Agenda item

The following Notices of Motion submitted to the County Council by Councillors Dewhirst and Aves have been referred to the Cabinet in accordance with Standing Order 8(2) for consideration, to refer it to another Committee or make a recommendation back to the Council:

 

·         Speed Limits - Deaf Academy and Wider Devon (Councillor Dewhirst)

·         Councils for Fair Tax Declaration:  Standing up for Fair Tax Practices (Councillor Aves)

(a) Speed Limits - Deaf Academy and Wider Devon (Councillor Dewhirst)

 

RESOLVED that the Council

 

(a) thank the pupils at the Deaf Academy at Douglas Avenue for highlighting their concerns;

 

(b) agree any future proposals to address the concerns of the Deaf Academy are presented at a future East Devon Highways and Traffic Orders Committee; and

 

(c) support the proposal to include specific consideration of the application of 20mph limits around schools as part of the study into speed in Newton Abbot.

 

(b) Councils for Fair Tax Declaration:  Standing up for Fair Tax Practices (Councillor Aves)

 

RESOLVED

 

(a) that the County Council is committed to supporting the principles and ethos relating to fair tax. This commitment is enacted through the Council’s Financial Regulations and procurement policies.  These regulations and policies align with statutory requirements and the Cabinet Office supplier accreditation standards and ensure best practice, adherence to regulations and ensuring those regulations are maintained;

 

(b) that the Council already applies many of the considerations within this motion, wherever possible in the course of its work.  For supplier qualification, the Council is required to apply Cabinet Office procurement policy which sets national standards for tax compliance as part of supplier qualification criteria for public contracts; and

 

(c) that Council continue to support fair tax principles through the application of its financial regulations and procurement policies, however in order to remain aligned with Cabinet Office national policy for supplier qualification, Council be recommended not to formally sign the Declaration itself.

 

(a) Speed Limits - Deaf Academy and Wider Devon (Councillor Dewhirst)

 

(Councillor Dewhirst attended in accordance with Standing Order 8 and Councillors Connett, Hannaford and Hodgson attended in accordance with 25(2) and spoke to this item).

 

(Councillor Dewhirst declared a personal interest in the matter by virtue of being a trustee of the Charity which owns the deaf academy).

 

Background to the Motion 

 

The Deaf Academy has been providing education and support for deaf young people in Devon since 1826. In September 2020, they relocated from Exeter to Exmouth to a new campus at the old Rolle College Site at Douglas Avenue. 

 

The Deaf Academy is an education hub for 50 students, 30 of which stay within the residential provision on campus. Students are incredibly diverse and come from all over the country, with varying needs ranging from mobility, visual and special educational needs alongside their deafness. 

 

Last term the Student Council started a campaign to reduce the speed limit. Other schools in Exmouth have 20 mph speed limits outside their entrances. 

 

Unlike hearing children, deaf children cannot clearly identify cars in the distance or around corners through sound. They rely on sight and trusting the public are driving slowly in the area. 

 

Douglas Avenue currently has a 30mph speed limit with various blind spots and does not have any targeted highway signage, traffic calming measures or crossing points near the Academy.  

 

Consequently, the avenue poses a risk to students, staff and visitors and therefore: 

 

Motion to Council 

 

1. This Council applauds the Deaf Academy Student Council campaign to reduce the speed of traffic in Douglas Avenue. Council calls on our Highway Officers to urgently introduce a 20 mph speed limit in Douglas Avenue and install a zebra crossing outside the school to ensure that these children and young people can cross the road in safety, and, 

 

2. Additionally, this Council calls on Highway Officers to bring a Report to Council before the end of 2021 on implementing 20 mph speed limits in the vicinity of all schools in Devon to ensure that all children and young people can arrive and leave their schools in greater safety. 

 

Members considered the Officer’s factual briefing note on the matter (CSO/21/11) which referred to the discussions with local Members and transport planning officers, the concerns raised by the Student Council relating to the speed of traffic on Douglas Avenue, survey results and the feasibility study on the options available and that any proposal would be presented to a future East Devon Highways and Traffic Orders Committee. The briefing paper also referred to the review of the application of 20mph restrictions which would be used to inform future speed limit policy. The Cabinet Member for Highway Management welcomed the request for officers to report by the end of the year on the principle of 20mph speed limits in the vicinity of schools.

 

The Cabinet considered the recommendation now before them and the actions now proposed and already undertaken and any other relevant factors.

 

It was MOVED by Councillor Hughes, SECONDED by Councillor Hart, and

 

RESOLVED that the Council

 

(a) thank the pupils at the Deaf Academy at Douglas Avenue for highlighting their concerns;

 

(b) agree any future proposals to address the concerns of the Deaf Academy are presented at a future East Devon Highways and Traffic Orders Committee; and

 

(c) support the proposal to include specific consideration of the application of 20mph limits around schools as part of the study into speed in Newton Abbot.

 

 

(b) Councils for Fair Tax Declaration:  Standing up for Fair Tax Practices (Councillor Aves)

 

(Councillor Hannaford (speaking for Councillor Aves) attended in accordance with 25(2) and spoke to this item).

