.

The centre will be multifaceted and provide a focus for developing our understanding of what young people in the town need, for developing youth work, and developing a youth voice for the town.

A youth centre, particularly in the town centre, will bring new energy and commitment to the town.”

Council debated the motion.

Upon a vote, the motion was Carried.

i)          Councillor Roberts proposed and Councillor Birch seconded:

“This Council notes:

That analysis of the 2019 Local Election results by the Fawcett Society found that only 35% of councillors in England are women, up 1% since 2018. Of the seats that were up for election in 2019, 35% went to women, up just 3 percentage points on 2015 when these seats were last contested;

·         Following the 2019 local elections, 45% of Labour councillors are female, 30% of Conservative councillors are female and 34% of Liberal Democrat councillors are female;

·         As of October 2019, 36 councils have passed a Parental Leave policy.

·         In 2019, the LGA co-produced the 21st Century Councils Equalities Toolkit with MHCLG. The toolkit recommends that councils adopt a parental leave policy, and t they link to the LGA Labour’s Parental Leave policy as a model to adopt;

·         That the role of a councillor should be open to all, regardless of their background, and that introducing a parental leave policy is a step towards encouraging a wider range of people to become councillors, and is also a step to encourage existing councillors who may want to start a family to remain as councillors;

·         That parental leave must apply to parents regardless of their gender, and that it should also cover adoption leave to support those parents who choose to adopt.

This Council resolves:

·         To adopt a parental leave policy to give all councillors an entitlement to parental leave after giving birth or adopting;

·         To ensure that councillors with children and other caring commitments are supported as appropriate.”

Council debated the motion.

Upon a vote, the motion was lost.

At this juncture the Monitoring Officer announced that the guillotine had been reached and that pursuant to part 2.4.2.2 of the Constitution, the remaining motions would be put to the meeting without further discussion and a vote taken on whether the remaining items should be accepted, rejected, referred, deferred or withdrawn.

It was proposed that motion iii) be rejected in accordance with paragraph 2.4.2.2 of the Constitution.

The motion to reject motion iii) was seconded.

Upon a vote, the motion fell.

It was proposed that motion iv) be accepted in accordance with paragraph 2.4.2.2 of the Constitution.

The motion to accept motion iv) was seconded.

Upon a vote, the motion was carried.