Agenda

The Civic Mayor to make any appropriate announcements.

At this juncture the Civic Mayor will retire from the Chair and the Chair of Council Business shall assume the Chair for the remaining business.

That the Minutes of the proceedings of the Annual Meeting and Special Meeting of Council held on 21 May 2019 be approved as correct records and signed by the Chair of Council Business (or other person presiding) (Minutes attached).

Members are asked to agree that the minutes of the meeting of Council held on 26 February 2019 be amended to remove Councillor Buglass from the list of those present at the meeting.

To receive any declarations of interest from Members of the Council.

To receive any announcements or communications from the Chair of Council Business, the Executive Leader, Members of the Executive Cabinet or the Chief Executive.

To consider any questions submitted by Members of the public in accordance with Standing Orders 31.12 and 31.13.

To receive the minutes of the Meeting of the Executive Cabinet held on 26 June 2019.

To receive the minutes of the Meeting of the Democratic Processes Working Group held on 8 July 2019.

To consider the attached report of the Executive Leader/Director (Governance and Pensions).

To consider the attached report of the Executive Member (Neighbourhoods, Community Safety and Environment)

To agree the following changes to Council bodies:

(i)            That Councillors Dawson Lane, J Fitzpatrick, Quinn and Ricci be removed from the Integrated Care and Wellbeing Scrutiny Panel.

(ii)           That Councillor Jackson be added to the Integrated Care and Wellbeing Scrutiny Panel

(iii)          That Councillors Hollinshead and J Fitzpatrick replace Councillors Gosling and J. Lane be replaced by Councillor Hollinshead on the Place and External Relations Scrutiny Panel

(iv)         That Councillor Quinn replace Councillor Hollinshead on the Speakers Panel (Licensing)

(v)          That Councillor Newton be removed from Speakers Panel (Liquor Licensing)

(vi)         That Councillor Sharif be removed from Speakers Panel (Planning)

(vii)        That Councillor Gosling be added to the Carbon and Waste Reduction Panel.

(viii)       That Councillors Ryan (Tameside) and Pantall (Stockport) be appointed as GM Pension Fund Observers in accordance with statutory guidance.

To consider the following motions:

Motion in the name of Councillor Mills:

That this Council believes that bus services are crucial to our residents when travelling around our borough and Greater Manchester as a whole. This Council also believes that buses are vital for residents accessing important health services such as GP surgeries; getting to and from places of employment and living day to day lives. Furthermore, this Council believes that the regulation of buses is essential in the creation of a sustainable and environmentally healthy city region. 

Under deregulation the existing bus system across Greater Manchester has not been fit for purpose. It is important that as a result of this we note the following:

·         80% of public transport journeys in Greater Manchester are done by bus.

·         Bus deregulation happened across most cities and town in the UK in the 1980s, meaning that bus companies can run whatever routes they like, charging whatever they choose, with various ticketing structures. 140 types of tickets are available in Greater Manchester.

·         A regulated network is how buses are in London and Jersey. In these places a local transport authority sets prices, routes and develops standard ticketing systems. In London, Transport for London puts all bus routes out to tender and buys the service from a company.

·         Regulation mean profits can be used to subsidise socially necessary services. It also allows a simple smart ticket system, with an automatic daily cap of spend, like the oyster card in London. Without regulation, a simple and single area-wide zonal ticket, with an automatic cap on spend (examples include London’s oyster card), is impossible.

·         76% of people in Greater Manchester want buses to be regulated, according to recent polling.

·         Bus journeys have declined by 40% in Greater Manchester since deregulation, while in London bus use has doubled. In Jersey, bus ridership has gone up by 32% in the last five years alone.

This Council believes that local government should have the ability to plan, join up and design the bus network in Greater Manchester, and compel bus companies to deliver certain standards. Our current bus network is far too vulnerable to instabilities as we have seen, with routes changed and fares raised, hitting some of our most vulnerable residents.

The announcement of the Our Pass and Our Network schemes by the Mayor of Greater Manchester are welcomed, along with the recent public announcement by the Greater Manchester Combined Authority that bus franchising is the preferred option for buses across the city region. However this council believes that these are only the first steps in ensuring that the best bus services possible are delivered to not only the residents of our borough but of the city region as a whole.

Therefore, this Council resolves to support the Better Buses for Greater Manchester campaign, which is calling for better, regulated buses.

Motion in the name of Councillor Cooney

The Council notes that:

Unite has members across many different sectors of the economy and following the merger with  ...  view the full agenda text for item 11.

To answer questions (if any) asked under Standing Order 17.2, for which due notice has been given by a Member of the Council.

To consider any other items which the Chair of Council Business (or other person presiding) is of the opinion shall be dealt with as a matter of urgency.