Council (Liverpool City Council) 22nd November 2023 Part 4 of 4 (Tackling socio economic inequality)

Council (Liverpool City Council) 22nd November 2023 Part 4 of 4 (Tackling socio economic inequality)

Filmed by John Brace https://johnbrace.com/ at Council Chamber, Ground Floor, Liverpool Town Hall, High Street, Liverpool, L2 3SW

Council Chamber, Ground Floor, Liverpool Town Hall, High Street, Liverpool, L2 3SW

The agenda and reports for this public meeting can be found on Liverpool City Council's website here https://councillors.liverpool.gov.uk/... .

Continues from Council (Liverpool City Council) 22nd November 2023 Part 3 of 4    • Council (Liverpool City Council) 22nd Nove...   .

MOTION SUBMITTED BY MAIN OPPOSITION

(A period of 20 minutes has been allocated for the debate)

12. Put an end to Litterpool by Councillor Carl Cashman 0:00

Council notes that:
• In recent years, the state of the public realm in Liverpool has declined and this has earned it the reputation of “Litterpool” in the media;
• The number of fixed penalty notices for littering issued by Liverpool City Council has fallen dramatically in recent years from the thousands to now being in the tens; and
• Under the Environmental Protection Act 1990, the Council has a statutory duty to ensure that land is, so far as is practicable, kept clear of litter and refuse.

Council believes that:
• Everyone deserves to live in a litter free area, and we all have a personal responsibility to dispose of our rubbish properly;
• Litter and rubbish not only make our City untidy and dirty but has negative environmental impact on our waterways, green spaces and local wildlife;
• The hard work of volunteer groups across the city is making a positive impact on cleaning up the public realm but cleaning up our City should not be left to volunteers;
• At present, the current punishments and enforcement regimes against littering and fly-tipping are not strong enough to act as an effective deterrent;
• It is time to take action and clean up the public realm, restoring civic pride and putting an end Liverpool’s reputation as “Litterpool”.

Council resolves to:
• Arrange a meeting between the Council Leadership and Street Scene to address the several pieces of casework not being picked up and actioned;
• Endorse Clean up Britain’s and In Your Area’s “Don’t Trash our Future” campaign;
• Write to the Government to encourage them to change the law, so that:

1. The minimum punishment for a fixed penalty notice for fly tipping in the UK is increased to £1,000 or 100 hours of supervised community litter pick;
2. Local Authorities have a statutory duty to properly enforce laws against littering;
3. There are harsher punishments against fly-tippers, such as larger fines;
and
4. Local authorities, who do the work of finding and issuing fixed penalty notices, retain at least 50% of fines.

THREE MOTIONS SUBMITTED BY COUNCILLORS
(A period of 20 minutes has been allocated for each debate)
__________
13. Reaffirmation of Liverpool City Council's commitment to the voluntary use of Section 1 of the Equality Act (2010) to tackle socio economic inequality by Councillor Jane Corbett, seconded by Councillor Lila Bennett 0:11

Council is aware that Section 1 of the Equality Act 2010 introduced a socioeconomic duty on public bodies, including local authorities, that required them:

‘when making decisions of a strategic nature about how to exercise its functions to have due regard to the desirability of exercising them in a way that is designed to reduce the inequalities of outcome which result from socioeconomic disadvantage.’

Council recognises the hard work carried out across the city to address the causes and impact of socio-economic inequality. Council applauds the commitment from all involved, including the public, private, voluntary, community and faith sectors, along with the cross-party support to make Liverpool a strong city built on fairness.
....

14. Protecting the public from dangerous dogs by Councillor Peter Norris 13:18

This Council supports the concerns raised at the increasing number of dog attacks and is alarmed that 15 people have been killed because of a dog attack since the start of 2022 and more have been seriously injured. This Council notes that:

• It is against the law to let a dog be dangerously out of control anywhere, such as in a public place or private place, for example a neighbour’s house or garden and in the owner’s home. The law applies to all dogs.
• In January this year the Liverpool Echo reported that Merseyside was the ‘dangerous dogs’ capital’, following the death of 17th month old Bella RaeBirch in St Helens and Anna Dunn in Liverpool in 2022. Figures show that dog attacks are ten times more likely in Merseyside than elsewhere in the country, with the number of dog attacks doubling since 2008.
• The death by mauling of 10-year-old Jack Lis in November 2021 has seen calls for the law to be changed and has galvanised public support, with 4 out of 5 people supporting a change.
...