Please note that all questions must be received by the committee officer detailed on the agenda by 10am Thursday 23 November 2017.

For guidance on submitting questions please see appendix 1 on the council's constitution.

Petitions must be received by the committee officer detailed on the front of the agenda by 10am on Monday 27 November 2017.

For guidance on submitting petitions please see appendix 1 on the council's constitution.

Purpose - To consider arrangements for the electoral scheme for the council in respect to the periodic electoral review being undertaken by the Local Government Boundary Commission of England (LGBCE).

Purpose - To review and approve the council's Corporate Code of Governance in line with the 2016 update to CIPFA/SOLACE guidance and the Local Government Framework for Delivering Good Governance

Proposer: Councillor Waters

Seconder: Councillor Stonard

Britvic and Unilever employ hundreds of people from Norwich and across Norfolk. They are a crucial part of the city and county's manufacturing base and economy. Robinsons, one of Britvic's brands, has been based in Norwich for more than 90 years, while Unilever produces arguably Norwich and Norfolk's most iconic brand, Colman's Mustard, made in the city for more than 200 years.

Council resolves:

 To ask the Cabinet to:

1. Support the campaign, including that led by the Evening News and Eastern Daily Press to save Britvic.
   
   
2. Work with the management of Britvic and Unilever, trade unions, LEP, Norfolk County Council, Members of Parliament in Norwich and the wider business community to seek the continuing operation of this much valued and important business.

Proposer: Councillor Harris

Seconder: Councillor Davis

The Government recently announced a policy which they claimed would deliver more council housing, the centrepiece proposal being £2 billion to build affordable homes.

This means the government has cut affordable housing building investment, from over £3.5 billion in the last year of the previous Labour government, to around £1.8 billion a year over the next five years. According to government figures, this extra money only delivers 5,000 homes a year which is nothing compared to the 1.8 million households on council waiting lists and the 100,000 who remain on lists for council and social housing for last five years.
Council resolves to ask the Leader to write to the Prime Minister to request:

1. Giving councils the fair funding to deliver not just a large-scale house building programme, but also the range of vital services communities rely on. Councils have seen their budgets cut by 40 per cent in just the first five years of this decade.

2. Ditching the ban on long-term council tenancies to give council tenants security in their home,

3. Drop legislation to force the sale of council homes through their high value levy.

4. Clarify the law to make sure that councils can offer homes to local people first without facing challenge in the courts.

5. Lift the Housing Revenue Account borrowing cap.

6. Suspend right-to-buy, allowing councils to reinstate it only if they can prove a plan to replace homes sold one-for-one and like-for-like.

7. Scrap the punitive bedroom tax, which indiscriminately punishes social tenants for not downsizing even when there are no smaller properties available to move to.

8. Recycle housing benefit savings from the affordable housing programme into helping tackle the causes of the housing crisis, rather than relying on higher housing benefit spending to deal with its effects.

9. Build new homes for ‘living rent’ over the Parliament, with rents capped at a third of local incomes to give private renters the breathing room to save for a deposit on a first home.

10. Build 100 000 new affordable homes to rent and buy a year by the end of the parliament including at least 100,000 FirstBuy Homes where mortgage costs do not exceed a third of average local incomes.      

11.  Restore funding for the Decent Homes programme to help bring more council and housing association homes up to a decent standard.

Proposer: Councillor Carlo

Seconder: Councillor Grahame

Public transport has a vital role in enabling Norwich residents – especially the 33% of households without a car – to access employment and services.

The Joint Core Strategy Implementation Framework (2014) programmed delivery of Bus Rapid Transit for the Norwich area in three phases, as a key part of the sustainable transport plans to accompany the NDR. The first phase should now be complete, but the timetable has slipped and it is unclear how future phases will be funded.

Meanwhile, last month, county councillors voted to cut bus subsidies and spend £1m on investigating extending the NDR across the Wensum valley.

Council resolves:

1. To acknowledge that in order to achieve sustainable development for Norwich, it is essential to give the highest priority to delivering Bus Rapid Transit and Core Bus Routes.

2. To oppose the spending of any further public money on investigating an extension of the NDR across the Wensum river valley.

3. To actively seek, through its representation on the Greater Norwich Development Partnership, a policy commitment in the emerging Greater Norwich Local Plan that the Bus Rapid Transit and Core Bus Routes will be delivered before any further local spending on new roads.

4. To ask the Leader of the Council to write to the Greater Norwich Growth Board, Norfolk County Council and New Anglia LEP informing them of the above resolutions.

Proposer: Councillor Ackroyd

Seconder: Councillor Lubbock

Following a recent decision of the Council’s Licensing committee, concern has been raised about the proliferation of gambling premises on our high streets and the harm they pose to people vulnerable to problem gambling.

There is currently a government consultation underway entitled ‘Consultation on proposals for changes to Gaming Machines and Social Responsibility Measures’ for which this council should supply a response.

Council RESOLVES to:

1. Respond to the government's consultation, expressing a call for the current £100 maximum FOBT stake to be brought in line with maximum stakes for other gaming machines allowed elsewhere on high streets (£2) and in casinos (£5); calling for cumulative impact tests to be introduced to enable councils to reject applications for new betting shops where there are already existing clusters of shops and for licensing lawto be updated to allow councils to take health issues associated with problem gambling and anti-social behaviour concerns into account when considering applications.

2. Ask the Leader and Chief Executive to write to our local MPs to reinforce our response and call for new powers so Norwich City Council can do more to help some of the most vulnerable people in our community.