Content

11.1 – Safer
Parking Across the Bradford District
 
Resolved –
 
Moved by: Councillor Alex Ross-Shaw
Seconded by: Councillor Abdul Jabar
 
Illegal parking is a growing concern for
residents across the Bradford District, given the impact on safety
for pedestrians and other road users and reducing traffic flow.
This is especially a concern around schools, residential areas and
busy high streets.
 
Council notes
that:
 

·        
Bradford Council has 36 full time Equivalent Civil Enforcement
Officers.
 

·        
A maximum of 29 Civil Enforcement Officers work at any given time
targeting hot spots in every ward in the district.
 

·        
A maximum of 12 Civil Enforcement Officers work on evenings &
weekends. Other than Civil Enforcement officers, Bradford Council
uses bus lane cameras & CCTV car to issue penalty charge
notices.
 

·        
Bradford Council issued 78,897 Penalty Charge Notices for parking
in 2022.
 

·        
Bradford Council issued 103,650 Penalty Charge Notices for parking
in 2023.
 

·        
Council has implemented a number of School Streets across the
district - including in Royds, West Bowling, Girlington and Shipley
- which close streets around schools to non-local traffic. A
further two are planned in Canterbury and Lower Grange but it can
be difficult for schools to allocate resources to manage the
schemes locally. School streets complement our Schools 20mph
programme that has been rolled out to over 50 schools across the
district.
 

·        
Our Clean Air Zone funding programme, Clean Air Schools, provides
funding opportunities for schools to reduce traffic emissions and
includes additional Environmental Enforcement officers with
anti-Idling enforcement powers.
 

·        
Council introduced new highway enforcement powers, including on
yellow box junctions, as soon as it was legally able following
changes to legislation coming into force in July 2023. The first
sites where this was introduced were:
 

-      
Godwin Street and Westgate, yellow box junction

-      
Godwin Street and Sunbridge Road,
yellow box junction

-      
Great Horton Road, one-way system outside the Alhambra Theatre

-      
Shipley Airedale Road and Leeds Road, no right turn restrictions in
both directions
 
Council resolves to:
 
·        
On a separate but related matter, to continue trialling yellow box
highways enforcement, monitoring the progress of trial sites
underway with the view to rolling it out further as resources
allow.

 
·        
To consider Red Routes on major transport schemes in development
throughout the district.

 
·        
Continue our roll-out of School Streets and encourage schools to
work with us in implementing more across the district as funding
allows.

 
·        
Ask officers to provide a comprehensive briefing note to all
Councillors outlining the existing powers available to deal with
illegal parking, where the responsibility lies locally and the
process members can follow to address illegal parking in their own
wards.

 
·        
Encourage members to work with their local Area Office and Ward
Officers to identify any local issues in their ward, so the Area
Office can instigate Days of Action including working with partners
in West Yorkshire Police to tackle the problem.
 
To be actioned by:
Strategic Director Place
 
11.2 –
Problematic Pavement Parking
 
Resolved –
 
Moved by: Councillor Alex Ross-Shaw
Seconded by: Councillor Abdul Jabar
 
This Council
notes:
 
·        
The Highway Code advises vehicles “should not” park on
the pavement. However, outside of London and Scotland, it is still
legal

 
·        
Pavement parking can pose a hazard to pedestrians, especially
parents with pushchairs, people with sight loss, wheelchair users
and other disabled people. These people are especially at risk as
they can be forced into the road and faced with oncoming traffic
that they cannot see
 
·        
Pavements are not designed to take the weight of vehicles and so
surfaces can become damaged or subside, presenting a further hazard
for pedestrians, particularly those with disabilities
 
·        
Local estate roads were not designed, and continue not to be
designed, to allow sufficient width for vehicles to park on each
side of the road whilst allowing other traffic to pass.
 
·        
Planning policy for new housing developments tries to limit car
ownership by reducing the number of off-street parking places well
below the current level of car ownership meaning even new estates
cannot accommodate modern car numbers.
 
·        
Action to tackle pavement parking is currently problematic
because:

-      
The current legislation on nuisance pavement parking is
confusing

-      
The legal remedies available to tackle nuisance pavement parking
are unsatisfactory
 
This Council also
notes:
 

·        
The Department for Transport’s ‘Pavement Parking:
Options for Change’ consultation closed in November 2020 -
but to date the outcome of this has not been published, despite
many councils asking for this
 

·        
Over 15,000 people took the time to respond to this consultation,
demonstrating the level of public concern. They are still waiting
for a response.
 

