Agenda Contents
North Lanarkshire Council · 21 December 2023
Back to Council — 21 December 2023 and its agenda
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12 December 2023 Members of the Council Chief Executive’s Office Archie Aitken Chief Officer (Legal & Democratic) Civic Centre, Windmillhill Street, Motherwell ML1 1AB www.northlanarkshire.gov.uk Notice is given that a Meeting of the Council is to be held in the Council Chamber, Civic Centre, Windmillhill Street, Motherwell, ML1 1AB on Thursday, 21 December 2023 at 16:00 PM which you are requested to attend. The agenda of business is attached. Des Murray Chief Executive Members : Clerk Name: Mark Hamill Clerk Telephone: 07811294702 Clerk Email: hamillm@northlan.gov.uk D Ashraf, A Ballinger, C Barclay, B Baudo, A Beveridge, M Boyd, H Brannan-McVey, G Brennan, B Burgess, A Bustard, J Cairns, A Campbell, T Carragher, C Costello, M Coyle, S Coyle, D Crichton, G Currie, P Di Mascio, K Docherty, K Duffy, A Duffy-Lawson, H Dunbar, T Fisher, F Fotheringham, W Goldie, K Harmon, M Hughes, J Hume, L Jarvie, D Johnston, T Johnston, J Jones, P Kelly, J Keltie, A Khan, K Larson, J Leckie, G Lennon, J Logue, H Loughran, F MacGregor, A Masterton, M McBride, B McCluskey, A McCrory, B McCulloch, M McCulloch, P McDade, F McKay, R McKendrick, J McLaren, C McManus, F McNally, M McPake, J McPhilemy, A McVey, L Mitchell, L Nolan, P Patton, J Reddin, L Roarty, D Robb, G Robinson, N Shevlin, W Shields, A Smith, K Stevenson, A Stubbs, L Stubbs, R Sullivan, A Thomas, J Toner, S Watson, C Williams, N Wilson, G Woods.
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Agenda 1 Declarations of Interest In Terms of the Ethical Standards In Public Life Etc. (Scotland) Act 2000 2 Minutes of Meetings of Committees, Sub-Committees and Panels - Cycle 4 Submit volume of minutes of meetings of committees, sub- committees and panels for cycle 4 for approval in terms of standing order number 21 (copy to follow) 3 Membership of Committees, Sub-Committees, Panels, Working Group and Outside Bodies Submit proposed amendments to Membership of Committees, Sub-Committees, Panels, Working Groups and Outside Bodies (copy to follow) 4 Outcome of By-Election held on 16 November 2023 in Ward 19 Motherwell South East and Ravenscraig Submit outcome of By-Election held on 16 November 2003 in Ward 19 Motherwell South East and Ravenscraig 11 - 12 5 Housing Revenue Account – 2024/2025 Revenue Estimates Submit report by the Chief Officer (Finance) presenting information that will enable the Council to set its Housing Revenue Account (HRA) budget and rent levels for 2024/2025 13 - 24 6 Remit from the Policy and Strategy Committee of 7 December 2023 - Self-Evaluation of the Audit and Scrutiny Panel - Outcome Report and Improvement Plan Submit report by the Chief Officer (Legal and Democratic) seeking approval of the removal of substitute attendance at the Audit and Scrutiny Panel, as per improvement action 2.4 in Appendix 2 25 - 54 7 Standards Commission Proceedings – Councillor Duffy Submit report by the Chief Officer (Legal and Democratic) advising of the outcome of proceedings before the Standards Commission for Scotland in relation to a complaint that Councillor Duffy had been guilty of a breach of the Councillors’ Code of Conduct. 55 - 70 NOTICE OF MOTIONS
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8 Notice of Motion submitted by Councillor Smith and Councillor Robinson “Council recognises the need for business conducted at committee meetings to be properly documented and captured, with actions recorded and followed up by officers as and when requested during meetings. This is vital to ensure the continued open and transparent nature of council proceedings, and to avoid duplication and repeated requests being revisited and resubmitted at subsequent meetings. Council agrees for all future Committee and full Council meetings to capture within the minutes any specific questions submitted to council officers where a response or additional actions are promised outside of that meeting. This will be implemented from the first relevant meeting of cycle one of 2024” 9 Notice of Motion submitted by Councillor Khan and Councillor McKay “North Lanarkshire Council recognises the high level of care currently provided at University Hospital Wishaw’s award winning Neonatal Intensive Care Unit and extends a sincere thanks to the staff working there. Council notes with concern the proposal by the Scottish Government to downgrade Wishaw’s Neonatal Unit and acknowledges that a petition opposing the proposal has gathered more than 17,000 signatures. Council notes that a decision to downgrade this unit would result in some babies that require a high level of care being treated in Glasgow, Edinburgh or Aberdeen instead of Wishaw, as they are currently. Council is further concerned that the clinical advice which this proposal is predicated on is now five years out of date. As such, council instructs the Chief Executive to write to the Scottish Government Health Minister objecting to this proposal and highlighting the negative impact it is likely to have on parents here in North Lanarkshire”
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10 Notice of Motion submitted by Councillor Costello and Councillor Bustard “Council commends the excellent work of the Scottish Fire and Rescue Service in keeping our communities safe. Council notes with concern Scottish Government cuts to the Scottish Fire and Rescue Service budgets which it understands equate to £64million over the last ten years in real terms. Council understands that such significant cuts to a key public service have led to job losses and a deterioration of the condition of many stations across Scotland. Council recognises reports that the loss of key appliances in neighbouring stations will see large communities outside of North Lanarkshire become partly reliant on North Lanarkshire Fire Stations to provide support. Council believes that it is the public and community safety that will feel the true impacts of these cuts. Council, therefore, urges the Scottish Government to reverse this year’s funding cut to the Scottish Fire and Rescue Service budget to give this key public service the relief it desperately needs and agrees to write to the Scottish Government Community Safety Minister stating this position”
