Glasgow City Council Agenda - 09 September 2021, 11:00 Help

A meeting to be held at by video conference at 11:00 on 09 September 2021.

Number Item
1Minutes of Council meeting of 24th June 2021 (Print 3, pages 139 to 148). View Papers
2Print 3 - Committees' minutes - Consideration of paragraphs marked "C", remaining paragraphs being submitted for information and approval as a correct record only (page 149 onwards).  View Papers
3Changes to committees etc - Repatriation and Spoliation of Artefacts Working Group - Appoint David McDonald (Chair), Annette Christie, Robert Connelly, Archie Graham and Jon Molyneux. View Papers
4Representation on outside bodies.
5Correspondence.
6Questions. View Papers
7Notice of motions.
(a)By Councillor Susan Aitken:-

"Council has watched with horror the tragic situation in Afghanistan as the takeover of the country by the Taliban has seen the collapse of democratically elected government and national institutions and the reverse of 2 decades of fragile progress in the establishment of human rights, particularly for women and girls.

Council expresses its deep sympathy and solidarity with the Afghan people and with Glasgow's Afghan community, many of whom came here as refugees from war and past Taliban atrocities and abuses, and who now live in fear for the safety of family members still living in Afghanistan. Council deeply regrets that the sacrifices and losses suffered by the Afghan people and UK and international armed forces personnel have led to this outcome and believes that it counts among the biggest foreign policy failure of modern times.

Council particularly fears for the safety of Afghan women and girls, recalling that when the Taliban were last in control, women and girls were denied education, employment, participation in public life and freedom of movement and stripped of their most basic liberties and human rights. Council is extremely sceptical of Taliban claims that this won't be repeated and urges the UK Government not to take any statements of assurance by the Taliban at face value.

Council notes that Glasgow has so far agreed to receive 64 refugees under the UK Government Afghan Resettlement Scheme; further notes that Glasgow HSCP officers are working with RSL partners to identify suitable accommodation to house more refugees; and instructs the Chief Executive to explore every available avenue to further increase the numbers of Afghan refugees we are able to accommodate safely and securely in the city.

Council believes that the UK's Afghan Refugee Resettlement Scheme currently falls short of what is required proportionate to the scale of the unfolding humanitarian emergency. Council believes that the past actions of UK governments have significantly contributed to the creation of this crisis and that the UK has a moral obligation to do everything it can do aid the Afghan people, in particular women, children and those on whom the Taliban is likely to seek vengeance for having served in the Afghan armed forces or other national institutions. Council therefore calls on the UK Government to go further and faster in its response both in the provision of aid and in supporting the evacuation and safe resettlement of Afghan nationals, ensuring that further immediate resources are made available to support local authorities to significantly increase the numbers of Afghan refugees they are able to accommodate. Council instructs the Chief Executive to seek further resources from the UK Government to support Glasgow's resettlement work.

Council notes finally that the proposals in the UK Government's Nationality and Borders Bill - which would breach the UN Refugee Convention by seeking to criminalise asylum-seeking people who arrive in the UK via another country and which would reduce the rights of refugees living in the UK and diminish the support given to asylum seekers - are even more egregious in the light of the Afghan refugee crisis, and pledges its support to campaigns by the Scottish Refugee Council and others to oppose this anti-refugee bill." View Papers
(b)By Councillor Maggie McTernan:-

"Council notes:

(1) the Scottish Government's consultation document "A National Care Service for Scotland" released on 9th August this year;

(2) this consultation arises from the recent "Independent Review of Adult Social Care" (IRASC) known as the Feeley report;

(3) the Feeley Report looked specifically at the provision of Adult Social Care Services;

(4) the Scottish Government's consultation covers a far wider remit and includes proposals for a National Care Service, which would also cover a whole range of services currently delivered by Local Government. These include:-

- children's services;
- alcohol and drug services;
- social work;
- elements of mental health services; and
- potentially, criminal justice services;

(5) the consultation proposes that IJBs become Community Health and Social Care Boards (CHSCBs), which would be the local delivery body for the NCS, funded directly by the Scottish Government;

(6) CHSCBs would be the sole model for local delivery of community health and social care in Scotland. They would have responsibility and authority for planning, commissioning, and procurement of community health and social care and other relevant support, and for the management of GP contractual arrangements. They will be able to commission services from local authorities, the NHS and the third and independent sectors;

(7) CHSCBs would employ their own Chief Executives and staff who plan, commission and procure care and support. The Chief Executive of each CHSCB will report to the Chief Executive of the NCS; and

(8) the closing date for responses to the consultation is 18th October, 2021.

