Agenda item

To consider progress made against Motions approved by Council.

The Committee considered a report, set out at Agenda pages 59 to 82, which gave details of progress against Council Motions approved over the past three years.

The report stated that Members were entitled to submit Motions to Council meetings in line with Section 4 of the Constitution. Motions on Notice must relate to matters for which the Council had responsibility or which affected the Borough. Members were also able to move Motions without Notice at the meeting on procedural issues.

Motions agreed by the Council were submitted to the relevant department for implementation. Until now, there had been no “feedback loop” process whereby Members and residents were appraised of the implementation of Motions and any outcomes for the Borough.

Appended to the report (Annex A) was a list of Motions approved by the Council over the past three years (2019-22). Annex B to the report set out the full wording of each of the approved Motions.

Members received updates on the most recent approved Motions as follows:

Local Welfare Provision Scheme – more effective delivery and signposting – officers have been looking at ways to reach those most in need with the LWP scheme and have been in discussions with various 3^rd sector partners via the Hardship Alliance.  

Local Electricity Bill – promotion of local community energy schemes – Sarah Kerr has submitted the Council’s pledge on the website of Power for People, who are campaigning for the Bill.The Leader and Chief Executive have written to the MPs (John Redwood, James Sunderland, Theresa May and Matt Rodda) and to the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy.

Alternatives to car travel – improving journey times to London Waterloo – Officers have commenced communication with the train operator.  Officers are also aware of discussions that have taken place between the rail operator and WBC Members. Communications will continue with the rail operator with the view to highlight the aims of this Motion.

Banning the use of live animals for prizes on WBC land – Officers have added a new clause into the WBC Booking form for Events:Wokingham Borough Council has an outright ban on the giving of live animals as prizes in any form, on Wokingham Borough Council land.Officers will confirm this point when they receive enquiries relating to events.

Parental Leave Policy for Members – A small Member working group has been set up, comprising: Rachel Bishop-Firth, Laura Blumenthal, Rachel Burgess and Jim Frewin. Officers will join the group to advise. The aim is for the policy to be presented to Council in early 2023.

Declaration of a Cost of Living Crisis in the Borough – a community-led response has been developed, driven through the Hardship Alliance, supported by the Council and a range of partners and groups across the Borough. Progress has been reported to the Community & Corporate and Children’s Services Overview and Scrutiny Committees.

In the ensuing discussion, Members made the following points:

The report provided useful information on progress against the agreed Motions. The report on the Council website should be updated once the agreed actions were fully implemented.

The siting of the information on the WBC website needed to be more prominent. Updates could be added with a RAG rating to indicate the rate of progress. The development of the new Council website (expected summer of 2023) could be used to facilitate this work.

RESOLVED That:

1)     the update on progress against Motions agreed by Council be welcomed;

2)     an update report on progress against Council Motions be submitted to the Committee in November each year;

3)     the web team be requested to ensure a more prominent location for the report on the WBC website as part of the new website development work.