·        
Bradford Council responded to the consultation requesting the
discretionary ability to apply greater powers to deal with pavement
parking
 

·        
From June 2016, all parking contraventions became the
responsibility of the Local Council Authority's Civil Enforcement
Officers (Traffic Wardens) - whilst Police have responsibility for
and the ability to deal with nuisance / obstruction offences -
where a vehicle is causing an obstruction
 

·        
Surveys and polls repeatedly show overwhelming support for
legislation to address pavement parking across England and Wales.
Sustrans’ Walking and Cycling
Index showed that 65% of residents supported the complete
prohibition of pavement parking (while only 16% oppose it)
 

·        
In some areas there is simply nowhere available for many of the
cars to go, and therefore discretion is required in how to tackle
the problem
 

·        
Sustainable and strong public transport provides a long-term
alternative to car ownership that can help minimise the impact in
many areas
 
Council resolves
to:
 

·        
Take action on inconsiderate pavement parking wherever it is found
in the district within existing legislation, powers and
resource.
 

·        
Ask the Chief Executive to write to the Secretary of State for
Transport requesting that the Government’s response to the
consultation now be published as promised
 

·        
Ask officers to provide a comprehensive briefing note to all
Councillors outlining the existing powers available to deal with
pavement parking, where the responsibility lies locally and the
process members can follow to address pavement parking in their own
wards
 

·        
Write to the Deputy Mayor for Policing and Crime to ask her to
ensure that West Yorkshire Police are consistently using their
powers to tackle nuisance / obstruction offences. Her response
should be circulated to all councillors.
 
To be actioned by:
Chief Executive/Strategic Director Place
 
11.3 – Banking
Hubs
 
Resolved –
 
Moved by: Councillor Alex Ross-Shaw
Seconded by: Councillor Abdul Jabar
 
Council
believes:
 

·        
That access to face to face banking services and cash facilities is
important for many of our residents, especially those who are
vulnerable or digitally excluded, and for charities, small
businesses and voluntary organisations.
 

·        
That continuing Post Office and bank branch closures are making an
already difficult situation progressively worse.
 
Council notes
that:
 

·        
The moves towards the provision of shared “Banking
Hubs” to provide banking services for customers of all banks
in locations where such services are absent or threatened.
 

·        
That Banking Hubs have support across the political spectrum and
from current and proposed regulatory changes and advice.
 

·        
Shadow City Minister, Tulip Siddiq, announced Labour’s plan
to quickly deliver 350 banking hubs to protect in-person banking
services on Britain’s high streets meaning more people across
the country will be able to access the services they need closer to
home.
 
Council
resolves:
 

·        
To support the principle of Banking Hubs on our high streets and
support residents who are lobbying for a banking hub in their
community by making appropriate representations to LINK who are
responsible for assessing the need.
 

·        
Where relevant, to identify council assets that would be suitable
as the locations of Banking Hubs, bearing in mind the
Council’s legal obligation to obtain ‘best value’
from any disposals or leases.
 
To be actioned by:
Strategic Director Corporate Resources/Strategic Director Place
 
11.4 – Cost of
School Uniforms
 
Resolved –
 
Moved by: Councillor Imran Khan
Seconded by: Councillor Sue Duffy
 
That with the addition and deletion of the
appropriate words, the motion be amended to read as follows:
 
Council notes
that:
 
a) The cost of school uniforms can put an
enormous strain on family budgets and can result in children not
going to a school on grounds of the affordability of the
uniform.
 
b) Having a uniform ready the night before
school is one of the "top tips" for improving school
attendance.
 
c) The Government has issued statutory
guidance which seeks to make school uniform more affordable for
families.
 
d) Research by the School wear Association
shows the average cost of a school uniform, worn for around 175
days, has declined.
 
e) Not wearing the correct uniform can lead to
sanction.
 
f) The most expensive items are the branded
items of school clothing such as blazers, ties, trousers, skirts
and physical education kit.
 
g) All schools receive Pupil Premium funding
and many schools use this funding to support families with the cost
of school uniforms.
 
h) Many schools already provide parents with
non-logo alternatives so that they do not have to buy uniform with
a logo on it, such as a school jumper or school shirt.
 
i) The majority of
schools have played an important and valued role, alongside the
council and other partners, in going above and beyond to support
children and families through the pandemic and cost of living
crisis.
 
j) That there are community and charity
projects within the Bradford District that provide school uniform
support
 
k) The Bradford District Credit Union is
running a UniformSavers scheme,
initially funded by the council and now by the West Yorkshire
Combined Authority, in which parents pay £10 into a monthly
savings account which is then topped up with a £100 payment
from the scheme in August to supplement the parent’s savings
to pay for their child’s school uniform.
 
