Agenda item

i)             Councillor Beardsworth to propose and Councillor B Markham to second:

  “Council Notes:

1. Each year more than 300 homes for rent are lost in Northampton because of the Right to Buy.

2. In the 4 year period 2013 to 2017 over 50,000 homes were bought in England under Right to Buy.

3. That Northampton has a very high need for affordable housing, and in order to assist in meeting this Northampton Borough Council and Northampton Partnership Homes have developed plans to build more than 1,000 new homes for rent. The loss of affordable homes through the Right to Buy will undermine this investment to increase affordable stock.

4.    Council notes that in Wales, the Housing (Wales) Measure 2011 allows for councils to request the power from the Welsh Government to suspend the Right to Buy for a 5 year period.

Council requests that the Chief Executive write to  The Minister of State for Housing and Planning and our local Members of Parliament , seeking their support, for councils in England to be granted the same powers as our Welsh counterparts, and to report back to a future meeting of the council on progress”

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

“Council notes that Northampton Borough Council operates local pay bargaining arrangements for employees on NBC Local terms and conditions.

Council further notes that the public sector pay cap is being applied to thousands of public sector staff members who live in Northampton

Council believes that the continuation of the public sector pay cap is having a detrimental effect on levels of recruitment and retention across the public sector and is also having an impact on the living standards of thousands of local residents.

Council therefore asks the Chief Executive to write to the Chancellor of the Exchequer and the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government to request that the cap is removed to allow for meaningful pay negotiations and for the implementation of the recommendations of Pay Review Bodies and to request that any recommended pay increases are fully funded via central government financial settlement.”

iii)           Councillor Duffy to propose and Councillor Culbard to second:

“This Council notes that Fixed Odd Betting Terminals (FOBT) are sometimes referred to the “crack cocaine of gambling”.

This Council further notes FOBT gamblers are currently able to bet up to £100 per go on the machines, allowing players to make substantial losses very quickly.  People can place £100 every 20 seconds on FOBTs.

This Council asks the Chief Executive to write to our local MPs arguing it is the view of this Council that the very least the stakes on FOBT should be reduced from £100 to £2 or more preferably banned completely.”

iv)           Councillor Smith to propose and Councillor Davenport to second:

“This Council notes that at the last meeting a motion was passed calling for a review of our HMO policies.

This Council asks the review to look at Oxford City Council as a case study and the benefits of adopting their approach. In Oxford the whole of the local authority area is covered by an Article 4 directive and  any proposal to create a new HMO, including the change of use of any dwelling to an HMO, will only be permitted where the proportion of properties within 100 metres of street length either side of the property does not exceed 20%.

This Council looks forward to the review being completed in the near future.”

v)            Councillor King to propose and Councillor Hill to second:

“This Council believes that hate crimes have no place in our country, whether based on race, religion, sexual orientation, age or disability.

This Council condemns racism, xenophobia and hate crimes unequivocally. All Members of this Council are proud to live in a diverse and tolerant society.

This Council will work to ensure that local bodies, organisations, and programmes have the support they need to fight and prevent racism and xenophobia and will reassure all people living in this Borough that they are valued members of our community.

This Council welcomes and acknowledges the UK Government’s announcement of December 11th 2016, that it will sign up to the internationally recognised International Holocaust Remembrance Alliance (IHRA) guidelines on antisemitism.

This Council hereby resolves to:

a)    Adopt the definition of antisemitism as set out by the IHRA, and request that the Chief Executive ensure all relevant NBC codes of conduct are consistent with this;

b)    Work together as an entity to combat this pernicious form of racism.”

i)             Councillor Beardsworth proposed and Councillor B Markham seconded:

  “Council Notes:

1. Each year more than 300 homes for rent are lost in Northampton because of the Right to Buy.

2. In the 4 year period 2013 to 2017 over 50,000 homes were bought in England under Right to Buy.

3. That Northampton has a very high need for affordable housing, and in order to assist in meeting this Northampton Borough Council and Northampton Partnership Homes have developed plans to build more than 1,000 new homes for rent. The loss of affordable homes through the Right to Buy will undermine this investment to increase affordable stock.

