Agenda
North Lanarkshire Council · 6 October 2022
Back to Council — 6 October 2022 and its agenda
Text extracted from the council's PDF. Layout and reading order may differ from the original.
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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 - Cycles 2 and 3 Submit volume of minutes of meetings of committees, sub-committees and panels for cycles 2 and 3 for approval in terms of standing order number 21 (copy to follow) (3) Scheme of Administration and Timetable of Meetings 2022-2027 (page 9 - 84) Submit report by the Head of Legal and Democratic Solutions seeking approval of the revised Scheme of Administration and the corresponding Timetable of Meetings of Committees, Sub- Committees and Panels for the period from October 2022 to April 2027 (copy herewith) (4) Membership of Committees, Sub-Committees, Panels and Outside Bodies Submit proposed amendments to Membership of Committees, Sub-Committees, Panels and Outside Bodies (copy to follow) NOTICE OF MOTIONS (5) Notice of Motion submitted by Councillor Lennon and Councillor Di Mascio “Conduct a feasibility study for an authority wide Green, Renewable & Sustainable Community Energy Company that benefit’s the residents of North Lanarkshire. This Council recognises the financial impacts that the Cost of Living, Energy & Climate crises will have upon low-income families, the working poor, disadvantaged & energy excluded individuals and/or communities across the authority. This council acknowledges the dire financial challenges residents will face both this winter and for the foreseeable future due to global instability and increases to fuel price caps. This Council agrees that despite being at the mercy of global markets & UK government, this authority has a significant role to play in mitigating these financial catastrophes for the betterment of its residents. This Council concludes that an authority/ community owned energy company could put our people at the heart of the energy system. It could bring communities & people together to take democratic climate action by understanding, generating, owning, using, and saving energy. This Council further acknowledges that community energy provides clear accountability and participatory governance within the energy system, which is empowering, transparent and equitable. It accelerates the transition to a zero-carbon energy system while increasing community resilience and/or it includes communities which may otherwise be excluded from the energy system. This Council agrees to conduct a full feasibility study to explore the concept of an authority/ community owned energy company which will be presented at a later date to committee. The study will include scalable options for Wind, Biomass, Solar & Hydrogen plants which be located in the authority bringing with it new job opportunities & significant community benefits. The report will also include a potential business case, funding options, partners and/or stakeholders whilst understanding that community energy refers to the delivery of community-led renewable energy, energy demand reduction and energy supply projects, whether wholly owned and/or controlled by communities or through partnership with commercial and/or public sector partners ensuring Green, Clean & Sustainable energy for many years to come thus ensuring North Lanarkshire truly is a place to Live, Learn, Work, Invest & Visit”
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2 (6) Notice of Motion submitted by Councillor Lennon and Councillor McCluskey “To review all play park equipment in the authority making play areas more accessible for children with Disabilities, Sensory Impairment & Additional Support Needs. This Council recognises that play is an important part of all children’s development and more so for children with disabilities, visual impairment, and children with additional support needs. This council acknowledges there is a severe lack of accessible/ inclusive play equipment at many play/ swing parks in North Lanarkshire for children with specialised requirements. This council agrees that disabled & sensory play equipment is limited to one or two children’s play parks in the authority, which does not promote inclusive play “FOR ALL CHILDREN” with its selection of current play equipment. This council further concedes that many parents must travel to Ravenscraig or out with the authority (Rouken Glen in Giffnock or Zetland in Grangemouth) to access purpose designed disabled equipment, meaning many parents must travel great distances to allow their children the opportunity for safe play & at significant cost. This Council agrees to conduct a full review (including any consultative data) of disabled/ sensory play equipment in the authority with an aim of identifying 1 adapted, disabled/ sensory play park per ward area in the authority thus ensuring stronger linkage with the 20 Minute Neighbourhood Concept. This council will present a report at a future committee including an action plan to achieve more inclusive play for children with disabilities, visual impairment & additional support needs and