 

The Council notes:

 

That local residents are asking Devon County Council to sign up to the Councils for Fair Tax Declaration.

 

The Fair Tax Mark has developed the Councils for Fair Tax Declaration in collaboration with UK cities, counties and towns who believe they can, and should stand up for responsible tax conduct. Councils-for-Fair-Tax-Declaration.pdf (fairtaxmark.net)

 

As recipients of significant public funding councils should take the lead in the promotion of exemplary tax conduct. Polls have found that 63% of the public agree that the government and local councils should consider a company’s ethics and how they pay their taxes as well as value for money and quality of service, when undertaking procurement. That three-quarters of people would rather shop or work for a business that can prove it is paying its fair share of tax.

 

Fair Tax Mark said there was “a pressing need for action”, claiming that research it commissioned had discovered that 17.5% of UK public procurement contracts commissioned by local and national government over the period 2014-19 were won by businesses with connections to a tax haven, with a combined value of £37.5 bn.

 

Billions are missing from our public purse because some companies choose to avoid paying their corporation tax - the same companies who have since benefited from taxpayer support through this crisis or have asked for bailouts.

 

This means we have less money available for the vital public services we all rely on, and that the smaller, local businesses in our county can’t compete because it’s not a level playing field.

 

That other Councils around the UK have already signed up to the Councils for Fair Tax Declaration including Peterborough City, Oxford City, Oldham, Cannock Chase, and the Royal Borough of Greenwich.

 

The Council believes:

 

Councillors across the UK work hard to serve their local communities and help direct the delivery of essential public services. The Coronavirus pandemic has exposed major weaknesses in our economy and deep-seated inequalities in our society.  To Build Back Better we must tackle tax avoidance and Councils can pioneer the promotion of responsible tax conduct through:

 

·         Leading by example on their own tax conduct

·         Demanding greater transparency from suppliers

 

Having gone through a decade of austerity and reduced council spending caused by government reductions in grants, where funds have not kept up with demands of inflation and extra demands of new legal statutory duties,  we’re now living through an era of unprecedented public spending due to the pandemic.

 

As a Council, we have seen first-hand the challenge that a funding squeeze created for crucial frontline services. Local government has a proud history of standing up for responsible public sector conduct, ranging from paying the real Living Wage to promoting Fairtrade.

 

The Council resolves to:

 

1.    Approve the Councils for Fair Tax Declaration Councils-for-Fair-Tax-Declaration.pdf (fairtaxmark.net)

2.    Lead by example and demonstrate good practice in our tax conduct right across our activities

3.    Require greater transparency from suppliers

4.    Consider a company’s ethics and how they pay their tax as well as value for money and quality of service provided, when undertaking procurement

5.    Promote Fair Tax Mark certification for any business in which we have a significant stake and where corporation tax is due

6.    Support Fair Tax Week events in Devon and celebrate the tax contribution made by responsible businesses who say what they pay with pride

7.      Demonstrate good practice including:

·         ensuring contractors implement IR35 robustly and pay a fair share of employment taxes;

·         not use of offshore vehicles for the purchase of land and property, especially where this leads to reduced payments of stamp duty,

·         ensuring that there is clarity on the ultimate beneficial ownership of suppliers and their consolidated profit & loss position,

·         undertaking due diligence to ensure that not-for-profit structures are not being used inappropriately as an artificial device to reduce the payment of tax and business rates; and

·         supporting calls for urgent reform of EU and UK law to enable councils to revise their procurement policies and better penalise poor tax conduct and reward good tax conduct.

 

Members considered the Officer’s factual briefing note on the matter (CSO/21/11) which referred to the definition of Fair Tax and that the Council set a high standard in how it administered its tax affairs, including a team who ensured that all the Council’s financial transactions and processes complied with tax regulations and to raise awareness across the organisation.

 

The Council also tried to ensure that suppliers also operate high standards in business activities and its Financial Regulations and procurement approach was in line with statutory requirements, good practice and national policy and also ensured its suppliers met a range of requirements including the Public Contracts Regulations 2015,  supplier qualification (mandated by the Cabinet Office), standard selection questionnaire, publication of any suppliers who had breached obligations and the role of the IR35 working party to improve employment status and off payroll working (IR35).

 

The Cabinet considered the recommendation now before them and the actions now proposed and already undertaken and any other relevant factors).

 

It was MOVED by Councillor Hart, SECONDED by Councillor McInnes, and

 

RESOLVED

 

(a) that the County Council is committed to supporting the principles and ethos relating to fair tax. This commitment is enacted through the Council’s Financial Regulations and procurement policies.  These regulations and policies align with statutory requirements and the Cabinet Office supplier accreditation standards and ensure best practice, adherence to regulations and ensuring those regulations are maintained;

 

(b) that the Council already applies many of the considerations within this motion, wherever possible in the course of its work.  For supplier qualification, the Council is required to apply Cabinet Office procurement policy which sets national standards for tax compliance as part of supplier qualification criteria for public contracts; and

 

(c) that Council continue to support fair tax principles through the application of its financial regulations and procurement policies, however in order to remain aligned with Cabinet Office national policy for supplier qualification, Council be recommended not to formally sign the Declaration itself.