Agenda item

Motions

To debate the following motions which have been submitted with advance notice, in accordance with the constitution. The motions are set in full in the agenda pack. 

 

Proposer

Topic

Councillor Barry Wood

Oxcam Expressway

Councillor Katherine Tyson

Oxford-Cambridge Expressway

Councillor Andrew McHugh

Horton General Hospital

Councillor Ian Middleton

Oxfordshire Pension Fund Divestment

 

 

Decision:

Resolved

 

(1)            That the following motion, as amended, be adopted:

 

“The Council notes that clarity on potential routes is due but if any road route is likely to have serious environmental implications which is incompatible with the council’s climate change emergency priorities then we’ll seek to stay consistent with our Council’s commitment to combating Climate Change.

 

The Council therefore requests Officers to assess the implications for Cherwell and the Oxon 2050 Plan with due consideration to our climate change emergency motion and to provide recommendations for Members via Scrutiny and the Executive. In the meantime, the Council will maintain an open mind.”

 

(2)            That the following motion be adopted:

 

“This Council deplores the decision of the Oxfordshire Clinical Commissioning Group (‘CCG’) on 26 September to downgrade maternity provision at the Horton General Hospital to a midwife-led unit for the foreseeable future.

 

The decision follows public consultation and evidence-gathering exercises in which neither the public, nor this Council, have confidence. Public trust in the CCG and in Oxfordshire University Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust (‘OUHFT’) was damaged when the temporary downgrade was enforced, without consultation, in August 2016 and has since been further eroded by the persistent lack of meaningful engagement, which speaks to their Oxford-centric agenda.

 

Council endorses the recent conclusions of the Horton Joint Health Overview & Scrutiny Committee (‘Horton HOSC’), in bringing OUHFT and CCG shortcomings to the fore and resolves to fully support Horton HOSC’s efforts to continue to hold the CCG and OUHFT to account and pursue an appropriate course of action.

 

This Council recognises the vital importance of the Horton General Hospital in providing first-class care to patients across Oxfordshire, Northamptonshire and Warwickshire and welcomes the commitment from OUHFT and the CCG to invest significantly in the Horton site. After years of talk and hollow promises, now is the time for action and that commitment needs to be tangibly demonstrated. Council also notes the pledge of OUHFT and the CCG to “regularly review” the viability of reinstating an obstetric-led maternity unit in Banbury. The real-life birthing experiences of local mothers cannot continue to be overlooked and Council will do all it can to ensure their voices are heard.”

 

(For information: as the motion on the Oxford-Cambridge Expressway submitted by Councillor Wood was agreed as set out at (1) above, the motion submitted by Councillor Tyson on the same topic was not debated. The motion submitted by Councillor Middleton on Oxford Pension Fund Divestment was not agreed by Council. Full details will be included in the minutes).   

Minutes:

The Chairman advised that four motions had been submitted and would be debated in the order submitted, with motions on the same topic grouped. Members of the public who had registered to speak on either of the motions would be invited to address Council at the start of the relevant motion prior to the proposer of the motion presenting their motion to Council.

 

a)    Oxcam Expressway

 

The Chairman invited those people who had registered to address Council on the item to speak prior to Council’s consideration of the item. Council heard from the following public speakers:

 

Professor David Rogers, local resident

Tom Beckett, local resident

Sir David Gilmour, Chair of CPRE Cherwell District

 

It was moved by Councillor Wood and seconded by Councillor Clarke that the following motion, with the inclusion of the amendment proposed by Councillor Tyson and seconded by Councillor Middleton, be adopted:

 

“The Council notes that clarity on potential routes is due but if any road route is likely to have serious environmental implications which is incompatible with the council’s climate change emergency priorities then we’ll seek to stay consistent with our Council’s commitment to combating Climate Change.

 

The Council therefore requests Officers to assess the implications for Cherwell and the Oxon 2050 Plan with due consideration to our climate change emergency motion and to provide recommendations for Members via Scrutiny and the Executive. In the meantime, the Council will maintain an open mind.”

 

The motion as amended was debated. In the course of the debate it was proposed by Councillor Broad and seconded by Councillor Cherry that a recorded vote be taken on the motion.