Council believes:

(a) these proposals represent the most radical changes to the structure and functions of local government in Scotland since the last major reorganisation in 1996;

(b) the proposals, if implemented, would see a huge swathe of council services and funding transferred to unelected quangos reporting directly to Scottish ministers;

(c) Local authorities are best placed to understand the needs of their communities and democratic accountability and localism are key to the success of these services;

(d) the Feeley report contained sound proposals in regard to Adult Care Services but this consultation contains no sound evidence or justification for the wholesale transfer of council services to unelected quangos; and

(e) the recommendations of the Feeley Report and other improvements in social services can best be delivered by democratically accountable local councils provided adequate funding is provided by Scottish Government to support these services.

Council resolves:

(i) to establish a short term, cross party, working group to agree our detailed response to the consultation;

(ii) to oppose in principle the transfer of council powers, services and funding to newly created CHSCBs;

(iii) to work alongside COSLA, other local authorities, trade unions and professional bodies to defend and retain council services; and

(iv) to support calls by other parties to extend the consultation period from 18th October until at least 12th November to allow for fuller consideration." View Papers
(c)By Councillor Euan Blockley:-

"Council recalls its motion of 4th April 2019, submitted in the name of Councillor Connelly, in which Council expressed its regret that "a small minority are spoiling Scotland's streets, parks and countryside for the law abiding majority". Council reconfirms its commitment to stronger enforcement action against those who engage in illegal waste disposal and its concern that in Glasgow it appears that very little enforcement action takes place.

Council notes that the move from a weekly bulk collection system for many tenement properties to an appointment-only system was poorly communicated and has resulted in many residents in these areas being unaware of the correct method for bulk disposal. In addition, such confusion has then allowed those who deliberately and illegally fly-tip to take advantage of this situation.

Council further acknowledges the recently implemented bulk waste charge to have exacerbated an already worsening problem of rampant fly tipping across the city. Council recognises the severe discomfort that Glasgow residents face as a result of being forced to live and work amongst large, often obstructive, abandoned furniture and other items.

This Council states its belief that Glasgow and Scotland require legislative changes in this area, including much stronger fines for fly tipping as well as legal measures to allow for the liability and cost of cleaning up fly-tipping to be passed back to those who carry it out. Council notes that the power to introduce measures in this area sits with the Scottish Parliament and would support legislative change in this regard.

Therefore, Council resolves the following:

- an urgent review into how the Council delivers its fly tipping enforcement work is to be brought to the next meeting of the Environment and Sustainability Committee to allow Councillors to consider what steps can be taken to strengthen this work;

- the Chief Executive is instructed to immediately suspend charging for bulk uplifts for the remainder of this financial year. Further, the Chief Executive is instructed to write to the Cabinet Secretary for Finance & the Economy requesting an additional allocation of funds to cancel the bulk uplift charge for the remainder of this financial year and going forward recognising Glasgow's unprecedented cleansing crisis. Any balance required to be met from this change is to be met from the General Reserve for the remainder of this financial year should Scottish Government support not be forthcoming; and

- the Chief Executive is instructed to write to the Cabinet Secretary for Net Zero, Energy and Transport providing details of this motion and intimating the Council's support for stronger fly-tipping measures as set out in this motion." View Papers
(d)By Councillor Martha Wardrop:-

"Council notes the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) report of August 2021, described by the UN Secretary-General, Antonio Guterres as a "code red for humanity". Council acknowledges the increasing frequency of heatwaves and extreme weather events across the world that are unequivocally the result of human behaviour like burning fossil fuels, and that the consequences will continue to get worse without immediate, rapid and large scale reductions in greenhouse gas emissions.