Council
believes:
 
a) The cost of buying a school uniform should
never be a barrier to learning or attendance.
 
b) Schools should make their uniforms more
affordable by reducing the number of branded items to no more than
two and ensuring most items can be bought from high street
retailers.
 
c) Adherence to the school uniform statutory
guidance should form part of the OFSTED Inspection.
 
d) Parents, Carers and Pupils should have the
‘right of appeal’ to the Department for Education
should school uniform policy fail to comply with the guidance.
 
Council resolves
to:
 
Support the #CutTheCost campaign by the
Children’s Society and support the Portfolio Holder for
Education, Employment and Skills to write to the Secretary of State
for Education requesting that she amends the guidance as
follows:
 
a) Reduce the number of branded school uniform
items to no more than two
 
b) Include adherence to the statutory guidance
on the cost of school uniform as part of the OFSTED framework
 
c) Fund schools sufficiently so that they can
ensure that all parents of children on Free Schools Meals are able
to access a fully subsidised uniform annually and that an enhanced
Pupil Premium Grant may be used to off-set this cost.
 
d) Ensure that Parents, Carers and Pupils have
the right of appeal to the Department for Education should a
school’s uniform policy fail to comply with the guidance.
 
To be actioned by:
Strategic Director Children’s Services/Portfolio Holder for
Education, Employment and Skills
 
11.5 –
Anti-social use of Vehicles
 
Resolved –
 
Moved by: Councillor Julie Glentworth
Seconded by: Councillor Paul Sullivan
 
Council notes
that:
 

·        
Operation Steerside has been a
resounding success, resulting in the seizure of over 2300 vehicles,
the issuing of 11,500 fixed penalty notices and 520 arrests.
 

·        
Despite this, areas within Bradford District consistently rank high
amongst the parts of the country with the most uninsured
drivers.
 

·        
Despite previous motions to council regarding the anti-social use
of motor vehicles, including off-road vehicles and the illegal use
of electric scooters, some elected members continue to receive
large numbers of complaints from residents, regarding issues
including illegally loud exhaust pipes, road racing and absolute
disregard for other motorists, particularly motorcyclists and also
pedestrians and cyclists.
 

·        
The anti-social use of vehicles is not spread uniformly across the
district, with the quality of the lives of residents of urban areas
such as Keighley and the City being more blighted than in rural
areas.
 

·        
An increase in patrols took place to highlight five years of
Operation Steerside.
 
Council
resolves:
 

·        
To request that the Chief Executive task appropriate officers to
continue the good work with partners such as West Yorkshire Police
and undertake a consultation exercise with residents to identify
key problem spots and further effective mitigation and alleviation
measures.
 

·        
To request that the Corporate Overview & Scrutiny Committee
review the findings.
 
To be actioned by:
Chief Executive/Strategic Director Place/Interim Director of Legal
and Governance
 
11.6 – Care
Leaver Covenant
 
Moved by: Cllr Sue Duffy
Seconded by: Cllr Sarah Ferriby
 
As councillors, employees and partners we all
have a Corporate Parenting responsibility for ensuring that we
provide the best possible outcomes for Children and Young People in
the care of the Local Authority, and this includes our young people
who are in the process of leaving care and becoming
independent.
 
The young people who are leaving our care have
the right to expect the support that any good parent would provide
to their children as they move forward into adulthood.
 
As sons and daughters or as parents ourselves,
we have relied on the support of our families as we have navigated
independence. Can you imagine what it must be like to be alone with
no one to turn to? It is our duty as corporate parents to ensure
our care leavers receive the best possible support to fulfil their
potential and lead productive and stable lives.
 
We already provide a good level of support to
our Care Leavers:

·        
Free gym membership.

·        
Exemption from Council Tax up to 25 years of age.

·        
Care Leavers as a Protected Characteristic.

·        
Home set up support.

·        
Staying Put provision.
 
But we can always do more. We believe that
through demonstrating our commitment to the Care Leaver Covenant
this will enable us to work proactively with our partners to
encourage their sign up to the covenant and through our collective
work further develop our support to our young care leavers to
ensure that:
 

·        
Care leavers are better prepared and supported to live
independently.
 

·        
Care leavers have improved access to employment, education and
training.
 

·        
Care leavers experience stability in their lives and feel safe and
secure.
 

·        
Care leavers have improved access to health and emotional
support.
 

·        
Care leavers achieve financial stability.
 