 

Having been proposed and seconded, a recorded vote was duly taken, and members voted as follows:

 

Councillor Hannah Banfield

 Against

Councillor Andrew Beere

 Against

Councillor Nathan Bignell

 For

Councillor Maurice Billington

 For

Councillor Mike Bishop

 For

Councillor John Broad

 Against

Councillor Hugo Brown

 For

Councillor Mark Cherry

 Against

Councillor Colin Clarke

 For

Councillor Conrad Copeland

 Against

Councillor Ian Corkin

 For

Councillor Nick Cotter

 Against

Councillor Surinder Dhesi

 Against

Councillor John Donaldson

 For

Councillor Sean Gaul

 For

Councillor Carmen Griffiths

 Against

Councillor Timothy Hallchurch MBE

 For

Councillor Simon Holland

 For

Councillor David Hughes

 For

Councillor Shaida Hussain

 Against

Councillor Tony Ilott

 For

Councillor Mike Kerford-Byrnes

 For

Councillor James Macnamara

 For

Councillor Kieron Mallon

 For

Councillor Andrew McHugh

 For

Councillor Tony Mepham

 For

Councillor Ian Middleton

 Against

Councillor Perran Moon

 Against

Councillor Richard Mould

 For

Councillor Cassi Perry

 Against

Councillor Lynn Pratt

 For

Councillor George Reynolds

 For

Councillor Barry Richards

 Against

Councillor Les Sibley

 Abstain

Councillor Katherine Tyson

 Against

Councillor Tom Wallis

 For

Councillor Fraser Webster

 Abstain

Councillor Lucinda Wing

 For

Councillor Barry Wood

 For

Councillor Sean Woodcock

 Against

 

The Chairman confirmed that the motion, as amended, was carried with 23 members voting in favour, 15 against and 2 abstentions.

The Chairman advised Council that as the motion had been carried, the motion submitted by Councillor Tyson on the same topic could not be debated as it would be contrary to the Constitution as the second motion if passed would seek to vary or rescind the first motion.

 

b)   Horton General Hospital 

 

It was moved by Councillor McHugh and seconded by Councillor Woodcock, that the following motion be adopted:

 

“This Council deplores the decision of the Oxfordshire Clinical Commissioning Group (‘CCG’) on 26 September to downgrade maternity provision at the Horton General Hospital to a midwife-led unit for the foreseeable future.

 

The decision follows public consultation and evidence-gathering exercises in which neither the public, nor this Council, have confidence. Public trust in the CCG and in Oxfordshire University Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust (‘OUHFT’) was damaged when the temporary downgrade was enforced, without consultation, in August 2016 and has since been further eroded by the persistent lack of meaningful engagement, which speaks to their Oxford-centric agenda.

 

Council endorses the recent conclusions of the Horton Joint Health Overview & Scrutiny Committee (‘Horton HOSC’), in bringing OUHFT and CCG shortcomings to the fore and resolves to fully support Horton HOSC’s efforts to continue to hold the CCG and OUHFT to account and pursue an appropriate course of action.

 

This Council recognises the vital importance of the Horton General Hospital in providing first-class care to patients across Oxfordshire, Northamptonshire and Warwickshire and welcomes the commitment from OUHFT and the CCG to invest significantly in the Horton site. After years of talk and hollow promises, now is the time for action and that commitment needs to be tangibly demonstrated. Council also notes the pledge of OUHFT and the CCG to “regularly review” the viability of reinstating an obstetric-led maternity unit in Banbury. The real-life birthing experiences of local mothers cannot continue to be overlooked and Council will do all it can to ensure their voices are heard.”

 

The motion was debated and on being put to the vote was carried.

 

c)    Oxfordshire Pension Fund Divestment: to call on the Oxfordshire Pension Fund to divest from non-renewable energy and explore reinvestment in renewable energy companies

 

The Chairman invited Susan Cross, local resident and member of Carbon Neutral Cherwell Group, who had registered to speak on the motion, to address Council.

 

It was moved by Councillor Middleton and seconded by Councillor Copeland that the following motion be adopted.

 

“As council is no doubt aware, the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change last year warned that to avoid the most catastrophic consequences of global warming, carbon emissions must fall to zero by 2050.  As a result, Parliament has imposed a binding target of net zero by 2050, and in July this Council declared a Climate Emergency.

 

The Oxfordshire Local Government Pension Fund (OLGPS), which this council contributes to, has more than £132m of local council workers’ money invested in fossil fuel companies.  These investments are described by The London Stock Exchange as “non-renewables” and represent around 6% of the Oxfordshire LGPS total portfolio funds. 

