Agenda item

To receive the report of the Head of Legal and Democratic Services on any Notices of Motion received by him (Lilac pages).

Councillors are asked to note that any Notices of Motion must be received by the Head of Legal and Democratic Services no later than noon on 9 July 2019.

The Council had before it a Notice of Motion set out in the agenda papers standing in the names of Mr P M McDonald, Mr R C Lunn, Mr P Denham, Mr L C R Mallett, Ms C M Stalker, and Mr R M Udall.

The motion was moved by Mr P M McDonald and seconded by Mr R C Lunn who both spoke in favour of it, and Council agreed to deal with it on the day.

Those in favour of the motion made the following points:

·         This Council should lead by example and follow the other 5,000 employers in the country who paid the living wage by ensuring that organisations carrying out work for the Council also paid the living wage. Many public sector workers received poverty pay and had second or third jobs to make ends meet which impacted on health, family life and productivity. The majority of people using foodbanks were in employment. Anyone receiving below the living wage was living in poverty. There was no excuse for contractors to pay their staff so poorly. The living wage was an independent assessment which was higher than the Government’s minimum wage. The minimum wage particularly penalised young people under the age of 25

·         If the motion were adopted, contractors would need to adopt the living wage in order to win Council contracts. As a result, the Council would be encouraging a change in behaviour of employers as well as improving the welfare of the lowest paid in the community and boosting its own reputation

·         The reliance of low paid workers on foodbanks and state benefits meant that the state was subsidising cheapskate employers who refused to pay a decent living wage

·         There was a balance to be struck between obtaining the best contract price for the benefit of local taxpayers and establishing a fair wage for employees. It was morally wrong for Council to award contracts to contractors who paid low wages at the expense of those who were paying the living wage. A low paid economy damaged society and undermined the Council’s objectives

·         A number of other councils were insisting that contractors paid the living wage and there was no reason why this Council could not

·         The Council attempted to influence people’s lives in so many ways yet seemed reluctant to do so in this instance.

Those against the motion made the following points:

·         The Cabinet Member with Responsibility for Transformation and Commissioning commented that this Council paid the national living wage or above to all of its staff. The Council did not mandate supply organisations on matters such as staff terms and conditions of employment. The Council did mandate supply organisations to comply with national legislation and all the relevant suppliers did so. Applying additional constraints on the Council’s supply base would have significant economic and practical implications on their businesses as well as this Council financially

·         The Council paid the national living wage which had increased above the rate of inflation. In addition, the PAYE personal allowance had been raised by the Government which had taken the lowest earners out of the taxpaying bracket

·         Doubts were expressed about the accuracy of comments made about the accessibility and use of food banks by those in employment.

At the conclusion of the debate and on a named vote the motion was lost.

Those in favour of the motion were Mr P Denham, Mr A Fry, Mr M E Jenkins, Mr R C Lunn, Mr P M McDonald, Mr L C R Mallett, Mrs F M Oborski, Prof J W Raine, Mrs M A Rayner, Ms C M Stalker, Mrs E B Tucker, Mr R M Udall, Mr T A L Wells. (13)

Those against the motion were Mr A A J Adams, Mr R C Adams, Mr A T Amos,  Mr T Baker-Price, Mr R W Banks, Mr G R Brookes, Mrs J A Brunner, Mr B Clayton, Ms R L Dent, Mr N Desmond, Mrs E A Eyre, Mr S E Geraghty, Mr I D Hardiman, Mr A I Hardman, Mr P B Harrison, Mr M J Hart, Mrs L C Hodgson, Dr A J Hopkins, Mr A D Kent, Mr S M Mackay, Ms K J May, Mr P Middlebrough, Mr A P Miller, Mr R J Morris, Ms T L Onslow, Dr K A Pollock, Mrs J A Potter, Mr A C Roberts, Mr C Rogers, Mr J H Smith, Mr A Stafford, Mr C B Taylor, Ms R Vale, Ms S A Webb. (34)