Therefore, the
Council resolves to:
 

·        
Sign up to the Care Leaver Covenant
 

·        
Work with our Children in Care and Care experienced young people to
develop opportunities to ensure all of the above are further
developed
 

·        
Work with our partners to enable the development of the Care
Leavers support offer across departments and organisations
 

·        
Ensure the inclusion of the Care Leaver Covenant in our social
value contracting.

 
To be actioned
by:  Strategic Director Children’s
Services and all other Strategic Directors and Directors
 
 
11.7 –
Delivering for the people of the Bradford District
 
Resolved –
 
Moved by: Cllr Susan Hinchcliffe
Seconded by: Cllr Imran Khan
 
Council notes
that:
 
Bradford district is a place of opportunity at
the heart of the North. Our district has immense potential. Because
of our financial challenges, it’s vital that we also continue
to work with Government to create economic growth for our district.
Together with our residents, businesses and partner organisations
we will achieve great things in the coming year. The regeneration
of the district is gathering pace. This will bring new jobs and
opportunities.
 
In the past year, working with partners,
amongst other achievements we have also:

·        
Secured a Government commitment for a new city centre train station
to get Bradford on the mainline

·        
Delivered Grade A office space at One City Park with an anchor
tenant announced

·        
Begun delivery of key Towns Fund schemes in Keighley and
Shipley

·        
Become one of only three Strategic Place Partnerships in the UK to
develop plans for high quality new housing with Homes England
 
In the next year the Bradford District will
build on this regeneration progress and:
 

·        
Open landmark regeneration schemes ahead of being UK City of
Culture 2025 – attracting an influx of visitors and
investment into the district
 

·        
Host Yorkshire Day in Bradford on 1st August 2025 – following
in the footsteps of Keighley’s successful hosting in 2022
 

·        
Complete the once-in-a-generation transformation of a cleaner,
greener city centre
 

·        
Deliver significant investments with partners in Keighley and
Shipley
 

·        
Showcase the opportunities the whole district offers to investors
at UKREIFF 2024.
 
All the while implementing our plan to achieve
financial sustainability as an effective and efficient council for
our residents and lobbying Government for fairer funding for
councils.
 
Council resolves
to:
 

·        
Mandate the Chief Executive and the officer team to develop a
continuous and robust cycle of transformation and budget
management
 

·        
Support the Children’s Trust to achieve the success that we
all want to see for the children of the district
 

·        
Continue to lobby government for a fair and sustainable funding
deal that matches the level of need and opportunity we
represent
 

·        
Support the City of Culture Trust to deliver an outstanding year
for the whole nation in 2025
 

·        
Task the Strategic Director of Place to work with the business
community on a growth plan to develop the next generation of
quality jobs
 

·        
Work at pace with the Department for Transport and West Yorkshire
Combined Authority to deliver our new station, mass transit and
transport connectivity ambitions.
 
To be actioned by:
Chief Executive/Strategic Director Children’s
Services/Strategic Director Place/Strategic Director Corporate
Resources/Strategic Director Health and Wellbeing/Director of
Finance
 
11.8 –
Bradford Council calls for end to violence, making way for
Peace
 
Resolved –
 
Moved by: Councillor Susan Hinchcliffe
Seconded by: Councillor Imran Khan
 
Council notes
that:
 

1)   
The clear will of Bradford Council, expressed at the 12th December
Full Council meeting, to support the Labour Group motion entitled
“This Council calls for an immediate and lasting ceasefire in
Gaza.” This detailed 27 resolutions including:
 
-      
Demanding an immediate and permanent ceasefire
-      
Release of all hostages
-      
Advocating for a two state solution with a safe and secure Israel
and a safe and secure Palestine
-      
The immediate recognition of an independent and viable State of
Palestine as part of the two-state solution.
-      
Condemnation of the collective punishment of Palestinian civilians
by the Israeli Government which has meant 1.9 million people have
been displaced. Condemnation of the terrorist attacks by Hamas
against civilians in Israel
-      
Immediate, urgent, humanitarian aid to Gazans and funding to help
them restore water, food, electricity and homes
-      
That the UK Government takes steps to ensure that arms and military
equipment either designed or built in whole or in part in the UK is
not used in acts that amount to war crimes under international
law.
-      
Reaffirmation that those responsible for crimes and war crimes
under international law must be held accountable through whatever
means possible
-      
Reaffirmation that the taking of civilian hostages is a war
crime.

 

2)   
 Since then the International Court of
Justice delivered an interim ruling in January in response to the
application of the Convention on the Prevention and Punishment of
the Crime of Genocide in the Gaza Strip.

