Agenda item

Motion A

Proposed by: Councillor Clucas, seconded by: Councillor Barrell

That this Council being mindful of the findings presented in the 2018 children’s needs assessment report, resolves to support a year of action, called No Child Left Behind that will:

·           Highlight the issue of children growing up in poverty in Cheltenham and the inequality between them and their more affluent peers,

·           Start to address the inequality gap beginning with 12 month programme of events and activities

·           Be a call to action for all sectors to work together to make transformational change over the longer-term to fight child poverty and create new mechanisms for ensuring that every Cheltenham child thrives.

·           Set up a CWG to examine the potential for change and to invite Children’s Champions to be members’

That councillors consider nominating themselves to be Children’s Champions to support the council in the delivery of the No Child Left Behind programme.

The council invite other organisations to formally commit to supporting the No Child Left Behind programme”

As proposer of the motion, Councillor Clucas gave a brief overview of the issue. She advised that, as colleagues were aware from the recent Members seminar an assessment focussing on the needs of children in Cheltenham had been conducted. This had identified a number of serious concerns for children living in Cheltenham and so Cheltenham Borough Council and its partners had committed to a year of action, called No Child Left Behind. The initiative aimed to highlight the issue of children growing up in poverty in Cheltenham and the inequality between them and their more affluent peers, start to address the inequality gap and be a call to action for all sectors to work together to make a transformational change over the longer-term. The results of the assessment had identified a number of children who lacked access to adequate food, issues of safety and the inability to afford period products. She explained that they would be working with partner organisations including Gloucestershire County Council, public health and local schools to make a real difference to local children. She felt that all Councillors had a responsibility to residents in their wards and invited them to be part of the initiative. She also encouraged all Members to put themselves forward for the Cabinet Member Working Group which they hoped to be cross party.

Councillor Barrel seconding the motion explained that their aspirations were for every child in Cheltenham to thrive as the needs assessment had identified considerable areas of concern. She advised that it would be a 12 month programme of events and activities aimed at making a real difference to local children. She acknowledged that poverty was wider than just money and they needed to look at other factors such as stress as a result of exam pressures and the prevalence of social media, which could act as a platform for bullying and abuse. She cited issues of crime, drugs and self harming, noting that in a recent study 22% of girls and 9% boys admitted to self harming in the past year. She explained that the issues were across the board not just in the normally deprived areas. She stated that they needed Councillors from all parties to nominate themselves as children’s champions to support the council in the delivery of the No Child Left Behind programme.

Members from all parties were fully supportive of the motion and were saddened by the results of the needs assessment. They agreed that in the 21^st Century, social media and the mental health impacts were a great concern, they also found the number of children requiring free school meals alarming and felt strongly that the gap in achievement between genders needed addressing. Members were startled by the inequality across the borough and stressed the importance of analysing the local data as pockets of deprivation could often be masked. Some Members agreed to engage with businesses in their wards to support the programme and offer opportunities for funding and also engage with local schools. The importance of engaging with local sports clubs and organisations was also noted.  One Member  was extremely supportive of the campaign given that it was in line with the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals,  a call for a action by all countries to eradicate poverty. Members were further alarmed by the high exclusion and non attendance rates at schools and acknowledged that whilst schools were doing everything in their power to reduce this a lot of it was outside their control and was as a result of issues at home.  Members noted that whilst central Government had a key role to play, Cheltenham could take a lead.

One Member confirmed that Gloucestershire County Councillor were also fully supportive of the No Child Left Behind programme and advised that the County were running a scheme whereby organisations were being invited to apply for grants for 2018-19 to invest in community initiatives which can alleviate the impact of period poverty. They reported that the applications were open until 31^st December and were keen that Cheltenham benefitted from the scheme. It was requested that the information on the scheme be circulated to all Members.

In response to a Members query about the practical steps being taken to help those in poverty, the Cabinet Member explained that the year of action involved a monthly plan of events, they advised that Richard Gibson’s team had all the information regrading the programme should Members wish to find out more.

In summary, Councillor Clucas reiterated that they wanted to make a real difference to the lives of vulnerable children. She thanked Richard Gibson and his team for the enormous amount of work they had put into the programme. She explained that the programme would begin with the child poverty summit in January which would bring together all the organisations responsible for the care of children, inviting them to get on board with the programme. Other planned activities included educating children and families in how to grow their own food, engaging with sports clubs and offering career advice to children. She noted that there was also a real issue with children spending long periods of time on their phones and IPads and so the programme would also look to hold organisations such as Facebook accountable.  She thanked everybody for their cross party support and reiterated the importance of raising issues within their wards.

Upon a vote the motion was CARRIED unanimously.

Motion B

Proposed by: Councillor Clucas, Seconded by: Councillor Stafford

Council congratulates all those who were involved in the unique projection that was created for the centenary of the Armistice in 1918. Tens of thousands of views of the projection on the internet demonstrate how popular it was.

Therefore, Council requests officers to look at developing Cheltenham as the UK’s first City of Light, through which Cheltenham’s amazing architecture might be utilised in storytelling and action in light, sound and music, for specific periods or weeks through the year.’