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11 Notice of Motion submitted by Councillor Logue and Councillor Fisher “Council agrees that Standing Order 6 be amended, as undernoted: - The notice of the time of, and the arrangements for, the intended meeting, shall be published at the Civic Centre, Motherwell and on the Council’s website and sent to Members by email to their Council email addresses by way of a hyperlink to the meeting papers. If they so choose, Members may request to receive a printed copy of the meeting papers which may be collected from Member Services, Civic Centre, Motherwell. Where a Special Meeting is called by Members, the notice shall be signed by, and record the names of, the Members calling the meeting and the notice shall specify the business proposed to be transacted at the intended meeting. Council agrees that Standing Order 64(A) be amended to read that "Where a member who has been appointed to a committee is unable to attend a meeting of that body, they shall be permitted to appoint a substitute member to attend in their place. The use of substitute members shall be limited to use only by political groups and shall be further limited to three per political group per meeting. Upon attendance in a role of substitute member, that Member shall so indicate to the meeting prior to the commencement of business that they are in attendance as a substitute Member and further indicate the name of the absent Member for whom they are substituting, and this shall be recorded in the Minute of the meeting. It is not permissible for a substitute Member to assume the Chair." Council agrees that all Planning, quasi-judicial & regulatory committees and sub-committees are held in person”
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12 Notice of Motion submitted by Councillor Williams and Councillor McKendrick “This Council notes:- • The ‘Strathclyde Regional Bus Strategy and Delivery Plan: Case for Change’ report presented to Strathclyde Partnership for Transport’s Board on 29 September 2023. • That this evidence-based report has found that bus use is in ‘sustained, long-term decline’ in Strathclyde, with bus patronage, the size of bus networks, bus service frequency and network coverage all falling. • That despite decline in bus networks, bus fares continue to rise in Strathclyde at a higher rate than inflation and at a higher rate than the cost of travelling by other modes of transport. • That the current model of bus service has failed to deliver integrated ticketing or an integrated approach to public transport planning. • That in 2021/22 public sector support represented 56 per cent of bus operator revenues in Scotland. • That publicly funded revenue has been boosted by free bus travel for under 22s resulting in 84 million journeys to education, work and leisure, where services are available to use. • The announcement in the 22/23 Programme for Government that the Scottish Government will work with third sector and local authorities to provide free bus travel to asylum seekers and refugees including displaced people from Ukraine. This Council believes:- • The current deregulated model of bus provision is inadequate and that there is now a compelling case for changing the model of bus provision across Strathclyde. • A new model of bus provision will enable bus services and public transport across Strathclyde to contribute more towards a healthier environment, inclusive economic growth and an improved quality of life for the people and communities of Strathclyde. • A new model of bus provision will enable bus routes, timetables, ticketing, fares and integration with other modes to be designed by identifying and addressing communities’ needs in urban and in suburban and rural areas where there is little or no current service.
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This Council agrees to write to SPT and the Scottish Government to communicate its view that:- • As part of ongoing work developing theStrathclyde Regional Bus Strategy, SPT must develop a new model of bus provision for Strathclyde (on behalf of its 12 constituent local authorities) that is fully-integrated with other transport modes, affordable, reliable, easy to use, and democratically accountable. • SPT can deliver this most effectively by taking forward the franchising and municipal ownership powers in the Transport (Scotland) Act 2019 (and not through ‘Bus Service Improvement Partnerships’, which are not suitable for delivering transformational change) • This new model of bus provision will help achieve the Regional Transport Strategy objectives and policies set out by SPT by ensuring that bus provision is designed through identifying and addressing communities’ needs. • The Scottish Government must support SPT (and Scotland’s other Regional Transport Partnerships) seeking to replace deregulated bus models with models of regulation or common ownership, with fair funding and regulation that respects the autonomy and democratic wishes of Scotland’s communities and regions. A democratically accountable Strathclyde-wide bus franchising system should be progressed to improve bus services across the region and realise the ambitions of the Regional Transport Strategy. • The Scottish Government must support SPT in reforming transport governance, over a 10 year period, as set out in the recentCentre for Cities report.” In addition: Officers should continue to collaborate with other local authorities and SPT to progress the use of the franchising and municipal ownership powers, in line with this motion” QUESTIONS
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13 Questions Received in Terms of Standing Order 51 Submit three Questions Received in Terms of Standing Order 51 71 - 72