3)   
Pramila Patten, the UN's Special Representative on Sexual Violence
in Conflict, has recently produced a report which has stated her
team had "found clear and convincing information that sexual
violence, including rape, sexualised torture, cruel, inhuman and
degrading treatment" had been committed against hostages.

4)   
World leaders have failed to end the horror and to bring about an
immediate and lasting ceasefire.

5)   
Islamophobic and antisemitic language used over recent weeks by
senior national politicians in the UK is damaging our country and
its cohesion.
 
Council resolves to:
 
Call on the
international community to:
 
·        
Demand an immediate lasting ceasefire now – the death toll
now stands at 31,000 people, 21,000 of them children and women.

 
·        
Condemn the killing of civilians.
 
·        
Press for the immediate release of all the hostages immediately and
unconditionally.
 
·        
Condemn sexual violence as a weapon of intimidation, whoever
commits it. This is a war crime.
 
·        
Make sure that a ground offensive by the Israeli military on Rafah,
now the largest refugee camp in the world, DOES NOT HAPPEN. Most of
those in the camp are women and children and over one million
people are starving. Any ground invasion will be utterly
unsustainable for human life. If they do not die from violence,
they will die from hunger and disease.
 
·        
Reflect that Ramadan is a time when people are encouraged to feed
those who have nothing. The international community has a moral
obligation to get food to the people in Rafah before they
starve.
 
·        
Demand that food, aid, water, shelter and safety be delivered into
Rafah by whatever route possible – by sea, through Egypt
– they need to be saved from starvation.
 
·        
Prevent famine. Thousands of pregnant women in Gaza are suffering
from malnourishment and dehydration, and are therefore being denied
basic medical rights.
 
·        
Condemn any attempts to attack Rafah and the 1.4 million people
seeking refuge there.
 
·        
Condemn the shootings that have overwhelmed aid trucks. People are
desperate for food; they shouldn’t have to risk their lives
to get it.
 
·        
Condemn the Israeli Defence Force for blocking the delivery of food
aid by the World Food Programme its first attempt in two weeks to
bring food aid to northern Gaza.
 
·        
Provide immediate, unhindered, humanitarian support that people can
access safely.
 
·        
Reaffirm support for a viable and independent state of Palestine as
part of the two state solution and condemn Netanyahu for standing
in the way of the two state solution which is the only path to
peace.
 
·        
Support the principles set out in the EDM motion in the House of
Commons, entitled International Court of Justice ruling on Gaza and
the UK’s duties under the Genocide Convention, which
“notes the ruling of the International Court of Justice (ICJ)
on 26 January 2024, which found that it is plausible that
Israel’s ongoing attacks on the Palestinian people in Gaza
are in breach of the Genocide Convention” and calls on the UK
Government to support the provisional measures ordered by the
court. Furthermore, in this EDM, act on the ICJ provisional
measures, including ordering the Israeli Government and its
military to prevent acts against Palestinians in Gaza prohibited by
Article II of the Genocide Convention, such as killings of
Palestinians in Gaza, as well as ordering the Israeli Government to
prevent and punish incitement to genocide and to enable the
provision of urgently needed basic services and humanitarian
assistance to the people of Gaza; and supporting the ICJ call for
the immediate and unconditional release of the hostages
 
·        
Insist Israel take stronger action and put a stop to settler
violence in the West Bank. Too often, we see commitments made and
undertakings given, but not followed through.
 
·        
Condemn the decision to permit another 3,500 housing units as part
of an illegal settlement in the West Bank. Demand the Israeli
government to revoke these.

 
In Bradford district:
 
·        
We condemn the violence witnessed at a fast food shop in Bradford.
Such an attack against a business is disgraceful. Such intimidation
and bullying has no place here in Bradford district.

 
·        
We condemn those who use islamophobic
or antisemitic language and tropes. Bradford does not tolerate such
Culture Wars and we must condemn those who seek to divide us.
 
·        
We remember that words can wound. Councillors may not be
international peace negotiators but we have a responsibility in our
community of Bradford district to treat everyone with respect.
 
·        
Recommit ourselves as a City of Sanctuary to demonstrate whoever
you are, wherever you are from, you will always find a welcome here
in Bradford.
 
·        
Encourage our young people to consider studies in Peace at Bradford
University so they can be the new peacebuilders in a fractured
world where our generation has so badly failed.
 
·        
Fly the Peace Flag at City Hall to demonstrate that everyone in
Bradford wants the international community to tirelessly strive for
Peace.
 
·        
Remember that at this time of year in particular with Ramadan
(c11th March) Easter Sunday (31st March) and Passover (beginning
22nd April) we should respect all our faith communities and support
them in their prayers for an immediate end to conflict and lasting
peace.