ensuing North Lanarkshire an authority that promotes disabled play & play for all children living in the authority” (7) Notice of Motion submitted by Councillor Goldie and Councillor Masterton “We are all aware of the current energy and cost of living crisis which is affecting many residents of North Lanarkshire. As we move into Autumn and Winter, with the consequent onset of colder temperatures, this is anticipated to exacerbate further. To mitigate this and to try to assist the vulnerable within society: This Council should urgently investigate the feasibility of providing “warm rooms”, in locations across the Authority, for the use of residents detrimentally impacted by the combined effects of the lifting of the price cap, soaring energy costs and high inflationary pressures on their household budgets” (8) Notice of Motion submitted by Councillor Robinson and Councillor Di Mascio Conduct a feasibility study on the creation of a North Lanarkshire university-linked business incubator. “This Council recognises that North Lanarkshire is the largest local authority in Scotland with no university, or university campus (outside of health facilities), within its boundaries. This puts North Lanarkshire at a distinct disadvantage with regards to attracting university spin-out companies, the majority of which are in the high value-add STEM sector, notably life sciences, engineering, software / video games development, robotics, artificial intelligence and net zero / green technologies. In its resource spending review for the period 2023-27, Universities Scotland noted that Scottish Universities made an economic contribution of £15.3 billion to the UK economy in 2019/20. Notably, Scottish universities have created 1,240 spin-out companies via the commercialisation of research activities - 19% of the UK total. The commercialisation of university research adds £613 million to the Scottish economy on an annual basis. This Council notes that the BioCity/MediCity business accelerator is successfully located at Newhouse, however it is focussed on the life sciences sector and is not specifically linked to Scotland’s universities. This Council agrees to conduct a full feasibility study to explore the concept of a university- linked business incubator, the findings of which will subsequently be presented to committee. This study will investigate: • options for the scope and location of an incubator
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3 • funding options • identification of key partners and stakeholders This Council recognises that the creation of a business incubator linked to Scotland’s universities will have several positive impacts for our communities, notably: • the creation of high value jobs in North Lanarkshire - contributing to closing the gap between average earnings in North Lanarkshire and Scottish average earnings. • Enhancing North Lanarkshire’s reputation as the best place in Scotland to Live, Learn, Work, Invest and Visit, as part of the Council’s “We ASPIRE” framework. • Developing opportunities for our young people, especially graduates, who are often forced to work, and potentially live, elsewhere. • Helping to create a sustainable economy of the future, one that positions North Lanarkshire at the forefront of technological innovation across a variety of economic sectors” (9) Notice of Motion submitted by Councillor Mitchell and Councillor Toner Hybrid Working Commitment for Committees and Council Meetings “This Council recognises that for employees of the Council, hybrid working has been accepted through the Hybrid Working Scheme which allows for the application of workforce flexibility by utilising online meeting systems such as Microsoft Teams. This council notes that this policy does not apply to Councillors and that whilst hybrid meetings have been taking place for appropriate Committees, there is no permanent provision to ensure this remains the policy. This Council acknowledges that Hybrid Working enhances participation, capacity, and empowerment across our communities and allows those Councillors from marginalised backgrounds to participate as elected representatives where they previously may not have been able to due to the barriers present. This Council accepts that Hybrid Working using technology is commonplace in appropriate workplaces now and will likely remain permanent, therefore, to not embrace such methods of working would be suppressive to a modern working environment that does not disenfranchise those with accessibility issues and provides a positive work life balance for workers. This council recognises that promoting inclusion and aiming for equality helps in addressing the disadvantages that people may experience because of societal constructs, prejudice, and discrimination and this should include elected members. The Council agrees to amend Section 4 of 'Standing Orders for Meetings' and suitably amending the 'Protocol for Remote Council and Committee Meetings' to reflect a commitment to hybrid working for Councillors for appropriate meetings” QUESTIONS (10) Questions Received in Terms of Standing Order No.51 - None Received