Council recognises that the devastating effects on the climate need a concerted cooperative and fully funded response by governments internationally, and that behaviour modification by individuals, while helpful, will not come anywhere close to reversing the terrible trajectory the planet is on. However, Council acknowledges that as Scotland's largest city, there are measures that can be taken locally to support those who live, work and visit Glasgow in reducing their carbon emissions.

Council notes that since the IPCC's previous report of late 2018, significant steps have been taken in the city to address climate change, including:

- the declaration of a climate and ecological emergency in May 2019;
- the commitment to deliver a transformative Green New Deal and a just transition to low carbon jobs;
- the introduction of Scotland's first Low Emission Zone, and the commitment to better monitor air pollution in the city to ensure levels continue to fall;
- the dedication of £10 million to fund capital works to address the climate emergency; and,
- the ratification of a Climate Plan outlining steps to meet a new 2030 target for carbon neutrality.

Council has also called on the Strathclyde Pension Fund to make a formal commitment to fossil fuel divestment and to reinvest the Pension Fund Members' hard-earned money to drive a green recovery for the Glasgow region.

Council believes that as the eyes of the world turn to Glasgow ahead of the COP26 conference in November, we can and must continue to do more, and we should continue to learn from other cities around the globe.

Council notes that several cities in North America have taken steps, including through their development planning system and behavioural change programmes, to reduce demand for fossil fuels, particularly through the use of private vehicles. That has included measures such as those in the city of Minneapolis to restrict the development of new drive-through restaurants, and in the cities of Cambridge, Massachusetts and North Vancouver, BC, which have recently introduced local byelaws requiring climate impact warnings to be placed on petrol and diesel pumps. Council recognises that these steps could further contribute to efforts to address the climate emergency.

Council instructs that papers be brought before the appropriate committees by the end of 2021, setting out how these measures could be given effect to in Glasgow, via planning policies, byelaws or other means." View Papers
(e)By Councillor Ruairi Kelly:-

"Council utterly condemns the scenes of anti-Irish racism once again witnessed on the streets of Glasgow and extends our full support and solidarity to the Irish community in Scotland and assures them that they and everyone who calls Glasgow their home is a valued member of our society.

Council commends the An Gorta Mór Committee on the recent unveiling of the memorial to those who lost their lives or were forced to emigrate during The Great Hunger, many of whom made Glasgow their home and have contributed greatly to the fabric of our city. This, in addition to the Glasgow Green memorial, which involved both the Irish Government and noted historian Tom Devine, are fitting tributes to this period of history which has shaped our city.

Council agrees that this racism on our streets cannot be allowed to go on and calls on the Leader of Glasgow City Council to write to Scottish Government and Police Scotland requesting that they address these concerns and work with Glasgow City Council and the people of Glasgow to remove these outpourings of hate from our city." View Papers
(f)By Bailie Norman MacLeod:-

"Council welcomes the publication of the Parliamentary and Health Service Ombudsman's report entitled 'Women's State Pension age: our findings on the Department for Work and Pensions' communication of changes'.

Council notes the report's findings of maladministration and failure by the DWP appropriately to inform women of changes to their State Pension Allowance; and that the DWP did not provide 'accurate, adequate, timely' information about the hike in women's state pension age.

As the report makes clear these women have been badly let down by the DWP over a number of years under successive UK Governments.

These findings vindicate years of campaigning by the Women Against State Pension Injustice (WASPI) for pension justice. Council stands in solidarity with WASPI women in their campaign to have this historic injustice corrected; an injustice believed to be the largest case of maladministration ever brought before the Ombudsman affecting some 3.8 million women.

Council further notes that the UK has one of the worst state pensions in Western Europe and condemns the decision of this Conservative government and previous Labour governments not to address this adequately.

Council agrees that a state pension in an independent Scotland should be brought in line with comparator nations to allow our elderly citizens the dignified retirement they deserve.

Council calls upon the UK Government to make early and adequate arrangements to compensate all who have been disadvantaged by this maladministration; and requests the Chief Executive to advise the relevant UK Minister accordingly." View Papers