As proposer of the motion Councillor Clucas referred to the more than 100k who had seen the projection which illustrated what the council could achieve and how it could reach out. She wished to request officers to talk to colleagues at the Festivals, the Everyman and the Cheltenham Trust to come together and create a City of Light to enhance the Cheltenham offer and spread this beyond the town. This would provide opportunities for people, particularly students at the university. She wished to thank officers, the Everyman, Evenlode Productions, the Cheltenham BID and council officers for their valued involvement in the event.

Members made the following comments :

·         The WW1 projection made Cheltenham proud, it was an accessible and inclusive free offer and was a fitting tribute to those who had made the ultimate sacrifice.

·         It was suggested that a feasibility study be undertaken to investigate the possibility of putting on similar events at various times throughout the year. It would be an excellent opportunity to draw in local talent, including students and to involve them in working on a high end project which would have significant marketing potential. Reaching out to schools was also key and involving the whole community in reinforcing Cheltenham as a place of culture.

·         Accessibility was key.

·         There was potential for synergy with other things in the town and specific reference was made to the lighting up of the GCHQ building

·         The use of LEDS meant energy efficiency. There were opportunities for CBC to work with the Cheltenham BID on using downlighting rather than A boards on pavements.

·         A Member pointed out that the town had a range of prominent buildings, not just public estate and not everyone would necessarily embrace the proposal.

·         A Member referred to the potential for a dark skies reserve within the Cotswolds AONB to minimise light pollution and to inform children of the wonders of the universe. He questioned whether a City of Light would be compatible with this.

·         It was noted that the town had a high degree of Grade 2 listed buildings and some had expressed concern that there would be issues with lighting such buildings up. This concern was questioned since the national monument commission, under the auspices of English Heritage allowed such buildings to be lit up.

Councillor Clucas welcomed the feedback from Members and the opportunity to explore further. Working with partners, including the BID would be key.

Upon a vote the motion was CARRIED unanimously.

Motion C

Proposed by: Councillor Willingham, Seconded by: Councillor Baker

This Council is concerned about the safety and well-being of our front-line, public-facing staff.  Our staff who perform public-facing roles, including enforcement activities, should be able to work without being assaulted, threatened or given verbal abuse; and the Council should ensure that if threats or acts of aggression or violence are made against our staff, this should not be without consequence for the aggressor; the Council should ensure that measures and processes are in place to deter, and quickly resolve, vexatious complaints made against staff to cause them extra stress and prevent them performing their roles.  Council notes that modern technology such as body-worn cameras and digital recording of communications can provide an independently verifiable witness of interactions, but that there can be privacy and other concerns about the unregulated deployment of such technology.  Council believes that such technology would be beneficial to our employees, and

1)    Urges Cabinet to investigate the costs and practicalities of equipping officers with such devices and training them on their use.

2)    Urges Cabinet to engage with affected staff, both directly and by consulting with the Trades Union representatives to ensure that such provisions meet our staffs’ needs.

3)    Notes that Overview and Scrutiny Committee may wish to consider these proposals in more detail, to ensure that all of the issues are captured and the correct policy is implemented.

4)    Notes that Audit Committee may wish to consider these proposals in more detail, to ensure that the correct processes, governance, legal and privacy frameworks are in place.

As proposer of the motion, Councillor Willingham gave a brief overview of the issue. He felt that as the staff were one of the greatest assets to the organisation they had a duty to protect them, particularly from vexatious complaints which could cause a great deal of unnecessary stress to employees. He explained that body cameras would ensure they effectively had an independent witness to any interactions. Similar measures had been adopted in London and evidence had suggested that this had reduced the number of vexatious complaints.  He acknowledged that there were practical and regulatory considerations, such as ensuring that the operation was GDPR compliant. He urged Cabinet to investigate equipping officers with such devices and also engage directly with staff and consult with the Trades Union representatives.

Councillor Baker seconding the motion, reiterated Councillor Willingham’s comments, agreeing that staff often worked in extremely difficult, confrontational circumstances and that they would benefit from such devices. He urged Cabinet to progress the matter further.

Some Members felt that the issue went deeper than staff protection and felt that careful consideration needed to be given to the practical implications they, however, felt confident that the necessary safeguarding measures would be considered. Other Members agreed that as long as all the necessary policies and processes were in place it could save officers a  lot of time, energy and money dealing with vexatious complaints and could ultimately diffuse situations. Members agreed that the proposals should be considered by O&S before being brought before the Audit committee to ensure the correct processes, governance, legal and privacy frameworks were in place. One Member had reservations about proposals 3 & 4 and felt that it was important members of the public were able to make complaints, particularly as the council was not an independent body. They were, however, happy to support proposals 1 and 2.

One Member suggested that in addition to such devices, additional CCTV around the town, particularly by the taxi ranks would be beneficial. The Cabinet Member advised that at the Cabinet meeting on the 4th December, they had agreed the town centre security strategy which included provisions to upgrade of the town’s public realm CCTV infrastructure. He further explained that an integrated approach to tackling anti-social behaviour and environmental crime within the town centre was being taken.

In summary, Councillor Willingham explained that it was not a case of taking away peoples ability to make a genuine complaint but reduce the number of vexatious complaints. He agreed that it was imperative all of the necessary policies and procedures were in place but felt that carrying the motion would send out a strong message to both staff and residents.

Upon a vote the motion was CARRIED unanimously.