Agenda item

Motion 1 – Responsible Use of Fireworks

 

Proposed by Councillor Princess Bright and Seconded by Councillor Chand

 

“Fireworks are used throughout the year to mark different events. This council welcomes the use of fireworks to celebrate cultural and community events, whilst also recognising the need for regulation in order to support vulnerable people and animals.

 

The unpredictable, loud and high intensity noises that many fireworks make can cause fear. For example, studies have found fireworks to be the most common cause for fear responses in dogs , and it is estimated that 45 percent of dogs show signs of fear when they hear fireworks . A New Zealand survey recorded 79 percent of horses as either anxious or very anxious around fireworks or over the Guy Fawkes Day period.

 

Debris produced by fireworks, if found on the ground, can also pose a hazard to animals, such as horses and farm livestock. Although there is limited direct evidence, it is also likely that fireworks and their debris will cause disturbance to wildlife, and are likely to cause suffering or distress, depending on the distance from the explosive and the noise level.

 

This Council resolves:

-  to require all public firework displays within the local authority boundaries to be advertised in advance of the event, allowing residents to take precautions for their animals and vulnerable people

-   to actively promote a public awareness campaign about the impact of fireworks on animal welfare and vulnerable people – including the precautions that can be taken to mitigate risks

-   to write to the UK Government urging them to introduce legislation to limit the maximum noise level of fireworks to 90dB for those sold to the public for private displays

-   to encourage local suppliers of fireworks to stock ‘quieter’ fireworks for public display.”

 

A number of Members of the Assembly spoke in support of the motion.

 

The motion was carried unanimously.

 

Motion 2 – Union Learning Fund

 

Proposed by Councillor Mullane and Seconded by Councillor Paddle

 

“This council notes:

 

1.  On Tuesday 6 October, the TUC received a letter from the Department for Education saying that ministers have decided to end the Union Learning Fund from March 2021.

2.  The Union Learning Fund (ULF) was set up in 1998 to support trade unions to widen access to learning and training in workplaces for both union members and non-members. The fund supports workplace projects across England, and is coordinated by the TUC.

3.  Each year around 200,000 workers are supported into learning or training with union support through the ULF and the TUC. These learners undertake all sorts of job-relevant learning and training, including basic literacy and numeracy, ICT skills, apprenticeships and traineeships, vocational training, continuing professional development and many other informal and formal courses.

4.  In 2019–20, the ULF was worth £12m. If upheld this decision will effectively end union-brokered skills training, and will undermine key government skills and retraining priorities at a crucial moment for our economy.

 

This council understands that:

 

1.  Union learning reaches people that other DfE programmes do not reach.

2.  There is an independent evaluation of the Union Learning Fund every two years. It was most recently evaluated by the University of Exeter in 2018. They spoke to 2,459 learners, and found:

•  Over two-thirds (68 per cent) of learners with no previous qualifications got a qualification.

•  47 per cent of those with entry level or level 1 qualifications got a qualification at a higher level.

•  Four in five (80 per cent) said they had developed skills that they could transfer to a new job.

•  Two in three (62 per cent) said their new skills made them more effective in their current job.

•  One in five (19 per cent) said they had been promoted or given increased responsibility and one in 10 (11 per cent) got a pay rise.

3.  The 2018 independent evaluation found that union learning provided excellent value for money:

•  For every £1 spent on the Union Learning Fund, there is a return of £12.30: £7.60 to the worker, £4.70 to the employer.

•  The Union Learning Fund delivers an estimated net contribution to the economy of more than £1.4bn as a result of a boost to jobs, wages and productivity.

•  The return to the exchequer (through reduced spending on welfare benefits and other factors resulting from the boost to jobs and wages) is £3.57 for each £1 spent on the Union Learning Fund.

4.  The £12m government funding levered in an additional £54m from employers, unions and training providers in 2019–20.

The government has said it will put reskilling workers at the heart of its economic recovery plans after the pandemic. In September 2020, the government announced a new fully funded entitlement to achieve a first level 3 qualification, delivered through the National Skills Fund. Union learning is ideally placed to support this aspiration, in three ways:

•  directly, through delivering relevant level 3 courses to workplace learners, which is already a core function of the Union Learning Fund and was assessed as highly effective by the 2018 independent evaluation

•  directly, through enabling those with basic skills to learn and develop, putting them in a position to progress to level 3 skills

5.  Successive governments of all parties have valued this role – and have supported the Union Learning Fund. As government funding, it is paid as a contract and is subject to stringent monitoring requirements. Union Learning Fund money can only be spent on the direct costs of getting working people into learning and skills training, and the associated costs of delivering this programme.

6.  ULF projects adapted quickly to delivering online learning and training for workers during the pandemic and have actually surpassed the number of outcomes expected by government since the beginning of April.

 

This council resolves to:

1.  Express its public support for the continuation of the Union Learning Fund

2.  Raise this issue with our local MPs and encourage them to call on the government to reverse its decision

 

A number of Members of the Assembly spoke in support of the motion.

 

The motion was carried unanimously.

 

 

Motion 3 – Ending the Cladding Scandal

 

Proposed by Councillor Geddes and Seconded by Councillor Ashraf

 

“This Council notes:

 

·  The tens of thousands of buildings around the country including those in Barking & Dagenham impacted by the cladding crisis, and millions of leaseholders unable to move and facing crippling bills for removal

·  The grassroots campaign led primarily by residents affected by fire and building safety issues: including Grenfell United and the London Cladding Action group of affected leaseholders.

·  The calls for urgent and nation-wide action from the Government to fix cladding issues which came to light following the Grenfell tower tragedy.

·  The impact this has had on leaseholders across the country who now live in homes declared to be unsafe, due to unsafe cladding or other safety defects.

·  That these costs mean that leaseholders are unable to sell their homes – leaving them effectively trapped.

 

·  The campaign asks central Government to take responsibility and fund necessary works, reclaiming the costs from those responsible or by a levy on future developments.

 

This council also notes:

 

·  The campaign has ten asks of Government, which can be summarised by the following actions:

•  Homes to be made safe as quickly as possible

•  Protection and support for those living in unsafe homes

•  Actions to unlock the market and allow people to move on with their lives

 

This council resolves to:

 

·  Support the End our Cladding Scandal campaign and sign up to the 10-point plan to tackle the national cladding scandal which would mean:

 

1.  The government must lead an urgent national effort to remove all dangerous cladding from buildings by June 2022, including the prioritisation of blocks most at risk

 

2.  The Building Safety Fund must cover all buildings, regardless of height, and a range of internal and external fire safety defects, not just cladding

 

3.  The government should provide the money up front and then seek to recover it from any responsible parties or via a temporary levy on development

 

4.  Social housing providers must have full and equal access to the fund

 

5.  The government must compel building owners or managers to be honest with residents about fire safety defects

 

6.  The government should cover the cost of interim safety measures

 

7.  The government should act as an insurer of last resort and underwrite insurance where premiums have soared

 

8.  A fairer, faster process is needed to replace EWS and funding is necessary to ensure all buildings that require a form are surveyed within 12 months

 

9.  Mental health support must be offered to affected residents

 

10.Protecting residents from historic and future costs must be a key commitment of new building safety legislation

 

A number of Members of the Assembly spoke in support of the motion.

 

 

 

The motion was carried unanimously.

 

Standing Order 7.1 (Chapter 3, Part 2 of the Council Constitution) was suspended at this juncture to enable the meeting to continue beyond the 9pm threshold).