4.    Council notes that in Wales, the Housing (Wales) Measure 2011 allows for councils to request the power from the Welsh Government to suspend the Right to Buy for a 5 year period.

Council requests that the Chief Executive write to  The Minister of State for Housing and Planning and our local Members of Parliament , seeking their support, for councils in England to be granted the same powers as our Welsh counterparts, and to report back to a future meeting of the council on progress”

Council debated the motion.

Upon a vote, the motion was lost.

ii)            Councillor Meredith proposed and Councillor Beardsworth seconded:

“Council notes that Northampton Borough Council operates local pay bargaining arrangements for employees on NBC Local terms and conditions.

Council further notes that the public sector pay cap is being applied to thousands of public sector staff members who live in Northampton

Council believes that the continuation of the public sector pay cap is having a detrimental effect on levels of recruitment and retention across the public sector and is also having an impact on the living standards of thousands of local residents.

Council therefore asks the Chief Executive to write to the Chancellor of the Exchequer and the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government to request that the cap is removed to allow for meaningful pay negotiations and for the implementation of the recommendations of Pay Review Bodies and to request that any recommended pay increases are fully funded via central government financial settlement.”

Council debated the motion.

Upon the requisition of a recorded vote:

There voted for the motion: Councilors Ashraf, Beardsworth, Birch, Cali, Culbard, Davenport, Duffy, T Eales, Haque, Joyce, B Markham, Marriott, McCutcheon, Meredith, Russell, Smith and Stone

There voted against the motion: Councillors Ansell, Bottwood, Flavell, Golby, Graystone, Hallam, Hibbert, J Hill, Kilbride, Kilby-Shaw, King, Lane, Larratt, Malpas, M Markham, Nunn, Oldham, Parekh, Patel, Sargeant and Walker.

There abstained the Mayor.

The motion was lost.

iii)           Councillor Duffy accepted an altered motion and Councillor Culbard seconded:

“This Council notes that Fixed Odd Betting Terminals (FOBT) are sometimes referred to the “crack cocaine of gambling”.

This Council further notes that due to a relaxation in gambling regulations introduced by the Labour Government in 1999, FOBT gamblers are currently able to bet up to £100 per go on the machines, allowing players to make substantial losses very quickly.  People can place £100 every 20 seconds on FOBTs.

Council welcomes the outcome of the current Government’s consultation on stake reduction and that it will be taking action to reduce maximum stakes on FOBT to between £50 and £2.

This Council, therefore, asks the Chief Executive to write to our local MPs urging them to persuade the Government to reduce the stakes on FOBT to the lower end of the proposed spectrum, preferably £2.”

Council debated the motion.

Upon a vote, the motion was carried.

iv)           Councillor Smith proposed and Councillor Davenport seconded:

“This Council notes that at the last meeting a motion was passed calling for a review of our HMO policies.

This Council asks the review to look at Oxford City Council as a case study and the benefits of adopting their approach. In Oxford the whole of the local authority area is covered by an Article 4 directive and  any proposal to create a new HMO, including the change of use of any dwelling to an HMO, will only be permitted where the proportion of properties within 100 metres of street length either side of the property does not exceed 20%.

This Council looks forward to the review being completed in the near future.”

Council debated the motion.

Upon a vote the motion was carried.

v)            Councillor King proposed and Councillor Hill seconded:

“This Council believes that hate crimes have no place in our country, whether based on race, religion, sexual orientation, age or disability.

This Council condemns racism, xenophobia and hate crimes unequivocally. All Members of this Council are proud to live in a diverse and tolerant society.

This Council will work to ensure that local bodies, organisations, and programmes have the support they need to fight and prevent racism and xenophobia and will reassure all people living in this Borough that they are valued members of our community.

This Council welcomes and acknowledges the UK Government’s announcement of December 11th 2016 that it will sign up to the internationally recognised International Holocaust Remembrance Alliance (IHRA) guidelines on antisemitism.

This Council hereby resolves to:

a)    Adopt the definition of antisemitism as set out by the IHRA, and request that the Chief Executive ensure all relevant NBC codes of conduct are consistent with this;

b)    Work together as an entity to combat this pernicious form of racism.”

Council debated the motion.

Upon a vote the motion was carried.