 

Fossil fuels are the primary drivers of the climate crisis threatening our planet and support for such investments are contrary to the council’s stated aim of becoming a net zero carbon producer by 2030. Whilst fossil fuel companies have made speculative noises about reducing output, research by industry experts have found that none of the ten largest publicly listed oil and gas producers are on track to achieve net zero emissions by 2050.

 

Lloyds of London and Bank of England Governor Mark Carney have both warned that legislation necessary to limit warming combined with the development of renewables would mean that fossil fuel assets could result in large-scale asset write-downs. These companies face a potential wave of third-party liability claims brought by the victims of climate change, including from sovereign states.

 

As a result, a growing number of investment funds have already announced plans to fully or partially divest from fossil fuels. These include councils such as Southwark, Islington, and South Oxfordshire as well as the United Reform Church, The Church of England, the National Trust and many others.  Globally, £6.3 trillion has now been removed from funds supporting fossil fuels and the industry now faces serious financial, legal and regulatory challenges.

 

The OLGPS has defended its continued investment in fossil fuels, arguing that to divest would mean losing its influence.  This makes no sense.  The strongest form of positive influence that can be exerted on these companies is the reduction in available financial support to continue exploiting carbon generating fuels.

 

The continued use of fossil fuels threatens our planet and its most vulnerable inhabitants through droughts, heat waves, crop failures, floods, and rising sea levels.  Every climate change expert says that the only way to avoid climate catastrophe is to leave fossil fuels in the ground.  Divestment from such activities must therefore be a priority for any organisation declaring a climate emergency.

 

As one of the OLGPS employers, Cherwell District Council calls on the Oxfordshire Pension Fund Committee to act in line with this council’s declaration of Climate Emergency and with prudent exercise of its fiduciary duties by divesting its investment in an industry whose long-term risk profile in the current political and environmental climate is unacceptably high.

 

Council therefore:

 

1)    Asks the Oxfordshire Pension Fund to acknowledge that shareholder engagement has failed to bring about the pace of change required to limit catastrophic global warming. 

2)    Calls on the Oxfordshire Pension Fund to follow the lead of Councils, sovereign wealth funds and other pension and investment funds around the world to divest from non-renewable energy companies or any organisation whose main purpose is the exploration and/or extraction of fossil fuels.

3)    Calls on the Oxfordshire Pension Fund to explore reinvestment of its funds into appropriate renewable energy companies at the earliest opportunity.”

 

The motion was debated and on being put to the vote was lost and therefore fell.

 

Resolved

 

(1)          That the following motion, as amended, be adopted:

 

“The Council notes that clarity on potential routes is due but if any road route is likely to have serious environmental implications which is incompatible with the council’s climate change emergency priorities then we’ll seek to stay consistent with our Council’s commitment to combating Climate Change.

 

The Council therefore requests Officers to assess the implications for Cherwell and the Oxon 2050 Plan with due consideration to our climate change emergency motion and to provide recommendations for Members via Scrutiny and the Executive. In the meantime, the Council will maintain an open mind.”

 

(2)          That the following motion be adopted:

 

“This Council deplores the decision of the Oxfordshire Clinical Commissioning Group (‘CCG’) on 26 September to downgrade maternity provision at the Horton General Hospital to a midwife-led unit for the foreseeable future.

 

The decision follows public consultation and evidence-gathering exercises in which neither the public, nor this Council, have confidence. Public trust in the CCG and in Oxfordshire University Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust (‘OUHFT’) was damaged when the temporary downgrade was enforced, without consultation, in August 2016 and has since been further eroded by the persistent lack of meaningful engagement, which speaks to their Oxford-centric agenda.

 

Council endorses the recent conclusions of the Horton Joint Health Overview & Scrutiny Committee (‘Horton HOSC’), in bringing OUHFT and CCG shortcomings to the fore and resolves to fully support Horton HOSC’s efforts to continue to hold the CCG and OUHFT to account and pursue an appropriate course of action.

 

This Council recognises the vital importance of the Horton General Hospital in providing first-class care to patients across Oxfordshire, Northamptonshire and Warwickshire and welcomes the commitment from OUHFT and the CCG to invest significantly in the Horton site. After years of talk and hollow promises, now is the time for action and that commitment needs to be tangibly demonstrated. Council also notes the pledge of OUHFT and the CCG to “regularly review” the viability of reinstating an obstetric-led maternity unit in Banbury. The real-life birthing experiences of local mothers cannot continue to be overlooked and Council will do all it can to ensure their voices are heard.”

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